Writing History Essays

Writing History Essays

Contents:

How to use this booklet....................................2

1. Reading...........................................................7

2. Note Taking.................................................13

3. Planning Your Essay...................................18

4. Drafting.........................................................21

5. Grammar, Spelling, and Technical Bits....28

6. Footnotes......................................................36

7. Bibliographies...............................................45

8. Presentation and Style Guide....................48

9. Assessment...................................................52

HOW TO USE THIS BOOKLET, OR ‘WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME’

This booklet is a general guideline for essays in History. It offers advice for preparing History assignments and gives particular advice on referencing and presentation techniques. While the ideas and tips it contains may be useful for writing in other departments, each department will undoubtedly have different formatting, layout and style requirements. If in doubt, ask.

This booklet is designed to be used by history students at all levels. It contains information on the ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ and offers a large number of examples to clarify points. We suggest that students new to history at university give this book a thorough read through before their first essay. As you become familiar with essay writing you can use this as a reference booklet, looking up the sections you need for further information or clarity by using the table of contents.

We have also included a One Page Summary (p.3) that contains the basic principles in Writing History Essays. However, this is only meant as a tool for those familiar with the overall guidelines—a memory aid—not as a substitute for reading the whole text.

Your essays will be assessed and marked on the assumption that you have read and applied the advice in this booklet. If you would like further information, talk to your tutor or lecturer.

Summary First, ask yourself: ‘What is the question actually asking?’ Read Widely, but also read Critically and Selectively.

Consider your sources carefully. What are they trying to convince you of? What are they trying to explain or argue? When were they written, and by whom? Take Relevant Notes as you read.

Note all the necessary bibliographical information from each text.

Take notes mainly in your own words. Taking quotes should be done sparingly, but must be done accurately. Beware of Plagiarism. Plan your essay’s argument.

Give your essay a logical structure that develops the points you wish to make. Write a Draft, and take time to improve the final product. Your essay should be your argument based on Informed Reading.

Your essay’s argument should answer the question, be supported with evidence, and be clearly written. Your essay requires proper paragraphs made up of sensible sentences. An essay is a Structured Answer requiring an introduction, a main body and a conclusion.

Your Introduction should present the argument of your essay to the reader.

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Your Conclusion should sum up the argument of your essay. Hand your work in On Time.

Late essays have valuable marks deducted. Correct Grammar and Spelling are important. Quotations should be accurate and be placed in quotation marks. Footnotes are the guides to your use of evidence.

You should footnote quotes, figures and statistics, and when summarising factual material or another author's opinion or argument. Your Bibliography is the listing of all the relevant sources you have read to construct your argument. Your essay should be printed on one side of each page, in a readable typeface, double spaced, with a wide left margin, paragraphs indented or spaced, each page numbered; and use all the other points noted in the Presentation and Style Guide in this booklet. Finally, you should Re-evaluate your own essay grade, read the marker’s comments, and try to improve on your essay technique and your understanding of history in general.

Why we write history essays, and what you can get out of them

Courses in History will require you to submit written essays as part of your assignment work. Essay writing helps develop abilities that will enable you to participate in the continuing discussion about the past, including developing and stating a reasoned argument, quickly and effectively analysing and summarising texts, and presenting a scholarly, well documented final product. Such skills have wide application in many areas beyond history.

What is a history essay? and ‘Why did the chicken cross the road?’

The word ‘essay’ is derived from the French, essayer, which means ‘to try, to attempt, to test’. An essay is an attempt to establish a case or test a hypothesis. Specifically for our purposes, an essay is a reasoned and orderly argument with properly acknowledged supporting evidence. The argument in your essay should be your coherent explanation for ‘Why?’ or ‘How?’ things happened, and this should be supported by evidence in the form of the ideas and writings of other historians, people of the time, and other historical sources. Your argument, and the evidence you support it with, will be shaped by the material you find and read on the question.

Not all questions are valid history questions. ‘Why did the chicken cross the road?’ is not an appropriate historical question. It does not have ideological, social or historical importance (except perhaps in the field of comedy).

‘Why did Julius Caesar cross the Rubicon?’ ‘Why was Captain Cook sent to explore the Pacific Ocean?’ ‘What was the importance of Nixon’s visit to China?’ These questions ask something deeper. The motives and reasons behind these crossings go beyond the individuals, and involve complex national

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ideologies, political struggles, and were part of much larger historical events. The complexity of explanations for the reasons and meaning of such events mean new insights and analyses are constantly offered. There is never a single history to be discovered once, but always new histories to be created.

‘How was masculinity important in shaping nineteenth-century New Zealand culture?’ ‘What accounts for the spread of cricket in Victorian India?’ ‘Assess the arguments made by opponents of capitalism in eighteenth century America.’ The list of historical topics and questions is endless, and this booklet will help guide your writing on those you choose to examine.

What is the question? or, How to translate ‘lecturer-speak’

Every essay will have a question (or topic), and your task will be to provide an answer (your argument) to this. Sounds simple enough, yet one of the most common essay problems is not answering the set question. Often essays answer not the question being marked but some related imaginary question; and as a result do not get the desired grade. Essay questions use specific language, and so understanding the question before you start is the first step in the essay writing process.

Identify the key concepts in a question. Questions will ask you to examine, account for, evaluate, assess, discuss, compare, contrast, or consider the relative importance of, etc. etc. You will not be asked to simply write down everything you can find out on a topic; or to merely describe a sequence of events.

For example, you will not get a question such as, ‘What happened in the Industrial Revolution?’ Rather, the question will generally focus on an area of debate, so that you can contribute to that debate. So, for example, a more likely question would be, ‘The Industrial Revolution was not at all revolutionary. Discuss.’ To answer this question you could find many sources that argue against the premise and many that support it. Your task would be to present both sides, assessing their strengths and weaknesses and come to your own conclusion regarding the debate.

Stay focused on the question. Do not wander too far away from the task at hand.

For example, if answering the question ‘Assess the impact of the Reform Bill of 1832 on the working class in Britain’, then spending half your essay on the French working class is not a good idea.

Be sure you cover the topic. Try to answer the entire question, not just a section of it. Topics may be very broad.

For example, if you are answering the same question ‘Assess the impact of the Reform Bill of 1832 on the working class in Britain’, then an essay that discusses only English children in poverty is not answering the whole question. What of men and women? What of the rest of Britain?

You might be given a seemingly simple question or statement, yet under the surface may lie complex

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issues that need to be unpacked.

For example, take the question ‘Did the state simply ignore Maori health before 1936?’ There appears to be an obvious single word answer: ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. However, the question is really wanting something more. Within the given question there are more questions to be ‘unpacked’ and answered. For instance, ‘Did the state devote adequate attention to Maori health before 1936?’ ‘Did the state have a policy (official or unofficial) regarding Maori health before 1936?’ ‘What efforts, if any, were made to bring the issues of Maori health to the state before 1936?’ ‘Why did the state ‘suddenly’ come up with a policy in 1936?’ ‘Why is 1936 an important date for Maori health?’ These and other questions need to be answered in any essay that tackles what—at first glance—seemed to be a straightforward question. The key words in the question are ‘simply ignore’. What does this phrase mean?

Another common problem is the ‘blind’ selection of familiar or ‘cool sounding’ topics; questions that seem to be about something in which you may have a great deal of knowledge or interest.

For example, questions that involve the First World War are very popular, and you may have studied this broad topic in high school. However, a question such as ‘What was the demographic impact of the First World War on European societies?’ is not about the battles and course of the war itself. An essay answering this question would require comments on population movements and trends, and would compare pre-war and post-war European societies. It would not contain a potted summary of the major battles, and a discussion of who won the war.

If you do not understand the nature of the question, the chances are that you will not answer the question adequately, and no matter how much time and effort you put into your assignment you will not get the mark that you expect. Think about what you are being asked to do, and if you want clarification ask your tutor.

Some things essays are NOT, and why there is no ‘right’ answer

The study of History at university is not designed to teach you ‘facts’ which you can learn by heart. You will not be asked to memorise large lists of names, places and dates. Specific points of information, data, chronologies and other forms of factual detail can be located in the sources you use to research your topic, so there is no excuse for getting them wrong in your essays.

While there is room in an essay for imagination and creativity you cannot make things up off the top of your head. You are being asked to present your argument and your ideas; however, these must be based on careful research and informed reading.

History questions are not ‘true’ or ‘false’ tests. There is no one right way of answering a history question. Rather, a history essay is an opportunity to enter an ongoing debate, to read and think about questions which may never—indeed often cannot—be finally resolved. There are always new ways of looking at

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material, new methods to apply, new ideas to incorporate.

In this way History essays mirror the complexity of our modern world and help us to see the underlying features of the world around us. Thus they equip us for the knowledge-based world of work in the twenty-first century.

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1) READING

1.1—Before You Start, or How to read between the lines

Reading for a history essay is not the same as reading a romance novel or spy thriller for leisure. The first major difference is that you should take notes as you read (see section (2) Note Taking below).

The second difference is that you should read with discrimination. Read as much as possible, but read wisely. Concentrate on material that is relevant to the question. You should normally start with a general book, to get an overview of your topic, and then move to more specialised books and articles.

Use tables of contents and indexes to find the sections that apply to your topic. Often books and articles have prefaces, introductions and conclusions which summarise the argument. Read these first, and use them to guide you to the key parts of the text.

The third difference is that you should read with specific questions in mind. It is important to read critically. Weigh up the evidence each author uses, compare texts, think about what each author is trying to argue, and why. Historians try to convince you of why a particular change occurred in the past, and they also suggest a way for us in the present to think about the past. Reading a historical text is always a challenge—a puzzle to solve if you like—you should try to see the assumptions behind the argument. Who made the source? Why? When? Is it supported by other sources?

For example, in the sample reading (1.2) Crosby is trying to explain why reading was difficult in the Middle Ages and earlier, and what this meant. His assumptions include that St. Augustine’s way of reading aloud was normal for his time (how can we be sure of this?). He offers evidence in the form of multiple footnotes (see 6)—that is, his evidence is that other historians have said similar things—and he gives brief quotes from one of his sources (St. Augustine) as further support.

1.2—Sample Reading, as used in many examples

On the following page is a short excerpt from a recent book. This will be used as the source of many examples. Appropriately, or perhaps ironically, it is a piece on how difficult reading can be, although these texts refer to the Middle Ages, not your present circumstances. There is no need to study or fully comprehend this text, only to note how it is used in examples.

