Don’t push the distinction too far, but you might think of summary and analysis this way: Who, what, when, and where are the stuff of summary how, why, and to what effect are the stuff of analysis. Historical analysis is critical it evaluates sources, assigns significance to causes, and weighs competing explanations. Historical analysis digs beneath the surface to see relationships or distinctions that are not immediately obvious. In a broader sense, historical analysis explains the origins and significance of events. If you analyze water, you break it down into hydrogen and oxygen. What does it mean to analyze? In the narrow sense, to analyze means to break down into parts and to study the interrelationships of those parts. Students are often puzzled when their professors mark them down for summarizing or merely narrating rather than analyzing. Your reader should always know where your argument has come from, where it is now, and where it is going. Develop your thesis logically from paragraph to paragraph. (“Who was responsible for the famine in Ireland in the 1840s?”) Once you have laid out your thesis, don’t forget about it. A good thesis answers an important research question about how or why something happened. “The English were responsible for famine in Ireland in the 1840s” is a thesis (whether defensible or not is another matter). “Famine struck Ireland in the 1840s” is a true statement, but it is not a thesis. Ask yourself, “What exactly am I trying to prove?” Your thesis is your take on the subject, your perspective, your explanation-that is, the case that you’re going to argue. Don’t just repeat the assignment or start writing down everything that you know about the subject. Whether you are writing an exam essay or a senior thesis, you need to have a thesis. For example, you might go on to argue that greater British sensitivity to Indian customs was hypocritical. Here’s a better start: “The rebellion in 1857 compelled the British to rethink their colonial administration in India.” This sentence tells the reader what your paper is actually about and clears the way for you to state your thesis in the rest of the opening paragraph. If you are writing a paper on, say, British responses to the rebellion in India in 1857, don't open with a statement like this: “Throughout human history people in all cultures everywhere in the world have engaged in many and long-running conflicts about numerous aspects of government policy and diplomatic issues, which have much interested historians and generated historical theories in many areas.” This is pure garbage, bores the reader, and is a sure sign that you have nothing substantive to say. Making Sure your History Paper has Substance Get off to a good start.Īvoid pretentious, vapid beginnings. You have no clear thesis and little analysis.

You write too much in the passive voice.ġ. You are vague or have empty, unsupported generalizations.ĥ. You have written a careless “one-draft wonder.” (See revise and proofread)Ħ. You engage in cheap, anachronistic moralizing.ħ. (Drawn from a survey of the History Department)ġ0. Top Ten Reasons for Negative Comments on History Papers Common Marginal Remarks on Style, Clarity, Grammar, and Syntax.Making Sure your History Paper has Substance.Top Ten Reasons for Negative Comments on History Papers.

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