Guidelines for History Research Essays

Research paper topic - History Of Chinese Opium Wars

Research paper topic - History Of Chinese Opium Wars

These guidelines are intended to aid students in the preparation of the final draft of an essay and, as such, they are not a complete manual on style. For more detailed and comprehensive advice you are referred to the Chicago Manual of Style, which is available on-line through the library. Students may also refer to a more general writing manuals or one of the manuals of style specifically focused on writing in history (see below). Students should also be aware that the Writing Centre in SN-2053 works with students to improve their writing skills. For information on footnotes and bibliography you may also consult the History Department’s Sample Footnote and Bibliography Forms for History Research Essays.

You should prepare your essay carefully. Stay true to the topic or themes posed by your instructor. Brainstorm with a friend or jot down some comments to help you choose a topic or to get the essay started if you have already chosen one. Your essay must have a clear argument or thesis, and it should reflect your reading and understanding of the main course texts, as well as your comprehension of the main themes of the course as reflected in your other research. Please remember, when you make points in the essay that are not your own you should cite the source, even if you do not quote explicitly from it.

Write an outline of your answer to help organize your thoughts, but remember that it can always be revised if you discover something more interesting. Begin with a rough draft, which you should revise into the first draft; review this for content, structure, and spelling, as part of preparing the final draft, which you should then submit. Quotations may be used, but if you use a quotation please explain what it means in your own words.

A good essay will have:

• a clearly defined thesis statement which is supported throughout the paper by providing evidence, examples, and arguments drawn from the texts

• a formal introduction or introductory paragraph which tells the reader exactly what the layout of the paper will be (almost a paraphrase of the outline)

• clear conceptual divisions that correspond to what you have promised to do in the introduction, and

• a conclusion which sums up what you have done and then ties it together in way that is more definitive than the introduction

Quotations should be used sparingly and only for good reasons. Usually it is better to condense and summarize material in your own words than to quote it.

Use a quotation if and only if: 1) what you quote is going to be textually analyzed; 2) what is said is dramatic; 3) you are illustrating an argument; or 4) what is said is particularly well-put. In sum, do not use a quotation for facts which are general knowledge, or for things that in no way add to your text. Essays should be essentially “your own work”; hence, our opening advice: “quotations should be used sparingly.”

Reference style - Chicago manual style ( Footnotes must) Number of sources - Minimum 4 It is a research essay, required in Chicago style, so Bibliography and proper footnotes required as well. (For more clarification regarding references and footnotes please go through the attached file.)