The Herbert Norman Incident: An Event in Canadian Cold War History

Canada's history can be divided into two periods: the pre-Contact period and the Contact period. Write an essay on a topic that lies entirely within the pre-Contact period.

Topic: The Herbert Norman Incident: An Event in Canadian Cold War History

Writing a History Essay

A common type of assignment in a History class is to write an Essay. Research and writing enable students to develop in-depth knowledge of a topic.  Essays teach to think analytically about historical events, to develop answers to questions that emerge and to present evidence to support the argument they have formed. In short, History Essays are a part of learning to “do History.” They are an early step toward becoming an historian.

As well, writing History Essays develops specific academic skills: the ability to read, to analyze, to make an independent judgement, to organize a coherent argument based on evidence and to develop a literate writing style.

The task of writing a History paper can at first seem overwhelming. However, breaking it down into five general steps makes it more manageable and understandable.

• Choose a topic that interests you and do some general introductory reading on the subject. Read a few pages in some introductory sources to develop an overall familiarity with the topic. 
  
  
• Identify and locate several more detailed sources. The quality of the sources is very important. Read as widely as possible. Make some notes as you read. In this way you will become knowledgeable about the topic and begin to understand it and think critically about it. A solid knowledge of the subject leads to a good Essay.
  
  
• Plan the Essay. What will it be about? What approach will you take? What will be the scope of the Essay? Where will you begin, and where will you end? What points will you develop and in what order? Construct a detailed outline. The organization of the Essay is very important. One point should flow logically to the next.
  
  
• Write a rough draft. Make it as complete and as correct as possible, although it can be revised considerably later. Pay careful attention to writing style and use of correct English.
  
  
• Revise the rough draft and prepare a final copy. Proof read carefully. Eliminate errors. Revision should aim at correcting errors, improving style and, if necessary, making some changes in the organization of the Essay.

• As a general rule use the past tense. Always try the past tense first. Usually the past tense should be used. Thus:  The Second World War in Europe began in 1939. Do not use begins,or was beginningor would begin or did begin.
• Do not use overly long sentences. They lead to trouble.  Remember this general point: The longer a sentence the more likely it is that it will be unclear or contain an error. Usually it is better to write two shorter and clear sentences.
• Avoid unnecessary words and flowery language. A basic rule of good writing is: If you can cross out words without changing what you want to say, cross them out.