how to memorize history essay

How to memorise essays and long responses

Lauren Condon

Marketing Specialist at Atomi

When it comes to memorising essays or long responses for your exams, there are three big things to consider.

Should you even try to memorise an essay?
Do you know how to adapt your memorised response to the exam question?
How on earth are you meant to memorise a 1,200 word essay??

It’s a lot to weigh up but we can help you out here. If you want an answer to the first question, here’s one we prepared earlier. But wait, there’s more! If you’re super keen to read more about question #2, then go ahead and click here .

And for that third point on how to actually memorise a long essay? Well, all you have to do is keep reading...

1. Break it down

Your essay/long response/creative writing piece could be anywhere between 800 and 1,200 words long. Yeah… that’s a lot. So when it comes to memorising the whole thing, it’s a lot easier to break the answer down into logical chunks and work on memorising it bit by bit.

So if you want to memorise your Discovery Essay, you might have something like this:

Introduction
Theme 1 with the assigned text
Theme 1 with the related text
Theme 2 with the assigned text
Theme 2 with the related text

You’re going to want to memorise the paragraphs and pay attention to the structure then you can piece it all together in the exam. Having a killer structure makes it a lot easier to remember the overall bones of this situation and if you’re finding this effective, you can even break those body paragraphs down further like topic sentence > example > explanation > connection to thesis.

2. Use memory tricks

Now, there are lots of different strategies and approaches when it comes to memorising a long piece of writing. Moving in sections, you can try reading it out loud over again (slowly looking at the paper less and less) or the classic look-cover-write-check approach. If you’re really struggling, make some of your own flashcards that have the first sentence on one side and the next sentence on the back so you can test your progress.

You could also enlist the help of some creative mnemonics (memory tricks) to remind you which sentence or section needs to come next. Pick one keyword from each sentence in the paragraph and turn them into a silly sentence to help you remember the structure of the paragraph and to make sure you don’t forget one of your awesome points.

3. Play to your strengths

Not all of us are super geniuses that can just read an essay and then memorise the entire thing but we’re all going to have our own strengths. There’s going to be something whether it’s art, music, writing, performance or sport that just ‘clicks’ in your brain and this is what you want to capitalise on. So for me, I was really into debating and public speaking (hold back the jokes please) and was used to giving speeches and remembering them. So whenever I wanted to memorise a long response, I would write out the essay onto palm cards and then practice it out loud like a speech. Did it annoy my family? Yes. Was I too embarrassed to tell people my strategy? Yes. Did it work? Absolutely. 💯

Whatever your strengths are, find a way to connect them to your essay and come up with a creative way of learning your long response that will be much easier and more effective for you!

4. Start early

So you know how there’s that whole long-term/short-term memory divide? Yeah well that’s going to be pretty relevant when it comes to memorising. You’re going to have a much better chance of remembering your long response if you start early and practice it often, instead of trying to cram it in the night before… sorry.

The good news is, you still have a couple of months before the HSC so try to get your prepared response written, get good feedback from your teachers and then make it perfect so it’s ready to go for the HSC. Then, the next step is to start memorising the essay now and test yourself on it fairly regularly all the way up to your exams. This way, you have plenty of time to really lock it deep into your memory.

5. Test yourself

The final and maybe even most important step is to test yourself. And not with flashcards or the look-cover-check-repeat anymore. Once you’ve got the essay memorised pretty well, you want to spend the weeks coming up to HSC doing past questions so you can practice

Having the essay memorised
Being able to recall it under pressure
Adapting it to any question so that all your hard work will actually pay off

For this to work, you really need to commit 100% to exam conditions (no cheating!) and it’s definitely worth sending those responses to your teacher to get them marked. That way, you will actually know if you’re doing a good job of remembering the core of your argument but also tailoring it perfectly to the question.

Any subject with essays or long responses can be super daunting so if you want to have a pre-written, adaptable response ready to go then it’s worth making sure you can actually memorise it for your exam. Remember to break down the essay into sections, play to your memory strengths and make sure you consistently test yourself all the way up to HSC. That should do the trick. 👌

Published on

July 28, 2017

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How to Study History

History is one of those “required” subjects that many students describe as dull and boring. But learning history can be fun and exciting, especially if you approach it with the right attitude. George Santayana , a Spanish philosopher, said that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

In other words, if you fail to learn from past mistakes you’re likely to make them yourself. But there are many other reasons to study History. In addition to providing a knowledge of the past, studying history helps develop transferable skills that will prepare you for a variety of career opportunities down the road.

So now that you’re pumped about learning history, let’s explore some useful techniques and strategies that will improve the effectiveness of your studying.

Develop Ideas. Make Connections.

It may seem obvious, but we’re going to point it out anyway–history is based on a chronology of events. The order in which events occur is central to the study of history. Consequently, it’s very important that your notes are in chronological order . When organizing your notes, divide them by (1) topic, (2) then years, (3) decades and (4) centuries.

History is full of facts, events and details. In fact, there is so much information to learn and memorize it may seem impossible at times. One of the keys to studying and learning history is to establish connections between facts . The best way to do this is to start by developing an understanding of the big picture and then working your way down to the detail.

During your lectures, and while reading your textbook, always try and place events, facts and details within the context of the big picture. How do they fit in? Why are they important to what’s going on? How do they support the sequence of events occurring? There isn’t anything you can’t memorize or learn if you employ this technique.

Employing mind maps is another effective strategy for visualizing historical information at a glance and making connections. Mind mapping literally enables you to map out historical information, events, and ideas using symbols, words, colors and images in a logical manner that brings clarity, improves understanding and will enable you to memorize large amounts of information.

Consider the following example.

After creating your mind map, develop the ideas and connections you now see into usable notes . Then complement your notes with what you pick up from reading your textbook and listening to classroom lectures.

Retaining Important Information

Even though we recommend studying and learning key data within a contextual understanding of the big picture, sometimes rote memorization techniques and strategies are required to order to memorize key dates, names and events you’re likely to see on your history exam. In such cases, flashcards are an excellent tool for memorizing information, improving recall, and testing your level of retention.

To create a flash card, on one side of a 3 x 5 card, write a key event, date or fact. On the opposite side, write the definition, description or explanation. The use of flashcards for memorizing is age old. But it’s just as effective today as it was one hundred years ago.

Watch Movies!

That’s right! Watching movies can be an effective method to learn and study history. There is an array of films and documentaries out there that accurately depict historical events. While educational, most historical films and documentaries are also very entertaining.

Unfortunately, some films that depict historical events are not true to historical fact. “Schindler’s List”, which depicts the German-occupied Poland during World War II, offers a somewhat accurate historical portrayal.

Unfortunately, the movie “Brave Heart”, as moving and entertaining as it is, isn’t historically accurate. If you’re serious about learning history, make sure the movie you select is true to historical fact.

Reading Your History Book

The majority of history is captured in written text. So it’s not surprising that to learn history requires a fair amount of reading. But reading more doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll learn more.

The key is to extract the most amount of information and knowledge from your history text as possible, as efficiently as possible. History textbooks are made up of words, but not all words are equally important. By discovering the hierarchy of words you can extract up to 75 percent of a textbook’s content while only reading 25 percent of the text.

Start by reading the title. The title of most history books is going to offer the most insight into the central argument of the book. For example, The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin gives you immediate insight into what the book is about, where different species of animals came from, and how they evolved. Not every title is going to be so descriptive and straight forward, but it’s worth taking the time to discover why the author chose the title.

Now open up the book and review the chapter headings listed at the beginning. Depending on the type of history book you’re reading, the chapter headings will most likely be organized in a chronological order of events, or in a fashion that will provide additional insight into the structure of the argument being presented. Reading the chapter headings will provide you a quick overview of what the history book is all about.

Before delving into the body of each chapter, take a few minutes to read the introduction and conclusion to the chapter. The introduction and conclusion are often the most important, and insightful, parts of the chapter. Here the author will provide a summary of the main arguments, the research presented in the chapter, and the conclusions reached.

Reading the introduction and conclusion before reading the chapter body will (1) provide you a better context for understanding and interpreting the information presented and (2) help you make connections between what you read and the author’s arguments. The chapter introductions and conclusions in history books may be clearly identified by a boldface heading or blank line, or simply be the first and last paragraphs of the chapter.

It’s not uncommon for history books, textbooks in particular, to have chapters that are subdivided into sections organized both topically and/or chronologically. When a chapter is broken down into sections, each section is usually identified by a boldface heading followed by a blank line, or by using boldface text for the first sentence of the paragraph.

Quickly reading the section headings before jumping into the body of the chapter will give you a better understanding of the main idea(s) that are presented in the chapter. Again, remember, as we pointed out previously, you want to develop an understanding of the big picture first and then work your way down to the detail.

The next level of hierarchy in most history books is the first sentence of each paragraph. The first sentence of the paragraph is used to introduce the author’s main point, while the following sentences provide supporting evidence and analysis.

In a typical history textbook, reading just the first sentence of each paragraph will provide a summary of the entire chapter. And don’t forget to review all illustrations, including photographs, maps and charts. If the author included them, he did so for a reason.

Once you’ve read the title of your history book and discovered it’s significance, reviewed the chapter titles at the front of the book, read the chapter heading, introduction, conclusion, section headings and first sentence of each paragraph, you’ll have a good idea of the author’s point of view.

Now it’s time to sit down and read the body text, examining key data, events, and information, in order to develop your own understanding and opinion.

As you read each chapter, try to answer the following questions:

What argument is the author trying to make?
What evidence does the author use to support her argument?
Is the author’s argument persuasive? Why? Or why not?
What is important to the author?
Where did the author’s information come from? Primary sources? Secondary sources?
Did most of the material presented come from just one source?
How does the book fit into my course?
Why did my professors assign this book?
Does the book support what I’m learning in class?
What do I like about the text? What don’t I like? Why?

