Writing historical texts can be challenging, so here are some tools to help. When identifying and analyzing a historical source and/or text, you have to focus on three things: the motive (if it’s about people in history), research/evidence, and the argument. These three things will help when writing essays, historical editorials, etc. However, there are also three phrases to avoid when writing them. Let’s dive in.
The Motive
Stating the motive is one of the most essential parts of writing essays. If someone is writing about the American Revolution, they would have to show what started it, otherwise, we wouldn’t know why specific actions were done and the reader would have more questions than answers. However, the motive isn’t essential in certain aspects of historical texts. If someone were writing about the psychological effects of the Revolution on the soldiers, the motive wouldn’t be very important. Another example is natural disasters. Natural disasters are things we can’t control. These disasters weren’t choices made by mankind, so they didn’t happen because of a motive.
The Research and Evidence
The research and evidence are the most crucial parts of writing historical essays. These are where the entire essay comes from. People want facts. You can give it to them, but claims without proof equal theories. While those claims can be true, people don’t want to have to take the time to do their own research and fact-check your essay; it’s a waste of time. You can do the research but not have evidence of it, so it’s important to state your source, which brings us to our next point.
The Argument
When writing a historical editorial or essay that asks you to give your opinion, your argument must be well-presented. This is especially where the research and evidence is important. Well-presented arguments have clearly stated facts that come from “trusted” sources and are presented with strong, well-done research. It is also important to make sure that no fallacies are presented in your essay or editorial. Fallacies can kill your argument. If someone recognizes a fallacy in your writing, he or she can easily say that your argument is fallacious and has no base. These are very important aspects of presenting arguments.
Three Phrases to Avoid
In writing historical texts, there are three phrases to avoid. “Throughout history,” “It was inevitable,” and “And that’s why [insert country] is so great today” must be avoided. When you use the phrase “Throughout history’, you have to be mindful of the period you are writing about. For example, if your subject was the automobile in the Roaring 20s, you wouldn’t say, “Throughout history, the automobile has been a useful way of transporting man.” As you know, the automobile hasn’t been around for about 140 years; this is a tiny fraction of history.
“It was inevitable” is another phrase not to be used. People make choices. Besides natural disasters, history was shaped by decisions people made. Many things could have been avoided if people had made different choices.
The third one is especially not to be used when writing texts that should be written from a neutral stance (like recounting a historical occurrence for example). When people read informational texts, they want the facts, not someone’s bias. Even if what you are writing is supposed to have an opinion, people can interpret things in different ways, so your writing may be controversial, whether you like it or not.
Conclusion
You should always focus on the motive, research and evidence, and argument. As well as those, you should be careful of using the phrases “Throughout history,” “It was inevitable,” and “And that’s why [insert country] is so great today.” The argument is also an important part of making sure that your article is valid. These will help you to make a masterful article.
Thanks to Khan Academy for info