The excerpt is:

Crosby, Alfred W., The Measure of Reality—Quantification and Western Society, 1250-1600, Cambridge, 1997, pp.134-5.

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1.3—Types of Sources, primary and secondary

You will encounter a wide variety of sources in the course of studying history. Books, periodicals (or journals), book reviews, newspapers, photographs, interviews, microfilms, CD-ROMs, videos and electronic material available through the internet. Historians classify these sources into two broad categories: primary and secondary material.

Primary sources are the documents, papers, articles, books, personal recollections, archaeological and visual remains produced by the people in the past at, or very near, the time of the historical actions in question. They are first-hand evidence, sources immediate to the historical actors and actions. Often they are personal materials such as diaries, letters and memos. However, they can also be more public documents such as newspapers, magazines, television programmes and songs.

For example, Captain James Cook’s journals (written during or shortly after the actual events) are considered primary sources of information for study of Cook or his times. The brief quotations of St. Augustine in the sample reading (1.2) are primary quotations, as they were written in the time being analysed.

Secondary materials are documents, et cetera, written or created at some time removed from the events. They are sources subsequent to the historical actors and actions. Generally a secondary text uses a mixture of primary and secondary material to create a new interpretation of the material, offering a new ‘Why?’ of past events. Any essay you may write on a historical subject is a secondary piece.

For example, Richard Hough’s biography of Cook, titled Captain James Cook, written in 1994 (well after the events, and drawing on many sources including Cook’s personal journals), is a secondary source. The sample reading (1.2) is also secondary material (containing some primary quotations as noted above).

As you go on in the study of History, primary material will become more and more important. 100 and 200 level courses will mainly be concerned with secondary readings. Do not be afraid to use primary sources, as using material from the time makes for strong evidence in an essay.

All sources should be examined critically (1.1). There are some extra questions you can ask of a primary source. Why has it survived? Is the source authentic? Has it been tampered with? What have other historians said of the source?

Be cautious of older secondary texts. History is not a fixed interpretation of events, it is—as has been said earlier—an ongoing debate on the ‘whys’ of past events. Debates move on and scholarly opinions change.

Be cautious of what are sometimes called ‘tertiary’ sources, or school text-books. These are very

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general works written only from secondary sources, and usually of limited scholarly value. Often they are little more than a source of dates and names, with little interpretation of events. While encyclopaedias are very important reference tools—they can give you important definitions, ‘facts’ and dates—they do not usually contain historical analysis. Be particularly wary of Microsoft Encarta, which is a fairly unsophisticated and necessarily up-to-date source. You can also find electronic encyclopaedia on the Web, but most of the better ones require a subscription (the Encyclopaedia Britannica, for example).

1.4—Where to find Sources, and why Wellington is the place to be

Most courses require you to purchase a Book of Readings, which will contain selections of books, articles and documents carefully compiled by your lecturers, as well as recommended reading lists.

A wide variety of sources is available in the Victoria University Library - books, periodicals (or journals), newspapers, microfilms, CD-ROMs, slides, videos and electronic databases. Take advantage of the Library tours to introduce yourself to the computer catalogue and to the variety and physical location of the materials.

The university library provides reading areas and study rooms. It also has photocopying facilities which can be useful if you need only a few relevant pages in a text. Remember: when photocopying material ensure you take down all the relevant bibliographical details (see (2.2) and (7)).

The university library has a large reference section that contains many encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases (including historical atlases), and much more. If you need basic information or a definition of a topic or word it will be freely available here. From the Encyclopedia of Violence to the Dictionary of Asian Philosophies, the reference room is a good first stop to clarify definitions, dates and ‘facts’.

Wellington has the distinct advantage of being the location of the National Library of New Zealand—Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa and the Alexander Turnbull Library. Sources housed here include Photographic and Portrait collections, the Oral History Archive, Newspaper archive, the New Zealand Manuscript Collection, and vast microfilm sources, including all books printed in Britain from 1475 to the eighteenth century. Wellington also has Archives of New Zealand—Te Whare Tohu Tuhituhinga o Aotearoa, which contains government records, The Treaty of Waitangi, business records, some personal documents, and more.

You should also consider the Wellington Public Library as a further source, especially if the University Library shelves empty out before you find all you need. Especially useful is the New Zealand Room reference collection.

Those of you with Internet and World Wide Web connections have a potentially world wide collection of sources. However, care is needed in utilizing material from the web. There are a number of strange, eccentric sites that pose as academic, but are not necessarily reliable. Think carefully about the reliability

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of a site by asking:

 Is the author of the material named?

 Are his/her credentials given?

 Is the owner of the website named? Does it appear to be promoting a particular agenda?

 Are the views presented on the site consistent with what you have read in books and articles? Remember, authoritative information is able to be verified. It is more than a personal opinion.

 Is the website up-to-date?

1.5—Searching for sources, or How to look for books, articles, etc

There are many ways to search for texts, and it can be confusing at first. The university library conducts free introductory tours; please take one. Most library catalogues allow you to search by title, personal name (author or editor), and subject. Searching can also be done by keywords, either in titles or subjects.

For example, to find books on the Cold War once you have exhausted the obvious searches for books with ‘cold war’ in the title or subject field you could try searching in the subject field for ‘united states foreign relations’, or ‘united states soviet union’.

How do you know what keywords to search by? If you can find one book on the subject in a catalogue it will help guide you to others, as it will tell you what subjects it is classified under. Try it. Find a book on a specific subject, scroll through the catalogue listing until you get to subject, then use those listings to search for more books. This is a far more efficient way of finding keywords than trying to think of them yourself. You can also use the Library of Congress subject catalogues in the reference section.

Browsing the shelves can be useful, as books and periodicals are grouped together by subject.

1.6—How Much Should I Read? or ‘No seriously, how much’

Each course (and each lecturer) will have slightly different expectations as to the extent of reading required for an assignment. There are, however, some basic guidelines. As stated above (1.1) you should read as widely as possible, but read selectively. Many books and articles relating to your topic may only have a small section that is really relevant.

In general your aim is to read widely enough to complete the set assignment. Your reading should enable you to have a command of the subject, to recognise different views and interpretations, and to provide an appropriate and extensive answer to the set question. Read the set assignment instructions; they may provide specific instructions on the number you are expected to have read.

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2) NOTE TAKING

2.1—Why we Take Notes, or ‘But I’m sure I read that somewhere’

Notes are necessary to ensure that you have the information you require from the text, when you want it. You need to take notes from the texts you read so that you can use the information from these sources clearly, accurately, and in a scholarly manner. Remember that a history essay is a reasoned and orderly argument with properly acknowledged supporting evidence (see (0.4) above). The notes you take as you read will be the source of evidence for your argument, and as such will allow you to create footnotes (6) and your bibliography (see (7) and (2.2)). Clear and precise notes will also help you avoid plagiarism (2.5)

You will read many, many texts in a single semester of study, and remembering all the arguments, strengths, faults, and specific page references is not practicable. If you take good notes you may only have to read a text once. However, do not hesitate to re-read a text, especially one that is key to your topic.

2.2—Starting your Bibliography, and what one is A bibliography is simply the list of the sources you have consulted to write your essay. Before you begin to take notes from any source, it is most important to record all the information about the source that you will require later for your footnotes and bibliography:

For books:

Author, title, place and year of publication

For journal articles:

Author; title of article; title of journal; volume, number and year of publication; page nos. of article

For chapters in edited collections:

Author of chapter; title of chapter; edition; title of collection; place and year of publication; page nos. of chapter

See section 6.4 (the style of footnotes) and use 7 (bibliographies) on the styles to use.

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2.3—How to Take Notes, or ‘Where did I put that scrap of paper?’

There are many ways of taking notes, and you may have developed your own style that works for you. Some general guidelines that work well are offered below.

Organisation is the key to note taking. Nothing is worse than spending valuable time searching for a lost scrap of paper containing vital information. Use a ring binder, a laptop, a bound exercise book, or a card index rather than random, loose (easily misplaced) pages.

Your notes should enable you to construct footnotes (6) and bibliographical entries, so it is important to record the details of each text (2.2). You must note which page or pages the information came from.

Arrange notes by subtopics. A single text may have widely different ideas and arguments. Several different texts may all comment on the same aspect of your topic. By keeping all the notes from separate books on the same subtopic together you can see where authors agree and disagree with each other.

Keep the question in mind. Only take notes that relate to the question you are answering. Reduce the text to essentials. Extract the key idea from the mass of details. Summarise, in your own words, the main relevant ideas and argument of the text. Remember that you are not aiming to summarise the entire book or article, but to summarise only the argument that is relevant to the question. Photocopying is no substitute for good notetaking.

For example, here are some possible notes from our sample readings (1.2) for a question such as ‘The discovery of printing revolutionised writing and reading. Discuss.’

Firstly we must record the details we will need for footnotes and bibliography entries later (2.2). So we note,

Alfred W. Crosby, The Measure of Reality—Quantification and Western Society, 1250-1600, Cambridge, 1997.

Specific notes from the reading may fall into separate subtopics. Firstly, for instance, we might take notes under the subtopic ‘Scribal writing practices’.

Scribal writing practices

Crosby, Measure of Reality. p.134 before printing; scr. writ. often no spaces or punctuation.

Be sure to include the page numbers of your sources (see (6.5). Page numbers enable you and your readers to quickly relocate any material you use as evidence, and are important in constructing your footnotes (6).

Further notes taken from this book or other texts that relate to scribal writing practices could be added on this same card/file/piece of paper. A card that has already has notes taken on it can easily be added to,

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keeping all the views on one subtopic, from many authors, together for easy analysis.

For example, further notes from the sample reading (1.2) might be added to some already taken as shown:

Reading aloud

Hale, Civ of Europe. p.293 Latin versus vernacular reading. Harder to read Latin aloud for most, makes it even slower.

Crosby, M of R. pp.134-5 before printing (and due to sc. writ. practices) text hard to read silently. libraries noisy. reading slow.

If you were answering a different question, such as, ‘Assess the impact of the rise of the detective novel on New Zealand reading habits’, your notes from these sources could be as short as nothing at all, as the text is not directly relevant to the question.

2.4—Quotes as notes and other anecdotes

Sometimes while reading a text you will come across a key phrase or sentence that relates directly to your topic, and want to copy it directly, rather than re-write (paraphrase) it in your own words. Indeed, as in our sample reading (1.2), quotations from sources as evidence to support a point are quite acceptable, even desirable, in moderation.

