Your
Scholarly
Paper
January 1
2014
This is not a real paper to be turned in for a grade. It is a practice file.
Another tricky
sample paper
Guidelines for Writing Scholarly Papers
Writing, even just a brief essay, is one of the most difficult tasks that you will face in college. It comes
more naturally to some than to others, but it is almost never easy. And like everything else, writing
clearly and effectively requires practice. This handout seeks to address the basics of writing, but there is
no substitute for actually sitting down and putting your thoughts on paper in logical and coherent form.
Scholarly writing has its own set of rules and conventions that are different from those of creative or
technical writing. Formal academic writing is expected to conform to these standards, the most
important of which are outlined below.
Basic Structure:
The introductory paragraph should engage the reader’s interest by setting out clearly the question that
the paper is attempting to address, how you plan to address it, and why it is worth addressing in the first
place. Often it is wise to begin with a brief story or anecdote, or a particularly powerful statistic, or an
appropriate quotation. The key here is to make the reader want to keep reading.
The thesis statement is a summation of your main point; this should generally appear at the end of the
introductory paragraph. Before writing, try phrasing your thesis as a simple assertion (“The planet is
running out of manganese”), and then develop it as you write by being as specific (and, indeed, as
provocative) as you can: “Thanks to over-mining by American corporations, there is a very real
possibility that the next generation will be forced to live in a world without manganese.”
You should then provide background information, basic material about the subject, to provide context
for the reader. Continuing the above example, you would want to say something about what
manganese is and what it is used for. Depending on the amount of background you think is necessary,
you might want to include this in the introductory paragraph; for longer essays a separate paragraph (or
more) may be required.
The real “meat” of your paper will be the actual points of discussion. These will be a series of
paragraphs that support your thesis statement, with each point occupying one or two paragraphs,
depending on the essay’s overall length. In this case, one might showcase statistics on how much
manganese there is left in the world; another could contain statistics on how quickly the manganese
supply is being depleted. The actual number of points, of course, depends on how much you have to
say.
One of the hallmarks of good writing is the ability to move back and forth smoothly between general
statements and concrete details. Each paragraph should start with a generalization—sort of a miniature
thesis statement. The rest of the paragraph should provide specifics to back it up; these might include
reasons (Corporations have been over-mining manganese because….), examples (The supply of
manganese in Zaire is at an all-time low….), expert testimony (Joe Baggadonuts, considered by some the
father of the modern manganese conservation movement, says….), or statistics (In the past twenty-five
years more than 20 million tons of manganese have been taken from the earth.). Always remember,
however, that every sentence in any given paragraph should be devoted to making one individual point,
and nothing else. “Manganese is a mineral element that is both nutritionally essential and potentially
toxic. The derivation of its name from the Greek word for magic remains appropriate, because scientists
Guidelines for Writing Scholarly Papers
are still working to understand the diverse effects of manganese deficiency and manganese toxicity in
living organisms.”
The concluding paragraph should flow logically from the rest of the essay, but it should be more than
simply a restatement of what you have done. For a paper of more than three or four pages, you might
want briefly to summarize your main points. The concluding paragraph might also offer some guidance
for action (The time has come to stop the rampant depletion of the manganese supply….).
In general, the same sorts of strategies employed in writing an introductory paragraph—using an
anecdote, a quote, or a telling statistic—apply to conclusions as well. However, although your
conclusion should refer back to your thesis statement, if should not merely be a rewording of what you
said in the introduction. Ideally, your conclusion should convince the reader that he has not been
wasting his time, and that there is something that he can take away from your essay.
Things to Avoid:
Contractions: Words like “didn’t,” “couldn’t,” and “wouldn’t” should not appear in scholarly writing.
Instead use the full words. Apostrophes should only be used to indicate possession (for example,
George Washington’s presidency).
Passive Voice: “Washington chopped down the cherry tree” sounds a lot better than “The cherry tree
was chopped down by George Washington.” The former is simple and straightforward; the latter is
wordy and clumsy. Occasionally you will have no choice but to use passive—for instance, when the
subject of the sentence is unknown—but in most cases you should use the active voice.
First or Second Person: In scholarly writing, the author is assumed to have “distance” from his or her
subject. You should therefore write as an outside observer, not a participant, and you should treat the
reader in the same way. This means that pronouns such as “I,” “we,” or “you” are inappropriate. Note
that this document is not an example of good scholarly writing (it is, rather, a piece of technical writing).
Incomplete Sentences: Every sentence must have a subject and a verb, unless it is part of a direct quote.
There are no other exceptions to this rule.
Imprecise Language: Use words that express your point exactly. If you write, “Theodore Roosevelt was a
good president,” the reader will probably be left wondering what you mean by that. You might have
meant that he was an effective president, or a strong president, or a morally upright president.
Therefore the words “effective,” “strong,” or “morally upright” are all far preferable to “good.”
Slang: In conversational English it is perfectly acceptable to use phrases such as “bumped off” to
describe a killing, or “laid back” to describe someone with a relaxed attitude toward life. However, such
language has no place in scholarly writing (unless it is part of a direct quote). In general, try to imagine
how a reader one hundred years from now would react to your words. What would your reaction be to
a paper that referred to something as the “bee’s knees” (an expression that was in vogue one hundred
years ago)?
