History 1080: STYLE GUIDE

Writing is communication, and the first step to writing a good paper is to organize your thoughts. The introduction is the most important part of the paper, since that is where you introduce your thesis and first engage the reader. You should also think carefully about the structure of the entire paper, and present your main points in a logical sequence (eg, in chronological order or following the structure of your primary source). Most history papers also follow certain conventions, which are listed below:

FOLLOW A LOGICAL STRUCTURE:

• State your argument (thesis) early in the paper, probably in the first or second paragraph.
• Organize your paragraphs so that each paragraphs is built around one major idea
• Use topic sentences to state the paragraph's main idea and move your overall argument forward.
• Use the first and/or last sentence(s) of paragraphs for transitions. Good transition sentences are like a road map: they tell your readers where they have been and where they're heading now.
• The conclusion should not simply summarize what you have already said, but clarify its significance. Avoid introducing new ideas or information in the conclusion.

WRITE CLEARLY AND WELL

• Use precise language: avoid generalizations and, where necessary, define your terms.
• Use tenses correctly, eg: Harriet Jacobs describes her escape from slavery, but Jacobs escaped from slavery.
• Use gender-neutral language (plurals come in handy here!).
• Use modern terms (eg African American, not Negro), even if your sources do not -- or explain your decision to use older, possibly offensive terms (eg, feebleminded) in a footnote or endnote.
• Write in the active voice: "The professor assigned a paper,” not "A paper was assigned by the professor."
• Avoid run-on sentences. Overly long sentences can usually be split into two or more sentences.
• Avoid dangling clauses. Make sure that a subordinate clause refers to the word or words immediately preceding or following them. For example, write: “Students taking this course, which meets on Wednesdays, can write well,” instead of “This course’s students, which meets on Wednesdays, can write well.”

USE QUOTATIONS WISELY

• Quotations should contain the exact words found in the original.
• Quotations should be used sparingly; for the most part, they should illustrate your point, not make it for you.
• Quotations of fewer than four lines should remain in the text and be enclosed in quotation marks. “The quotation marks come after the period.”
• Quotations of four lines or more should be set off from the main text and indented.
• All quotations should be properly cited.

FOLLOW A CONSISTENT METHOD OF CITATION
Historians usually use endnotes or footnotes following the Chicago Manual of Style. Most of the assigned reading for the course follows this style, and you can use their notes as a guide. In general, notes should come at the end of a sentence or paragraph, even if the quotation is in the middle of a sentence.

The first time you refer to a book, list the full bibliographical information (including the author’s first name. Subsequent references need only the author’s name or a shortened version of the title.

Please view the word document for examples.

For subsequent references to the same source, use “Ibid.” if the source was cited in the previous note. Otherwise, use the author’s surname or a shortened version of the title, eg. Ladd-Taylor, 5-6 OR "NSC 68.”