The keys to taking quotes in your notes is to do so sparingly and accurately. The way to acknowledge a quotation in your essay is to place the quotes words in quotation marks (‘ ‘). This is what Crosby has done to the words of St. Augustine he has quoted in the sample readings (1.2). When taking quotes down make sure you place the quoted text in quotation marks so you will not confuse them with your own words (see (5.4) for more details).

Use an author’s words only when they say something in a particularly striking way or summarise their thesis succinctly. There is virtually no need for long quotations, and quotations should not dominate your own words.

For example, if taking notes from the sample reading (1.2) for the question, ‘The discovery of printing revolutionised writing and reading. Discuss.’; most of the ideas contained in the text are easily summarised without resorting to quotes (see (2.3)). However, one idea that Crosby does put across strikingly is the way writing was seen as closely related to speech. So we could take a quote such as,

Crosby, M of R., p.134, Middle Ages and earlier, ‘Writing was no more than speech on a page’.

Be accurate in quotations. You are using someone else’s words, and it is only fair and honest to quote them as they were written. It is important to take clear, precise notes for this reason (see (5.4) for more

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details). Do not try to bend quotes to suit your argument.

Primary material, or key secondary material, makes for the best quotations. The sample readings (1.2) are a good example. Crosby quotes only from St Augustine’s Confessions (a primary text and useful support for his argument). He has re-written the arguments of the secondary material he uses into his own words.

2.5—Plagiarism: What it is and how to avoid it

Plagiarism is copying without proper acknowledgement. That is, plagiarism is the use of another person's words, ideas or specific information without referencing. It is passing off someone else’s work as your own. Plagiarism is academic dishonesty and incurs serious penalties in all university departments; the following is the University’s official policy regarding plagiarism:

Academic integrity and Plagiarism

Academic integrity is about honesty – put simply it means no cheating. All members of the University community are responsible for upholding academic integrity, which means staff and students are expected to behave honestly, fairly and with respect for others at all times. Plagiarism is a form of cheating which undermines academic integrity. Plagiarism is prohibited at Victoria.

The University defines plagiarism as follows:

Plagiarism is presenting someone else's work as if it were your own, whether you mean to or not.

‘Someone else’s work’ means anything that is not your own idea, even if it is presented in your own style. It includes material from books, journals or any other printed source, the work of other students or staff, information from the Internet, software programmes and other electronic material, designs and ideas. It also includes the organization or structuring of any such material.

Plagiarism is not worth the risk.

Any enrolled student found guilty of plagiarism will be subject to disciplinary procedures under the Statute on Student Conduct (www.vuw.ac.nz/policy/studentconduct) and may be penalized severely. Consequences of being found guilty of plagiarism can include:

• an oral or written warning

• suspension from class or university

• cancellation of your mark for an assessment or a fail grade for the course.

Find out more about plagiarism and how to avoid it, on the University’s website at:

www.vuw.ac.nz/home/studying/plagiarism.html.

Writing a history essay requires you to use the ideas and often words of other authors, and there is nothing wrong with this, if they are correctly referenced. Referencing, in the form of footnotes (6) is the method of acknowledging your use of other people’s ideas and phrases. If you use the words of anyone other than yourself, you must use quotation marks.

For example, if you were writing an essay that used ideas from our sample reading (1.2), such as the idea that reading was laborious and difficult in scribal culture due to the lack of spaces and punctuation, then you would have to reference it with a footnote, even if it is written in your own words (6). If you were to use words directly from the sample reading in a sentence then they must be placed in quote marks, such as: ‘Crosby states that ‘[w]riting was no more than speech on a page’, as nearly all reading was done aloud’.

An even more serious form of plagiarism involves the theft of complete pieces of work. It includes, for

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instance, copying complete passages from a book or from a computer, or copying another student’s work. An incident of this kind would be drawn to the attention of the University’s Disciplinary Committee, which has the power to impose penalties such as failure of the course and even exclusion from the University

Students found guilty of plagiarism can be given zero for the essay. See sub-section (6.2—When do I Footnote?), for further advice.

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3) PLANNING YOUR ESSAY

3.1—Remembering the Question, andstaying focused

It is all too easy to lose sight of the question during your reading and note taking. Remind yourself of the exact question you are answering before you start planning your essay. One of the keys to essay writing is staying focused. There are many interesting tangents and offshoots to the topics you will study, and you must be careful not to stray from the question.

3.2—Why make an Outline Plan? or Look before you leap

In order to answer a question effectively an essay needs to be structured carefully. An essay must persuade and convince the reader (and marker). Every sentence (4.3) and every paragraph (4.4) should be relevant to the question, and provide a step by step link in the development of the argument. Without some kind of planning an essay will not stay coherent and focused.

A history essay should have a definite structure, with an introduction (3.3) (4.7), a main body (3.4) containing your argument and evidence, and a conclusion (3.5) (4.8). To this end you should sketch out these components and make sure they will add up to a comprehensive answer to the question.

3.3—Planning your Introduction or How to begin

An introduction is a clear statement of your essay’s argument and any conclusions you come to regarding the question. After reading your introduction the marker should know exactly what you intend to argue and conclude.

Your plan need not be complete, as during the drafting of your essay you may refine your ideas. However, it is useful to note down what it is you think you are going to say, and you can use your introduction plan to ensure that you do not forget to include important points as you go. Your reading (1) and note taking (2) should give you enough ideas to start with.

For example, an introduction plan to a question such as ‘The discovery of printing revolutionised writing and reading. Discuss.’, might contain the following sketchy ideas;

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Intro plan:

Writing before printing was ... ?? Reading before printing ... slow, etc. Changes before printing, why?, what impact did they have? Impact of printing = more books, easier to reproduce. Printing: made it easier to read (faster) and understand, laid out better, etc. Printing: made writers better known, print culture wider than scribal.

Later, as the essay develops, it may become necessary to add extra ideas and arguments into the introduction plan as you think of them, such as;

Printing: allowed for corrections and additions in later editions.

We will come back to the introduction later (4.8), as often the best time to actually write and finish an introduction is after the rest of the essay is complete.

3.4—Using Notes I: Planning the Main Body or Why you did all that reading

The body of your essay provides the in-depth argument and analysis that you have outlined in your introduction plan. The plan of the body of your essay needs to offer a coherent structure for your evidence and argument. Plan to develop your argument in clear steps. The most effective way to construct an answer is to support each major step in your argument by reference to supporting evidence and/or examples. For this you will need to use your notes (2).

Taking the general ideas from your introductory plan (3.3) add in the notes (2.3) and quotes (2.4) you have taken, and any of your own ideas and deductions. Your notes should help you plan your essay, and your plan should help you see any gaps in your notes.

For example, using the same question as (3.3) above; ‘The discovery of printing revolutionised writing and reading. Discuss.’, you could expand the introduction plan into an outline of the entire essay. Here is a small sample, using the example notes from (2.3) and (2.4) This could become a partial or whole paragraph in your final copy. (See (4.4) for further details.)

Reading before printing (IDEA OR PARAGRAPH TOPIC FROM INTRO PLAN)

Generally people read aloud, as text difficult to read,. Why? no spaces or (OWN IDEAS ON SUBJECT

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punctuation. So reading slow as speech. BASED ON READING)

Hale, Civ of Europe, p.293, Latin versus (NOTES THAT RELATE vernacular reading. Harder to read Latin DIRECTLY TO THE TOPIC; aloud for most, makes it even slower. EVIDENCE)

Crosby, M of R., pp.134-5, before printing (and due to sc. writ. practices) text hard to (MORE EVIDENCE) read silently. libraries noisy. reading slow.

Crosby, M of R., p.134, ‘Writing was no (A RELATED QUOTE; AS more than speech on a page’. EVIDENCE)

Already, without writing a sentence, the argument for this idea is planned out, and there is evidence to support it. This can now be turned into sentence (4.3) and paragraph (4.4) form.

3.5—Planning your Conclusion or How to finish

You may also be able to plan your conclusion at this stage. However, like an introduction (3.3) a conclusion plan may have to be altered as your essay evolves.

The purpose of a conclusion is to briefly summarise your whole argument and position. It is closely related to your introduction, although it should not be exactly the same. Rather a conclusion should express similar information as your introduction in a more developed form, and bring the essay to an end.

No new points should be made in a conclusion. No new information or evidence should be added in a conclusion. Like an introduction a conclusion should be in your own words, and is best written after the main body of the essay has been drafted. See (4.7) for more details.

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4) DRAFTING

4.1—Why Write a Draft? So you can improve on it

Effective essay writing is much more than knowing what you have to say, sitting down, and writing it all in one go. Even with a good set of notes (2) and an effective plan (3) you can never be sure of how your final argument is going to turn out. You may discover a logical inconsistency in your structure, come across important new information, or have a blinding insight in the middle of the night. This is why drafting is important. Drafting is a process of discovering what you really have to say. Writing a rough draft is an essential step towards producing a coherent, logical and complete final essay. Start your draft as soon as possible. Do not delay beginning a draft because you are not completely sure of your arguments. Drafting—actually writing your ideas down and trying arguments out—is the best way to make progress. Do not begrudge the labour involved in a certain amount of rewriting—it is part of the writing and learning process.

4.2—Things to Consider While Drafting or keeping the end in sight

When drafting it is important to keep the end product—your final submitted essay—clear in your mind. You will need footnotes (6) and a bibliography (7) in your final copy, so make sure you include all the necessary information for these as you go.

Your introduction (4.8) and conclusion (4.7) can be finished after you have drafted and revised the main body of your essay. It is the main body that is the most important component to draft, as this is where you develop and clarify your argument and analysis.

If you can, allow yourself a break in your essay writing between the draft and the final copy to let your mind absorb what you have done, and what needs to be added. Let the essay have time to ripen.

If you are using a computer it is impossible to see the entire essay at a glance, or even a single page. Because of this, logical errors in construction may creep in. It is a good idea to print out your draft occasionally, so you can see the overall structure.

Most essays will have a word limit for you to aim towards. You are generally allowed plus or minus ten per cent. Keep the final word count in mind while drafting. If you find yourself way below the word count you may have to do some more research and thinking about the topic. If you find yourself going over the limit then edit your draft down by summarising or shortening your text. You should rewrite your text, not randomly delete or add sections that do not fit the structure of your essay.

