How to Write a History Essay (or an Asian Studies essay)

Please read through this advice before you begin work on your first essay. Then read it again, step by step, as you use it to help with the essay. Each stage of essay writing is discussed separately.

Begin by CHOOSING YOUR QUESTION..
...and working out a sensible time frame for the assignment. Do this within a day or two of the essay list being handed out. Essay questions will usually be given out at least three weeks before the essay is due. That does not mean you can afford to delay. Collecting material takes time, and books need to be reserved at the library. The best students start immediately by choosing a question and reserving books for later use. If the topic of the question interests you, but you find the wording of the question difficult, do not be put off. Talk it over with your tutor. It is better to write on a topic that interests you than choose a question because it looks easy.

UNDERSTANDING THE QUESTION
All the time that you are writing your essay, remember that you are being asked to do specific things with a specific topic. You are being asked, for instance, to explain, or assess, or evaluate, or account for, or discuss particular events, developments, or phenomena. You are not being asked to describe simply what happened in a particular historic period, or merely to demonstrate how many facts you can collect about a certain topic. The first step in writing an essay is therefore to decide: 
(a) what is the subject of the essay?
(b) what are you being asked to do with it? 

Analysing the question is the first step in essay writing, but you may find your initial response has to be modified or changed after you have done some reading. It is therefore important to be continually asking yourself if you have defined the topic correctly, and if you really understand what you are being required to do. Mis- interpreting the question is frequently the reason for a poor essay. This usually indicates that the student has not given sufficient thought to what was being asked.

Always start by marking out the ground covered by the question. Decide what countries, years, people, etc. need to be examined. For example, if a question asks about the foreign policies of the major European powers in the 1920s, which countries will you choose? When will the essay begin?, end?

Remember that you may have to consider periods, countries, individuals, etc. not actually specified in the question. This is especially so if evaluation is required, because the importance, success, or condition of one thing can be evaluated only by comparing it with others. A question asking whether race relations in New Zealand have deteriorated since 1950, for instance, would require some assessment of their state before then.

The instructions of essay questions will vary, but they will all require you to formulate an argument, or a point of view. You may be asked whether or not you agree with a certain statement, or be asked to 'discuss' that statement. For example, a question might say: 'Race relations in New Zealand have deteriorated since 1950. Discuss.' Your answer should state clearly that they have, or that they have not, or that they have at some times, or in some places, etc. That is an argument. You should support it with relevant, adequate, and logically organised evidence.

Questions requiring evaluation, examination, analysis, comparison, etc. will all call for an argument. Your argument will consist of the main points you have assembled. If the question should ask why the British Government followed a policy of appeasing Germany between 1937 and 1939, your argument could be that it was primarily because of Britain's military weakness, a general desire for peace, and the belief that Hitler's aims were limited. In the body of your essay you should provide the evidence for these reasons, evaluate their relative importance and perhaps consider (and reject) other possible reasons.

Every History essay you will write requires an argument

READING
(a) Once you have chosen a topic, compile a list of the books and articles you will need to read. Those most in demand will probably be on reserve in the Short Loan Collection. There may be others, however, which are available for borrowing. If so, you should take them out or reserve them immediately, since they will not be sitting on the shelves when you want them a week or two later.
(b) The order in which you read the books on your list may be determined by when you can get them. Ideally, though, you should start with a general text. Most of these are in the Short Loan Collection. Read the chapters most relevant to your topic and one or two on either side. They will give you a broad overview of the topic. Then proceed to more specialised books and articles which will contain more details, and possibly present varying interpretations.

Remember that historians differ from one another in the 'facts' they choose to write about, in their interpretation of them, and sometimes even in establishing what these 'facts' are. This is because differing interests, ideologies, research methods and techniques all influence the way an historian approaches a subject. The continual discovery or release of new historical material (such as government documents) and the revision and extension of historical techniques (like computer- based quantitative history) also ensure that no two works of history will be the same. Many authors deliberately set out to question or test a generally accepted interpretation which an earlier book has established. History is thus constantly being rewritten, and the range of historical interpretation is constantly expanding.

This diversity makes the study of history both challenging and rewarding. In particular, it means that you should:
(a) Select your reading carefully. In many cases there are one or two books which are considered absolutely central to the topic. If so, your tutors will point these out. Make sure you read them. Feel free to move beyond the reading lists issued by the History Department, but consult your tutor on works not included in these bibliographies. Be wary about relying on old textbooks which may be out of date or inaccurate, and be cautious about using 'popular' histories designed for coffee tables. Encyclopaedia entries supply basic information in a condensed form; they are useful in a few cases but only as a starting point for further research.
(b) Read widely, in order to avoid over- reliance on one or two historians only. On the other hand, you do not have time to read excessively. In many cases you will find a historian's argument summarised in an article or a few chapters of a book. You may even be able to find articles or books in which historians writing on the same subject have criticised each other's views. A good essay should show an awareness of historical debates. This awareness will help you to acquire a balanced and informed understanding of a topic, and eventually to reach your own conclusions.

