A Student's Guide to History

Fourteenth Edition

Publication Date: May 02, 2022

E-book ISBN: 9781319510947

A complete guide to success in any history course, updated to reflect The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition

This guide provides comprehensive coverage of the historians research process — from formulating a research question to how to find, evaluate, and work with sources of all types — written and nonwritten, in print and online. The writing process is explained thoroughly as advice on creating a strong

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Preface

A Note to Students

Chapter 1

The Subject of History and How to Use It

What History Can Tell You

How Historians Work

How Historians Think about History

Causation

Continuity and Change

Contextualization

Examining Historical Evidence

Historical Interpretation

Approaches to History

Philosophies of History

Historiography

Fields of Historical Research

How You Can Use Your History Skills

Public History

The Private Sector

Chapter 2

Succeeding in Your History Class

Keeping Up with Reading Assignments

Navigating a Textbook

Reading a Textbook

Taking Notes in Class

Guidelines for Taking Lecture Notes

From Class Lectures and Presentations

From Multimedia Presentations

Guidelines for Taking Notes on Media Presentations

Taking Exams

Guidelines for Writing In-Class Essay Exams

Objective and Short-Answer Exams

Example of a Short-Answer Question

Example of an Identification Question

Example of a Multiple-Choice Question

In-Class Essay Exams

Composing Sample Questions

Taking the Test

Take-Home Essay Exams

The Dangers of Plagiarism

Classroom Participation

Classroom Discussions

Oral Presentations

Guidelines for Speaking in Class

Guidelines for Giving an Oral Presentation

Creating Media Presentations

Group Work

Guidelines for Peer Reviewing

Interactive Course Content

Cooperative Learning

Chapter 3

Working with Different Types of Historical Evidence

Primary Sources

Secondary Sources

When a Secondary Source Becomes a Primary Source

Accessing Sources of Evidence in Print, in Person, and Online

Reading Written Sources

Guidelines for Working with Written Sources

Primary Texts

Scholarly Articles

Guidelines for Identifying Scholarly Articles

Monographs

Anthologies

Literature

"Reading" Nonwritten Sources

Maps

Guidelines for Interpreting Nonwritten Sources

Statistical Data

Illustrations, Photographs, and Other Visual Material

Sound and Video Recordings

Artifacts

Chapter 4

Evaluating and Interpreting Historical Evidence

Evaluating Sources

Evaluating Secondary Sources

Reviewing Secondary Sources for Basic Information

Guidelines for Evaluating Secondary Sources

Reading Secondary Sources for Signs of Bias

Evaluating Primary Sources

Written Primary Sources

Guidelines for Evaluating Written Primary Sources

Nonwritten Primary Sources

Guidelines for Evaluating Nonwritten Primary Sources

Special Problems of Evaluating Web-Based Sources

Evaluating Material Found on WebSites

Guidelines for Evaluating Websites

Guidelines for Evaluating Material Found on Websites

Documenting Web-Based Sources

Interpreting Sources and Taking Notes

Reading Your Sources

Summarizing and Paraphrasing without Plagiarizing

Summarizing Your Sources

Paraphrasing Your Sources

Quoting without Plagiarizing

Organizing Your Notes

Taking Notes on Note Cards

Taking Notes on a Computer

Photocopying, Downloading, or Printing Sources

Avoiding Plagiarism

Guidelines for Avoiding Plagiarism

Plagiarism and Internet Sources

Plagiarism and Group Work

Chapter 5

Writing Assignments: From Source Analysis to Comparative Critiques

Writing about Primary Sources

Single-Source Analysis

Comparative Analysis

Writing about Secondary Sources

Book Reviews

Guidelines for Writing a Book Review

Article Critiques

Comparative Reviews and Critiques

How to Organize a Short Essay

Chapter 6

Building a History Essay: From Thesis to Conclusion

Why Clear Writing Is Important

Preparing to Write

The Problem of Organization

Examining Sources

Drafting a Thesis Statement

Creating a Writing Outline

Drafting Your Essay

A Clear Introduction

A Cohesive Body

Sentences: The Building Blocks of Writing

Cohesive, Connected Paragraphs

A Meaningful Conclusion

Revising Your Essay

Guidelines for Revising Your Essay

Proofreading Your Essay