4.3—What is a Sentence?

Strangely enough, although we write them everyday, it is easy to lose sight of just what a sentence is. What are the components of a sentence? What is its purpose? The Oxford English Dictionary, Second

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Edition, defines a sentence as ‘a series of words in connected speech or writing, forming the grammatically complete expression of a single thought ... containing normally a subject and a predicate [or verb]’. The subject is the word or phrase that the sentence is about. The verb is a word showing an action or state of being.

For example, ‘Curly ran away’.

(SUBJECT) (VERB)

‘The professor thought about the essay’.

(SUBJECT) (VERB)

A sentence is not the same as a phrase or clause.

For example, There are problems with ‘More books were being produced than ever before. On all sorts of topics.’ The phrase ‘On all sorts of topics’ is not a sentence, it has no verb. A more correct construction would be ‘More books were being produced than ever before, on all sorts of topics.’

Remember, an essay is a formal piece of writing, and so should use formal sentence construction. Even if you are unsure what a verb or predicate is, you can use common sense. Formal sentences sound formal. Read your sentences out aloud and ask yourself if the language is appropriate.

For example, ‘Seddon worked tirelessly to promote New Zealand interests’ is more appropriate for a scholarly piece of writing than ‘Seddon worked really hard and did his bit for New Zealand’, which may be okay for the Holmes show.

This does not mean sentences should be overly complicated. In general simplicity is better. Beware of long sentences, especially those more than three lines long. They are probably unbalanced or tangled. Avoid all long parentheses ( ): it is better to put the subject as near to its verb as possible.

There are two types of voice in sentences, passive and active. A sentence written in the active voice has a subject that performs the action of the verb. Try to make your sentences ‘active’ if possible.

For example, do not say ‘Moe was hit by Larry’; it is more direct and simpler to say ‘Larry hit Moe’.

Activating sentences makes them clearer. The use of the passive voice is often confusing, and can hide meaning.

For example, do not say ‘Hitting Moe was intended to emphasise national unity’ as this does not tell the reader who held such intentions. Using the active voice forces clarity; ‘Larry intended hitting Moe to emphasise national unity’ is much clearer.

Be cautious of oversimplifying sentences. While simplification is usually good, you can take things too far. A sentence has to say something.

None of the above means that you cannot use wit, irony or a striking turn of phrase. However, keep in mind that this is a formal essay, not a comedy script, and that such things are best in moderation, and

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only when they relate directly to the topic.

4.4—What is a Paragraph? and how to construct one from your notes

A paragraph is a coherent collection of separate sentences that form one major idea and a group of lesser related ideas. A paragraph should have only one major point, and all the minor elements in a paragraph should be connected.

One general principle is to think of a paragraph as a micro-essay; containing an introductory sentence that states the topic, then further sentence(s) that develop that argument and support it with evidence, and then bring the idea to some closure. In practice the arrangement of sentences in a paragraph is much more flexible, and rigidly following such a structure can make for dull lifeless text. However, it is useful to use such a structure when in doubt.

For example, in the sample reading (1.2) Crosby constructs each of the three paragraphs to make three distinct (but related) points. The first paragraph starts by stating the idea ‘Reading was laborious’. Then Crosby provides specific details. The second sentence offers more clarity, and the whole paragraph is footnoted, showing the sources Crosby used to help construct the point. The next paragraph is on a related but separate point.

Your paragraphs should link into each other if possible, so that your essay flows and develops logically. One hint for checking the structure of your essay is to only read the first sentence in each paragraph and see if you can still understand your essay’s argument. If not then you may need to re-write some paragraphs or change your structure.

In general, you should not use headings or numbered points. You should never use note form in a submitted essay. Rather your notes should be drafted into formal sentences and paragraphs.

For example, taking the notes from the example in (3.4) you could create the following draft paragraph.

(INTRODUCTORY SENTENCE)

Before printing, reading was generally difficult and slow. Scribal texts rarely

included punctuation and spacing, which made reading troublesome.

(EVIDENCE (QUOTE)

(Crosby M. of R., pp.134-5) Most readers treated text as ‘no more than speech

on a page’, and so reading was almost always aloud. (Crosby, M. of R., p.134) Indeed, the difficulties of reading a text without punctuation or spacing, often written in Latin as opposed to the reader’s vernacular, made reading aloud the only practical choice to interpret a text. (Hale, Civ. of Europe, p.293)

(CLOSING SENTENCE WITH EVIDENCE

The page references to the various books shown above in ( ) will later be used to create footnotes (see (6) and (8.15).

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4.5—Questions to Ask of your Draft or‘Do you come here often?’

Have you answered the question? This is the first question you should ask of your work. This is, after all, the purpose of the assignment.

What is the answer you have given? Could you easily explain it to a friend or flatmate? Is the argument obvious? Do not hide your argument under facts. Support it with the most striking facts only. Omit all facts which do not make a significant contribution.

Is your essay well organised? Make sure your paragraphs are arranged in a logical order, and that there is no needless repetition. Are the paragraphs arranged in the best order? Reorganising your structure can sometimes improve the impact of your argument. However, beware of wholesale changes to your structure that then make old links in your writing nonsensical.

Have you supported your arguments with evidence? While your essay should be your own argument, mostly in your own words, this does not mean you can create it solely from your imagination. In general, your ideas and argument must come from informed reading and analysis, and you must show your sources, in the form of footnotes (6), in your final copy.

Is your essay interesting? While this booklet stresses the use of sources and the marshalling of arguments from other authors, this does not mean that your writing needs to be dull. You can use your ideas and imagination as long as this is guided by informed reading. The past is a foreign country, and to visit it you must use your imagination.

Is your writing clear and simple? Avoid jargon when you can, explain jargon when you cannot. Do not bombard the reader with obscure allusions. In other words, write considerately. Think of the reader (and marker) you are trying to explain things to. Your task is to explain and convince, not confuse. Try reading your draft aloud.

4.6—How to Get to the Final Copy, or Now What?

Revision is not simply checking your spelling and punctuation. Rather, revision of your draft is the process by which you check the logic and consistency of your argument, make sure you have answered the question, and check your spelling and punctuation. To be useful, revision has to be thorough.

Get others to read your draft if you can. A new set of eyes can pick up things you yourself may miss. University is not a competitive sport, and essays are judged on their own merits, not against the work of others. Support, suggestions, proof-reading and debate are all useful to the essay writing process.

However, while helping each other is acceptable, even beneficial, any essay you hand in must be your

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own work, written in your words, based on your reading. Handing in an essay copied, in part or whole, either word for word, or closely paraphrased, from another student is plagiarism (2.5), and is severely punished.

4.7—Concluding Your Conclusion, or ‘What did you say?’

Your essay should not simply stop dead when you run out of ideas or reach the word limit. An essay is a shaped answer, and your introduction and conclusion are essential parts of that shape. As noted earlier (3.5) your conclusion should briefly summarise your whole argument, and offer some closure for the essay.

Ask yourself the following questions. ‘Does my conclusion closely relate to the topic and sum up the argument satisfactorily?’ Remember, no new information or evidence should be added in your conclusion.

‘If my conclusion was all that a reader read of my essay, would they understand not only my answer, but what (in general) the question was?’ Avoid using the words of the question directly in your conclusion (or introduction). Instead, try to answer the question in a way that makes the nature of the question obvious.

Hint: One way of starting or outlining your conclusion is to summarise each paragraph as briefly as possible (in a sentence or less). Technically each of your paragraphs should link and advance the argument, so briefly summarising each should give you a coherent, if possibly uninspired, conclusion. If you cannot do this then maybe there are structural problems in your essay that need addressing.

4.8—Polishing Your Introduction or ‘What you are going to say

While your introduction (3.3) may be the first paragraph that is read of your essay, it is often best to make it the last one you write. Like your conclusion, an introduction should be a single paragraph in length. It should generally be even shorter than your conclusion, yet still inform the reader of the argument of your essay.

Again, ask yourself the same sort of questions as you would of your conclusion. ‘Does my introduction succinctly state my argument in response to the question?’ ‘If I did not know the essay topic would I be able to figure out its general essence from my introduction?’ Even better, get someone else to read your essay and tell you what you have argued and answered.

Hint: One way (there are a number of acceptable methods) of writing an introduction is to summarise your conclusion. However, try not to use the same words. Your introduction, while related to your conclusion, should not merely echo it.

4.9—Due Dates and how to keep them

Essays are due on a certain date. Keeping due dates is a skill in itself, and should not be taken lightly. Start your reading and note-taking as early as possible. Even if you then have to put aside the essay in

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order to do other work, an essay that has been started will let your mind ponder the topic, and notice unusual connections, or related books or documents. If you have not started, then you will not know what to look for.

In general, it is better to hand in an unfinished or unpolished work on time than automatically lose marks for an essay. Nothing is more frustrating than having your fine essay returned to you with a mark well below its actual standard, simply because it was penalised for lateness.

Essays must be handed in to meet the mandatory requirements of any course. You must fulfil the mandatory requirements of a course in order to be allowed to sit the final examination or be assessed for a final grade. Therefore, it is better to hand something in for marking than hand in nothing and either get a zero or fail to meet the mandatory requirements. Be aware that, in general, there is also a minimum standard or average mark to be achieved in most courses in order to be satisfy the mandatory requirements. The Book of Readings for a course will contain specific information regarding that course’s mandatory requirements.

Plan ahead, and if you are having problems then talk to your tutor or lecturer as soon as possible. Sickness extensions are sometimes available (with doctor’s certificates), and there are provisions for extensions in case of family bereavements and crises. However, in the end you must still hand in the essays and other course work required to meet the mandatory requirements.

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5) GRAMMAR, SPELLING, AND OTHER TECHNICAL BITS

5.1—General Grammar

Correct grammar helps your essay flow smoothly, and makes your meaning clear. Poor grammar is distracting and frustrating to the reader. If you are in doubt of the correct punctuation and grammar of a sentence then re-write it in a simpler manner. There are complete and comprehensive grammar style guides available in the reference room of the university library.

(a) Sentence construction: Remember that a sentence (see 4.3) requires a verb, not just a subject, and should be a complete thought. If a sentence is hard to punctuate, re-write it in a simpler manner.

(b) Do not use contractions. Do not use 'don't', contractions are not formal language, and are best avoided in an essay. Write words out in full: 'cannot' not can't; 'have not' not haven't; 'it is' not it's.