TAKING NOTES
a) When you start each book or article, note the title, author, place and date of publication. You will need these details later. Also write the relevant page number in the margin as you take notes in case you wish to refer back to it later, or cite it in a footnote. It can save a lot of time.
(b) Don't copy books slavishly. Paraphrase, condense, and write as much as possible in your own words. This forces you to think more carefully about what the author is saying. If you do decide you need to copy directly from a book, be especially careful to note all bibliographic details, and to use some system (e.g. large quotation marks) to remind yourself when you return to your notes that the words are not your own. Careless note- taking can result in incorrect quotations, inaccurate footnotes, or plagiarism.
(c) What should you take notes about? Begin by considering your question. Lectures and tutorials may already have given you a rough idea of what information you are looking for. If not, you may save time by looking at a general text before you start note- taking. Most students take too many notes. Try to select what is relevant to the question you have been asked. If an important book was among the first you read, you may find it useful to return to it later when your understanding of the topic is clearer.
(d) How should you organise your notes? Once you have a tentative idea of what the main points of your answer will be you should reorganise your notes under separate headings (e.g. 'military factors', 'international pressures' etc.) Cross referencing can help remind you of differing historical opinion. The earlier you can begin organising your notes to fit the argument of your essay, the more work you will save yourself later.

PLANNING
When you have finished note- taking, your notes should be organised according to the main points of your essay. Always do this with the question in front of you. This is also the time to test the tentative argument and structure of the essay, before you write your first draft. Put down your main points in order of importance. Use complete sentences rather than single words. Your outline should not merely list points. There should be some reason behind your organisation. Does each point lead logically into the next? Do they add up to an argument? Is it convincing? Does it answer the question? Where are the gaps? You may, at this stage, need to collect some more material.

WRITING
Even experienced students find that writing an essay takes time. You should begin to write several days before the essay is due. Do not leave it until the night before.&
(a) If you have worked out your argument, and your notes are well organised, the writing process will be much easier. You can begin by writing up each section of notes into a paragraph or two, according to the importance of the point it is making, and the amount of evidence you are supplying. Arrange these paragraphs according to your essay plan. Each paragraph should represent a stage in your argument. When this first draft is completed, re- examine the entire argument and structure. You may still need to rearrange some material.&
(b) You now need to introduce and conclude your essay. In general, the introduction should capture your reader's interest and indicate the direction of your argument. Make sure your introduction directly relates to the question you have been asked, and be careful that it is not unnecessarily long.
(c) Cohesion: You may have written the paragraphs of your essay separately as you covered each point in your plan. Now they need to be linked together to form an argument. This is basically what is meant by 'structure'. A few words may be all that is needed to see that one paragraph follows smoothly on from the one before: for example, 'On the other hand, some historians have argued that ...' or 'The British Prime Minister had not, however, considered ...'
(d) Style: Short words and sentences make the most impact. Avoid slang or emotive language. Don't use 'I' unless your opinion has been specifically called for. Keep a dictionary beside you as you write the final draft to check for spelling errors, and then read the finished essay aloud to yourself to ensure that it reads smoothly and makes sense. Spelling mistakes distract attention from your argument, and poor grammar may completely obscure it. Ideally the essay should be finished with a few days to spare, so that you can return to it 'fresh' for a final check before handing it in.
(e) Length: The stated word limit is a useful guide as to how much detail to include. Generally you can allow yourself 100- 200 words on either side but if you are very much too short, you have probably not read enough, or may have interpreted the question too narrowly. A long essay may have irrelevant material, or be poorly expressed.
(f) Quotations can add authority and interest to your essay. You can profitably quote from an historian who supports your argument, or who summarises it better than you ever could. But such quotations must be short and pithy; don't use quotations as 'padding' or simply to avoid putting a point of view in your own words.
Another kind of quotation is from primary sources (i.e. documents, newspapers, remarks by people at the time you are studying). These can give vitality and force to your essay, but again keep them short. Unwanted material in the middle of a passage you wish to use can be deleted with the substitution of three dots, providing the meaning of the sentence is not changed.

The conclusion rounds off your argument by briefly summarising the main points and showing why they have led you to this particular answer to the essay question. You should not introduce new material, repeat the introduction, or simply list your points with no particular emphasis. Your conclusion may be tentative, or qualified, if you consider that the information available still leaves some questions unanswered. But you must come to some sort of conclusion. This is an essential part of your essay, representing the final stage of your argument.

You are now able to concentrate on how your essay should look when it is handed in. For information regarding presentation, please refer to the History Department Handbook.