As you read, it’s important to take notes. If you own your textbook and don’t plan on selling it, we recommend jotting down your thoughts, ideas, and insights in the margins of each page as you read.

If you don’t own your book, or plan on selling it once you’ve read it, then you’ll need to take notes elsewhere. Good notes will ensure that you’ll be prepared for your next essay or exam where your knowledge, understanding and work will be tested and evaluated.

Taking Notes in Class

Class starts and your professor immediately begins talking about the Antebellum era, the period in the history of the United States, from the late 18th century until the beginning of the American Civil War in 1861. He’s excited and the information just flows from his mouth.

You listen for a few moments and then start taking notes. You write down everything he says. By the end of class you have five pages of copious notes. You captured the entire lecture on paper! Your hand is cramping and you feel like you just ran a marathon. Only one problem. You didn’t listen to a word he said.

This type of note taking is a common problem among students who are so afraid they’ll miss something important they write down everything their professor says. It’s an especially common practice among history students who aren’t sure what’s important and what’s not. The key to taking notes in history class is to write down only those things that are genuinely significant. But how do you do that?

The following are keys to effective note taking in your history class

Arrive at class having completed all assigned readings.

The more prepared you are when you arrive at class the easier it will be for you to follow along and take good notes. Typically, your professor will discuss topics that appeared in your textbook. If you’re already familiar with the topic being discussed, and took good notes as you read your textbook, you won’t need to write everything down. As you listen to your professor’s lecture, simply compliment your reading notes with new information and insights you learn during the lecture.

Pay attention to which topics are important to your professor

Some professors are direct and will tell you which points and topics are more important than others, while others will not. It’s your job to determine which are the most important points made during a lecture. If in doubt, raise your hand and ask.

Your notes should be legible and organized

It doesn’t do any good to take notes that you can’t go back and review later. Immediately after each lecture, review your notes to make sure you understand everything you wrote down while the lecture is still fresh in your mind. If something you wrote down is unclear, clarify it. Organize your notes by topic, then years, decades and centuries. Use asterisks, arrows and other notation devices to identify information that is really important.

Always record the date and title for each lecture in your notes

Recording the date and title in your notes for each new lecture will allow you to refer back to specific lectures when writing an essay or preparing for an exam. Also, make sure your notes follow the order in which your professor presented information during the lecture.

Pay attention during movies

Rarely will your professor show a film during class for purely entertainment purposes. If your professor has scheduled a film, pay attention and take notes. It’s very likely that your next exam or essay will ask you to consider a specific topic that was addressed in the film. If you’re not sure if you need to take notes, ask your professor.

Many of the skills and strategies required to study history are the same as those used to study other subjects. If you want to improve your study skills and performance in your history class, we also recommend you review the following articles and study skills guides.

Strategies for Reading Textbooks
Improving Your Note Taking
Effective Time Management
Using Study Groups

Other online resources we recommend for learning how to study history include:

How to Write for History

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Study skills: learn how to study history, mastering study skills: learn how to study history with expert techniques.

by Andrei Tapalaga | Aug 14, 2023 | Uncategorized

Unveiling the Art of Studying History

1. active reading techniques: a journey through the ages.

Engage in active reading by annotating your history texts. Highlight key information, jot down marginal notes, and ask questions that prompt critical thinking. This approach ensures you absorb information effectively and retain it for future reference.

2. Mnemonics and Memory Aids: Unlocking the Past

3. chronological mind mapping: connecting the dots.

Create chronological mind maps that illustrate the flow of historical events. Visual representations aid in comprehending the sequence of occurrences and the relationships between them.

4. Comparative Analysis: Drawing Parallels Across Eras

5. utilizing primary sources: voices from the past, 6. effective note-taking: capturing nuggets of wisdom.

Develop a systematic note-taking method that organizes information logically. Summarize key points, highlight essential details, and include personal reflections to enhance comprehension.

7. Utilizing Online Resources: Unveiling Virtual Archives

8. collaborative study groups: shared learning expeditions, 9. multisensory learning: immerse yourself in the past, 10. time management strategies: balancing the past and present.

Master the art of time management by allocating dedicated study periods for history. Create a study schedule that integrates with your overall routine, ensuring consistent progress.

11. Storytelling Techniques: Making History Come Alive

12. mindful reflection: absorbing lessons from history, 13. visual representations: infographics and timelines, 14. effective test-taking strategies: acing history examinations, 15. cultivating curiosity: embracing the unknown, 16. interdisciplinary connections: bridging knowledge gaps, 17. ethical considerations: analyzing historical perspectives, 18. reflective journaling: documenting your learning journey, 19. socratic questioning: probing deeper into history.

Employ Socratic questioning techniques to delve deeper into historical concepts. Challenge assumptions, analyze evidence, and engage in meaningful dialogues.

20. Field Trips and Experiential Learning: Stepping into the Past

How can i make history more interesting and engaging, what is the importance of studying history, how do primary sources enhance historical learning, how can i manage my time effectively while studying history, what role does critical thinking play in studying history, how can i retain historical information better, you may also like.

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We have lots more on the site to show you. You've only seen one page. Check out this post which is one of the most popular of all time.

How to Learn U.S. History on Your Own (An 8-Step Roadmap)

After watching Hamilton the musical, I had an urge to self-study the US founders and revolutionaries in greater depth than what I’d received in high school.

So I read a few biographies and histories about the revolution, and that led to a long-term fascination with US history, which has been growing ever since.

If you’re wondering how to teach yourself United States history from scratch, primarily through books and online courses, and without schooling or teachers, then this guide is for you. It provides you with a step-by-step roadmap for self-learning the subject.

If you successfully complete this guide — scratch that, even if you just do half of it — you’ll be more familiar with US history than the majority of US citizens.

You’ll also be better at developing informed opinions about contemporary issues, not to mention debating them, since historical references are one of the best and most persuasive types of evidence.

1. Watch Crash Course US History for an Overview

Crash Course US History is an entertaining and informative 49-video online course that’ll take you from the colonial period to the Obama presidency, along the way summarizing the key concepts, people, and events of US History.

It’s designed for beginners but also manages to approximately follow the AP US History course curriculum as it appeared in 2013. This should be a great starting point for the person looking to get a thousand-foot view of the subject.

Another Option: For a beginner course that is more in-depth and also offers practice problems and quizzes, check out Khan Academy’s AP/College US history online course .

2) Read A Little History of the United States

A Little History of the United States is the perfect survey text. It covers 500 years of US history in just over 300 hundred pages. The chapters are short and it’s not overly detailed but still manages to cover the most important topics, events, and threads of US history.

And the writing style really pulls you into the world. There are a lot of engrossing stories, which make you feel like you were there, whether that’s working with Harriet Tubman in the underground railroad or eating breakfast with Andrew Carnegie.

Want to Read More History Books This Year?

Consider getting Audible to listen to audiobooks on the go. They offer a 30-day free trial where Prime members get 2 free books to start (non-members get 1).

I love the ability to listen to books at night when my eyes are tired or on my long walks around town when I just can’t sit in a chair any longer.

3. Take a Few Online US History Courses for Beginners

There are dozens of great online courses covering various aspects of US history, from Yale lectures covering war periods like the Revolution and the Civil War to The Great Course’s expansive series on the turning points of American history.

Below are some of my favorite free online courses for self-learning American history:

The American Revolution : This free self-paced Yale online course traces the revolution from the rise of rebellious attitudes through the war to the founding of the new nation.
The Civil War and Reconstruction Era : Also a Yale online course, this one explores the causes of the civil war, the major battles, and the Reconstruction era. The lecturer is captivating and extremely knowledgeable about his subject matter.
American Education Reform: History, Policy, Practice : This Coursera course discusses the history of the US education system, a contentious topic these days, and the many successful and failed attempts to reform it.

The Great Courses also has a lot of fabulous lecture-based history courses, such as The Turning Points in American History , which shows how history is often a study of choices. A long and well-prepared series, you’ll learn the 48 turning points of American history.

The Great Courses also have a popular one on the Vietnam War that I want to take when I have some free time. I didn’t get to learn much about this in school so I’m keen on studying up.

The courses on their site can be pricey as standalone products, so I’d recommend signing up for the Wondrium/Great Courses subscription ($20 per month) if you plan on using lecture courses as a main component of your self-education.

With it, you’ll gain access to 600 high-quality Great courses as well hundreds of documentary series as well.

Regardless of which courses you choose to take, consider doing 2-3 before moving on to the more reading-heavy portion of the roadmap.

4. Read a Biography on Your Favorite American Figure

Reading biographies is one of the most exciting ways to study US history. You get to hear a gripping story about an active, influential, and intelligent individual who played a big role in defining moments of US history.

Because of their narrative structure, they’re also an easy way to break into history reading if you find the subject’s big, dense books intimidating.

Select 2-3 biographies and read them. If there’s a specific time period you want to investigate, consider reading biographies about people who were active in that time.

Below are some of the most exalted US figures and their respective exalted biographies:

Benjamin Franklin: America’s founding grandfather, a polymath, a printer, a writer, a statesman, and an inventor — read about him if you want to see an autodidact in action. (Recommended biography here , one of my favs).
Abigail Adams: The sharpening rock and testing ground for the ideas of the second president, and an accomplished woman, abolitionist, and women’s education advocate. . (Recommended biography here .)
Alexander Hamilton: Another self-educated polymath, statesman, financial thinker, writer, poet, essayist for the Federalist Papers. (Recommended biography here .)
Frederick Douglass: Escaped from slavery, an influential social reformer, abolitionist, orator, statesman, and writer. His speeches are still used as study material by today’s politicians. (Recommended autobiography here .)
Abraham Lincoln: Primarily self-taught, presided over the Civil War, held strong in his moral conviction to keep the union together and to end slavery. A man worthy of study and emulation. (Recommended biography here , focuses on his political genius)
Teddy Roosevelt: Rugged outdoorsman, conservationist, voracious reader , founder of the FDA and expander of the natural park system. Oh, and he was president too. (Recommended biography here , inspired me to read more, documents his early life).
Susan B Anthony: Rebel, writer, women’s rights activist, and labor reformer, she played a lead role in the women’s suffrage and labor rights movements of the 19th century (Recommended biography here .)
Martin Luther King Jr: Civil rights movement leader, minister, orator, writer, and an almost unstoppable force of good and social progress. (Recommended biography here .)