(c) No abbreviations or symbols. Write: 'for example' not e.g.; 'that is' not i.e.; 'and' not &; 'percent' not %; 'New Zealand' not N.Z. Write centuries out in full, 'the seventeenth century' not the 17th century.

(d) Plurals: Normally English plurals simply require an 's', so that 'ship' becomes 'ships'. For words ending in 'y', they' is changed to 'ies' 'colony' - for example, becomes 'colonies'. A small group of nouns, such as the military term 'corps', retain the same form in both singular and plural. Remember that the plural of Maori is Maori, not 'Maoris', and of Pakeha is Pakeha, not 'Pakehas'.

(e) Apostrophes: Apostrophes are only used to indicate possession and contractions (not to make a word plural). As noted above, formal history essays should not use contractions. Below are guidelines for the use of the apostrophe to indicate possession.

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(i) Possession may be expressed equally well by 'of' or by using the apostrophe and shifting the word order

the dress of the girl the girl's dress

So too for a plural possessor

the dresses of the girls the girls' dresses

(ii) The rule is to put the apostrophe after the possessor and add an 's' if the possessor is in the singular

the girl's dress this class's teacher

(iii) If the possessor is in the plural simply put the apostrophe after the plural possessor

all the girls' dresses all the classes' teachers

This rule for a plural possessor remains the same with both a singular and a plural object of possession. So

the idea of all the students and the ideas of all the students will both be expressed with an apostrophe as

all the students' idea and all the students' ideas

(iv) The only exception to these rules for the use of the apostrophe indicating possession is for personal pronouns, which do NOT have an apostrophe

his hers theirs ours yours its

Note: ‘It's’ is a contraction from ‘it is’ or ‘it has’ and is not the possessive.

(v) Proper nouns (names of people, places, etc and usually capitalised) which end in 's' are sometimes given another 's' as if they were singular, and sometimes not, as if they were plural. You may say either

Keats' poetry or Keats's poetry Jesus' life or Jesus's life

(f) Commas: The purpose of the comma is to separate small sections of a sentence (4.3) in order to make the grammatical structure and sense clear. The way this is done in actual speech is by a short pause. For most practical purposes use a comma to punctuate text according to the natural rhythms of speech. If in doubt read the sentence aloud.

For example, However, there are no hard rules, strict conventions, or definitive guidelines included in this booklet on the use of the comma.

Certain materials, for example, paper, pencils, erasers, are available in the stationery shop.

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(g) Semi-colons: The semi-colon ';' is used as a punctuation mark somewhere between the full-stop and the comma. Usually it is used to separate statements too closely related to be separate sentences.

For example, The lack of strict conventions was a deliberate method of avoiding controversy; and a means of avoiding poor over-generalisations.

(h) Colons: The colon ':' is generally used to introduce words that illustrate a point.

For example, The mosquito has four life stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult.

Colons can (in certain circumstances) be used to introduce quotations.

For example, Chico was heard to say: ‘Why a Duck?’

(i) Parentheses: '( )' are used to enclose remarks not intended to be in the main statement, or to insert a phrase or explanation not belonging to the main statement. It is important to open '(' and close ')' parentheses. Parentheses should be used sparingly. If something is important it should be in your main text, if it is unimportant then consider deleting it.

For example, From Grimm’s tales the child (or adults) learns that wishing is not a substitute for action.

Larry (to Moe and Curly): ‘You knuckle-heads!’

(j) Dash: The '-' is often used today in a variety of ways. Beware of using a dash without good reason. Do not use a dash where other punctuation will do. The most accepted way to use a dash is as a stronger form of commas or parentheses. When using it this way it is important to open and close the dashes, as you would commas and parentheses.

For example, Elvis Presley saw many paranormal visions including dancing angels and UFOs-during his experimental drug-taking years.

(k) Capitals: should be used for names and titles of persons, for political and legislative terms, and for many historical terms.

For example, the New Zealand Government; the Ross Dependency; the Province of Quebec; Labour Party; Copyright Act; Minister of Social Welfare; Mr Speaker; First World War; Indian Mutiny; the Reformation; the Depression; ANZUS Pact.

There are other situations in which capitals are acceptable. However, do not use them without reason.

(l) Foreign words: (i) do not translate well known terms such as raison d'etre, coup d'etat, Realpolitik. The French parlement, for example, is entirely different from the English 'parliament', and should not be translated. (ii) Foreign words should be put in italics or underlined (see (8.8) for more details). Maori words are not considered foreign, and should not be italicised.

(m) Past tense: As a general rule it is a good idea to keep the past in the past tense. This avoids

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confusing statements such as ‘Reading is slow as scribal Latin can be difficult to understand’. Keeping the past in the past tense avoids confusion, so a more appropriate version would be, ‘Reading was slow as scribal Latin could be difficult to understand.’

(n) No offensive language: There is no excuse for offensive, racist, sexist or insulting stereotypical language in your essays.

(o) Avoid mixed metaphors, as they are usually impossible, and at best silly.

For example, you cannot ‘Grasp the nettle firmly in one hand, and take the bull by the horns’, unless you have three hands, or want to get gored by the bull. Similarly, ‘To stand firmly together while forging ahead in new directions’, is just ridiculous.

Metaphors can add interest to your writing, but use them wisely, and one at a time.

(p) Avoid journalese, or hackneyed phrases such as 'meaningful' or 'credibility'. These only obscure -meaning and make a critical reader suspicious.

(q) Avoid dogma or metaphysical musings. Keep your argument and analysis firmly grounded in our shared reality, and do not use a history essay as a forum for religious or philosophical speculation and dogma.

(r) Avoid colloquial expressions. Remember an essay is a formal piece of writing. Use formal language, not everyday street talk.

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5.2—Spelling

Make an effort to avoid mis-spelling words in your essays. If you are in doubt as to the spelling of a word there are dictionaries freely available in the university library reference room.

For example, some commonly mis-spelt words are-fief; feudal; naval/navel; woman/women; there/their; government; Parliament; independent; prerogative; separate.

If you are writing on a computer that has a spelling checker then make use of it. Ensure the language is set to ‘English (New Zealand)’ by setting this as the default language for all documents (refer to your software manual or on-line tutorial for help with this). However, be cautious of computer spelling checkers accepting correctly spelt words in the wrong context.

For example, ‘Two bee ore knot too bee’ is 'correct' as far as a spelling checker is concerned.

Another problem with computers is they do not recognise many correctly spelt academic words and names, and if you are not careful the checker may change them to a correctly spelt but inappropriate word.

For example, the suggestion my spelling checker gives for the name 'John Ballance' is 'John Balance'. A simple press of the 'change all' button and all versions of this name in an essay would be incorrect, yet not to the spelling checker. Nothing is more embarrassing than finding that your 2000 word masterpiece on the importance of John Ballance to pre-First World War New Zealand politics, is actually an essay about some unknown called John Balance.

Nothing beats checking your work yourself, and if you can get someone else to check it as well, all the better. It is often useful to read your writing aloud, as the act of reading aloud forces you to examine every word on the page. Silent reading often lets you imagine correct words and phrases and spelling that may not be in your essay.

5.3—Quotations or ‘They said what?’

As noted earlier (see (2.4)) sometimes you may wish to use the words of another author in your essay, as a quotation. The key points to remember are that all quotes must be footnoted (see (6)); and to quote sparingly and accurately.

Quotations can be used to (a) summarise succinctly a particular point; (b) support an argument you are advancing (c) present a point so fundamental (or so complex) that it cannot be summarised in your own words; (d) present documentary illustrations or evidence.

Try to integrate or blend quotations into your argument. One way is to introduce the source and context immediately before the quotation. The sample reading (1.2) does a good job of this.

Quotations must be accurate. Reproduce the words, spelling, capitalisation and punctuation of your

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source, exactly. If you use a quotation that contains an obvious misprint or mistake you must not alter it yourself. It is assumed that all quotes are reproduced accurately; however, if you want to stress that any mistake or error is not yours but your source's, you can place the word sic in square brackets immediately after the incorrect item. Note that sic is a Latin word meaning 'thus', and therefore should be underlined or in italics (see (8.8))

For example, Abbot notes that ‘there is no single winning formula four[sic] a suck-cessful[sic] academic argument’.

Occasionally you may need to add in your own words or letters to a quotation. This should be done sparingly, when absolutely necessary. Additional material must be enclosed in square brackets to distinguish it clearly from the quotation. You can use this method to replace a capital letter with the lower case equivalent, or to add in clarifying phrases that give context to the quote.

For example, taking some quotes from our sample reading (1.2) you can replace a capital letter with a lower case equivalent;

Crosby states that ‘[w]riting was no more than speech on a page’.

Or add in a descriptive and clarifying phrase,

‘[In the Middle Ages and earlier] most of the time writers mumbled and readers declaimed, and scriptoria and libraries were unquiet, even noisy’.

However, it would not be acceptable to change the meaning of the quote by additions, such as,

‘[At Victoria University] most of the time writers mumbled and readers declaimed, and scriptoria and libraries were unquiet, even noisy’. This is not what your source was saying, and so this is unacceptable use of the evidence.

Using short well-chosen quotations gives support to your arguments and adds interest for the reader. On the other hand, an essay must not become a collection of long quotations. Long quotations are seldom justified. It is generally better to present the views of your sources in your own words. This is why we stress in note taking (2) the importance of summarising what you read in your own words.

The sample reading (1.2) shows a good balance, for example, with the first paragraph on the difficulties of reading scribal text entirely in the author's own words (although supported by footnotes indicating the texts from which Crosby has taken ideas and evidence). Then in the next paragraph, on writing as merely written speech, Crosby supports his argument with quotes (from a primary source (1.3)) and provides a footnote to locate the source of the quotation. The third paragraph is once again entirely in the author's own words, with footnotes indicating the sources of the ideas for the paragraph.

Quotations are contained in quotation marks ‘ ‘. Remember to open and close quotation marks. Punctuation should generally go outside the quote mark.

For example, Crosby states that ‘[w]ruing was no more than speech on a page’.

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(FULLSTOP OUTSIDE QUOTATION MARKS)

While St Ambrose read ‘his voice was silent and his tongue still’, yet the same could not be said of his contemporaries.

(COMMA OUTSIDE QUOTATION MARKS)

If you do use a long quotation (more than three lines) then the accepted format is to indent the quotation and omit the quotation marks.

