History Program Style Guide
This Style Guide is designed primarily as a reference tool to help students with some of the technical
details involved in citing sources footnotes and bibliographies according to the “Turabian” method
used in all history courses at Ambrose. Only the most common types of sources are covered here.
Students who need more detailed or complex guidance are directed to one of various online lists of
example citations, such as the University of California Berkeley Library page, available at
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Chicago-Turabianstyle.pdf or the Bridgewater
State College page, available at http://www.bridgew.edu/Library/turabian.cfm. There are often
subtle variations to Turabian citation styles, particularly for online sources. Ultimately, the most
comprehensive guide to “Turabian” is the original work: Kate Turabian. A Manual for Writers of
Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 6th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996.
It is available on reserve in the library.
A note on historical sources, of which there are three kinds: primary sources, secondary sources,
and tertiary (or third-level) sources. Primary sources are the raw materials that historians use to
write their articles, dissertations, or monographs (in-depth book-length studies of historical topics).
They are the letters, speeches, government paperwork, banking records, census data, newspaper
reports, and even artefacts of a bygone era. Primary sources give us the closest thing we have to
direct access to the past. Secondary sources are the articles and monographs written by historians,
based largely on primary sources, with some reference to other histories (i.e. other secondary
sources). Tertiary sources are more general in nature, because they are based on secondary sources.
They include broad surveys, textbooks, and encyclopedias (including many online sites, like
Wikipedia). Because tertiary sources provide the “basic facts” about a topic, they are good places to
start reading. But, because they are only “basic facts” and not original contributions, they are not
typically footnoted or included in a bibliography. For that reason, it is important to note that essays
based on tertiary sources will be deemed, at best, average.
Following the instructions for format and citation is a short section of resources for writing
academic history, a list of common writing errors to avoid, and the standards according to which the
Ambrose history faculty will mark essays.
Format
The standard format for all written work is 12 point Times New Roman font, double-spaced, with 1
to 1.25 inch margins. The title page should include not only the title of your paper or name of the
assignment, but also your name and mail box number, the course number, the professor’s name, and
the date on which the assignment is submitted. Professors may require alternate formats for specific
assignments.
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Ambrose University College History Style Guide
Citations
The history program norm for the citation of sources is the Turabian footnote and bibliography
notation system (and not the parenthetical reference and reference list method). In the following
examples, the first entry shows how the work should be cited in the first footnote referring to that
work. The second entry shows how the work should be referred to in subsequent footnotes, namely,
with the author’s last name and a shortened version of the title. When a source is cited two or more
times in a row, the abbreviation “ibid.” may be used (as in example 1). The third entry shows how
the work should appear in the bibliography. Note that details of punctuation, indentation and
italicization are part of the proper citation of sources.
1. A Book by a Single Author
12
Ahron Bregman, Israel’s Wars: A History Since 1947 (London: Routledge, 2000), 101.
13
ibid., 102.
… and in a subsequent footnote, after other sources have been cited…
26
Bregman, Israel’s Wars, 110.
Bregman, Ahron. Israel’s Wars: A History Since 1947. London: Routledge, 2000.
2. A Book by Two Authors
2
Paul R. Spickard and Kevin M. Cragg, A Global History of Christians: How Everyday Believers
Experienced Their World (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1994), 237.
17
Spickard and Cragg, Global History, 302.
Spickard, Paul R., and Kevin M. Cragg. A Global History of Christians: How Everyday Believers Experienced
Their World. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1994.
3. A Journal Article
21
Kyle Jantzen, “Propaganda, Perseverance and Protest: Strategies for clerical survival amid
the German Church Struggle,” Church History 70 (2001): 295-327.
37
Jantzen, “Propaganda,” 321.
Jantzen, Kyle. “Propaganda, Perseverance and Protest: Strategies for clerical survival amid the
German Church Struggle,” Church History: Studies in Christianity and Culture 70 (2001): 295-327.
4. A Book in a Series/Second or Later Edition
21
D. G. Williamson, Bismarck and Germany 1862-1890, 2nd ed., Seminar Studies in History
(London and New York: Longman, 1998), 43.
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Ambrose University College History Style Guide
37
Williamson, Bismarck and Germany, 55.
Williamson, D. G. Bismarck and Germany 1862-1890, 2nd ed. Seminar Studies in History. London and
New York: Longman, 1998.
5. An Article in an Edited Volume (Component Part by One Author in a Work by Another)
6
Kenneth L. Draper, “Redemptive Homes–Redeeming Choices: Saving the Social in LateVictorian London, Ontario,” in Households of Faith: Family, Gender, and Community in Canada, 1760–
1969, ed. N. Christie (Montreal and Kingston: McGill/Queen’s University Press, 2002), 202.
17
Draper, “Redemptive Homes,” 213.
Draper, Kenneth L. “Redemptive Homes–Redeeming Choices: Saving the Social in Late-Victorian
London, Ontario.” In Households of Faith: Family, Gender, and Community in Canada, 1760–1969,
ed. N. Christie, 201-221. Montreal and Kingston: McGill/Queen’s University Press, 2002.