Words Out of Proper Proximity: We see sentences like this all the time, and they are frequently good for
a laugh. For example, “Witnesses described the thief as a six-foot-tall man with a mustache weighing
190 pounds.” What weighed 190 pounds? This sentence would lead one to believe it was the
mustache, when clearly the author meant the thief.
Guidelines for Writing Scholarly Papers
Excessive Wordiness: Do not use more words than you absolutely need to in order to make your point.
For instance, do not write “time period,” when either “time” or “period” will suffice. Do not write “due
to the fact that,” when a simple “because” will do. Students do not get extra credit for using extra
words. “Some students view the paper assignment as a chance to free-associate. They consider the
question or task assigned by the professor as more of a suggestion (or "prompt") of something to talk
about, rather than a focused request for discussion of a specific issue. Professors, especially ones who
have spent hours writing up the assignment, don't view this kindly. In our experience, students lose
more points from not answering the question than for making errors in what they write.”
Excessive Quotation: Often writers who have yet to develop their own “voice” have a tendency to use a
lot of direct quotes from other authors. This is tedious for the reader, and likely to leave him wondering
whether you have anything original to say. Wherever possible, paraphrase the work of other authors
instead of quoting them directly. Limit quotes to instances where the author uses a particularly striking
turn of phrase, and where his or her precise meaning would be lost in a paraphrase.
Dumb Mistakes: College students ought to know better than to confuse “its” with “it’s,” “there” with
“they’re” or “their,” and “who’s” with “whose.” At the college level students should know that subjects
must agree in number with verbs, and pronouns with their antecedents; for example, “Each of them had
their own ideas” is wrong. “Each of them had his [or her] own ideas” is correct. Errors like this will
cause the reader to question the basic intellectual capacity of the author.
Plagiarism: Most are familiar with the notion that it is wrong to pass of another author’s work as one’s
own. However, there are more ways of doing this than simply by copying another author’s words (or
cutting and pasting from the Web). Some seem to think that by changing a few words one can avoid an
accusation of plagiarism. This is wrong; avoiding plagiarism means citing every single source that you
used in writing a paper—and “use” means draw any sort of fact (except those which are common
knowledge) or interpretation. Plagiarism is the worst form of professional misconduct that there is in
the discipline of history, and I will punish it to the fullest extent.
Things to Do:
Use Proper Style for Notes and Bibliographies: If a particular writing assignment requires the use of
footnotes or endnotes, make sure they, as well as your bibliography, conform to the proper style. In the
discipline of history that means Chicago style (sometimes referred to as “Turabian”). Your best bet is to
obtain a copy of Kate L. Turabian, et al., A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and
Dissertations (9th revised edition, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007), and follow its standards
rigorously.
Pay Attention to Tense: By definition, historical events are things which happened in the past; therefore
it only makes good sense to use the past tense when discussing them. The only exception to this rule
comes when you are referring to a primary source of some kind, such as an important document, a
book, or a piece of art. For example, you would write, “The Declaration of Independence states that ‘all
men are created equal.’”
Staple: Using paperclips, or folding back the pages on one corner, isn’t enough. I will not accept papers
that are not stapled together.
Guidelines for Writing Scholarly Papers
Use Page Numbers: This way, if your pages do become separated, I’ll easily be able to reassemble your
paper.
Proofread: If there is one rule that every writer (scholarly or otherwise) will agree on, it is that the first
draft is never the last. Go back over what you have written again and again, until you are completely
satisfied with the result. Ask yourself some hard questions: Is my introductory paragraph sufficiently
enticing to the reader? Are all of my statements (and particularly my thesis statement) clear and easily
understood? Have I given the reader enough background to understand my argument? Do all of my
points of discussion back up what I said in the thesis statement? Does my concluding paragraph follow
logically from the rest of the essay?
Also, be sure to check spelling, grammar, and usage. Spell-check is a handy feature, but it will only get
you so far. Matters like subject-verb agreement and word choice may sound petty, but they are vitally
important. Sloppiness in this regard will suggest to your reader—even if it is only your instructor—that
you have not taken your subject seriously. And if that is the case, why bother to read your work at all?
If your scholarly work flows true with the guidelines provided here, you will, no doubt, be a successful
academic writer in all your educational pursuits.
Sources:
Gilderhus, Mark T. History and Historians: A Historiographical Introduction. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River,
NJ: Prentice Hall, 2000.
http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/professors-guide/2010/08/25/10-ways-to-ruin-a-collegepaper; “10 Ways to Ruin a College Paper By Jeremy S. Hyman and Lynn F. Jacobs Aug. 25, 2010.
Keen CL, Ensunsa JL, Watson MH, et al. Nutritional aspects of manganese from experimental studies.
Neurotoxicology. 1999;20(2-3):213-223.
Rampolla, Mary Lynn. A Pocket Guide to Writing in History. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford / St. Martin’s,
1998.
Troyka, Lynn Quitman. Simon & Schuster Handbook for Writers. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice Hall, 1996.