Semester Historical Essay Assignment
History and writing are inseparable! You cannot have one without the other and we
cannot know history well unless we write about it. Writing allows us to arrange events and our
thoughts, study our work, weed out contradictions, get names and places right, and question
interpretations, our own and those of other historians.1 History is a story and stories are told in
two distinct forms, oral (the spoken word) and written. While these two formats are very
different they are both important to history, they both help shape and inform the other when it
comes to historical arguments. For this project you will be focusing on history as told in the
written word. The purpose of this project is to help you gain a better understanding of how
history is recorded, written and interpreted. You will be the historian and I want to hear your
voice on the topic you choose, I want it to come through the written page loud and clear.
Writing is a step by step process and because of this we will be spending a good deal of
the semester examining the steps a good historian takes when writing about history. We will be
looking at what I call the basic five of good historical writing, they are:
1. Good historical essays are sharply focused on a limited topic
2. Historical essays should have a clearly stated argument
3. Historical essays are built, step by step, on carefully acknowledged evidence
4. Historical essays reflect the dispassionate thoughts of the author
5. Historical essays are clearly written with an intended audience in mind2
We will take an in-depth look at each of these elements as the semester progresses and take each
part of the historical essay and break it into step by step instructions to build a solid structure as
the end product.
I want this project to be a spring board to greater, higher, broader, and deeper thinking.
Too often we only scratch the surface of history and by only seeing the surface we fail to grasp
the importance of history for today. This project asks for you to go beyond the surface and
discover the deep places in history. I want for you to ask deeper questions, strike deeper into the
heart of history, I want for you to go beyond the multiple choice answers; I want history to come
alive as you seek the answers to your historical questions.
Together I know that this will be a fascinating journey of historical discovery that will
help inform, sharpen and focus your mind not only for history but for other areas in your life. So
with that being said let's get to work, below you will find the general guidelines and
requirements for the semester long historical essay project. I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO
SOME WONDERFUL HISTORICAL WORK!
Note: I have used some Chicago style footnotes below; this is what you will be using for your
essay.
1
Marius, Richard and Page Melvin. A Short Guide to Writing About History (New York: Person Education, Inc.
2012) p. 5.
2
Marius, Richard and Page Melvin. A Short Guide to Writing About History (New York: Person Education, Inc.
2012). These five principles I have adapted from the above book. This is an excellent book and it is available for
reference from Mr. Johnson.
Required Elements of the Paper
Remember, we will be going over each of the various aspects and requirements of the essay in
various class meetings during the semester. I will also be booking the library for work days
throughout the semester.

Formatting
1. Length of the paper needs to be at a the minimum 5 pages double spaced
2. The formatting for this essay will be Chicago style format which is the preferred
format for historical writing. I have included a small example at the beginning of
this paper but will be spending some class time on this format.
3. 12 point Times New Roman font used throughout the paper
4. Chicago style bibliography
5. Page numbers

Citations
1. You will be required to include at a minimum two primary sources and four
secondary sources for the essay, for a total of six sources
2. Include, at a minimum, two direct quotations from each of your primary sources
and at least two from your secondary sources
3. Include all of your examined sources in the bibliography for your paper
4. See Chicago style for proper formatting of these quotations

Topic
1. You will be required to pick a topic for your essay. Your choice of a topic is
limited to the historical periods covered in class, roughly 1900-present and needs
to have a world historical theme. I will be checking topics and signing off on
topics. Will we have a specific lesson on how to pick your topic so do not worry!

Structure - You will need to have the following elements present in your essay, again do
not worry we will spend some time on each of these elements.
1. Cover page
2. Introduction
3. Thesis statement
4. Main argument
5. Body paragraphs
6. Conclusion
7. Bibliography
Aaron Johnson, 1/22/2014
Due Dates
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Topic: Due Monday, 2/3/2014
Partial Bibliography: Due Monday, 2/24/2014
Topic Paragraph/Thesis Statement: Due Monday, 3/17/2014
Outline for Paper: Due Monday, 3/31/2014
Rough Draft: Due Monday, 4/28/2014
Final Paper: Due Monday, 6/2/2014
I will be working on a grading rubric for the project and will have it posted to the website and
distributed to you no later than February 2. If you have any questions concerning the project
please ask. I am always available to look over your work and provide feedback, you can either
ask for time at lunch to meet or you can send me and e-mail and I will respond within 24hrs. I
am here to help! I count it a great privilege and honor to help you reach your full potential!
NOTE: I also reserve the right to change the requirements and or structure of this guideline as
you the students bring to light any problems or issues concerning the project.
Aaron Johnson, 1/22/2014