The best essays have a clear line of argument, and they present a thesis. In other words, they state a position, defend that position narrative college essay, and arrive at strong writing tutoring, clear conclusions. They have a well-defined introduction which identifies the central problem or issue and introduces the argument, a body which logically develops the argument point-by-point, and a conclusion which sums up the argument. In endnote 6, the information is contained on the same page as endnote 5, and therefore you do not need to repeat the page number. Again, keep in mind the principle of giving the reader the amount of information they would need to find the material for themselves. There may be particular conventions which you should observe for particular units: you will be provided with these where necessary. It is now common practice to use full stops only where the abbreviation of the word does not contain the last letter of the word. So, editor becomes ed. but editors becomes eds. Doctor is Dr, but Professor is Prof. Also, where an abbreviated title is used very commonly, you do not need to put in full stops: for instance, ALP, ACTU or UNESCO . Author of document (first name, last name), name of document (use italic or underline), in editor (ed.) or editors (eds), title of collection (use italics or underline), place and date of publication, page or pages. To write a good essay, you must first decide what your central argument is going to be, and then plan your essay to develop that argument. Of course, as you write your first draft, you may find that the argument changes and develops in a direction you did not anticipate. Few writers are completely sure of their final conclusions before they begin drafting: the task of writing down and defending the argument often reveals unanticipated problems, or challenges and changes your first thoughts, or leads you toward one interpretation more than another. Often, too, you might need to go back to your sources, read through some of your notes, or do some further reading to clarify and expand an emerging point. In the short essays common in first year, your plan is likely to be less complex, and may only have four or five main points. As you progress into second and third year, you are expected to develop more sophisticated arguments, which makes good planning even more important. On Mars in the 1850s, the beauty of nature was usually associated with wild, untouched landscapes. Painters rarely drew human figures. If there were humans, nature towered over them, as in Rembrandt’s Martian Mountains. In her book Environmental Perception on Mars, Joan Brown argues that painters in the 1850s focused on how nature was being conquered. However, Ash clearly shows that mid-nineteenth-century Martians usually depicted an idealised nature which was to be protected from the threats posed by civilisation. The desired outcomes of essays in first-year subjects include: helping you learn to argue your own position against other points of view; development of the conventions of good historical essay writing, such as rigorous documentation and footnoting; awareness of the variety of representations of the past; familiarity with the different ways historians use evidence; and the ability to recognise, analyse and summarise an historical argument. Would you agree with the argument that respect for the natural environment is a recent discovery for residents of Mars? Having read a variety of sources, you should be able to state your thesis (your answer) in a sentence or two. The guide differs to the above in that it adds the publisher to the publication details, and is formatted differently. For example: Historians often disagree on the importance or the meaning of events of evidence, or use different kinds of evidence to challenge and amend prior interpretations. They will take different approaches to the same question, and suggest different ways of examining an issue, be it gender relations in medieval Europe or the reasons for the collapse of the Soviet Union or the impact of colonial rule in India. What you will see, however, is that all of these writers state a position. They address a problem. They answer a real or implied question. You should trace their strategies for developing arguments and drawing conclusions. So: Tim Bonyhady, The Colonial Earth. Melbourne, 2000, p. 13. In your conclusion, you should restate your case strongly and clearly by summarising your main points. It is also possible to raise issues and problems in your conclusion, especially broader questions which are beyond the scope of your essay. You might reflect on what your interpretation implies for contemporary debates or discussions, write briefly about the broader historical implications of your position, or consider what your interpretations tells us about the role and nature of history itself. The following rules should help you through most situations. The absolute rule is to be consistent. Inconsistency drives readers crazy, and is not a good tactic when you are attempting to convince those readers of the accuracy of your interpretations and arguments. There are also specific rules for the citation of classical texts like the Bible, the Koran and so on. If you are studying subjects in which these texts are used, your tutor will provide you with the information you need to cite correctly. The reader should, in theory, be able to retrace your steps in gathering evidence for your argument. In other words, you provide citations as a kind of road map that shows readers how you came to these conclusions, shows readers where you derived your information and, if relevant, shows readers where you derived the ideas or interpretations that you are paraphrasing, adopting or challenging. Please note: for those following the MHRA Style Guide (see above), and are including the name of the publisher, a footnote reference would be styled like this example: It is also important to use accurate language samples of a good thesis statement, which is one good reason for using non-discriminatory language. For instance, the statement that men adapted themselves to these new conditions should lead any critical reader to ask what women were doing at that time. It is a reasonable and accepted convention that all forms of public communication, including journalism, business language and academic writing outlining an essay help, should use non-discriminatory language. There are at least five effective ways of improving your writing. Always read your own work. On Mars in the 1850s, the ‘beauty’ of nature was usually associated with wild, untouched landscapes. Painters rarely drew human figures. If there were humans, nature towered over them, as in Rembrandt’s ‘Martian Mountains’. 