Three of your four HIST 1121 assignments are essays. It is imperative that your essays be well organized and carefully

Three of your four HIST 1121 assignments are essays. It is imperative that your essays be well organized and carefully written and that they demonstrate your ability to analyze historical issues. Here are seven general suggestions to help you prepare your essays.

1. It is essential to define, describe, or specify the problemabout which you are writing. An assigned topic will provide some general boundaries, but you must set precise limits for yourself and indicate to the reader the direction and significance of your essay. If, for example, you are going to identify the causes of the Seven Years’ War, it would be extremely prudent to restrict your efforts to, say, three causes and not attempt to cover every imaginable factor. The reader judges the essay by how well it demonstrates an understanding of the problem and addresses the question. Consider including in the first or second paragraph a sentence that begins with the phrase, This paper explores these themes and seeks to demonstrate that ….

Note the distinction between a topic and a thesis or argument—between what you are writing about and what you are arguing. State your thesis clearly in your introduction.

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2. You will write an essay to present an argument or interpretation about a historical problem. Your Open Learning Faculty Member will judge your paper according to how well you present and defend your thesis or point of view.
3. As your essay is essentially an argument, all sections of the essay must contribute something to the argument. Organization is the key. Your essay should elaborate upon your thesis in an orderly and effective manner. You will need to introduce, describe, elaborate, answer objections to, and conclude your argument. An essay in which it would be possible to shuffle paragraphs around at random, without loss of continuity, has failed in this respect.

There is no magic formula for writing an introduction, but it does come at the beginning and should tell the reader what he or she must know in order to appreciate the body of the essay. Similarly, the conclusion, at the end, should be a statement of what has been learned on the basis of the evidence presented in the essay.

Continually pose yourself the question: How does this paragraph carry my argument forward? If you cannot give a good answer for a certain paragraph, you may be padding your essay with useless information. If a paragraph is irrelevant (however interesting), delete it.

You might also consider presenting certain types of information (for example, an interesting-but-somewhat-irrelevant aside) in an appendix or footnote so you don’t allow it to interrupt the flow of your argument.

4. As with any argument, you must defend or prove the points you make. Use others’ data and interpretations to justify your own interpretation, but be sure to acknowledge your use of the sources. Make full use of TRU Library’s writing resources and the TRU Writing Centre.

Treat your sources in a critical manner. Do not accept a point simply because someone has written it. Wherever possible, check against other sources. When, in your research, you find objections to your thesis, do not ignore them; refute them by explaining why, given the available data, your thesis represents a more logical interpretation of the facts.

Assume that your reader has little understanding of your essay topic. Identify all persons, places, events, and dates the first time you mention them. (For example, instead of dropping “Secord” into the middle of an argument, introduce her as “Laura Secord, a local shopkeeper.”) Explain all the connections and steps in your argument, even the obvious ones. Check each step with the questions: Is it convincing? Does it follow from my premises? Does it follow from the evidence?

5. Good writing is an essential part of the craft of doing history. You could quickly undermine the first four suggestions in this list with an incomprehensible writing style. Essays form an integral part of your history courses, and your success or failure will depend, to a great extent, upon your ability to express your ideas clearly. In order to do this, clear thinking and careful organization are essential; this means that you must pay attention to both form (such as spelling, grammar, and style) and content. Your Open Learning Faculty Member expects your written work to be in correct and comprehensible English.

When writing, it is better to choose the short rather than the long, the familiar rather than the unfamiliar, the concrete rather than the abstract, and the direct rather than the indirect. Use short and direct prose instead of longer and more flowery expressions. If you mean, “he goes home,” do not say, “he returns to his domicile.” If you mean, “it became cooler,” do not say, “there occurred a downward movement in temperature.” If you mean “farmer,” do not say “an independent commodity producer in the agricultural sector.”

A Note on Terminology

You will find various terminologies in use throughout this course. Terms like Aboriginal, Amerindian, First Nation(s), Métis, and European are used (depending on the context), as are variations. Familiarize yourself with these terms and especially the nomenclature used to identify Aboriginal communities.