For example, The Deputy Prime Minister, J. R. Marshall, chose to emphasise other reasons for the New Zealand commitment in the House of Representatives:

The crux of the matter for us is that Communist aggression in Vietnam is a threat to us. If South Vietnam is overrun and becomes a Communist State it becomes the base for the next move in the Communist plan for world revolution .... Our security and way of life are at stake and we cannot stand aside.

This sort of rhetoric would seem to have justified a much greater New Zealand commitment, whereas the New Zealand military force was obviously a token contribution to the American effort.

Only quote a long piece if the point is vital to your argument or cannot be summarised easily.

5.4—Omissions or...

Sometimes (only rarely) a quotation can be shortened by omitting phrases or sentences which do not contribute to the point you wish to make. Be careful that such omissions do not alter the sense or emphasis of the author's words. If in doubt do not omit anything, and if this makes the quote too long and obscure then consider not using it.

Omission from a quotation is shown by three unspaced periods '...'. If the omission contains a full stop then four periods ' ....' are used, the first being close up to the last word. Omissions from the end of a quote do not need to be acknowledged.

For example, compare this with the previous example. ‘The crux of the matter for us is that Communist aggression in Vietnam is a threat to us. If South Vietnam ... becomes a Communist State it becomes the base for the next move in the Communist plan for world revolution .... Our security and way of life are at stake’.

5.5—Word Count and why less is sometimes more

Most, if not all, history assignments and essays will have a word limit. Part of the set task of an essay answer is to keep close to this limit, and yet fully answer the question. As a rough guide, you should try to stay within ten percent of the word limit. Specific assignments may require more precise limits, so be sure to check any instructions.

The key is to be concise yet informative, brief yet explanatory. When drafting your essay keep the word

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limit in mind, and aim for about the limit, or maybe a little more. Hopefully, in your review of your draft you can tighten up your text, deleting unwanted or unnecessary portions of your writing, and bring your essay closer to the word count.

5.6—Some Miscellaneous Technical Points, or Mr Pedantic goes to market

Since it is your essay that you are submitting, it is understood that all the opinions in the essay are yours alone, except those you attribute to another author by way of footnotes (6). Therefore there is no need for expressions such as 'I think' or 'in my opinion'. It is better to use neutral phrases such as 'it is clear' or 'it follows'. Do not use 'we' or 'our' since others may not share your opinion. Avoid clumsy phrases such as 'the writer thinks'; if you are stating the opinion of an author use their name, and more neutral phrases.

For example, ‘It is clear that in the Middle Ages reading was laborious’, is more appropriate than ‘I think that in the Middle Ages reading was laborious’.

‘Crosby states that...’ is better than ‘Crosby thinks that ...’. For all we know Crosby may now have changed his mind.

If you use phrases such as 'some historians' or 'many historians' be sure to back up the point with a footnote that lists some or many historians with that opinion. One or two is not many.

6) FOOTNOTES

6.1—What is a Footnote? and Why do we have them?

Footnotes are linked numbered references that point from a particular sentence (or sentences) of your essay to the location of the sources of your direct quotations, figures and statistics, factual material, and ideas or arguments you have taken from other authors. They are placed at the 'foot' of the page.

Footnotes are an important craft to master as they represent expertise, rigour and accuracy in your use of evidence. They provide a basis for your essay's argument. The key to footnoting, as with so many other aspects of essay writing, is accuracy and consistency.

The sample reading (1.2) has footnotes at the bottom of each page. Each footnote is related to the text by a small number which is also inserted at the end of a sentence.

Alternatively you can use the endnote format (see 6.7), which is reference notes placed at the 'end' of the essay, but before the bibliography, rather than at the foot of the referring page.

6.2—When do I Footnote? and How many is enough?

You must provide footnotes for direct and indirect borrowing. Specifically whenever;

(i) you quote another author (2.4) and (5.4).

For example, if you use all or part the sample quote from (2.4) you must give a footnote. 'Crosby states that ‘[w]riting was no more than speech on a page’.' (FOOTNOTE REQUIRED

34

HERE)

(ii) you present figures, number, percentages, or other statistics. This sort of information comes from somewhere, so you must acknowledge the source. Otherwise how can the figures be checked and 'trusted'?

For example, In 1851 Governor Grey estimated that the Maori population of the colony was 120,000. (FOOTNOTE REQUIRED HERE)

(iii) when summarising detailed factual material from your sources;

For example, Over the course of his life Francois Viète correctly expanded the estimation of pi out to thirty five places; the value of which his wife placed on his tombstone. (FOOTNOTE REQUIRED HERE)

Note: this is not a summary of an argument, it is a summary of factual material which is all easily verifiable, yet you must still indicate the source.

(iv) to acknowledge a summary of an argument or opinion of an author, even when the exact words are not used.

For example, Crosby argues that in the Middle Ages reading was difficult due to the lack of spacing and punctuation. (FOOTNOTE REQUIRED HERE)

Note: this is the summary of an argument, not factual material, as Crosby is not merely stating verifiable facts, but rather making an argument about a subject and supporting it with evidence. It may not have been the case. Reading aloud might have had nothing to do with its being difficult, however, his evidence suggests it did.

A further example, Elvis Presley saw many paranormal visions including dancing angels and UFOs - during his experimental drug-taking years (FOOTNOTE REQUIRED, AS WHAT ELVIS SAW IS AN OPINION OF SOMEONE. HOW ELSE COULD WE KNOW?)

Hint: if you find that most of your footnotes are of type (i) this indicates that your are over-quoting or not recognising your use of other authors' ideas. You should do more summarising of others' ideas in your own words, so more of your footnotes become type (iv).

You do not need to footnote matters of common knowledge.

For example,'The Normans invaded England in the year AD 1066', does not require a footnote, despite the use of a date, as this is common knowledge. However, a more controversial or debated point always needs to be footnoted. So, 'The Normans would have invaded England in AD 1065 if it had not been for bad omens', would require some evidence in the form of a footnote to a source (or sources) that contains this analysis.

You do not need to footnote your own opinions and ideas. This is often the hardest part of footnoting to

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work out, as your ideas often come from your reading. However, new connections and concepts that you have made regarding the topic, even though they are based on your reading, are considered your own. If in doubt it is generally better to over-footnote, rather that under-footnote.

Try not to footnote in your introduction (3.3 and 9.2) and conclusion (3.5 and 9.1), as these should not be introducing new material. They can refer to ideas and evidence you have footnoted in the main body. However, they are summaries of your essay's argument, and as such you should not include new evidence or references.

6.3—Using Notes II or How notes become footnotes

The notes you have taken and used in your outline plan and drafting process contain all the information you require to create your footnotes. That is why this booklet has stressed the importance of taking down the bibliographical details (2.2) and page numbers (2.3) of all the notes you have taken and all the quotations you have recorded.

6.4—The Style of Footnotes

The main requirements for your footnotes are consistency and clarity in identifying a text. The specific information required in each footnote depends on the material being referenced. However, in general this is the author name, text title, place and year of publication, and the page number(s) of the text your writing is referring to. The various details of footnotes for specific sources are detailed below.

Note: Your footnotes should be numbered continuously throughout your essay. (1,2,3,...,n).

Place the referring footnote number slightly above the line of text, generally a little smaller than the main text. The referring footnote number should be placed after the fullstop of the sentence to which the sources relate.

For example, a sentence from the sample draft paragraph from (4.4) might have a referring footnote number as shown:

Scribal texts rarely included punctuation and spacing, which made

reading troublesome.6 [This would refer to the sixth footnote of the essay.]

The footnotes themselves are placed on the same page as the corresponding reference number. There are slightly different conventions for citing books, periodicals, edited collections and translations, et cetera.

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a) Citing books:

Give the author of the book, the title of the book (in italics), the place (city or town) and year of publication, and the page number where you found the material.

For example, the footnote relating to the example above would be at the bottom of the same page and contain the following information in this order.

(AUTHOR) (TITLE)

6Alfred W. Crosby, The Measure of Reality-Quantification and Western Society, 1250-1600,

Cambridge, 1997, pp.134-5.

(CITY) (YEAR) (PAGES)

b) Citing journal articles:

Give the article author's name, article title (in single quotation marks), journal title (in italics), volume number, issue number and month (if there is no month provided give whatever information listed, such as a season), year of publication, and page(s).

For example,

(AUTHOR) (ARTICLE TITLE IN INVERTED COMMAS)

Erik Olssen, 'Mr Wakefield and New Zealand as an Experiment in Post-Enlightenment Experimental Practice', The New Zealand Journal of History, Vol. 31, no. 2, October, 1997, p.210.

(JOURNALTITLE) (VOLUME) (NUMBER) (DATE) (PAGE)

c) Citing articles from edited collections:

Give the article author, article title (in single quotation marks), editor's name, collection title, place and year of publication, and page(s).

For example,

(AUTHOR) (ARTICLE TITLE) (EDITOR) (BOOK TITLE)

13C. Davis, 'Clio's Lost Sheep', in Jock Phillips (ed.), Biography in New Zealand, Wellington, 1985, pp.9-12.

(PLACE) (DATE) PAGES)

Even when the author of the article is the same person as the editor of the collection you should still list the names in both places.

For example,

(AUTHOR) (EDITOR)

14Jock Phillips 'Introduction', in Jock Phillips (ed.), Biography in New Zealand, Wellington, 1985, p.l.

d) Citing films and videos

Give the producer’s and/or director’s name (or names), the title, the place and year of production.

For example,

(PRODUCER) (TITLE) (PLACE) (YEAR)

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Ken Burns et al, The West, Alexandria, Va, 1996

(PRODUCER) (WRITER/INTERVIEWER) (TITLE)

Gaylene Preston and Judith Fyfe, War Stories our mothers never told us,

(PLACE) (YEAR)

Wellington, 1995 (released on video, 1996)

e) Citing material from the internet:

If you use material from the Internet you must provide a full, first reference which contains the following information: author’s name (first name comes first); title of work of the list/site as appropriate; access path (Universal resource locator, URL); date created, if available; date on which you accessed information.

For example,

(AUTHOR) (TITLE OF WORK)

18Graeme Davison, ‘On History and Hypertext,’ Electronic Journal of Australian and New Zealand History; available from http://www.jcu.edu.au/aff/history/new.htm; accessed 19 August 1997.

