How to write a history essay

How to write history essay in simple steps

Often, we are given essays to write as an assignment. Every essay types are different from each other. History essay is such an essay which gives an evaluative text about the evidences that are brought together for summing up on a topic.

Here is an article which will have an insight about what is history essay and how to write it. Read along to follow more about it.

What is history essay?

History essay is an academic essay which has information about a topic from the past which is analysed in-depth to bring out essential factors and information about it. It is basically a magnified look on the issue which brought a huge change and the impact over the time period it happened.

It requires historical understanding and analytical mind to write on the topic that is chosen.

Characteristics of a history essay                 

1.History essay analyses an event, evaluates the issue and proceeds to provide to provide an evidence to it.

2.History must always be written with a quote added to it. The quote that is added must be discussed

3.History essay consists of thesis statement. This must be included to make sure that the topic which is being written gets the necessary readability and helps in linking different sections together.

Step by step guide to write a history essay

Step 1:Identify the question:  To write a history essay, the primary to remember is to identify the question. Knowing the question will help in drawing better conclusions for the essay. The aim is to bring clarity to the issue that is raised.

Step 2:Research for the topic: Once the topic is chosen, it must be researched properly. To research for the topic there are two kinds of evidences that must be used. They are primary sources and secondary sources.

1.Primary sources are the first hand witnesses

2.Secondary sources are the information which are evaluated by the historians

It is very important to approach the topic chosen in an appropriate manner so that the question that is taken up can be given complete justification.

Step 3:Plan the structure: After a topic is selected and necessary information are collected, it must be then planned into an organized structure. Structuring an essay is crucial as it gives the advantage of giving an essay a proper shape.

Usually an essay is structured into three sections; they are an introduction section, a body section, and a conclusion section.

Step 4:Write an introduction section:  An introduction section is the first section which should be included to introduce a topic. Along with the information, it must also contain hook statement and thesis statement. Including these statements will help in increasing the readability and build logical connectivity between the sections of an essay.

Step 5:Include a body section:  The next section after an introduction section is the body section. This section is considered the heart of an essay. Here all important arguments, its subordinating points must be mentioned.

A body section is written in paragraphs. They will usually have three or more paragraphs with each paragraph containing arguments and its subordinating points.

Step 6:Conclude the essay: The last section an essay is the conclusion section. Conclusion section must be written succinctly as every essay that starts well must end well.

Possible conclusion that can be drawn must be presented convincingly so as to suffice to the information that is already presented. 

Step 7:Edit and revise the essay: An essay gets completed when all the three sections are edited and revised. Editing is a stage of writing which must be performed appropriately. It is a process where the existing text gets modified according to the context; that is if further information is to added or information which is not required are discarded.

After editing, the next stage is to overlook on the essay or to revise it. Thus editing and revising will make it an essay with much more clarity than without it.

Step 8:Proofread the essay: The last stage to an essay is proofreading. Proofreading occurs at last so as to check some of the silliest and smallest errors that can make a great difference while it is getting publishing.

Proofreading is a tool which rectifies the mistakes which went unnoticed while it was being drafted and even while editing it.

Tips to consider while writing history essay

1.It is necessary to properly refer to the reputable references.

2.Try to avoid first person such as “I”, “we” as it is an academic writing.

3. The arguments to an essay must be clearly represented.

4.Generalizations must be avoided.

5.It is encouraged to write in the active voice which will give more clarity to the write-up and reduce complexity.  

Example topic for a history essay

1.American woman in world war II

2.The history of AIDS

3.Impact of Buddhism over the world

4.The great depression

5.Judaism