1 In her book Environmental Perception on Mars. Joan Brown argues that “painters in the 1850s focused on how nature was being conquered”. 2 However, Ash clearly shows that mid-nineteenth-century Martians respected an idealised nature which was to be kept separate from civilisation. 3 For example, a book containing the collected speeches of Charles de Gaulle is a primary source; an analysis of them by a political scientist or historian is a secondary source. An article in the Age of 30 June 1900 about the bubonic plague epidemic which affected Sydney during that year is a primary source; an article in the Age on 30 June 1990 discussing the impact of the epidemic on public health policy in Australia is a secondary source. Broadly, the primary or documentary sources are the raw material used by historians. the subject of your argument, while thesecondary or scholarly sources provide examples of how others have analysed and interpreted the problem or issue at hand. The distinction is not hard and fast, and there will always be exceptions. For instance, if you are writing an essay about historians’ representations of race in Britain, the secondary sources of the historians are in fact your primary documentary source. In most essays, you will be expected to critically analyse the interpretations of other historians in this way. In any event resume cover page, these different types of sources should both be read critically: analysed for their point of view, for the assumptions, ideas and understandings which inform them, and for the strategies writers use to advance their arguments. Don’t take anything on trust: be a critical reader of all kinds of sources and texts. and use your critical analysis of both primary and secondary sources in your essay. The desired outcomes of essays in second-year subjects include developing skills in the use of bibliographies and other reference material, critical reading, putting more independent thought and reflection into essays; greater understanding of documentary criticism and interpretation, and the critical analysis of secondary interpretations by other historians. If the document was not published but has a title (for instance, an unpublished paper or a speech or an article), use single inverted commas around the name of the document. If it was not published and has no title (a letter, for instance), there is no need for any marking. For instance: The general rule is that if the original source is available, you should go to and use that original source, rather than borrowing your evidence from another writer. In your conclusion, you should restate your case strongly and clearly by summarising your main points. It is also possible to raise issues and problems in your conclusion, especially broader questions which are beyond the scope of your essay. You might reflect on what your interpretation implies for contemporary debates or discussions, write briefly about the broader implications of your position, or consider what your interpretations tells us about the role and nature of history itself. Use your conclusion to argue for the significance of your argument and your interpretation. Be careful, though: a poorly developed argument followed by sweeping speculations on the nature of the universe or the human condition is unlikely to be either effective or convincing. Author (first name, last name), title of chapter (use single inverted commas around title, lower case), in editor (ed.) (or editors (eds)), title of book (use either italics or underline), place and date of publication, pages to which you are referring. No, it is difficult to draw a simple, general conclusion on this issue, as the evidence suggests that different groups of Martians have interpreted and viewed the environment very differently over time, and no clear trend is visible even now. Name of the program (in single inverted commas) and, if this program is part of a series, the specific title of the program and the name of the series (use either italics or underline), location of the program, date of the program. ‘The Reckoning’, The Frontier House. ABC Television, 27 April 2003. Eve Salisbury, ‘ “Spare the Rod and Spoil the Child”: Proverbial Speech Acts, Boy Bishop Sermons, and Pedagogical Violence’, in Speculum Sermonis. ed. by Georgiana Donavin, Cary J. Nederman, and Richard Utz (Turnhout: Brepols, 2004), pp. 141-55 (p. 153). E. Zinkhan, ‘Louisa Albury Lawson: feminist and patriot’, in D. Adelaide (ed.), A Bright and Fiery Troop. Melbourne, 1988, 27-8. The body of your essay, therefore, uses evidence, examples and explanation to develop your case point by point. Each paragraph has a point to make application for job letter example, and occasional summary sentences guide the reader through the argument. In general essay on winter vacation, use very little quotation from secondary or scholarly sources. It is better to say what you mean in your own words, quoting another historian or interpreter only where the phrase is particularly wonderful or where you need to show precisely how that writer made their point in order to criticise, defend or develop it. In all other cases, it is best to summarise. Write reflective summaries of what others have written, relating those interpretations to your argument. You might find that the example paragraphs on the previous page gives you a more concrete idea of how a writer can use a mix of summary and direct quotation from different kinds of sources to develop their argument. Friederich Engels, ‘The evils of capitalism’, in K. Kharkov (ed.), The Collected Speeches of Engels. Moscow, 1954, pp. 23-8. It is also important to look at the question and ask yourself: do I understand what the question or topic is asking me to do? Have I interpreted the question correctly? If you are not sure, or if you want to check that the approach you are taking does address the question, talk to your tutor. Essay topics are designed to draw on the subject content developed in lectures and tutorials help with computer programming assignments, and on reading you have completed. Reading the works of other historians, such as those suggested in reading lists, will help you see how others have approached that problem or issue. Phil Scraton, ‘Policing with Contempt: The Degrading of Truth and Denial of Justice in the Aftermath of the Hillsborough Disaster”, Journal of Law and Society. vol. 26, 1999, pp. 273-97, p. 275. Always ask yourself: If you are referring to normal newspaper writing (news of events, editorials, and so on), you need only provide the name of the newspaper and the date: Your essay should include a bibliography of all sources. If you have used a wide variety of different types of