Historical Writing

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Historical Writing
I. Sources --expectations for
professional history -Journal length -all
sources available -all credible interpretations
-as primary as possible -cite virtually
everything
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II. Expectations for Students

• -best sources available
• --variety
• --most credible
• --as primary as possible
• -encyclopedias
• -minimum and beyond

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Note Taking

• III. Writing drafts
• -outline
• -writers block/spit it out
• -tinker, tinker, tinker
• -time and perspective

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IV. Organizational structure

• --initial inspiration/it may likely change
• --two types
• -chronological/everything in the order that
  what youre writing about is in
• -topical/ group everything into topical
  categories

IV.
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IV. Organizational structure

• --initial inspiration/it may likely change
• --two types
• -chronological/everything in the order that
  what youre writing about is in
• -topical/ group everything into topical
  categories

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-example

• Gulf War
• -order by sequential occurrence

• Gulf War
• -causes or motivation
• -tactics
• -regional
• -equipping soldiers
• -public reaction

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-Introduction --dont broadcast where youre
going or what you intend to do in the
body --provide background --address previous
interpretations if you intend to refute them
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-body --this is where you lay out the core of
youre evidence, details, chronology,
story -conclusion --dont just repeat things
from the body, even if you state them in
different words --state a conclusion if you have
one --reveal the outcome, the consequences, the
results --hint of whats to follow
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V. The mechanics of writing

• -sentence types
• --simple
• -I made a mistake by not coming to class.

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Compound

• I threw the ball, and John hit it.
• Common Connecting Words
• -and
• -but
• -or

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Less common connecting words -so
-however -for
-while -therefore - whereas
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Complex

• For lunch I ate at a very nice Mexican
  restaurant, which is on the other side of town.

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Compound/Complex

• I did not study for the class, so I flunked it,
  which made my parents very angry.

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Common Clause Openers

• -after
• -while
• -since
• -because
• -when

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Flow, continuity, transition

• -the ideal flow of logic/transitions
• --big picture
• -between sections of your paper
• --microcosmic level
• -between paragraphs and sentences
• --how achieved?
• -sentences
• --transition words

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-however -consequently
-therefore -thereafter
-subsequently -In addition -also
-As a result -Insofar
-similarly -likewise
-whereas
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Passive vs. Active Voice

• -the ideal
• --vast majority of verbs active
• -how to identify passive/active
• --helping verbs
• -examples
• --John hit the ball.
• --The ball was hit by John.
• --A number of rooms were reserved by Judy.
  Judy reserved a number of rooms

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Action Verbs/ Verbs of being

• -Action verbs
• -Verbs of being
• --was
• --were
• --had
• --had been

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Examples

• -John was nervous.
• -Peter and Sally were great athletes.
• -Team members were nervous about the upcoming
  game.
• -The group was silent when they heard the news.

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Word Repetition

• -why its important
• -tactics for avoiding repetition
• --names
• -pronouns
• -descriptive references
• -restructuring a sentence

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Economy of Words

• -state your point clearly just once
• -avoid anything not essential
• -examples of common wordy expressions
• --the fact that I have arrived
• --owing to the fact that
• --in a hasty manner
• --this is a subject that
• --the question as to whether

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Grab-bag of Other Matters

• -positive vs. negative form
• --failed to remember
• --did not pay any attention to
• --He was not very often on time
• -specific, clear, and concise expression
• --A period of unfavorable weather set in.
• --He did not think that studying Latin was a
  sensible way to use ones time.
• -parallel construction
• --in series in spring, summer, and in the fall
• --correlative expressions It was both a long
  ceremony and very tedious. My objections are,
  first, that the injustice of the measure, second
  that it is unconstitutional.
• -tense

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XII. A few of the most common
problems -run-on-sentences -sentence
fragments -commas and clauses -pronoun/ant
ecedent agreement. --When the state takes
a bite out of your income, they ought to
tell you why. --The committee fought over
what rules they should
follow. --He attempts to deduce what the
common person thought from their common
writings. --The team lined up for their
vaccinations
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XIII. Capital vs. Lower-case

• -Cap any word or phrase that is the full,
  official title of something or if a title has
  become official after a long period of its
  being used as if it was official.