Many people assume that professional writers don't need to rewrite; the words just fall into place. On the contrary, careful writers can't stop fiddling. . . . Students, I realize, don't share my love of rewriting. They think of it as punishment: extra homework or extra infield practice."
William Zinsser, writer, 1998

Introduction

The medium of history as an intellectual discipline is the written word. Successful students in this field must be able not only to read but write well. That is, they must be able to receive and impart words with precise meaning. Sloppiness of expression is as detrimental to any historical study as faulty equations are to physics. This guide is designed to help you avoid some of the more obvious pitfalls of misstatement into which students often fall.

Remember that good writing is actually very simple. Essentially, it requires preparation (i.e. awareness of pertinent data and the construction of a viable argument) and the precise, direct expression of your thoughts. Thus, the advice below is broken into two parts, Style and Content.

A. The General Tone of Your Writing

1. Informality

2. Definitive Statements

3. Overstatements

4. Meaningless Words and Non-Statements

5. Choppy Sentences

B. Words and Word Choices

1. Phrasing

2. Repetition of Words

3. Noun Clusters

C. Grammar and Spelling

1. Subject-Verb Agreement

2. Dangling Participles

3. Pronoun Referents

4. Spelling

5. Possessives and Plurals

6. Present-Tense Verbs

7. Prepositions

D. Organizing Your Work

1. Paragraphs

2. Punctuation

3. Run-ons and Fragments

E. The Presentation of Your Work

1. Neatness

2. Quotes

3. Proofread

II. Part 2: Content

A. Topic

1. Stick to the Question/Topic

2. Positive Themes

3. Narrow Themes

B. Structuring and Organizing Your Paper

1. Introduction and Conclusion

2. Rough Transitions

C. Argumentation: What to Include and How Much

1. Narrative

2. Repeated Phrases and Facts

3. Specific Facts

4. Technical Terms

5. Length

D. Plagiarism