sources, it is helpful to put them into different sections: for instance, the documents or texts (primary sources) you have used might be separated from the historical scholarship (secondary sources). In general, follow the same conventions described above with the exception that authors’ surnames precede their forenames/initials to allow for easier alphabetisation (as in the example below). List your sources alphabetically within each section. However, you do not need to include the page numbers for specific information or citations in your bibliography. Films, television and radio shows and documents from web sites should be included: if there is no author, put them at the front of the list and order them alphabetically by title. Newspapers should be listed, but you do not need to provide the dates. Read your own work out loud. You do not need to comprehend the rules of grammar or the intricacies of syntax to know when something sounds clumsy, or when a sentence needs punctuation dissertation, or when a long paragraph has completely lost its drift. Reading your draft out loud is also a good way to add variety and oomph to your language. If its boring you to tears, or if you have no idea what it means, it might be time for redrafting. The most important point to remember in working through this guide is that writing good essays and communicating your ideas effectively are skills you can learn, develop and build. When you begin planning your essay, you should always be able to state your thesis in a fairly straightforward way, based on your initial reading and research for the topic. Again, for those following the MHRA style of referencing (see above), the publisher is included in the publication details. For example: John Kasson, Houdini, Tarzan, and the perfect man: the white male body and the challenge of modernity in America. New York, 2001, p. 231. In developing yourcase, you will need to make decisions about the kinds of sources you will refer to, and the best ways to use them. Sources can generally be defined into two broad types: primary or documentarysources (usually written at the time by an eyewitness, direct participant or close observer) secondary or scholarly sources (usually interpretations and explanations written after the fact by someone analysing the primary or documentary sources) In general, you need to provide sources for statements that are problematic or debatable in the context of your argument, or that a reasonably well-informed person would not be expected to know. Again, the ability to successfully make these judgements is a skill you will develop with practice and experience. Sojourner Truth, Narrative of Sojourner Truth, a Northern Slave, Emancipated from Bodily Servitude by the State of New York, in 1828 (1850), at http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/truth50/truth50.html, accessed 16 April 2003. Or if you are asked to explain the successes of a particular individual, again avoid writing the first thing that comes into your head. Think about possible successes. In so doing, you will automatically be presented with the problem of defining ‘success’. What does it really mean? Is it the achievement of one’s aims? Is it objective (a matter of fact) or subjective (a matter of opinion)? Do we have to consider short-term and long-term successes? If the person benefits from extraordinary good luck, is that still a success? This grappling with the problem of definition will help you compile an annotated list of successes, and you can then proceed to explain them, tracing their origins and pinpointing how and why they occurred. Is there a key common factor in the successes? If so, this could constitute the central thrust of your answer. The advice above is relevant to coursework essays. It’s different in exams, where time is limited. But even here, you should take time out to do some thinking. Examiners look for quality rather than quantity, and brevity makes relevance doubly important. If you get into the habit of thinking about the key issues in your course, rather than just absorbing whatever you are told or read, you will probably find you’ve already considered whatever issues examiners pinpoint in exams. There are an infinite number of ways to write an essay because any form of writing is a means of self-expression. Your essay will be unique because you are unique: it’s up to you to ensure that it’s uniquely good, not uniquely mediocre. It’s as well to keep in mind what you should not be doing. Do not introduce lots of fresh evidence at this stage, though you can certainly introduce the odd extra fact that clinches your case. Nor should you go on to the ‘next’ issue. If your question is about Hitler coming to power, you should not end by giving a summary of what he did once in power. Such an irrelevant ending will fail to win marks. Remember the point about answering ‘nothing but the question’? On the other hand, it may be that some of the things Hitler did after coming to power shed valuable light on why he came to power in the first place. If you can argue this convincingly, all well and good; but don’t expect the examiner to puzzle out relevance. Examiners are not expected to think; you must make your material explicitly relevant. You need to think for yourself and come up with a ‘bright idea’ to write a good history essay. You can of course follow the herd and repeat the interpretation given in your textbook. But there are problems here. First should i do my summer assignment, what is to distinguish your work from that of everybody else? Second do you get homework in college, it’s very unlikely that your school text has grappled with the precise question you have been set. If you’ve been arguing a case in the body of an essay, you should hammer home that case in the final paragraph. If you’ve been examining several alternative propositions, now is the time to say which one is correct. In the middle paragraph you are akin to a barrister arguing a case. Now, in the final paragraph, you are the judge summing up and pronouncing the verdict. Have a clear structure. When you come to write the body of the essay it is important that you have a clear structure to your argument and to your prose. If your essay drifts, loses focus, or becomes a narrative of events then you will find your grade dropping. Your introduction can help guide you if you have given a clear indication of the structure of your essay. [15] Through the next few pages we will cover a basic overview of the process while also pointing out some "do's and don'ts" of writing an historical essay. Writing an essay for history is not necessarily the same as it may be for an English class.
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