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A Student Guide to Writing a History Paper The first thing that you may ask is why write papers at all? Writing is an invaluable part of the educational process, because writing forces you to take your knowledge of a subject, and organize it all into a coherent and concise presentation. Furthermore, it forces you to dig deeper and uncover interesting information about a person or event that might otherwise be mentioned during instructional time. There is another practical reason why you should write well. After you graduate, many of those with whom you will have contact in your professional life will judge you and your work based upon your writing. Whatever career path you choose, you will have to write letters, reports, speeches, proposals, etc., that others will read before they ever hear the sound of your voice. These individuals will develop their first and often lasting impression of you based on your writing skills. Writing is a skill and like any skill is fine-tuned through practice. When you write history papers, use this as a guide and it will improve your final product. ________________________________________________________________________ Thesis Statement Before you start writing your paper, develop a carefully constructed thesis. Every paper must have a thesis. Your thesis should be stated clearly in the introduction of the paper so the reader is not left to wonder just what argument you are making. If you cannot say what you want in one or two sentences, then your thesis is probably to broad. The thesis statement does not have to be in the first sentence of your paper (although it can be) but it should appear somewhere on the first page. In the paragraph that contains your thesis, you should also mention the sort of evidence that you are going to use to offer support for the body of your paper, your argument, and how your topic fits into a broader context of history. Body of the Paper Once you have a clear introduction for your paper, you must elaborate on the argument that you are pursuing. Discuss relevant facts, arguments, and counter-arguments and explain why you think your thesis is correct. Early in the paper you should place your topic in its proper historical context. Go back into the history of your topic only so far as that background is relevant to your argument. Also, do not spend too much time on other people's arguments.