Essay Writing

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• Writing is thinking on paper. It doesn’t matter how well you say nothing, it is still nothing. There is ONLY one best choice and arrangement of words to express a given idea

• You are writing to impress a reader who will have approximately 2 minutes with your essay. You must convince the reader that you are an intelligent life-form.

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• Analyze means: examine HOW and WHY

• Read the question carefully and focus your discussion on directly answering that question. Emphasize the following– Analyze or assess the DEGREE to which a statement is true– Analyze or assess the IMPACT of an event or concept on some

aspect of American society– Analyze or assess the RELATIVE IMPORTANCE of various factors

on an event or concept. – Analyze or assess the EXTENT to which a historical stereotype is

true for a given period or concept– Analyze or assess the REASONS that cause a particular mov’t to

develop– COMPARING and CONTRASTING differing attitudes toward a

general concept or policy or different factors over time.

“Hit ‘em with a brick” Begin with a well-developed thesis statement that does more than repeat the question. It should

1. ANSWER THE QUESTION

2. TAKE A POSITION

3. ESTABLISH ORGANIZATIONAL CATERGORIES

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Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence which defends your thesis and directly answers the question and support it with as much specific factual information as you can. Do not merely list or describe information but use it to prove your thesis. Explain how and why the specific information supports your point of view (interpretative commentary) Avoid “vomit” essays in which you merely throw-up information in a random matter without relating it back to your thesis.

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“Kill the damn dog”Keep your essay focused on

answering the question.The reader knows how this will

turn out so just kill the dog

Example:"See Spot run. Spot runs past Dick. The grass is wet. See

Spot run past Jane. Dick has a stick. The sun is shining. Hear Baby cry. Spot runs into the road. Spot gets hit by a car."

"While running across the yard to avoid being hit by a stick that Dick was swinging, Spot was blinded by the morning sun reflecting off the dewy grass, ran into the road, and was hit by a car.”

End each paragraph with a clincher sentence that ties the entire paragraph directly back to the thesis statement.

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Always focus on the complexity of history. Demonstrate that you understand the concept of multi-causation/ multi-effect. Bring as much depth and breadth into the essay as possible.

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Essays must always be written in dark blue or dark black ink. Penmanship, spelling, and grammar make a difference because they subconsciously affect the ability of the reader to extract information from your essay and they interfere with the logical flow of the essay. Use only past tense and DO NOT attempt to make your essay relevant to today's world. Use only third person. Avoid starting sentences with pronouns.

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The question every reader asks themselves at the end of an essay is, "How sophisticated a knowledge of history has this student demonstrated in this essay?" The demonstrated level of sophistication will ultimately determine the grade.