Professor
Andrew
Kersten
University
of
Wisconsin-Green Bay
Writing Tips for
Students
How
to Write a History Essay
Basic
Suggestions, Guidelines, and Grading
Documentation
UW-Green
Bay Writing Policy
Criteria
for Evaluating Writing
How to Write a History
Essay
Most history
essays are written in response
to a historical question. The best way to answer that question is to
use the
"five paragraph" essay.
Your first
paragraph (that is, your
introduction) should provide some general background on the question
(and may
even restate the question) and then directly answer that question. This
statement is your thesis. It is a good idea to add one final sentence,
which
will allude to the rest of your paper.
Your next
three (or so) paragraphs provide a
detailed, structured, and concise summary of evidence and ideas that
support
your thesis.
The conclusion
is the place to summarize your
thoughts, your essay, and your thesis. It is also the place to talk
about how
the past might relate to the present.
It is always a
good idea to use quotations
from the sources that are utilized and discussed in class.
It is always a
good idea to review the Guide
to Good Writing before and after you write your essay.
Basic Suggestions,
Guidelines, and Grading
General
Suggestions
¥ Start
early.
¥ Have a
friend read your early drafts.
Format
¥ Staple
your papers.
¥ No
coversheets.
¥ No
plastic covers or folders.
¥ Always use page
numbers.
¥ Use
footnotes, endnotes, or in paragraph
citation.
Style
-- avoid these problems
AFW
Avoid
Flavoring Words ("very" etc)
AWK
Awkward
Sentence Structure
COLL
Colloquial
Language
DA
Don't
Abbreviate
DP
Dangling
Preposition
DUC
Don't
Use Contractions
DUF
Don't
Use First Person
DWQ
Don't
Write in Questions
KPP
Keep
the Past in the Past (use past tense verbs)
MU
Meaning
Unclear
MVT
Mixed
Verb Tenses
NAS
Not
A Sentence
NSB
Don't
Use History as Your Personal Soap Box
PV
Passive
Voice
RSS
Repetitive
Sentence Structure
SC
Use
Standard Rules of Capitalization
SP
Misspelled
Word
TAS
Throw-away sentence (has no meaning)
TL
Sentence,
Paragraph, or Quote is Too Long
W
Wordy
WW
Wrong
Word
Documentation
For all
documentation questions, refer to
http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/history.html
FOOTNOTES
and ENDNOTES:
Published
1Andrew E. Kersten, Race, Jobs, and
the War: The FEPC in the
Midwest, 1941-1946 (Urbana:
University of Illinois Press, 2000), 1-5.
2Andrew E. Kersten, "Jobs and Justice:
The FEPC in the Motor
City," Michigan Historical Review 56 (Spring 1999): 1-25.
3 Andrew E. Kersten, ed., Reach or
Breech: The State and Society,
1865-1945 (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2001): 25-50.
4 Andrew E. Kersten, "Willie Webb," in Ordinary
Women,
ed. Kriste Lindenmeyer
(New
York: Scholarly Resources, 2000): 50-55.
GENERAL RULE: NAME (FIRST, MIDDLE, LAST), TITLE,
PLACE IF BOOK, VOLUME IF
JOURNAL, DATE, PAGES.
Unpublished
3Letter, Andrew E. Kersten to Bethany R.
Kersten, 27 May 1997,
Andrew E. Kersten Papers, Box 15, Folder 9, University of
Wisconsin-Green Bay
Archives.
GENERAL RULE: KIND OF DOCUMENT, TITLE, DATE,
COLLECTION, LOCATION
WITHIN COLLECTION, PLACE OF COLLECTION.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Kersten,
Andrew E. "Jobs and Justice:
The FEPC in the Motor City." Michigan Historical Review (Spring
1999): 1-25.
Kersten,
Andrew E. Race, Jobs, and the
War: The FEPC in the Midwest, 1941-1946. Urbana: University of
Illinois
Press, 2000.
Same general
rules above but put last names
first. Always separate your
primary and secondary material in your bibliography.
Questions? See
me or use http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/history.html.