The Danger of Plagiarism

Chapter 7

Conducting Research in History

Beginning the Research Process

Choosing a Topic

Guidelines for the Research Process

Narrowing Your Topic

Formulating a Research Question

Debatable Questions

Narrow Questions

Significant Questions

Researchable Questions

Developing a Thesis

Planning a Research Strategy

Budgeting Your Time and Staying Focused

Keeping an Open Mind

Maintaining a Working Bibliography

Conducting Research

Using the Library’s Online Catalog

The Art of Searching

Searching by Subject or by Keyword

Searching by Author and by Title

Locating Materials by Using Call Numbers

Using Print and Electronic Reference Works

The Problem of Wikipedia

Guidelines on the use of Wikipedia: Possible Dangers

Atlases, Dictionaries, and Encyclopedias

Subject Bibliographies

Using Print and Electronic Periodical Databases

Locating Articles in Scholarly Journals

Guidelines for Using Periodical Databases

Locating Articles in Magazines and Newspapers

Searching for Primary Sources

Primary Sources in Published Collections

Primary Sources in Museum Archives

Primary Sources on the Web

Interviews as Primary Sources

Using Internet Search Tools

Searching Efficiently

Previewing Search Results

Chapter 8

Writing a Research Paper

Asserting Your Thesis

Why Your Paper Needs a Thesis

What Makes a Thesis Effective

Guidelines for Developing an Effective Thesis

Organizing Your Evidence with a Writing Outline

Writing the Text

The Rough Draft

Clear Writing: A Matter of Continuity

Quotations: When and How to Use Them

When to Quote Sources Directly

How to Format Quotations

Incorporating Visual Materials into Your Paper

Guidelines for Incorporating Visuals

When to Use Footnotes and Endnotes

Revising and Rewriting

Guidelines for Revising and Rewriting

Chapter 9

Example of a Research Paper

A Sample Research Paper

How the Thesis Was Developed

The Writing Outline for the Paper

Formatting a Research Paper

Sample Student Research Paper

Chapter 10

Documenting Your Paper: How to Cite Sources in Chicago Style

Formatting Footnotes and Endnotes

Organizing a Bibliography

Directory of Documentation Models for Notes and Bibliography Entries

Documentation Models

Overview of Notes

Overview of Bibliography Entries

Author Variations

Books

Guidelines for Citing Books

Guidelines for Citing Letters in Published Collections

Periodicals

Guidelines for Citing Articles in Print Journals

Guidelines for Citing Articles in Electronic Databases

Public Documents

Multimedia Sources

Guidelines for Citing Information from Web Sites

Other Published Sources

Unpublished Sources

Appendix A

Resources for History Research

Comprehensive Reference Databases

Historical Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, and Atlases

Historical Dictionaries — World

Historical Dictionaries — United States

Historical Encyclopedias — World

Historical Encyclopedias — Europe

Historical Encyclopedias — United States

Historical Atlases — World

Historical Atlases — United States

Biography Collections and Databases

International Biography Collections

United States Biography Collections

Newspaper Indexes and Databases

Newspaper Indexes and Databases — General

Newspaper Indexes and Databases — United States

Periodical Indexes and Databases

Magazine Indexes and Databases

Journal Indexes and Databases

Public Documents

Public Documents — International

Public Documents — Britain, Australia, and Canada

Public Documents — United States

Historical Statistics

Historical Statistics — General

Historical Statistics — National and Regional

Historical Statistics — United States

General Resources in World History

Reference Works and Bibliographies

Websites

Specialized Resources in World History

Ancient History

Europe — General

Europe — Medieval

Europe — Early Modern

Europe — Modern

Britain — General

Britain before 1800

Britain since 1800

Ireland and Scotland

Eastern Europe

Russia and the Soviet Union

Africa

Middle East and North Africa

Asia — General

South Asia — India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka

China

Japan and Korea

Australia and New Zealand

Latin America and the Caribbean

Canada

General Resources in United States History

Reference Works and Bibliographies

Websites

Specialized Resources in United States History

Regional, State, and Local