6. A Book Review
2
Bernie A. Van De Walle, review of Reforming the Morality of Usury: A Study of Differences That
Separated the Protestant Reformers, by David W. Jones, Sixteenth Century Journal XXXVII, no. 1 (Spring
2006): 266.
7
Van De Walle, review of Reforming the Morality of Usury, 267.
Van De Walle, Bernie A. Review of Reforming the Morality of Usury: A Study of Differences That
Separated the Protestant Reformers, by David W. Jones. Sixteenth Century Journal XXXVII, no. 1 (Spring
2006): 266-268.
7. An Electronic Document
7
Modern History Sourcebook, “Olympe de Gouge: Declaration of the Rights of Women,”
(August 1997), http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1791degouge1.html (accessed January 9,
2007).
7
History Sourcebook, “Olympe de Gouge.”
Modern History Sourcebook. “Olympe de Gouge: Declaration of the Rights of Women.” August
1997. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1791degouge1.html (accessed January 9, 2007).
8. An Online Journal
32
Kyle Jantzen, “Conference Report, German Studies Association, October 2006,”
Association of Contemporary Church Historians Newsletter XIII, no. 1 (January 2007),
http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/akz/akz2701.htm (accessed January 9, 2007).
35
Jantzen, “Conference Report.”
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Ambrose University College History Style Guide
Jantzen, Kyle. “Conference Report, German Studies Association, October 2006,” Association of
Contemporary Church Historians Newsletter XIII, no. 1 (January 2007),
http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/akz/akz2701.htm (accessed January 9, 2007).
Resources for Writing Academic History
For all aspects of researching and writing, please consult the Learning Services Centre, Room 705.
The Learning Services Coordinator is there to help all students who would like to improve their
writing. The Learning Services Centre has a great piece of software that can analyze your writing, so
that you can identify and fix problem areas. Students with identified learning disabilities are also
advised to see the Learning Services Coordinator, who develops solutions and works with faculty to
accommodate learning disabilities.
For concise, expert information about all aspects of academic writing, consult one of the following:
 Bowdoin College History Department’s comprehensive “Reading, Writing, and
Researching for History: A Guide for College Students” has everything from A to Z on
reading/note-taking, researching and writing/editing for history. Following this guide will
ensure a paper of the highest quality. It is available online at
http://academic.bowdoin.edu/WritingGuides.
 The University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center’s “Handbook” is not specific to
history, but includes sections on the stages of the writing process, common types of writing
assignments, grammar and punctuation, improving your writing style, and citing references
in your paper. It is online at http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/index.html.
 The Canadian Journal of History “Style Guide” is designed for those submitting articles
for publication, but contains useful tips on Canadian spellings, apostrophes, hyphens and
compounds, commas, capitalization, quotation-marks, extracts, abbreviations, numbers,
dates and times, and grammar. It is online at http://www.usask.ca/history/cjh/style.htm.
Common Writing Errors to Avoid


The Government of Saskatchewan has developed a guide for e-learning programs, called the
English Language Arts Ready Reference. It is available online at
http://www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/branches/elearning/tsl/resources/subject_area/ELA/ELAR
R/index_use.shtml, and includes a helpful section on “Writing Problems,” at
http://www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/branches/elearning/tsl/resources/subject_area/ELA/ELAR
R/writing_problems.shtml#cs39. This document deals with the proper use of modifiers
(adjectives and adverbs), sentence fragments, shifts in person (I, you, they), overuse of the
passive voice (“the ball was hit” rather than “she hit the ball”), unnecessary repetition,
proper use of pronouns, run-on sentences, cat-and-dog sentences (two different ideas in one
sentence), verb tenses, common subject and verb problems, gender in writing (he and she
problem), word order, and vocabulary choices.
Other common grammatical problems to avoid are comma splices (joining two distinct
sentences with a comma), missing or misplaced commas (which should separate various
clauses, phrases, and qualifying or modifying elements in a sentence), lack of parallelism
(keeping all elements in a list similar, so not “he went running, biking, and took a walk over
the course of the afternoon”), improper capitalization (either incorrectly capitalizing ordinary
nouns or incorrectly failing to capitalize proper nouns), and problems with pluralization
(never use apostrophes to create plurals).
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
For more information on grammar, please see the online grammar guide created by three
professors of English at the University of Oslo, available at
http://folk.uio.no/hhasselg/terms.html.
