Writing History

William Kelleher Storey is Professor of History at Millsaps College. Formerly Preceptor in Expository Writing at Harvard University, he is the author of The First World War: A Concise Global History, Second Edition (2014), Guns, Race, and Power in Colonial South Africa (2008), and Science and Power in Colonial Mauritius (1997).

Preface ; Introduction ; 1. GETTING STARTED ; 1.A. Explore Your Interests ; 1.B. Find a Historical Motive ; 1.C. Focus Your Interests Early ; 1.D. Work with Bibliographies ; 1.E. Search Preselected Databases on the Internet ; 1.F. Use Reference Sources to Begin a Project ; 1.G. Conduct a General Search on the Internet ; 1.H. Scan the Search Results ; 1.I. Get a Quick First Impression ; 1.J. Critically Assess Sources on the Internet ; 1.K. Speak with a Librarian ; 1.L. Speak with Your Professor ; 1.M. Approach Your Topic from a Particular Angle ; 1.N. Browse for More Sources ; 1.O. Form a Hypothesis ; 1.P. Craft a Proposal ; 1.Q. Write an Annotated Bibliography ; 1.R. Talk to People about Your Topic ; 1.S. If You Have to Abandon a Topic, Do It Early ; Flowchart Chapter 1: Constructing an Argument Based on Sources ; 2. INTERPRETING SOURCE MATERIALS ; 2.A. Distinguish Primary Sources from Secondary Works ; 2.B. Refine Your Hypothesis with Who, What, Why, Where, and When ; 2.C. Be Sensitive to Points of View in Your Sources ; 2.D. Select the Most Important Source Materials ; 2.E. Take Notes by Being Selective ; Flowchart Chapter 2: Taking Notes ; 3. WRITING HISTORY FAITHFULLY ; 3.A. Collect and Report Your Sources Carefully ; 3.B. Incorporate the Ideas of Others with Care and Respect ; 3.C. Know the Difference between Summaries and Paraphrases ; 3.D. Learn How and When to Quote ; 3.E. Use Ellipses and Brackets, but Do Justice to Your Sources ; 3.F. Learn How to Use Quotation Marks ; 3.G. Don't Plagiarize ; 3.H. Be Honest, but Don't Give Unnecessary Citations ; 3.I. Choose a Citation System That Suits Your Audience ; Exercise: How to Cite ; 4. USE SOURCES TO MAKE INFERENCES ; 4.A. Be True to Recognized Facts ; 4.B. Transform Facts into Evidence ; 4.C. Check Your Facts ; 4.D. Check the Internal Consistency of Primary Sources ; 4.E. Check Primary Sources Against Each Other ; 4.F. Compare Primary Sources with Secondary Works ; 4.G. Conduct Interviews Systematically ; 4.H. Compare Sources to Make Inferences ; 4.I. Make Inferences from Visual and Material Sources ; 4.J. Move from Inferences to Arguments ; 4.K. Make Reasonable Inferences from Your Sources ; 4.L. Make Inferences That Are Warranted ; 4.M. Avoid Unwarranted Comparisons ; 4.N. Avoid Anachronistic Inferences ; Flowchart Chapter 4: Understanding Sources ; 5. GET WRITING! GET ORGANIZED ; 5.A. Craft a Thesis Statement ; 5.B. Create a Draft Outline of an Analytical Essay ; 5.C. Create a Draft Outline of a Narrative Essay ; 5.D. Complete Your Outline ; 5.E. Start to Write a First Draft ; 5.F. Grab Your Reader's Attention, but Do It Gently ; 5.G. State Your Intellectual Interests Early ; 5.H. Review the Historical Literature ; 5.I. Build Your Essay with Good Paragraphs ; 5.J. Define Your Key Terms Early ; 5.K. Set an Appropriate Tone ; 5.L. Treat Other Writers with Consideration ; 5.M. Account for Counterarguments ; 5.N. Lead Your Readers to an Interesting Conclusion ; Flowchart Chapter 5: Writing Your First Draft ; 6. NARRATIVE TECHNIQUES FOR HISTORIANS ; 6.A. Combine Chronology with Causation ; 6.B. Get a Sense of Change and Continuity ; 6.C. Select the Key Participants in Your Story ; 6.D. Find Your Own Voice as a Narrator ; 6.E. Choose Your Own Beginning and End ; 6.F. Write a Narrative with Well-Chosen Details ; 6.G. Write a Narrative to Support an Argument ; Flowchart Chapter 6: Representing the Past ; 7. WRITING SENTENCES IN HISTORY ; 7.A. Choose Verbs That Are Precise ; 7.B. Make Passive Sentences Active ; 7.C. Write in the Past Tense ; 7.D. Avoid Split Infinitives If You Can ; 7.E. Put Verbs in Your Sentences ; 7.F. Put Your Ideas in an Intelligible Order ; 7.G. Begin a Sentence on Common Ground and Gradually Build a New Point ; 7.H. Place the Emphasis at the End ; 7.I. Construct Parallel Forms for Emphasis ; 7.J. Form the Possessive Correctly ; 7.K. Break the Rules If You Must ; 8. CHOOSE PRECISE WORDS ; 8.A. Be Concise ; 8.B. Write in Language That Your Audience Can Understand ; 8.C. Avoid Pretentious Language ; 8.D. Avoid Colloquial Language ; 8.E. Be Sensitive to the Politics of Diction ; 8.F. Be Sensitive to Gender-Specific Language ; 8.G. Avoid Euphemisms ; 8.H. Choose Figurative Language Carefully ; 8.I. Use Metaphors and Similes Judiciously ; 8.J. Use Color, but Avoid Cliches ; 8.K. Use Foreign Words That Are Familiar to Your Audience ; 8.L. Check for These Common Diction Problems ; 9. REVISING AND EDITING ; 9.A. Get Some Perspective on Your Draft ; 9.B. Work with a Peer Editor ; 9.C. Revise Your Draft ; 9.D. Evaluate Your Own Arguments and Narratives ; 9.E. Evaluate Your Sentences and Word Choices ; 9.F. Proofread the Final Draft ; 9.G. Keep the Rules in Mind, but Enjoy Your Writing ; Flowchart Chapter 9: Writing Your Final Draft ; Notes ; Answers for Exercise: How to Cite ; Index