Tips:
1) Be
consistent and thorough.
2) In your
bibliography, separate primary and
secondary sources.
3) Remember
the purpose of this part of the
assignment. One should be able to
retrace your research steps back through your footnotes and bibliography
UW-GREEN BAY WRITING
POLICY
The faculty of
the University of
Wisconsin-Green Bay has adopted the following writing policy for
out-of-class
assignments.
Acceptable
Writing:
1.
Clear writing is a reflection of logical thinking; therefore, an
acceptable paper must be organized. Every essay should be structured around a
thesis and
supported by factual evidence and arguments that are organized in a
logical
progression.
2.
Writers must acknowledge their use of data or ideas of others;
therefore, an acceptable paper must have proper documentation of all
source
material, following professional guidelines such as those approved by
the
Modern Language Association (MLA), the American Psychological
Association
(APA), or the American Association for the Advancement of Science, or
those
published in a standard style manual such as Turabian,
A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations.
3.
An acceptable paper must reflect control of correct grammar,
usage,
spelling, and punctuation.
4.
An acceptable paper must be presented in appropriate manuscript
form,
with errors neatly corrected and care taken with margins, numbering of
pages,
spacing, and format.
Unacceptable
Writing:
1.
A paper without clear organization is unacceptable.
Unclear organization includes illogical
progressions from one idea to another and the inclusion of unnecessary
ideas.
2.
A paper without proper documentation is unacceptable. Failure to acknowledge the use of
another writer's words or ideas constitutes plagiarism. Plagiarism is both unethical and
illegal. The use of professional
editing for student papers is also unacceptable, as is the use of
purchased
papers, which is also a form of plagiarism.
3.
A paper containing frequent errors in grammar, usage, spelling,
or
punctuation is unacceptable.
4.
A paper which does not appear to be
carefully done
is unacceptable. This includes
papers with ragged edges, typographical errors and strikeovers,
illegible
handwriting, stains, or smudges.
To achieve
acceptable writing standards,
students should purchase and use a good dictionary and a writing
handbook. Assistance in improving writing
skills
is available through regular courses in composition and from the
Writing Center,
which conducts writings workshops and provides advice and tutoring (but
not
editing). All students who wish to
improve their writing are encouraged to use these resources.
CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING
WRITING
Listed below
are some major factors that
differentiate good writing from poor writing.
This list may
help you identify particular
aspects of your writing that need improvement. For further assistance consult with
instructors who are familiar with your writing skills. Writing assistance is also available in
the Writing Center (CL 109).
1. PURPOSE
Is the purpose of your paper clear to the
audience?
Is the purpose appropriate to the
assignment and to the audience?
Is the purpose consistently maintained
throughout the paper?
2. CONTENT
Are the ideas in the paper interesting?
Do the ideas in the paper reflect
independent thought, a new approach, fresh
insights?
Is the writer actively engaged with the
topic?
3. ORGANIZATION
Are the ideas developed in a logical
order?
Is the organizational pattern clear to the
readers?
Is the discussion coherent? Are
transitional devices used
effectively to shift smoothly from one idea to another?
4. DEVELOPMENT
Are the major ideas adequately supported
with examples, specific details, and other kinds of
evidence?
Are the ideas presented in meaningful
paragraphs?
Is there a general sense of completeness
and closure?
5. WORDS: CHOICE AND ARRANGEMENT
Have clear, precise, and appropriate
words been selected?
Have cliches
been avoided?
Have the words been arranged into correct
and graceful sentences?
6. STYLE AND TONE
Is the style clear, lively, fluent?
Is the tone appropriate for the purpose
and audience?
Are the sentences varied in length and
structure?
Is there appropriate use of metaphor,
analogy, parallelism, and other rhetorical devices?
7. TECHNICAL
QUALITIES: MECHANICS
Does the writing conform to the
conventions of grammar, spelling, punctuation, and usage?
Is the format of the paper appropriate to
the assignment?
Has all material from other sources been
properly documented?
Has the paper been carefully proofread,
with all typos neatly corrected?