General Description
Produce an approximately 750 word essay (the word count excludes the Notes and Bibliography) about your findings from researching a topic of your own creation.
The Topic
First, create a research question about a very narrow topic that falls within the parameters of the course.
One method of achieving analysis is to have the essay revolve around a single question. Devise a working topic using a helpful phrase like, “Why did…?” “What was the role of…?” “What was the effect of…?” “What caused…?” “For what reasons did…?” This question can also be an effective guide in the conduct of your research. The question should be clear and narrowly focused. Over the course of your research, it is possible that your question will be refined somewhat. This “new” version of your question can become the core of what your essay seeks to explore.
Here are a very few examples of questions one might devise as essay topics, intended to give you some sense of the scope and focus I have in mind for a research question. No, you may not take these questions for yourself!:
What were British policy responses to the Irish famine, and what was the impact of these policies?
What role did quinine play in the European conquest of Africa?
What impact did the socialist movement in Germany have on the role and status of German working-class women?
For what reasons were Russian serfs emancipated?
Political, Social, Military, Cultural, Intellectual, Environmental, Gender, Technological, Biographical or Material History–to name a few–are all fair game!
An “Historiographical” topic is viable; here you would directly investigate the way(s) in which an historian or historians has/have interpreted the past.
The McKay textbook is a rich source of individual topics (and also contains some primary documents – see below about Sources).
Think about what you genuinely want to know about this period. This can lead you into the position of truly being a “researcher”–one who is seeking to “find out.”
The Research
Then, consult a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 6 sources for your research. These sources are:
- 2 or 3 relevant specialized, scholarly, secondary sources. If you’re unsure about what a secondary source is, then you’ll have to look into that. Some books and journal articles, for example, will fill the bill. Some websites might be suitable, but they must have the hallmarks of scholarly, peer-reviewed work.
- 2 or 3 primary sources (document or image). If you’re unsure about what a primary source is, then you’ll have to look into that.
None of the following are appropriate major sources for an academic essay: an encyclopedia, a course textbook, instructor’s lectures, (many) internet sites.
The Essay
Then, prepare an essay of approximately 750 words that presents your research findings/answers your question, and that includes citation of your source(s). Your short essay
must be structured and written in such a way that you present a focused, coherent, logically organized, and evidence-based discussion. Your findings should also reflect the fact that most things in history are interpretive (on the basis of evidence) and highly debated. In other words, reporting that “Prussian nobles were highly conservative” isn’t necessarily wrong, because many historians argue that. But others argue otherwise, so you’ll need to somehow suggest, in the limited time you have, that your statement is an interpretive one, not an absolute fact.
Your aim is for the essay to appear as a scholarly/academic undergraduate history essay. Some of the hallmarks of academic essays are described in the “Submission Criteria for the Essay,” found below. Perhaps these samples of academic history essays will also help:
Essay Documentation
Your essay must use Endnotes or Footnotes for any sources that you quote from, or that you draw from extensively in the form of paraphrasing.
Produce a Bibliography – a list of sources consulted in the research for your essay — that conforms to the standards of the Chicago Manual of Style Documentary-Note/Humanities style.
Documentation (the citation of your sources in the form of Footnotes or Endnotes, and a Bibliography) must follow The Chicago Manual of Style’s Notes and Bibliography
System. See “Some Information about Documenting Sources” in the ULearn Assignment Instructions Module, or follow those same here:
There are many ways of accessing information about the Chicago style. These include…
• The University Department of History Essay Writing and Style Guide is an introduction to the Chicago method. Chicago is currently in its 17th edition but the Department Style Guide was
based on the 14th edition: techniques from the 14th-17th editions are acceptable.
Submission Criteria for the Essay: Read Carefully
- Essay style must follow The Chicago Manual of Style’s Notes and Bibliography System
- Do not include a Table of Contents or essay outline. Do not divide the essay with topic headings.
- Think of an interesting, but informative, title.
- Footnotes may appear at the bottom of each page, or as endnotes on a separate sheet(s)
of paper immediately following the body of the essay.
- A “Bibliography” is required. This is a list of all works consulted.
- A history essay should avoid use of the first person “I.”
- A history essay is in most instances best written in the simple past tense.
- Make a copy of your finished work (whether electronic, hard copy, or both), to insure against loss.
- All components of the Essay (title page, body, references) should be contained in a single file/document.
- Do not submit work that is not paginated or is mis-paginated.
Grading Criteria for the Essay
presentation (neatness, correct format) documentation (bibliography and notes) style (grammar, spelling, organization…) research quality
content (a coherent discussion relevant to the question you pose, effectively supported by credible, relevant and adequate evidence)
