Content
1. State a thesis. This is a clear point of view or argument that you want to demonstrate to the reader. Avoid over-generalized theses like "things changed from the nineteenth to the twentieth centuries" or "the peasantry were always important in Europe." Be specific, interesting, and clear.
2. Go to the texts for evidence.
a. These papers focus on your analysis of the primary sources or other books used in the course. Textbooks should only be used to fill in historical detail or background where appropriate; they are never the main source of your analysis.
b. Use specific examples from the texts to support
your points. You may use short quotes or describe the examples you are
using. If you use a quote, be sure to explain to the reader why the quote
illustrates your point.
3. Write a conclusion. Most student papers end with
a simple summary of the paper. A genuine conclusion pushes the paper toward
a final, broad analytical point.
Structure
1. Write an outline. This will prevent you from wandering aimlessly once you begin writing the text.
2. Use the paragraph as the main unit of composition. Each paragraph should express a clear idea that leads to the next paragraph. If you have a paragraph that goes on for much more than half a page, you are mixing up ideas without digesting them. A paragraph of only one or two sentences is an undeveloped thought that needs support.
3. Make your transitions clear. Papers that shift abruptly from one
thought to the next are usually using "implied transitions." The reader
shouldn't have to read the writer's mind and fill in the blanks; state
clearly the links that you are making between ideas. The use of the words
"thus," "therefore," or "however" to start a paragraph is usually a sign
that the writer hasn't really thought up a transition, and is trying to
pull the wool over the reader's eyes.
Mechanics
1. Footnoting: You must give credit to your sources. This means creating a footnote not only when using a direct quote from a text, but also when using ideas, arguments, or facts from someone else's work. Not to do so is plagiarism.
The basic format for a footnote or endnote is as follows:
First citation of a work:
Menetra, Jacques. Journal
of My Life (New York: Columbia University Press, 1986): 36.
Following citations of the same work:
Menetra, Journal, 45.
2. Grammar, usage, writing: I would refer you to a very short, very
inexpensive, and very useful paperback guide, Strunk and White's The
Elements of Style. You can't go wrong using this book, and it will
answer almost every question about commonly confused words and writing
problems.
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