Before writing your assignments, you may find it helpful to consult the Indian and Northern Affairs Canada website to find appropriate word usage: http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100014642/1100100014643.

6. When writing an academic essay you must observe academic conventions concerning footnotes, bibliography, and scholarly abbreviations.

Your essays must use the Chicago/Turabian citation style. Any other style is unacceptable. See TRU Library’s guide to using the Chicago citation style at http://libguides.tru.ca/chicago.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism occurs in two forms: a person either uses another person’s exact words or ideas as if they were his or her own, or paraphrases another person’s ideas without acknowledging that they are another person’s and/or without identifying the source. A full description of plagiarism can be found in the Handbook for History Students at http://www.tru.ca/arts/php/history/Handbook_for_History_Students/Plagiarism.html.

To avoid plagiarism, whenever you use an idea that is not your own, you must cite the source—even if you express the idea in your own words.

It is your responsibility to read the Academic Integrity policy at http://www.tru.ca/__shared/assets/ed05-05657.pdf.

Note

Each assignment is viewed individually for academic integrity. Please be aware, should you choose to submit multiple assignments at the same time and if an academic integrity violation is discovered in more than one of those assignments, that each assignment submission will be viewed as a separate offence and sanctions will be applied accordingly.

Here are some guidelines to help you avoid plagiarism:

• Each footnote should provide enough information to lead the reader directly to your source.
• Anything in your paper that you do not acknowledge to have come from another source must be your own work.
• If you quote a passage of any length verbatim, you must clearly indicate that it is a quotation (by enclosing the passage in quotation marks or, for longer passages, by indenting and single spacing) and provide a complete citation. Anything you quote is assumed to be exactly as it appeared in the original source unless you indicate otherwise. You have a responsibility to transcribe accurately.
• If you paraphrase a passage or an idea from one of your sources—for example, if you were to paraphrase the argument of the authors of one of your readings by writing “Berger argues that…“—remember that although the description is in your own words, the argument is theirs, and you need to provide full acknowledgment of the source article in a footnote.
• It is dishonest to try to make a passage from a source unrecognizable in order to present it as your own idea. As long as the work or idea belongs to someone else, you must acknowledge it.
• If you use another student’s essay, project, or class notes, or if you otherwise receive assistance in the preparation of your paper, you must acknowledge fully and clearly the help you have received. You must also cite in a footnote any verbal comment made by an instructor in a lecture.

Note

It is far better to be overly cautious than to run the risk of committing plagiarism. If you are in doubt, consult your Open Learning Faculty Member.

7. Consult handbooks on essay writing, grammar, and style for further clarification. Four of the best are listed here; request one from TRU Library.
   • Sheridan Baker, The Canadian Practical Stylist4th ed., prepared by Ken Ledbetter and Lawrence Gamache, Toronto: Addison Wesley, Pearson, 1998.
     • This handbook provides tips on establishing a thesis; strategies and exercises to improve your writing, grammar, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation; a handy essay checklist; and a sample research paper.
   • Joanne Buckley, Fit to Print: The Canadian Student’s Guide to Essay Writing7^th, Toronto: Nelson, 2009.
     • This book provides chapters on developing, designing, drafting, and writing the essay. It includes sections on choosing words, reducing wordiness, and improving sentences.
   • Margot Northey, Making Sense: A Student’s Guide to Research and Writing: Social Sciences5^th, Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2007.
     • This multipurpose book has both a glossary and an index and includes chapters on writing essays, book reports, lab reports, business reports, and examinations; on writing with style; and on grammar and usage, punctuation, and documentation styles.
   • William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. New York: Penguin, 2005.
     • A review inThe New Yorker magazine called this book “direct, correct and delightful.” In addition to giving sound advice on writing style, it presents the basic rules of usage and the principles of composition. It also lists words and expressions commonly misused.

Another option is to consult TRU Library’s “Get Research Help” web page and make use of the TRU Writing Centre’s online servce. There are many supports available for writers and it is up to you to seek advice on this topic.