Colonial, Revolutionary, and Early National, 1607–1800

Native American

Slavery and the Civil War

African American

Women’s

Immigrant and Ethnic

Social and Cultural

Political

Foreign Relations, International, and War

Science, Technology, Environment, and Medicine

Labor, Business, Economic, and Urban

Religious

Appendix B

Historical Sources in Your Own Backyard

How to Research Your Family History

Sources for County and Local History

Sources for Family History and Genealogical Research

Updated for The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th Edition. The fourteenth edition has been updated according to the new Chicago style guidelines released in 2017.

Coverage of a wide range of basic skills and coursework includes common writing assignments, test-taking strategies, navigating textbooks, reading scholarly articles, interpreting visual materials, understanding statistical data, taking notes in class, and giving oral presentations.

Comprehensive help with the research and writing process moves from formulating a research question to how to find, evaluate, and work with sources of all types — written and nonwritten, in print and online. Advice on creating a strong thesis and writing an effective paper culminates with a model student research paper. The appendices point students to the most helpful research resources.

Clear, accessible writing style that students can relate to. Clear explanations introduce students to the basics of history, while practical advice helps students read and write most effectively.

Numerous examples that illustrate and reinforce important concepts. Visuals and sample texts throughout show how to analyze, write about, and document an array of sources. Guidelines boxes throughout serve as checklists, succinctly summarizing the most helpful advice. Dozens of Chicago-style documentation models and an annotated research paper demonstrate how guidelines can be put to use.

Updated coverage of contextualization. A new example in Chapter 1 demonstrates the contextualization of a visual source. Placing a work of art within the context of the artist’s life and the time in which it was created, highlighting the value of visual sources to historical understanding.

New section on “Creating Media Presentations.” Our students have grown up with digital and digitized images of all kinds. Chapter 2 suggests that they learn to use such images to vivify history; not as entertainment but as a provocation to thought. To help foster critical perspectives on media a new Guidelines box has been added: “Guidelines for Taking Notes on Media Presentations.”

New section on “Cooperative Learning.” Chapter 2 also includes new coverage on utilizing the internet to find individuals and scholars to aid student research. The new section includes warnings and best practices as students explore intellectual communities outside of the classroom.

New section on “What is Point of View?” Chapter 3 includes new coverage of point of view, highlighting that it is the student’s task to understand the author’s way of approaching a subject. The terms Perspective and Point of View have been added to the Glossary and the definition of Bias has been revised.

New tips on “How to Organize a Short Essay.” This new section in Chapter 5 provides tips and questions designed to target the unique challenges of organizing a short essay. These guidelines are reinforced with an example assignment.

New section on “The Problem of Organization.” Chapter 6 takes a wider lens approach to the problem of organization. Students are given three models of organization meant to be used in a more traditional research paper.

Updated citation examples. History students need to know how to cite the materials they use in their papers and projects. Chapter 10 has been updated to include new citation examples that conform to the latest (17th) edition of The Chicago Manual of Style formatting.

Jules R. Benjamin

Jules R. Benjamin, formerly professor of history at the University of Rochester, is Emeritus professor at Ithaca College. He taught for over thirty years. He is the author of several books and articles, including The United States and Cuba: Hegemony and Dependent Development, 1880-1934 and The United States and the Origins of the Cuban Revolution: An Empire of Liberty in an Age of National Liberation. His current research focuses on contemporary international relations.