(URL) (ACCESS DATE)

f) Citing revised editions:

If a book is a revised edition then you should also note the original year of publication, and the current edition you are using and that edition's year of publication.

For example

ORIGINAL (REVISED

(AUTHOR) (TITLE) (CITY) YEAR) (EDITION) YEAR) (PAGE)

7E. H. Carr What is History?, London, 1961, 2nd edition, 1987, p.88.

(AUTHOR) (TITLE)

8Maurice Meisner, Mao's China and After -A History of the People's

Republic, New York, 1977, revised edition, 1986, p.129.

(CITY) (ORIGINAL (EDITION) (REVISED (PAGE)

YEAR) YEAR)

g) Citing translations:

If a source has been translated also include the translator's name.

For example,

(AUTHOR) (TRANSLATOR)

32St. Augustine, Confessions, R. S. Pine-Coffin (trans.), Harmondsworth,1961, p.114.

h) Citing lectures:

Footnoting notes from a lecture should only be done if the information or argument cannot be found in more conventional sources. Avoid using lecture notes as references where possible, as they are likely to be incomplete and possibly inaccurate; often they have been taken in a rush. You should include the lecturer's name, the lecture title if one

38

For example,

(AUTHOR) TITLE) (COURSE) (PLACE) (DATE)

37Giselle Byrnes, 'The Prophets', HIST111 lecture, Victoria University, 22 July 2000.

i) Citing works quoted in another work:

If you are footnoting a quote or idea from a book that does not belong to the author of the book, you must identify not only the original author, but also note the text in which you found the excerpt (or else seek out the original source).

For example, if you wanted to use a quote from St. Augustine from Crosby's book you must show that while the author of the quote may be St. Augustine, you did not obtain the quote from the original work. So the footnote would expand to include all this information.

(DETAILS OF SOURCE YOU ARE USING)

40St Augustine, Confessions, R. S. Pine-Coffin (trans.), Harmondsworth,1961, p.114, in Alfred W Crosby, The Measure of Reality-Quantification and Western Society, 1250-1600, Cambridge, 1997, p.134.

(DETAILS OF BOOK IN WHICH SOURCE WAS FOUND)

j) Citing a Book of Readings:

This is the same as footnoting a cited work. The key is to remember that it is the original author and initial source of the text you are using that you must acknowledge first. Ask yourself, ‘Who wrote the text I am using, and where did it come from?’ Then note that the material was 'in' the Book of Readings (or seek out the original source).

For example, if using the text on page 53 of the HIST111 Book of Readings you must note the original author, publication, and page numbers, and then note that you took this from the Book of Readings.

41Dorothy Shineberg, 'Guns and Men in Melanesia', Journal of Pacific History, Vol 6, 1971, p.62, in HIST111: Colonial Encounters Pacific Experiences Book of Readings, Wellington, 1998, p.53.

Note: a Book of Readings does not list an editor, so you cannot give the editor name. Do not assume the editor is your lecturer. Where there is no information given you cannot make it up.

k) Citing multiple sources:

If you have two or more sources that give the same information or argument you can footnote all of them in the same footnote. Entries for each title follow the same rules as other footnotes, and each source is separated by a semi-colon ';'.

For example, for the same (or very similar) argument found in the following two books you could footnote both.

10Francois Crouzet, The Victorian Economy, A. S. Forster (trans), London, 1982, p.15; S. Pollard and D. W. Crossley, The Wealth of Britain, 1085-1966, London, 1968, p.241.

If you are using a word processing package capable of footnotes use it. It is always best to use auto-

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numbering footnotes that will automatically change the numbers if you add or subtract footnotes as you go. If you are writing footnotes out by hand then number them first in pencil and only write them in permanently one you have finished editing and redrafting your text.

There are many other types of sources that require specialised footnoting (and bibliographical) details. This booklet cannot give a complete list. The basic principles of footnoting can be found here. If you encounter a source that does not seem to fit into any of the above categories you can ask your tutor or lecturer for advice. Footnoting may seem difficult and cumbersome at first, but it becomes routine with a little practice.

6.5—Page Number References; p. or pp.

Page numbers are written as 'p.' for a reference from a single page or 'pp.' for material that spans two or more pages. If the footnote refers to two distant separate pages then each page must be listed separately as the reference does not refer to the intervening pages.

For example,

(i) for a reference from page nine, p.9.

(ii) for a reference for material that spans pages nine, ten and eleven, pp.9-11.

(iii) for a reference that takes material from page nine and page eleven (but not page ten), pp.9,11.

Please note: do not use 'pg' as a page reference.

6.6—Abbreviating footnotes, the short version and ibid

In order to avoid an essay becoming overwhelmed with long complicated footnote references throughout there is a convention used by historians to shorten some footnotes. There are two ways to shorten footnotes, but you can never shorten the first reference to any work you are citing. You do not have to use the short versions; however, they can save you time and space.

If you have already given a complete footnote for a text (as outlined above) then you may later refer to it using a short version that lists only the author's surname and the page(s) referenced.

For example, in an essay where you have already given a footnote to,

2Greg Dening, Mr Bligh's Bad Language - Passion, Power and Theatre on the Bounty, Cambridge, 1992, p.27.

Then for subsequent footnotes you could footnote using the short format.

13Dening, p.27.

However, if you are using more than one work by the same author, or two authors with the same surname, you should also provide a short title to avoid confusion. The short title should be the first few words of the full title, enough to uniquely identify that text in your essay.

For example, if you have already given a full footnote references for,

1Charles Webster, The Great Instauration: Science, Medicine and Reform 1626-1660, London, 1975, p.163.

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and,

4Charles Webster, 'Alchemical and Paracelsian Medicine' in Charles Webster (ed.), Health, Medicine and Mortality in the Sixteenth Century, Cambridge, 1979, pp. 301-3.

Then you could shorten both in subsequent footnotes with a short title to identify each distinctly:

8Webster, 'Alchemical and Paracelsian Medicine', p.312.

12Webster, Great Instauration, p.14.

The second method of shortening a footnote reference applies to footnotes of the same work that immediately follow each other. Instead of using a full or short version you can substitute 'ibid.'. The term 'ibid.' is a specialised designation derived from the Latin word 'ibidem', which means 'in the same place'. Despite being derived from a foreign word (and being an abbreviation too) 'ibid.' does not need to be italicised.

For example,

5Witold Rybczynski, Waiting for the Weekend, New York, 1991, p.89.

6ibid. (SAME BOOK, SAME PAGE)

7ibid., p.78. (SAME BOOK, DIFFERENT PAGE)

8Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, London, 1946, 2nd edition, 1961, p.668.

9ibid., p.191. (NOW REFERS TO Russel's, History)

10Rybczynski, p.16. (BACK TO FIRST BOOK, THIS TIME IN SHORT TITLE)

It is often wise to make all footnotes in your draft full references, and then shorten those that can be shortened only in the final copy. Remember, you must give the first citation of any work in your footnotes in complete, full format.

6.7—Endnotes instead of footnotes

If you do not have ‘Endnote” software installed, or you are handwriting or typing your essay, you can choose to use the endnote format rather than footnotes. Endnotes follow the same format as footnotes, with the exception that they are on a separate fresh page (or pages) inserted between your conclusion and your bibliography. If handwriting your essay, the page should be titled 'Endnotes' and list the references in numerical order (1, 2, 3, …, n).

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7) BIBLIOGRAPHIES

7.1—What is a Bibliography, and why do we have them?

A bibliography is simply the alphabetical listing of the sources you have consulted to write your essay. The purpose of a bibliography is to allow a reader of your work to trace your sources. You should record the information to complete your bibliography as you read (1) and take notes (2). An essay is not complete without a bibliography. Do take care to include the relevant information as detailed below.

7.2—The Style of Bibliographies with examples

Your bibliography should be the final page(s) of your essay, and should begin on a separate fresh sheet of paper. The first page of your bibliography should be headed 'Bibliography'.

You should list all relevant books and journal articles you consulted to write the essay. Do not include works you have not consulted. Essays are marked on the assumption that you have used all the books listed in your bibliography.

Bibliographical entries are similar in style and content to footnote references (see 6) with some important exceptions.

A bibliography is an alphabetical listing, by surname of the authors. Author names are therefore listed by surname first, then by first names (or initials). The only complication to this is that it is customary to separate your bibliography into two distinct alphabetical lists; one of primary material (if any), and the other of secondary material (see (7.3) for an example).

The bibliographical entry for a book requires the author (surname first), title, place and year of publication.

For example,

Crosby, Alfred W., The Measure of Reality-Quantification and Western Society, 1250-1600, Cambridge, 1997.

McPhee, Peter, The French Revolution, 1789-1799, Oxford, 2002.

The bibliographical listings of articles a journal should contain the author (surname first), article title (in inverted commas), journal title (in italics), volume number, issue number, year of publication, and the page range of the full article.

For example,

Dasgupta, Jyotirindra, ‘Community, Authenticity, and Autonomy: Insurgence and Institutional Development in India's Northeast', The Journal of Asian Studies, Vo1.56, no.2, 1997, pp.345-70.

For an article from an edited collection the bibliographical entry requires, the author (surname first), the

42

article title (in inverted commas), editor'(s) name(s), collection title (in italics), place and year of publication, and the full page range of the article.

For example,

Goodman, Dena, ‘Women and the Enlightenment’, in Renate Bridenthal, Susan Mosher Stuart and Merry E. Weisner (eds.), Becoming Visible: Women in European History, 3rd ed., Boston and New York, 1998, pp.233-62.

The basic style principles for other texts are the same as for footnotes (see (6.4) for more details). The only differences to remember are to place the surname first (and list the entries alphabetically), and if referring to an article include the full page range of the article. A sample bibliography, following the presentation guidelines given in section (8), is given below.

7.3—A Sample Bibliography

Bibliography

Primary sources

St Augustine, Confessions, R.S. Pine-Coffin (trans.), Harmondsworth, 1961

Secondary sources

Carr, E.H., What is History?, London, 1961, 2nd edition, 1987.

Crosby, Alfred W., The Measure of Reality-Quantification and Western Society, 1250-1600, Cambridge, 1997.

Crouzet, Francois, The Victorian Economy, A.S. Forster (trans.), London, 1982.

Goodman, Dena, ‘Women and the Enlightenment’, in Renate Bridenthal, Susan Mosher Stuart and Merry E. Weisner (eds.), Becoming Visible: Women in European History, 3rd ed., Boston and New York, 1998, pp.233-62.