Biographies are also an underused method for finding mentors. By imitating the habits and thinking of great people, you can yourself become great.

To this day I still wonder what Alexander Hamilton or Frederick Douglass might say in reply to a complaint that I was “too tired from my bowl of pasta to read or study.”

Surely they’d both slap me verbally for letting my laziness interfere with my ability to seize what is perhaps the greatest privilege of our information era — thousands of years of knowledge and wisdom an Amazon order away.

If you really admire one person, there’s a good chance that there are numerous fantastic biographies about them.

There are hundreds, for example, about Abraham Lincoln, each portraying the man in a different way, approaching his life from a different angle. There’s even one on Lincoln as a writer . It seems as if a new Lincoln book comes out each year.

5. Study a Few Modern Classics of American History

Now it’s time to dig into one period or event that you find fascinating. Pick 1-2 well-researched and critically acclaimed works of US history that have heavily influenced how the US public and its scholars think about the event or period it covers.

THe great thing about history as an academic field is that its most notable works are usually also extremely well-written. They tackle the big questions in a scholarly way while still making it interesting to the layperson. The same can’t be said for most other fields.

Here are some of the most influential US histories ever written:

1776 : David McCullough educates you on the Revolutionary War in 1776 from the British and American perspectives.
The Radicalism of the American Revolution : Gordon Wood makes a case that the American revolutionaries were doing something incredibly radical.
Battle Cry of Freedom : James McPherson provides us with perhaps the best account we have of the Civil War years, as well as an eye-opening 200 pages dealing with the social and political events that led up to it — The Missouri Compromise, Dred Scott Case, etc., This is one of my favorite histories — not dry at all, so much instantly in these years.
Black Reconstruction : W.E.B Du Bois teaches us about the aftermath of the Civil War and the role of black Americans in the Reconstruction era.
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee : Dee Brown, in 1970, opened the public’s eyes to the atrocities committed against Native Americans in the 19th century.
The Great Crash : With wit and economic mastery, James Galbraith recounts the 1929 stock market crash and argues that the cause was unrestrained market speculation.
The Best and the Brightest : David Halberstram attempts to uncover the origins of the Vietnam War.

Consider making history reading a background study activity you’re always doing regardless of your current focus, perhaps at night after dinner, like Jefferson recommends:

“There are portions of the day too when the mind should be eased, particularly after dinner it should be applied to lighter occupation: history is of this kind. It exercises principally the memory. Reflection also indeed is necessary but not generally in a laborious degree.” — Thomas Jefferson, Letters to Thomas Mann

There’s so much to learn from this genre. In just one history book, you can learn important concepts and facts about economics, sociology, war, politics, and other subjects.

For more on why reading history books is a useful way to spend your study time, check out my article on why every self-education plan should include history .

6. Start Reading One American Essay Per Night

A while back I got an essay anthology called The Glorious American Essay . I’ve been slowly making my way through it, reading one essay per night.

The book contains 100 of the best American essays spanning from colonial times to the present day, from Thomas Paine and Walt Whitman to H.L. Mencken and Zadie Smith.

It’s ordered chronologically, so reading it is as it’s structured makes for a great US history education.

The essays aren’t all history essays, but each one does give us insight into what was going on intellectually and culturally in American at the time the essay was written.

Because of the range of essays, it’s also a great way to develop intellectual range. You’ll read political arguments, nature essays, scientific articles, social and literary criticism, and more.

7. Tackle the Oxford History of the United States Series

The Crash Course and Little History of the US are great beginner surveys but they lack depth. If you want a full sweeping, scholarly account of US history, from colonization all the way to the second Bush presidency, consider tackling the Oxford History of the United States Book Series .

It’s thirteen books long, and is meant to be read chronologically. By tackling the whole thing, you’ll gain a remarkably well-rounded understanding of US history, as the series offers a look at the US from multiple vantage points — political, economic, social, cultural, and diplomatic.

I’ve read a few books on the list, including Battle Cry of Freedom, but not all of them. I’m thinking of making this a future reading project.

If you have a Kindle, you can buy the entire 13-book series for $132. Otherwise, you can buy the books separately. On Amazon, they hover around 20 bucks.

8. Choose a Specific Era in American History & Dive Deep

By this point, you should have a solid grip on the main trends and events of US history. If asked, you also should also be able to state which era, event, or type of history is most interesting to you.

Now that you’ve acquired some breath, it’s time to go deep into that topic, whether it’s the American Revolution (my favorite), the Gilded Age, or something as specific as the Economic History of pre-1860 United States.

Maybe you love the presidency and want to read a biography on every single president. Maybe you want to create a book-focused self-directed study plan to learn more about WW1.

Whatever you’re curious about, go study it. Compile a list of books on the topic and read them. Find online courses covering the topic. Perhaps visit the sites where the events occurred or the museums where the artifacts of the events are stored.

You’re at the point in your self-education where you can be entirely self-directed about what you use to study, and you have the ability to truly turn yourself into a history buff in various topics in the field.

If you want to learn how to successfully tackle subjects on your own, check out my article on how to become an autodidact , where you’ll find the steps to learning new subjects and skills. Step five covers how to create a self-directed study plan, which is applicable to someone trying to go deep into a part of US history.

Can You Teach Yourself US History?

You can learn U.S. history outside of school by taking online courses and by reading history books and textbooks. If you have discipline and a strong interest in the subject, there’s no reason you can’t become more educated in US history than someone studying it in school.

Want to Self-Study Any New Subject Effectively?

If you want to self-learn academic subjects efficiently as a beginner, subscribe to our weekly newsletter and grab my free 8-step checklist to teach yourself the fundamentals of any new discipline, whether that’s social psychology, political philosophy, or ecology:

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In the newsletter you’ll receive helpful articles and tips about self-education, reading the classics, polymathy, and more.

Bottom Line: Self-Learning US History

Engaging in self-directed study in US history will ground your thinking and opinions about today’s issues in history, making them sharper and more persuasive.

You’ll also better understand America by taking some time to acquaint yourself with its fascinating and complex past.

If, after this guide, you’re still interested in learning more about history but want to take a wider view and study other parts of the world, consider checking out my guide How to Self-Learn Western History .

After graduating college with an econ degree I realized I was still anything but well-educated. Over the last 4 years, I've been trying to fix that, autodidact-mode — by reading books and engaging in self-directed study across multiple subjects. On this blog, my goal is to share my learnings and help others get a well-rounded education outside of school. Education, after all, is a lifelong process, one well worth the investment.

How to write source-based history essays

The biggest assessment task you will be required to complete is a written research essay which develops an argument and uses a range of sources.

All types of assessment tasks will need you to use essay-writing skills in some form, but their fundamental structure and purpose remains the same.

Therefore, learning how to write essays well is central to achieving high marks in History.

What is an 'essay'?

A History essay is a structured argument that provides historical evidence to substantiate its points.

To achieve the correct structure for your argument, it is crucial to understand the separate parts that make up a written essay.

If you understand how each part works and fits into the overall essay, you are well on the way to creating a great assessment piece.

Most essays will require you to write:

1 Introduction Paragraph
3 Body Paragraphs
1 Concluding Paragraph

Explanations for how to structure and write each of these paragraphs can be found below, along with examples of each:

Essay paragraph writing advice

How to write an Introductory Paragraph

This page explains the purpose of an introduction, how to structure one and provides examples for you to read.

How to write Body Paragraphs

This page explains the purpose of body paragraphs, how to structure them and provides examples for you to read.

How to write a Conclusion

This page explains the purpose of conclusions, how to structure them and provides examples for you to read.

More essay resources

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Writing a history essay

An essay is a piece of sustained writing in response to a question, topic or issue. Essays are commonly used for assessing and evaluating student progress in history. History essays test a range of skills including historical understanding, interpretation and analysis, planning, research and writing.

To write an effective essay, students should examine the question, understand its focus and requirements, acquire information and evidence through research, then construct a clear and well-organised response. Writing a good history essay should be rigorous and challenging, even for stronger students. As with other skills, essay writing develops and improves over time. Each essay you complete helps you become more competent and confident in exercising these skills.

Study the question

This is an obvious tip but one sadly neglected by some students. The first step to writing a good essay, whatever the subject or topic, is to give plenty of thought to the question.

An essay question will set some kind of task or challenge. It might ask you to explain the causes and/or effects of a particular event or situation. It might ask if you agree or disagree with a statement. It might ask you to describe and analyse the causes and/or effects of a particular action or event. Or it might ask you to evaluate the relative significance of a person, group or event.

You should begin by reading the essay question several times. Underline, highlight or annotate keywords or terms in the text of the question. Think about what it requires you to do. Who or what does it want you to concentrate on? Does it state or imply a particular timeframe? What problem or issue does it want you to address?

Begin with a plan

Every essay should begin with a written plan. Start constructing a plan as soon as you have received your essay question and given it some thought.

Prepare for research by brainstorming and jotting down your thoughts and ideas. What are your initial responses or thoughts about the question? What topics, events, people or issues are connected with the question? Do any additional questions or issues flow from the question? What topics or events do you need to learn more about? What historians or sources might be useful?