Ambrose History Program Grading Standards
The academic calendar spells out the grading system employed in all Ambrose programs, in section
27 of the Academic Policies. Any use of raw scores (percentages) on history assignments will be
converted according to scales provided on course syllabi. The important thing to remember is that A
= Excellent, B = Good, C = Satisfactory (that is, average work), and D = Poor to Minimal Pass,
while F = Failure. The Ambrose history faculty has agreed on the following four standards
according to which we will evaluate assignments:
1. Thesis/Analysis/Synthesis – A thesis is a statement which encapsulates what you intend
to prove in your paper. It is the answer to the question that drives your paper. Analysis is the
process of assessing evidence and the interpretations of other scholars for their value and
meaning, while synthesis is the process of combining the various ideas and sources you
discover through research and analysis into a coherent, well-organized, answer. Does your
paper have a clear thesis, i.e. a clear argument or interpretation to make? History is not
primarily about explaining the who, what, where, and when. These can be interesting in and of
themselves, but they do not interpret the past in a way that addresses the deeper historical
questions, namely how and why past events unfolded as they did. More important still is the so
what question. In other words, what is significant about what you’re studying? Why is what
you have to say important for us to know? How does it enrich our understanding of society
or politics or culture or human nature? In general, written work that focuses on and
demonstrates understanding of the who, what, where, and when will be deemed satisfactory;
work that explains the how and why of the past will be deemed good, and work which can
explain the significance or meaning of past events (the so what question) will be deemed
excellent. In many cases, the difference between papers that are good and those that are
great is the addition of a few explanatory sentences or phrases relating the significance of the
point being made, or the meaning and importance of an example or quotation. The better
you become at interpreting the past, the more you can make the most of the evidence or
other source material you have at your disposal by explaining their significance, the more you
can organize the ideas in your paper into your own interpretation of the past, the better you
will do on your assignments.
2. Outline/Structure – A clear structure should flow directly from your thesis and arguments.
For most essays or research papers:
a. You will be expected to introduce your thesis/argument/interpretation in an
introduction, in which you will provide a kind of road map through your paper, by
indicating the sub-points or sub-arguments you intend to make in order to sustain
your main thesis.
b. These sub-points (which may themselves contain other sub-points) must be
addressed in a clearly developed sequence in the body of your paper. Normally, the
paragraph structure of the paper will conform to the chain of arguments and subarguments you introduce throughout the paper. Transition sentences should lead the
reader from one point to the next. These transitions are also important moments in
which to explain the significance of the points you make for your overall argument.
c. Finally, you will be expected to recapitulate your main points in a conclusion, which
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Ambrose University College History Style Guide
should bring everything back to the main thesis of the paper, which (again) is the
answer some historical question or other.
d. In general, the more clearly you structure your ideas according to the flow of your
argument, the better you will do on your assignment. N.B.: For this reason, we
would strongly recommend that you develop an outline for your paper before you
start writing. As your instructors, we are more than willing to discuss the structure of
your paper with you, assuming there is enough time in advance of the due date for
you to incorporate any changes.
3. Sources/Evidence – In addition to a well-formulated thesis and a well-organized paper,
you need good sources and historical evidence to succeed.
a. We expect you to find secondary sources that are up-to-date, and avoid older
sources unless they contain a level or detail or an interpretive importance lacking in
newer works.
b. You are also encouraged to employ primary source materials to strengthen your
paper, and significant work with primary sources is required at the 300 and 400 level.
Many primary sources have been translated (where necessary) and are available on
the Internet or in published form.
c. Tertiary sources (textbooks, encyclopedias, or other reference works, including
online sources like Wikipedia) are not suitable as evidence to be cited in postsecondary writing assignments. They are, however, often useful background reading.
d. You are expected to use the resources of the full library consortium, which
includes not only material on site at Ambrose, but also material at the U of C or St.
Mary’s libraries. (Your Ambrose library card allows you to sign out books from the
U of C, which can then be renewed online, and even returned at our library.)
e. At the 400 level, you may also be expected to employ Inter-Library Loans to obtain
important sources unavailable in Calgary, though in most cases the resources of our
consortium should suffice.
f. You will also be expected to search for journal articles available in the databases
(Academic Onefile, Academic Search Complete, Academic Search Premier, History
Resource Center, Humanities International Complete, JSTOR, Pro-Quest Religion,
etc.). Journal articles are not only where the newest research is on display, but also
where you can find material specific to your topic presented in a concise form. They
are essential to deepening your analysis.
g. In general, papers with a few general sources will be deemed satisfactory (at best),
while papers with newer, more detailed sources, journal articles, and primary source
material will be deemed good to excellent.
4. Mechanics – You are expected to use proper citation techniques, as spelled out in this Style
Guide, and to employ proper grammar and correct capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.
Resources to help you are listed in this Style Guide. Please use grammar checkers and spellcheckers, but do not depend on them alone. Reading your paper out loud will often help
identify problem sentences, and employing a friend to look over your paper will also help
catch mistakes. In addition, the Learning Services Centre can help you with the mechanics of
writing. There is no specific formula according to which you will be penalized for writing
deficiencies, but multiple mistakes soon distract the reader, undermine the credibility of your
analysis, and make it impossible for you to communicate your ideas. Often, grades for sloppy
or poorly written papers will fall by a full grade point below what they might otherwise
achieve, and in no case will such papers be deemed excellent.
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