How to Write an Essay for a
History Class
Common Mistakes – Level One
• No personal pronouns or feelings
– I, you, our, you’re
– I believe/think/feel that….(nobody cares!)
• Spell out numbers under 100.
– During the Black Death, 1/3 of the population of Europe died.
• No contractions
– Can’t, you’re, they’re, shouldn’t, don’t
• Write in the past tense about past events
• Avoid passive voice
– “ing” endings, “was”
– Zeus, being the king of the gods, was very angry.
• Avoid overstatements and exaggeration
– The Black Death was the most devastating event in the history of
Europe.
Common Mistakes – Level Two
• Thesis is nonexistent, or simply restates the
question/prompt
• Paragraph organization is illogical or nonexistent
• Paper does not answer all parts of the
question/prompt
• Assumptions are made without evidence
• Floating facts – not connected to the thesis, topic
sentence, or subject of the paragraph
• Irrelevant information – does it help you answer
the prompt or question? Then don’t include it.
Summary vs. Analysis
• A list of facts from lecture or the book with no
analysis = a summary.
• A summary is not an appropriate essay for a
history class.
• Do not expect the reader to understand the
relevance of the information, or make the
inference for him/herself. Explain everything!
• A thesis will help you avoid a summary.
• Refer to the PIE(S) structure.
Writing a Thesis
1. Determine what kind of paper you are writing:
– An analytical paper breaks down an issue or an idea into
its component parts, evaluates the issue or idea, and
presents this breakdown and evaluation to the audience.
– An expository (explanatory) paper explains something to
the audience.
– An argumentative paper makes a claim about a topic and
justifies this claim with specific evidence. The claim could
be an opinion, a policy proposal, an evaluation, a causeand-effect statement, or an interpretation. The goal of the
argumentative paper is to convince the audience that the
claim is true based on the evidence provided.
• 2. Your thesis statement should be specific—it
should cover only what you will discuss in your
paper and should be supported with specific
evidence.
• 3. The thesis statement usually appears at the
end of the first paragraph of a paper.
• 4. Your topic may change as you write, so you
may need to revise your thesis statement to
reflect exactly what you have discussed in the
paper.
Thesis Examples:
• Example of an analytical thesis statement:
– An analysis of the college admission process
reveals one challenge facing counselors: accepting
students with high test scores or students with
strong extracurricular backgrounds.
• The paper that follows should:
– explain the analysis of the college admission
process
– explain the challenge facing admissions counselors
• Example of an expository (explanatory) thesis
statement:
– The life of the typical college student is
characterized by time spent studying, attending
class, and socializing with peers.
• The paper that follows should:
– explain how students spend their time studying,
attending class, and socializing with peers
• Example of an argumentative thesis
statement:
– High school graduates should be required to take a
year off to pursue community service projects
before entering college in order to increase their
maturity and global awareness.
• The paper that follows should:
– present an argument and give evidence to support
the claim that students should pursue community
projects before entering college
Weak to Strong Thesis
• Weak:
– The North and South fought the Civil War for many
reasons, some of which were the same and some different.
• Better:
– While both sides fought the Civil War over the issue of
slavery, the North fought for moral reasons while the
South fought to preserve its own institutions.
• Best:
– While both Northerners and Southerners believed they
fought against tyranny and oppression, Northerners
focused on the oppression of slaves while Southerners
defended their own right to self-government.
PIE – Paragraph Structure
P – Point. TOPIC SENTENCE = Point/Subject of
paragraph!
– Topic sentence should always connect to and support
your thesis.
I – Illustrate. Evidence. Examples.
– Use examples (or evidence) to illustrate your point.
E – Explain.
– Explain HOW and WHY your evidence SUPPORTS your
topic sentence. Be explicit and detailed!
– Don’t assumer the reader can infer the connection!
Introductions
• Restate the question as a sentence or a
sentence introducing the time period or topic
– but this is NOT your thesis!
• Define the important terms
• State your thesis – the answer to the question
– Must respond fully and completely to the question
– Sophisticated thesis will include reasons,
explanation, and perhaps short phrases showing
how each reasons leads to the next reason.
Conclusions
• The first sentence should state the conclusion
your facts and arguments have proved to the
reader (i.e. restatement of your thesis).
• The rest of the paragraph should explain why
your conclusion is important.
– Does it explain something important about the
time period? Does it lead up to the next time
period? Does it relate an important idea about
history in general?