If you encounter a mental ‘brick wall’ or are uncertain about how to approach the question, don’t hesitate to discuss it with someone else. Consult your teacher, a capable classmate or someone you trust. Bear in mind too that once you start researching, your plan may change as you locate new information.

Start researching

After studying the question and developing an initial plan, start to gather information and evidence.

Most will start by reading an overview of the topic or issue, usually in some reliable secondary sources. This will refresh or build your existing understanding of the topic and provide a basis for further questions or investigation.

Your research should take shape from here, guided by the essay question and your own planning. Identify terms or concepts you do not know and find out what they mean. As you locate information, ask yourself if it is relevant or useful for addressing the question. Be creative with your research, looking in a variety of places.

If you have difficulty locating information, seek advice from your teacher or someone you trust.

Develop a contention

All good history essays have a clear and strong contention. A contention is the main idea or argument of your essay. It serves both as an answer to the question and the focal point of your writing.

Ideally, you should be able to express your contention as a single sentence. For example, the following contention might form the basis of an essay question on the rise of the Nazis:

Q. Why did the Nazi Party win 37 per cent of the vote in July 1932? A. The Nazi Party’s electoral success of 1932 was a result of economic suffering caused by the Great Depression, public dissatisfaction with the Weimar Republic’s democratic political system and mainstream parties, and Nazi propaganda that promised a return to traditional social, political and economic values.

An essay using this contention would then go on to explain and justify these statements in greater detail. It will also support the contention with argument and evidence.

At some point in your research, you should begin thinking about a contention for your essay. Remember, you should be able to express it briefly as if addressing the essay question in a single sentence, or summing up in a debate.

Try to frame your contention so that is strong, authoritative and convincing. It should sound like the voice of someone well informed about the subject and confident about their answer.

Plan an essay structure

Once most of your research is complete and you have a strong contention, start jotting down a possible essay structure. This need not be complicated, a few lines or dot points is ample.

Every essay must have an introduction, a body of several paragraphs and a conclusion. Your paragraphs should be well organised and follow a logical sequence.

You can organise paragraphs in two ways: chronologically (covering events or topics in the order they occurred) or thematically (covering events or topics based on their relevance or significance). Every paragraph should be clearly signposted in the topic sentence.

Once you have finalised a plan for your essay, commence your draft.

Write a compelling introduction

Many consider the introduction to be the most important part of an essay. It is important for several reasons. It is the reader’s first experience of your essay. It is where you first address the question and express your contention. It is also where you lay out or ‘signpost’ the direction your essay will take.

Aim for an introduction that is clear, confident and punchy. Get straight to the point – do not waste time with a rambling or storytelling introduction.

Start by providing a little context, then address the question, articulate your contention and indicate what direction your essay will take.

Write fully formed paragraphs

Many history students fall into the trap of writing short paragraphs, sometimes containing as little as one or two sentences. A good history essay contains paragraphs that are themselves ‘mini-essays’, usually between 100-200 words each.

A paragraph should focus on one topic or issue only – but it should contain a thorough exploration of that topic or issue.

A good paragraph will begin with an effective opening sentence, sometimes called a topic sentence or signposting sentence. This sentence introduces the paragraph topic and briefly explains its significance to the question and your contention. Good paragraphs also contain thorough explanations, some analysis and evidence, and perhaps a quotation or two.

Finish with an effective conclusion

The conclusion is the final paragraph of your essay. A good conclusion should do two things. First, it should reiterate or restate the contention of your essay. Second, it should close off your essay, ideally with a polished ending that is not abrupt or awkward.

One effective way to do this is with a brief summary of ‘what happened next’. For example, an essay discussing Hitler’s rise to power in 1933 might close with a couple of sentences about how he consolidated and strengthened his power in 1934-35.

Your conclusion need not be as long or as developed as your body paragraphs. You should avoid introducing new information or evidence in the conclusion.

Reference and cite your sources

A history essay is only likely to succeed if it is appropriately referenced. Your essay should support its information, ideas and arguments with citations or references to reliable sources.

Referencing not only acknowledges the work of others, but it also gives authority to your writing and provides the teacher or assessor with an insight into your research. More information on referencing a piece of history writing can be found here .

Proofread, edit and seek feedback

Every essay should be proofread, edited and, if necessary, re-drafted before being submitted for assessment. Essays should ideally be completed well before their due date then put aside for a day or two before proofreading.

When proofreading, look first for spelling and grammatical errors, typographical mistakes, incorrect dates or other errors of fact.

Think then about how you can improve the clarity, tone and structure of your essay. Does your essay follow a logical structure or sequence? Is the signposting in your essay clear and effective? Are some sentences too long or ‘rambling’? Do you repeat yourself? Do paragraphs need to be expanded, fine-tuned or strengthened with more evidence?

Read your essay aloud, either to yourself or another person. Seek feedback and advice from a good writer or someone you trust (they need not have expertise in history, only in effective writing).

Some general tips on writing

Always write in the third person . Never refer to yourself personally, using phrases like “I think…” or “It is my contention…”. Good history essays should adopt the perspective of an informed and objective third party. They should sound rational and factual – not like an individual expressing their opinion.
Always write in the past tense . An obvious tip for a history essay is to write in the past tense. Always be careful about your use of tense. Watch out for mixed tenses when proofreading your work. One exception to the rule about past tense is when writing about the work of modern historians (for example, “Kershaw writes…” sounds better than “Kershaw wrote…” or “Kershaw has written…”).
Avoid generalisations . Generalisation is a problem in all essays but it is particularly common in history essays. Generalisation occurs when you form general conclusions from one or more specific examples. In history, this most commonly occurs when students study the experiences of a particular group, then assume their experiences applied to a much larger group – for example, “All the peasants were outraged”, “Women rallied to oppose conscription” or “Germans supported the Nazi Party”. Both history and human society, however, are never this clear cut or simple. Always try to avoid generalisation and be on the lookout for generalised statements when proofreading.
Write short, sharp and punchy . Good writers vary their sentence length but as a rule of thumb, most of your sentences should be short and punchy. The longer a sentence becomes, the greater the risk of it becoming long-winded or confusing. Long sentences can easily become disjointed, confused or rambling. Try not to overuse long sentences and pay close attention to sentence length when proofreading.
Write in an active voice . In history writing, the active voice is preferable to the passive voice. In the active voice, the subject completes the action (e.g. “Hitler [the subject] initiated the Beer Hall putsch [the action] to seize control of the Bavarian government”). In the passive voice, the action is completed by the subject (“The Beer Hall putsch [the action] was initiated by Hitler [the subject] to seize control of the Bavarian government”). The active voice also helps prevent sentences from becoming long, wordy and unclear.

You may also find our page on writing for history useful.

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10 Tips for Writing a Perfect History Essay

No doubt, essays are one of the most popular forms of college assignments. History teachers will probably assign you many of them. And for a good reason – this type of work shows your comprehension of the subject, ability to research, analytical skills, and writing itself, of course. When preparing a history essay, one must consider all the requirements, find relevant data and come up with a logical and well-organized paper.

Your main task is to reveal the topic, demonstrating your expertise. Yes, there’s a lot of work ahead, but thanks to the tips collected below, you will easily navigate all the stages of essay writing!

However, before we begin, here’s one extra recommendation. If you struggle to finish your paper before the deadline, don’t worry! More and more learners outsource their homework to experienced authors to have their essays completed at the highest level. Basically, all you have to do is google “ write my essay ,” and a great professional will be found in no time. This is certainly the best way to manage it all when the study load is simply overwhelming.

Make Sure You Understand The Topic Right

In fact, by assigning you an essay, teachers expect you to answer the question posed. At the same time, the work must be well-argued and well-evidenced. To do this, you need to understand the given topic correctly. If it contains controversial phrases and inaccurate expressions, discuss this with the teacher. In addition, they will appreciate your efforts and desire to write a brilliant essay.

It is also important to realize the key mission. It can be one of the following:

Explain why historical events took place;
Interpret and analyze a topic;
Support or disagree with a specific idea;
Justify a certain position.

It’s a great idea to focus on keywords – they’ll be defined at the essay’s beginning. And they will help you narrow your search. Otherwise, you run the risk of spending too much time on extra research that will not relate to your topic.

Do a Profound Research

History is certainly a field where every thought requires confirmation by a fact. And for this, you will rely on sources of two types. The first is information from people who participated in the events of that historical period. It can also be photos, texts, and videos created at that time. This will serve as strong evidence.

The second group is references to the works of scientists studying those events. You can also find inspiration in documentaries and fiction books. Why? They will help you feel the spirit of the era and give some great insights.

Organize Your Sources

At first, you may be intimidated by the amount of information that you will have to read. Or vice versa – its lack. However, all history students (especially the ones from the best universities ) have proven ways to find the data they require.

The first is positions in your reading list and bibliography course. The teachers recommended these sources for a reason, right?;
The second is the library – try to get the most out of it. Talk to librarians, they may be able to point you to excellent materials;
Next, come online journal databases. As a college student, you surely have access to them;
Look through free platforms like Google Scholar. There are some high-quality academic materials. As for Wikipedia, it’s not a reliable source, but websites cited on it can help you advance your research.

Analyze The Information You’ve Gathered

Even with a lot of materials collected, you can spoil the work if you don’t analyze them properly. This can be compared to a trip to historical places . What is the point of visiting them if you didn’t come up with your conclusions? Analytical skills are some of the most vital to a researcher.

Struggling to understand whether the data is scholarly? Pay attention to these characteristics:

Does the author have a position at the university?
Is the book (article, review) published by the academic press?;
What is the ending of the site that published the information? The endings “.gov” and “.edu” are best suited.

As you explore the data, be sure to take notes—let it be page numbers, specific resources, citations, or references.