McPhee, Peter, The French Revolution, 1789-1799, Oxford, 2002.

Pollard S. and Crossley D.W., The Wealth of Britain, 1085-1966, London, 1968.

Shineberg, Dorothy, ‘Guns and Men in Melanesia’, Journal of Pacific History, Vol. 6, 1971, pp.61-82, in HIST111-Colonial Encounters Pacific Experiences Book of Readings, Wellington, 1998, pp.52-63.

Van Helden, Albert, ‘Giordano Bruno (1548-1600)’, http://es.rice.edu/ES/humsoc/Galileo/People/bruno.html, 1995.

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8) PRESENTATION AND STYLE GUIDE

Below are guidelines for the presentation of your final product: the submitted essay. There are other sections in this booklet that provide specific details of presentation, particularly (6.4) and (7.2). Also provided at the end of this section is a sample page type-set following the style guidelines given below (8.15).

The presentation guidelines in this booklet are designed to help make your essay easy to read and mark. The ability to present your essay to a set standard is a skill that will be expected whether in the workforce or in another department.

8.1—One-sided pages only

Essays should be written on one side of each page only. This makes essays easy to read, and also gives extra room for those long, involved comments markers sometimes wish to make.

8.2—Type Size and Fonts

A good size and style of font is twelve point Times New Roman. Use standard font types, such as Times Roman, Palatino Linotype or Helvetica. (This booklet has been typeset in ten point Palatino Linotype.) Fancy fonts only make things hard to read. If you are handwriting your essay (see (8.11) below) keep the letters large enough to read.

8.3—Doubling Spacing and Margins

Double spacing your essay makes it easier to read and leaves room for your marker. Double spacing means leaving a full blank line after each written line.

For example, This text is double-spaced. On a computer this can usually be set up in the paragraph settings, under line spacing. If you are typing or handwriting your essay, simply leave a blank line after each written line. Even in exams it is often a good idea to double-space your answers, as it makes reading and marking your work easy.

Leave a wide left-hand margin in your final copy. Margins are important as they give room for your marker to comment on your work. A good margin is about thirty-five to fifty millimetres (35-50mm). See the sample page (8.10) for an example.

8.4—Paragraph indents or spaces

It is a good idea to leave an extra line between paragraphs or indent the first line of each paragraph. This helps keep the separate ideas in your essay dear. A formal essay generally has no headings or subheadings, and so a simple, easy to follow paragraph layout is essential. This booklet has left a line between each paragraph, while the sample reading (1.2) has indented the first line of each paragraph. Choose one method and stay consistent throughout your essay.

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For example, let us pretend that this is the last sentence of a paragraph.

Then this is the first sentence of a new paragraph, and we can make the first line indented. You will also notice that there is no line gap between the two paragraphs, although we could have used that method instead of an indent.

8.5—Page numbers or Pick a page, any page

Your submitted essay should have page numbers on the top right-hand corner of each page.

8.6—Italics or Underlined?

Foreign words, book titles and journal titles should all be either italicised or underlined in your essay. Each method means exactly the same thing. Pick one method or the other and stay consistent throughout your essay.

Sometimes you must italicise a title that already has italicised words. For instance, for a title that appear on the cover of a book as ‘Class structure in Machiavelli's The Prince', the convention is that the italics of an italicised word is in normal type. In other words two italicisations cancel each other out. So the title given above would be written in your essay as: Class structure in Machiavelli's The Prince.

8.7—Numbers, Centuries and Years, and what to do with them

Numbers less than one hundred (100) should be written out in words. For example, ten; eighty-three; ninety-nine. Numbers greater than one hundred can be given in numerical form.

It is acceptable to use numerical form for all values in tables or graphs. For presentation purposes, all graphs, tables or diagrams should be placed in an appendix at the end of your essay, and 'pointed to' in the text.

Centuries should be written out in words. For instance, the sixteenth century; the fifth century B.C.; the nineteenth century.

Years are normally given in numerical form; so 1848; 1998; 1066. However, full dates should be written out with the day in numerical form, and the month in words. For instance, 22 November 1998; 4 July 1066;12 March 49 BC.

8.8—Footnotes or Endnotes just stay consistent

As noted in section (6), you can use either the footnote or endnote format in your essay. Footnotes must be placed at the bottom (or 'foot') or the page they relate to. It is generally accepted that footnotes can be written in a slightly smaller type than the main text of your essay, and that footnotes do not have to be double spaced. See the sample page (8.10) for examples of this.

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Endnotes must be presented on a separate fresh page (or pages) at the end of your essay, after your conclusion (or any appendices) and before your bibliography.

8.9—Bibliography format your last page(s)

Your bibliography will be the last page(s) of your essay. Remember that your bibliography must start on a fresh page, and be titled, 'Bibliography'. Bibliography entries should follow the layout guidelines for your main text with one important exception: do not indent the first line of each paragraph (or entry). See section (7) for details, especially the sample bibliography (7.3).

8.10—Make and keep a copy of your essay

Before handing in your essay make a copy either by photocopying the final copy or printing out two copies of the final version. You will have the work to refer to, and you have a backup in the unlikely event your essay is mislaid.

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8.11—Sample page

difficult task that was carried out by a skilled few. Writing underwent a strong revival in the thirteenth century, with the volume of papal correspondence increasing tenfold.5 However, writing was slow, with each letter formed separately and exactly. Scribes were required in greater and greater numbers to perform the dull repetitive task of writing.6

In the early Middle Ages reading was also difficult and slow. Scribal texts rarely included punctuation and spacing, which made reading troublesome.7 Most written documents were for communication purposes, and as most readers treated text as ‘no more than speech on a page’, reading was almost always aloud.8 Indeed, the difficulties of reading a text without punctuation or spacing, often written in Latin as opposed to the reader's vernacular, made reading aloud the only practical choice to interpret a text.9

The volume of writing continued to increase in the fourteenth-century, and prompted innovations in scribal practice that altered the nature of writing and reading. Cursive (or joined) script became dominant, as it was faster to write, and easier to read.10 Each word was formed separately (rather than each letter), and spacing between words became the norm. As the volume of written material increased, and became easier to read, the nature of reading changed. Writing and reading were both transformed from slow, loud and public tasks, to quick, easy and personal methods of communicating and receiving ideas.11

______________________________

5M. T. Clanchy, From Memory to Written Record: England, 1066-1307, London, 1979, pp.45, 258

6Henri-Jean Martin, The History and Power of Writing, Lydia Cochrane (trans.), Chicago, 1994, p.134.

7Alfred W. Crosby, The Measure of Reality-Quantification and Western Society, 1250-1600, Cambridge, 1997, pp.134-5.

8Crosby, p.134; Giulia Bologna, Illuminated Manuscripts - The Book Before Gutenberg, New York, 1988, p.27.

9John Hale, The Civilisation of Europe in the Renaissance, London, 1993, p.293.

10Martin, pp.142-3; Bologna, p.27.

11Crosby, p.136.

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9) ASSESSMENT

9.1—What the Grades Mean

The criteria for judging essays fall into two broad categories: firstly, construction of your essay as an argument, which involves such things as research, development of an argument, and answering the question; secondly, the presentation of your essay, including grammar, spelling and expression. The following guide to grades is some indication of what is expected in an essay. While we have tried to systematise the marking of essays, many do not fit into the categories. Often essays will display characteristics that run across the grades. The mark given will, therefore, often be the result of balancing the essay's overall qualities.

A+ (85+): An extremely well crafted paper that excels in all areas. It shows a high degree of original thought and interpretation. It has been widely researched, making creative use of a range of resource tools.

A (80-84): A paper in the 'distinction' class. It demonstrates excellent analytical and critical ability. The argument should be well constructed and based on wide reading, including as much relevant primary material as appropriate. There should be evidence of originality of thought and interpretation. The areas of grammar, spelling and referencing should display a high level of competence.

A- (75-79): An essay in this grade will display the skills of an A essay, but to a lesser degree. It should have a well developed argument, critically evaluate sources, and be solidly researched from a wide range of material. The essay should have no problems in the areas of grammar, sentence construction, or referencing.

B+ (70-74): Should be well written, thoroughly researched, and well referenced. It should have a good argument, with some critical evaluation of sources, but may not have as much independent interpretation and analysis as an A essay. There may be a few problems with grammar, sentence construction and referencing. B+ essays should develop a solid argument that addresses the major issues of the question.

B (65-69): B essays are good, solid papers based on the key sources with minimal extra reading. There are no serious faults in the essay in terms of referencing, grammar or spelling. The argument may not be as strong as it could be, or there may be little critical evaluation of the sources. There may be small problems in using evidence to support statements.

B- (60-64): A solid essay often based on more general texts. It is without serious flaws, but lacks the originality and interpretation of higher graded essays. The argument may be poorly constructed or inadequately defended. There may be little or no critical analysis. There may be problems with

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the use of evidence, spelling or sentence construction. An attempt will have been made to answer the question but it may have missed significant issues.

C+ (55-59): An average essay that shows some competence. There may be noticeable problems with grammar, spelling and referencing. Reading may be not be very wide. Often the argument may have serious problems.

C (50-54): A C essay is a fair attempt to answer the question often based on inadequate reading. There may be problems in several areas, but overall the essay attempts to answer some of the major points of the question.

D+ (45-49): This is a fail mark given to an essay that is unacceptable for a number of reasons. Often there is profound inaccuracy or confusion about the question. There may be problems with the use of material. While this grade usually denotes considerable problems, often minor improvements will boost the grade.

D (40-44): This is a fail mark given for inadequate work.

E (39 or less): An E grade is given only for essays that fall well below the required standard. This mark is rarely given.

Lateness penalties may lower a higher graded essay to a fail category. History essays will be subject to the following penalties:

5% deducted for the first day late;

2% per day thereafter for a maximum of 8 days.

Work submitted more than 8 days after the due date will not be marked.

9.2—Re-Assessing your Assessment, or How to use your essay for further work

When you get your marked essays back it is often too easy to look quickly at the grade, celebrate or commiserate with your fellow students, and then file your essay under the stack of current work you are doing. However, aside from the basic grade your essay receives, there will be a number of helpful comments and suggestions from your marker. These comments can help you with future essays, and they can also be of assistance when it comes to tests or exams. Take time to go through your marked essays, and if you have any questions see your tutor or lecturer.