Formulate Key Argument

When studying the topic, you will most likely formulate a thesis statement. With a clear idea in mind (maybe one or two sentences of it), you can move on to building a plan and a draft.

The main requirement for a thesis is that it addresses the essay’s topic and is followed by supporting arguments. By the way, you will include them in the body parts along with evidence.

Of course, the arguments may change as the essay is written (you will probably find deeper ideas during the research stage). But the main thing you will start from is a clearly defined thesis statement.

Come Up With a Plan

A plan is a skeleton of your essay. In fact, the more detailed outline you create, the easier it will be for you later. You will also be able to see how consistent your arguments are. Divide the work into three sections: introduction, main part, and conclusion.

Move On To the Introduction

The introduction is of key importance for the work, as it sets the overall tone of the story and intrigues the reader. First, you need to announce the topic and give a broader perspective on the problem. Your task is to make sure that the reader will be interested enough to move on to the next parts of the essay.

Also, indicate how you will answer the main question – give an overview of your arguments and the evidence you use to support them.

When Working On Body, Have a Clear Structure In Mind

This part of the essay requires special attention – it usually consists of three paragraphs:

Argument, evidence;
Argument, evidence.

In addition to being logical and consistent, the text must be readable and easy to perceive. For this, use transition words – they make the essay flow and link your thoughts together.

Summarize Your Key Points

A brilliant ending perfectly sums up your points of view, arguments, and evidence. Here, you are referring to the outline. Make sure that the conclusion contains the answer to the main question of the essay.

Proofread The Essay

When the last word is written, the work is still not ready. It certainly has errors and typos that are waiting to be corrected. The best advice is to rest a little after finishing the essay because you need to somewhat forget it. Then, use tools like Hemingway and Grammarly to clean up overly complex expressions, grammar errors, and long sentences.

Read the text aloud. Is it easy to read? Is the main idea clear? Great, it means proofreading went well!

To Wrap It Up

Perhaps the main mistake which students make when completing a history essay is describing events instead of analyzing them. Be sure to ask yourself the question: what is the point of this specific paragraph? How does it help support the thesis?

Another key point is references and a bibliography. There are several citation styles, so study them so as not to spoil the end of the work. Yes, it’s rather boring, but it will show the teacher your effort and diligence.

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How to Write a History Essay?

04 August, 2020

10 minutes read

Author: Tomas White

There are so many types of essays. It can be hard to know where to start. History papers aren’t just limited to history classes. These tasks can be assigned to examine any important historical event or a person. While they’re more common in history classes, you can find this type of assignment in sociology or political science course syllabus, or just get a history essay task for your scholarship. This is Handmadewriting History Essay Guide - let's start!

Purpose of a History Essay

Wondering how to write a history essay? First of all, it helps to understand its purpose. Secondly, this essay aims to examine the influences that lead to a historical event. Thirdly, it can explore the importance of an individual’s impact on history.

However, the goal isn’t to stay in the past. Specifically, a well-written history essay should discuss the relevance of the event or person to the “now”. After finishing this essay, a reader should have a fuller understanding of the lasting impact of an event or individual.

Need basic essay guidance? Find out what is an essay with this 101 essay guide: What is an Essay?

Elements for Success

Indeed, understanding how to write a history essay is crucial in creating a successful paper. Notably, these essays should never only outline successful historic events or list an individual’s achievements. Instead, they should focus on examining questions beginning with what , how , and why . Here’s a pro tip in how to write a history essay: brainstorm questions. Once you’ve got questions, you have an excellent starting point.

Preparing to Write

Evidently, a typical history essay format requires the writer to provide background on the event or person, examine major influences, and discuss the importance of the forces both then and now. In addition, when preparing to write, it’s helpful to organize the information you need to research into questions. For example:

Who were the major contributors to this event?
Who opposed or fought against this event?
Who gained or lost from this event?
Who benefits from this event today?
What factors led up to this event?
What changes occurred because of this event?
What lasting impacts occurred locally, nationally, globally due to this event?
What lessons (if any) were learned?
Why did this event occur?
Why did certain populations support it?
Why did certain populations oppose it?

These questions exist as samples. Therefore, generate questions specific to your topic. Once you have a list of questions, it’s time to evaluate them.

Evaluating the Question

Seasoned writers approach writing history by examining the historic event or individual. Specifically, the goal is to assess the impact then and now. Accordingly, the writer needs to evaluate the importance of the main essay guiding the paper. For example, if the essay’s topic is the rise of American prohibition, a proper question may be “How did societal factors influence the rise of American prohibition during the 1920s? ”

This question is open-ended since it allows for insightful analysis, and limits the research to societal factors. Additionally, work to identify key terms in the question. In the example, key terms would be “societal factors” and “prohibition”.

Summarizing the Argument

The argument should answer the question. Use the thesis statement to clarify the argument and outline how you plan to make your case. In other words. the thesis should be sharp, clear, and multi-faceted. Consider the following tips when summarizing the case:

The thesis should be a single sentence
It should include a concise argument and a roadmap
It’s always okay to revise the thesis as the paper develops
Conduct a bit of research to ensure you have enough support for the ideas within the paper

Outlining a History Essay Plan

Once you’ve refined your argument, it’s time to outline. Notably, many skip this step to regret it then. Nonetheless, the outline is a map that shows where you need to arrive historically and when. Specifically, taking the time to plan, placing the strongest argument last, and identifying your sources of research is a good use of time. When you’re ready to outline, do the following:

Consider the necessary background the reader should know in the introduction paragraph
Define any important terms and vocabulary
Determine which ideas will need the cited support
Identify how each idea supports the main argument
Brainstorm key points to review in the conclusion

Gathering Sources

As a rule, history essays require both primary and secondary sources . Primary resources are those that were created during the historical period being analyzed. Secondary resources are those created by historians and scholars about the topic. It’s a good idea to know if the professor requires a specific number of sources, and what kind he or she prefers. Specifically, most tutors prefer primary over secondary sources.

Where to find sources? Great question! Check out bibliographies included in required class readings. In addition, ask a campus Librarian. Peruse online journal databases; In addition, most colleges provide students with free access. When in doubt, make an appointment and ask the professor for guidance.

Writing the Essay

Now that you have prepared your questions, ideas, and arguments; composed the outline ; and gathered sources – it’s time to write your first draft. In particular, each section of your history essay must serve its purpose. Here is what you should include in essay paragraphs.

Introduction Paragraph

Unsure of how to start a history essay? Well, like most essays, the introduction should include an attention-getter (or hook):

Relevant fact or statistic
Rhetorical Question
Interesting quotation
Application anecdote if appropriate

Once you’ve captured the reader’s interest, introduce the topic. Similarly, present critical historic context. Namely, it is necessary to introduce any key individuals or events that will be discussed later in the essay. At last, end with a strong thesis which acts as a transition to the first argument.

Body Paragraphs

Indeed, each body paragraph should offer a single idea to support the argument. Then, after writing a strong topic sentence, the topic should be supported with correctly cited research. Consequently, a typical body paragraph is arranged as follows:

Topic sentence linking to the thesis
Background of the topic
Research quotation or paraphrase #1
Explanation and analysis of research
Research quotation or paraphrase #2
Transition to the next paragraph

Equally, the point of body paragraphs is to build the argument. Hence, present the weakest support first and end with the strongest. Admittedly, doing so leaves the reader with the best possible evidence.

Conclusion Paragraph

You’re almost there! Eventually, conclusion paragraphs should review the most important points in the paper. In them, you should prove that you’ve supported the argument proposed in the thesis. When writing a conclusion paragraph keep these tips in mind:

Keep it simple
Avoid introducing new information
Review major points
Discuss the relevance to today

Problems with writing Your History essay ? Try our Essay Writer Service!

Proofreading Your Essay

Once the draft is ready and polished, it’s time to proceed to final editing. What does this process imply? Specifically, it’s about removing impurities and making the essay look just perfect. Here’s what you need to do to improve the quality of your paper:

Double check the content. In the first place, it’s recommended to get rid of long sentences, correct vague words. Also, make sure that all your paragrahps contain accurate sentences with transparent meaning.
Pay attention to style. To make the process of digesting your essay easier, focus on crafting a paper with readable style, the one that is known to readers. Above all, the main mission here is to facilitate the perception of your essay. So, don’t forget about style accuracy.
Practice reading the essay. Of course, the best practice before passing the paper is to read it out loud. Hence, this exercise will help you notice fragments that require rewriting or a complete removal.

History Essay Example

Did you want a history essay example? Take a look at one of our history essay papers.

Make it Shine

An A-level essay takes planning and revision, but it’s achievable. Firstly, avoid procrastination and start early. Secondly, leave yourself plenty of time to brainstorm, outline, research and write. Finally, follow these five tips to make your history essay shine:

Write a substantial introduction. Particularly, it’s the first impression the professor will have of the paper.
State a clear thesis. A strong thesis is easier to support.
Incorporate evidence critically. If while researching you find opposing arguments, include them and discuss their flaws.
Cite all the research. Whether direct quotations or paraphrases, citing evidence is crucial to avoiding plagiarism, which can have serious academic consequences.
Include primary and secondary resources. While primary resources may be harder to find, the professor will expect them—this is, after all, a history essay.

History Essay Sample

Ready to tackle the history essay format? Great! Check out this history essay sample from an upper-level history class. While the essay isn’t perfect, the professor points out its many strengths.

Remember: start early and revise, revise, revise . We can’t revise history, but you can revise your ideas until they’re perfect.

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Style, Voice and Using Evidence: 7 Tips for Writing a Better History Essay

February 3, 2022

Let’s be honest: the academic essay as a genre can feel clunky and counterintuitive for anyone, whether you’re an uninitiated first-year or a seasoned fourth-year. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by an essay, you’re certainly not alone. We know writing a History essay can be a handful, which is why we have collaborated with Elizabeth Elliott, fourth -year History Honours student and History Writing Centre Peer Tutor, to bring you some useful tips to help you ace your next writing assignment.

Argument and Analysis

Forming an interesting thesis.

Why should your reader care about your topic and argument? The audience needs to know why what you are arguing is important. What scholarship are you adding to? What have you observed, and why is it significant? Keeping in mind why your subject is important will help you to form a thesis rather than to simply identify a topic.

Sufficient Evidence

What needs to be probably true for someone to accept what you argue? I use the word probably because you should be selecting strong evidence to support your claims. What can we reasonably believe to be true? The quality of the evidence will vary depending on the sources you use.

Interpreting the Evidence

Seek to provide a balanced analysis. To do this, give a fair interpretation of the evidence. Ask yourself: How would I argue against myself? Imagine what someone would say to you if they held the opposite position. This strategy will help you find weaknesses in your arguments, which you can then address. You can directly discuss and rebut these counter arguments in your paper unless it is distracting from the narrative flow of the paper.

Integrating Quotations

You should aim to integrate your quotations in a way that you will not disrupt the flow of your essay with a quote that only loosely connects to the surrounding argument. The reader should not have to work to determine the significance of the quotation you choose. Why is it there? Quotations do not speak for themselves. How do these quotations constitute supportive evidence of your argument? Be selective with quotations. Incorporate what is essential and well-stated. Some details are better placed in your footnotes.

Variety of Sources

Inspect your footnotes. There are situations where reliance on one source is appropriate, such as when analyzing a primary source. However, a lack of variety in your footnotes in most papers will show an over-reliance on one source, which should be avoided. Aim to weave and synthesize many sources together and to extrapolate what you can from them. Use a variety of sources and gather the best evidence to support your arguments.

Writing and Style

Active voice.

Identify the subject of the sentence and ask yourself if it is clear who you are writing about. In passive sentences, the subject of the sentence is indeterminate. Ask yourself: Who did what to whom ? It is important that we know who the historical actors are. Passive voice removes responsibility and agency of these actors because it makes them unknown. The word “by” in a sentence is often indicative of a passive sentence.

The tendency to write passive sentences often arises from a lack of confidence in your argument, and c onfidence is essential to strong writing. Passive voice creates a feeling of uncertainty, which is why reading a sentence with passive voice is not very persuasive. It is difficult to convince your reader if you appear uncertain about your ideas. If you have done your research and have found strong evidence to support your claims, then have confidence in your claims.

Persuasive sentences also sound persuasive, which is another reason why it is good to read your paper aloud. It is easier to write with confidence from the beginning than to go back and change passive sentences into active ones.

Passive voice example 1 : An attempted invasion was thwarted in 1588.

Passive voice example 2 : An attempted invasion by the Spanish was thwarted in 1588.

Active voice example : The Spanish Armada failed to reach England.

Cultural Sensitivity

Ask yourself: am I making an argument that is sensitive to the subject matter? Consider other peoples’ perspectives and values respectfully. Be conscientious about seeking to understand cultural contexts and perspectives that may be different from your own.

The History Writing Centre is a peer-to-peer tutoring service that operates on a drop-in basis. Office hours are Wednesdays and Fridays from 11 am to 1:30 pm. Check out the History Writing Centre webpage for more information on how to make your writing stronger.

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How to Write a Good History Essay. A Sequence of Actions and Useful Tips

Before you start writing your history essay, there is quite a lot of work that has to be done in order to gain success.

You may ask: what is history essay? What is the difference between it and other kinds of essays? Well, the main goal of a history essay is to measure your progress in learning history and test your range of skills (such as analysis, logic, planning, research, and writing), it is necessary to prepare yourself very well.

Your plan of action may look like this. First of all, you will have to explore the topic. If you are going to write about a certain historical event, think of its causes and premises, and analyze what its impact on history was. In case you are writing about a person, find out why and how he or she came to power and how they influenced society and historical situations.

The next step is to make research and collect all the available information about the person or event, and also find evidence.

Finally, you will have to compose a well-organized response.

During the research, make notes and excerpts of the most notable data, write out the important dates and personalities. And of course, write down all your thoughts and findings.

It all may seem complicated at first sight, but in fact, it is not so scary! To complete this task successfully and compose a good history essay, simply follow several easy steps provided below.

Detailed Writing Instruction for Students to Follow

If you want to successfully complete your essay, it would be better to organize the writing process. You will complete the assignment faster and more efficient if you divide the whole work into several sections or steps.

Introduction

Writing a good and strong introduction part is important because this is the first thing your reader will see. It gives the first impression of your essay and induces people to reading (or not reading) it.

To make the introduction catchy and interesting, express the contention and address the main question of the essay. Be confident and clear as this is the moment when you define the direction your whole essay will take. And remember that introduction is not the right place for rambling! The best of all is, to begin with, a brief context summary, then go to addressing the question and express the content. Finally, mark the direction your essay about history will take.

Its quality depends on how clear you divided the whole essay into sections in the previous part. As long as you have provided a readable and understandable scheme, your readers will know exactly what to expect.

The body of your essay must give a clear vision of what question you are considering. In this section, you can develop your idea and support it with the evidence you have found. Use certain facts and quotations for that. When being judicial and analytical, they will help you to easily support your point of view and argument.

As long as your essay has a limited size, don’t be too precise. It is allowed to summarize the most essential background information, for example, instead of giving a precise list of all the issues that matter.

It is also good to keep in mind that each paragraph of your essay’s body must tell about only one issue. Don’t make a mess out of your paper!

It is not only essential to start your essay well. How you will end it also matters. A properly-written conclusion is the one that restates the whole paper’s content and gives a logical completion of the issue or question discussed above. Your conclusion must leave to chance for further discussion or arguments on the case. It’s time, to sum up, give a verdict.

That is why it is strongly forbidden to provide any new evidence or information here, as well as start a new discussion, etc.

After you finish writing, give yourself some time and put the paper away for a while. When you turn back to it will be easier to take a fresh look at it and find any mistakes or things to improve. Of course, remember to proofread your writing and check it for any grammar, spelling and punctuation errors. All these tips will help you to learn how to write a history essay.

A guide to writing history essays

This guide has been prepared for students at all undergraduate university levels. Some points are specifically aimed at 100-level students, and may seem basic to those in upper levels. Similarly, some of the advice is aimed at upper-level students, and new arrivals should not be put off by it.

The key point is that learning to write good essays is a long process. We hope that students will refer to this guide frequently, whatever their level of study.

Why do history students write essays?

Essays are an essential educational tool in disciplines like history because they help you to develop your research skills, critical thinking, and writing abilities. The best essays are based on strong research, in-depth analysis, and are logically structured and well written.

An essay should answer a question with a clear, persuasive argument. In a history essay, this will inevitably involve a degree of narrative (storytelling), but this should be kept to the minimum necessary to support the argument – do your best to avoid the trap of substituting narrative for analytical argument. Instead, focus on the key elements of your argument, making sure they are well supported by evidence. As a historian, this evidence will come from your sources, whether primary and secondary.

The following guide is designed to help you research and write your essays, and you will almost certainly earn better grades if you can follow this advice. You should also look at the essay-marking criteria set out in your course guide, as this will give you a more specific idea of what the person marking your work is looking for.

Where to start

First, take time to understand the question. Underline the key words and consider very carefully what you need to do to provide a persuasive answer. For example, if the question asks you to compare and contrast two or more things, you need to do more than define these things – what are the similarities and differences between them? If a question asks you to 'assess' or 'explore', it is calling for you to weigh up an issue by considering the evidence put forward by scholars, then present your argument on the matter in hand.

A history essay must be based on research. If the topic is covered by lectures, you might begin with lecture and tutorial notes and readings. However, the lecturer does not want you simply to echo or reproduce the lecture content or point of view, nor use their lectures as sources in your footnotes. They want you to develop your own argument. To do this you will need to look closely at secondary sources, such as academic books and journal articles, to find out what other scholars have written about the topic. Often your lecturer will have suggested some key texts, and these are usually listed near the essay questions in your course guide. But you should not rely solely on these suggestions.

Tip : Start the research with more general works to get an overview of your topic, then move on to look at more specialised work.

Crafting a strong essay

Before you begin writing, make an essay plan. Identify the two-to-four key points you want to make. Organize your ideas into an argument which flows logically and coherently. Work out which examples you will use to make the strongest case. You may need to use an initial paragraph (or two) to bring in some context or to define key terms and events, or provide brief identifying detail about key people – but avoid simply telling the story.

An essay is really a series of paragraphs that advance an argument and build towards your conclusion. Each paragraph should focus on one central idea. Introduce this idea at the start of the paragraph with a 'topic sentence', then expand on it with evidence or examples from your research. Some paragraphs should finish with a concluding sentence that reiterates a main point or links your argument back to the essay question.

A good length for a paragraph is 150-200 words. When you want to move to a new idea or angle, start a new paragraph. While each paragraph deals with its own idea, paragraphs should flow logically, and work together as a greater whole. Try using linking phrases at the start of your paragraphs, such as 'An additional factor that explains', 'Further', or 'Similarly'.

We discourage using subheadings for a history essay (unless they are over 5000 words in length). Instead, throughout your essay use 'signposts'. This means clearly explaining what your essay will cover, how an example demonstrates your point, or reiterating what a particular section has added to your overall argument.

Remember that a history essay isn't necessarily about getting the 'right' answer – it's about putting forward a strong case that is well supported by evidence from academic sources. You don't have to cover everything – focus on your key points.

In your introduction or opening paragraph you could indicate that while there are a number of other explanations or factors that apply to your topic, you have chosen to focus on the selected ones (and say why). This demonstrates to your marker that while your argument will focus on selected elements, you do understand the bigger picture.

The classic sections of an essay

Introduction.

Establishes what your argument will be, and outlines how the essay will develop it
A good formula to follow is to lay out about 3 key reasons that support the answer you plan to give (these points will provide a road-map for your essay and will become the ideas behind each paragraph)
If you are focusing on selected aspects of a topic or particular sources and case studies, you should state that in your introduction
Define any key terms that are essential to your argument
Keep your introduction relatively concise – aim for about 10% of the word count
Consists of a series of paragraphs that systematically develop the argument outlined in your introduction
Each paragraph should focus on one central idea, building towards your conclusion
Paragraphs should flow logically. Tie them together with 'bridge' sentences – e.g. you might use a word or words from the end of the previous paragraph and build it into the opening sentence of the next, to form a bridge
Also be sure to link each paragraph to the question/topic/argument in some way (e.g. use a key word from the question or your introductory points) so the reader does not lose the thread of your argument
Ties up the main points of your discussion
Should link back to the essay question, and clearly summarise your answer to that question
May draw out or reflect on any greater themes or observations, but you should avoid introducing new material
If you have suggested several explanations, evaluate which one is strongest

Using scholarly sources: books, journal articles, chapters from edited volumes

Try to read critically: do not take what you read as the only truth, and try to weigh up the arguments presented by scholars. Read several books, chapters, or articles, so that you understand the historical debates about your topic before deciding which viewpoint you support. The best sources for your history essays are those written by experts, and may include books, journal articles, and chapters in edited volumes. The marking criteria in your course guide may state a minimum number of academic sources you should consult when writing your essay. A good essay considers a range of evidence, so aim to use more than this minimum number of sources.

Tip : Pick one of the books or journal articles suggested in your course guide and look at the author's first few footnotes – these will direct you to other prominent sources on this topic.

Don't overlook journal articles as a source. They contain the most in-depth research on a particular topic. Often the first pages will summarise the prior research into this topic, so articles can be a good way to familiarise yourself with what else has 'been done'.

Edited volumes can also be a useful source. These are books on a particular theme, topic or question, with each chapter written by a different expert.

One way to assess the reliability of a source is to check the footnotes or endnotes. When the author makes a claim, is this supported by primary or secondary sources? If there are very few footnotes, then this may not be a credible scholarly source. Also check the date of publication, and prioritise more recent scholarship. Aim to use a variety of sources, but focus most of your attention on academic books and journal articles.

Paraphrasing and quotations

A good essay is about your ability to interpret and analyse sources, and to establish your own informed opinion with a persuasive argument that uses sources as supporting evidence. You should express most of your ideas and arguments in your own words. Cutting and pasting together the words of other scholars, or simply changing a few words in quotations taken from the work of others, will prevent you from getting a good grade, and may be regarded as academic dishonesty (see more below).

Direct quotations can be useful tools if they provide authority and colour. For maximum effect though, use direct quotations sparingly – where possible, paraphrase most material into your own words. Save direct quotations for phrases that are interesting, contentious, or especially well-phrased.

A good writing practice is to introduce and follow up every direct quotation you use with one or two sentences of your own words, clearly explaining the relevance of the quote, and putting it in context with the rest of your paragraph. Tell the reader who you are quoting, why this quote is here, and what it demonstrates. Avoid simply plonking a quotation into the middle of your own prose. This can be quite off-putting for a reader.

Only include punctuation in your quote if it was in the original text. Otherwise, punctuation should come after the quotation marks. If you cut out words from a quotation, put in three dots (an ellipsis [ . . .]) to indicate where material has been cut
If your quote is longer than 50 words, it should be indented and does not need quotation marks. This is called a block quote (use these sparingly: remember you have a limited word count and it is your analysis that is most significant)
Quotations should not be italicised

Referencing, plagiarism and Turnitin

When writing essays or assignments, it is very important to acknowledge the sources you have used. You risk the charge of academic dishonesty (or plagiarism) if you copy or paraphrase words written by another person without providing a proper acknowledgment (a 'reference'). In your essay, whenever you refer to ideas from elsewhere, statistics, direct quotations, or information from primary source material, you must give details of where this information has come from in footnotes and a bibliography.

Your assignment may be checked through Turnitin, a type of plagiarism-detecting software which checks assignments for evidence of copied material. If you have used a wide variety of primary and secondary sources, you may receive a high Turnitin percentage score. This is nothing to be alarmed about if you have referenced those sources. Any matches with other written material that are not referenced may be interpreted as plagiarism – for which there are penalties. You can find full information about all of this in the History Programme's Quick Guide Referencing Guide contained in all course booklets.

Final suggestions

Remember that the easier it is to read your essay, the more likely you are to get full credit for your ideas and work. If the person marking your work has difficulty reading it, either because of poor writing or poor presentation, they will find it harder to grasp your points. Try reading your work aloud, or to a friend/flatmate. This should expose any issues with flow or structure, which you can then rectify.

Make sure that major and controversial points in your argument are clearly stated and well- supported by evidence and footnotes. Aspire to understand – rather than judge – the past. A historian's job is to think about people, patterns, and events in the context of the time, though you can also reflect on changing perceptions of these over time.

Things to remember

Write history essays in the past tense
Generally, avoid sub-headings in your essays
Avoid using the word 'bias' or 'biased' too freely when discussing your research materials. Almost any text could be said to be 'biased'. Your task is to attempt to explain why an author might argue or interpret the past as they do, and what the potential limitations of their conclusions might be
Use the passive voice judiciously. Active sentences are better!
Be cautious about using websites as sources of information. The internet has its uses, particularly for primary sources, but the best sources are academic books and articles. You may use websites maintained by legitimate academic and government authorities, such as those with domain suffixes like .gov .govt .ac or .edu
Keep an eye on word count – aim to be within 10% of the required length. If your essay is substantially over the limit, revisit your argument and overall structure, and see if you are trying to fit in too much information. If it falls considerably short, look into adding another paragraph or two
Leave time for a final edit and spell-check, go through your footnotes and bibliography to check that your references are correctly formatted, and don't forget to back up your work as you go!

Other useful strategies and sources

Student Learning Development , which offers peer support and one-on-one writing advice (located near the central library)
Harvard College's guide to writing history essays (PDF)
Harvard College's advice on essay structure
Victoria University's comprehensive essay writing guide (PDF)

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Education and Communications
Study Skills
Memorization Skills

How to Memorise Long Text in the Shortest Amount of Time Possible

Last Updated: August 19, 2023 References

This article was co-authored by Alexander Ruiz, M.Ed. and by wikiHow staff writer, Jennifer Mueller, JD . Alexander Ruiz is an Educational Consultant and the Educational Director of Link Educational Institute, a tutoring business based in Claremont, California that provides customizable educational plans, subject and test prep tutoring, and college application consulting. With over a decade and a half of experience in the education industry, Alexander coaches students to increase their self-awareness and emotional intelligence while achieving skills and the goal of achieving skills and higher education. He holds a BA in Psychology from Florida International University and an MA in Education from Georgia Southern University. There are 14 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 410,068 times.

If you've ever tried to memorize an essay, monologue, long answer, or other text, you likely just repeated the words over and over again until you could recite them from rote memory. However, this isn't necessarily the quickest way to memorize something and if you're working with a longer text you may not have the time it would take to keep repeating it aloud. Instead, use memorization techniques that suit your learning style and focus on recalling the text rather than rote memorization. [1] X Research source

Breaking the Text into Chunks

Step 1 Divide the text into separate actions or objectives.

For example, if you're trying to memorize Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, your first chunk might be the first line of the speech, in which Lincoln talks about the founding of the United States. The second chunk might relate to Lincoln's description of the civil war, then the third to the battlefield Lincoln was consecrating that day. Despite being separate chunks, the second and third chunks make up the same paragraph. [3] X Research source
Look for phrases you already know that you won't have to work as hard to commit to memory. For example, if you already remember the phrase "four score and seven years ago" from the Gettysburg Address, you don't need to worry about memorizing that.
Sometimes it can also help to reformat the text. You might hand-write or type the text out with plenty of space between the chunks. You might even include separate headings for each of the chunks.

Get a good familiarity with each of the chunks separately before you start to combine them. If there is a particular area of your original chunk that's giving you trouble, try separating it into even smaller chunks. Then you can combine those smaller chunks together once you've got them down.

Step 3 Combine the first chunk with the second chunk.

Practice the first and second chunk together until you can recite them flawlessly. Then you're ready to add the third chunk.

Step 4 Repeat the process until you've memorized the entire text.

If you run into rough spots, stop and go back over them until you can recite them smoothly. Then integrate that part into the rest of the chunk.
Throughout the process, keep your eye out for transitions that you can use as triggers to combine the chunks together seamlessly. If these transitions aren't in the text, add them mentally to help you connect the chunks — just remember not to say them out loud.

Creating a Memory Palace

Step 1 Map out a familiar place in your mind.

It's often easiest to use your home, since you're intimately familiar with the rooms and the objects inside.
Your place can also be a fictitious place that you're deeply familiar with. For example, if you're a big fan of Harry Potter and have a familiar map in your head of Hogwarts, you could use that.
Your "memory palace" doesn't have to be a single building or location. It can also be a route from one place to another. For example, you might use your route from home to work or school.

Step 2 Assign parts of the text you want to memorize to rooms in the

For example, if you're trying to memorize Hamlet's soliloquy, you might imagine a letter "B" on the door of a room. When you open the room, there are arrows and slingshots pelting you from a large bag of gold coins. If you close the door and move down the hall, there are arms reaching out that grab you and carry you across a turbulent ocean. [8] X Research source

Step 3 Walk through your palace to connect the pieces together.

If you encounter pieces that are difficult to remember, you may want to rethink the object you have associated with that piece or break it up into smaller pieces associated with multiple objects.

Step 4 Use the mental image to recall the text you want to memorize.

This technique may take some practice to master. If you're up against a deadline, it may not be the best time to create a memory palace. However, once you've used it a few times, you may find it enables you to memorize text more quickly.
If you used a route rather than a place, you can travel through the text you're trying to memorize every day as you head to work or school. You could even try it in reverse as you go back home. Then you'd be able to say you know the text "backward and forward."

Trying Other Memorization Techniques

Step 1 Memorize the first letter of each word of the text to create a shortcut.

For example, if you were trying to memorize Hamlet's soliloquy from Shakespeare's Hamlet, you would write "t b, o n t b? t i t q — w 't n i t m t s t s a a o o f, o t t a a a s o t, a, b o, e t?" [11] X Research source Then you would see how many words you could get just from those first letters.
Circle the letters that correspond to words you couldn't remember and then go back to the text. Use your favorite memorization technique to better commit those words to your memory in the context of the text, then try the first letters again.
This trick is also useful if you're trying to recall something you memorized a long time ago but haven't thought about since. You might be surprised how much you'll recall.

Step 2 Turn the words into a song to help you remember them.

If you're musically inclined, you could try recording yourself playing the song. You may also be able to find an instrumental version of the song on your favorite streaming service.
Educational programs, such as "Schoolhouse Rock," often create songs for historical documents and speeches. Search the internet or your favorite video streaming service and see what you can find.

Step 3 Walk around as you recite the memorized text to stimulate your brain.

Feel free to gesticulate as well to really get into the emotion of the text. The more passion and emotion you attach to it, the better you'll be able to remember it.

Step 4 Connect images to the text if you're a visual learner.

For example, if you were trying to memorize Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, you might think of an image of your father, an image of the United States, an image of the Statue of Liberty, and an equal sign to represent the first line: "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."
If you enjoy emoji, you might try "translating" the text into emoji. Since those images are already familiar to you, it might make the text easier to remember.

Step 5 Record yourself reading the text if you're an auditory learner.

If you dislike the sound of your own voice, you can always get someone else to read the text for you. However, you'll get less of a benefit by listening to someone else's voice than you would if you listened to your own voice.
If you're trying to memorize a relatively famous text, you may also be able to find recordings online of famous actors or other celebrities reading the text.

Expert Q&A

Once you've found a method that works for you, practice it by memorizing speeches, monologues, or essays that spark your interest. The more you practice memorizing things, the better you'll get. Thanks Helpful 2 Not Helpful 1
After you've memorized something, make an effort to recite it at least once every few days so it sticks in your memory. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 2

↑ https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/backstage-experts-answer-ways-quickly-memorize-lines-6719/
↑ https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/teaching-strategies/chunking
↑ http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/gettysburg.htm
↑ https://psychcentral.com/lib/memory-and-mnemonic-devices/
↑ https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-psychology/chapter/step-1-memory-encoding/
↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4056179/
↑ https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/56965/speech-to-be-or-not-to-be-that-is-the-question
↑ https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/enhancing-your-memory/
↑ http://www.productivity501.com/how-to-memorize-verbatim-text/294/
↑ https://poets.org/poem/hamlet-act-iii-scene-i-be-or-not-be
↑ https://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/sciencecommunication/2017/10/20/want-to-remember-something-better-put-it-in-a-song/
↑ https://www.nyfa.edu/student-resources/7-easy-monologue-memorization-tips/
↑ Alexander Ruiz, M.Ed.. Educational Consultant. Expert Interview. 18 June 2020.
↑ https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09658211.2017.1383434

About This Article

To memorize a long text in the shortest time possible, start by splitting it into 1-2 sentence sections to make it easier to remember. Read the first section a few times. Then, cover the page and practice recalling the section from memory. You can say it aloud, in your head, or write it down on a new piece of paper. Once you’ve memorized the first section, move onto the next one. Whenever you start a new section, say or write the text from the beginning so you learn the flow between each section. Repeat the process until you’ve learned all of the sections of your text. For more tips, including how to memorize text by using pictures for each section, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How to Write a History Essay

The analytical essay.

One of the most important skills you must learn in order to succeed in a history classroom is the art of essay writing. Writing an essay is one of the most common tasks assigned to a history student, and often one of the most daunting. However, once you gain the skills and confidence to write a great essay it can also be one of the most fun assignments you have. Essays allow you to engage with the material you have studied and draw your own conclusions. A good essay shows that you have mastered the material at hand and that you are able to engage with it in a new and meaningful way.

The Thesis Statement

The most important thing to remember when writing an analytical essay is that it calls for you to analyze something. That is to say your essay should have a challengeable argument . An argument is a statement which people can disagree about. The goal of your essay is to persuade the reader to support your argument. The best essays will be those which take a strong stance on a topic, and use evidence to support that stance. You should be able to condense your strong stance into one or two concrete sentences called your thesis statement . The thesis of your essay should clearly lay out what you will be arguing for in your essay. Again, a good thesis statement will present your challengeable argument – the thing you are trying to prove.

Here are two examples

Bad Thesis Statement : Johannes Kepler was an important figure in the Scientific Revolution.

Good Thesis Statement : Johannes Kepler’s mathematical evidence supporting the heliocentric model of the universe was instrumental in progressing the scientific revolution because it legitimized the need for scientists to question authority, gave scientists the tools to begin mapping out the universe, and it laid the groundwork for the level of mathematical precision called for in the scientific method.

As you can see the first thesis statement is not a challengeable argument. The fact that Johannes Kepler was an important figure is not disputed, and an essay to prove that he was important wouldn’t be effective, and would also be no fun to write (or read.)

The second thesis statement however does make a challengeable argument. It argues that Kepler’s discovery helped to progress the scientific revolution and goes on to explain three reasons why. This thesis statement not only poses a challengeable argument, but also outlines the evidence which will be used to prove the argument. Now the reader knows right away what you will be arguing for, and why you believe the argument is correct.

Note : This type of thesis is called a ‘ three-prong thesis .’ There are other valid ways to set up a thesis statement, but the three prong thesis form is a very straightforward approach which is allows both beginner and advanced essayists the ability to clearly define the structure of their essay.

Writing an Introduction

The introduction is the first part of your essay anyone will read and so it is the most important. People make up their minds about the quality of a paper within the first few lines, so it’s important that you start strong. The introduction of your paper must layout the basic premise behind the paper. It should include any background knowledge essential to understanding your argument that is not directly addressed in your paper. In addition, your introduction should telegraph to a reader what your argument will be, and what topics you will discuss. In order write a good intro, there are a few essential elements which you must have.

First, every good introduction has to have a snappy opening or hook . Your first few lines must be engaging to the reader the same way it’s important to make a good impression with a new classmate. Resist the urge to open your paper with a famous quote. Readers never respond favorably to irrelevant epigraphs. Worse still, is the tired tradition of opening your essay with a definition. If your essay opens with “Webster’s dictionary defines blank as…” then you have some serious editing to do. You should always write your papers as though they are being read by an equally educated individual who is not a member of your class. As such, you should assume they already know the definitions of the key terms you are using, or able to look them up on their own time. Instead, you should try to introduce the topic of your paper in some informal way using a relevant anecdote, rhetorical question, interesting fact or metaphor. Your introduction should start out broadly and so your hook can begin introducing your topic informally. At the same time however, your hook must be relevant enough to lead into the meat of your paper.

Once you have a hook and have begun to introduce your topic, it is important to provide a roadmap for your essay. The roadmap is the portion of your introduction in which you briefly explain to your reader where your essay is going. The clearer your roadmap is the more engaged the reader will be. Generally speaking, you should devote one or two sentences to introducing the main ideas in each of your body paragraphs . By doing this you allow the reader to better understand the direction your essay will take. They will know what each body paragraph will be about and understand right way what your argument is and how plan to prove it.

Finally every introduction must include your thesis statement. As discussed above, our thesis statement should be the specific statement of what you are arguing. Make sure it is as clear as possible. The thesis statement should be at the end of your introduction. When you first begin writing essays, it is usually a good idea to make the thesis statement the final sentence of your introduction, but you can play around with the placement of the components of the introduction as you master the art of essay writing.

Remember, a good introduction should be shaped like a funnel. In the beginning your introduction starts broadly, but as it gets more specific as it goes, eventually culminating in the very specific thesis statement.

The body paragraphs of your essay are the meat of the work. It is in this section that you must do the most writing. All of your sub-arguments and evidence which prove your thesis are contained within the body of your essay. Writing this section can be a daunting task – especially if you are faced with what seems like an enormous expanse of blank pages to fill. Have no fear. Though the essay may seem intimidating to completely finish, practice will make essay writing seem easier, and by following these tips you can ensure the body of your essay impresses your reader.

It helps to consider each individual paragraph as an essay within itself. At the beginning of each new paragraph you should have a topic sentence . The topic sentence explains what the paragraph is about and how it relates to your thesis statement. In this way the topic sentence acts like the introduction to the paragraph. Next you must write the body of the paragraph itself – the facts and evidence which support the topic sentence. Finally, you need a conclusion to the paragraph which explains how what you just wrote about related to the main thesis.

Approaching each body paragraph as its own mini essay makes writing the whole paper seem much less intimidating. By breaking the essay up into smaller portions, it’s much easier to tackle the project as a whole.

Another great way to make essay writing easier is to create an outline. We’ll demonstrate how to do that next. Making a through outline will ensure that you always know where you are going. It makes it much easier to write the whole essay quickly, and you’ll never run into the problem of writers block, because you will always have someplace to go next.

Writing The Outline

Before you begin writing an essay you should always write an outline . Be as through as possible. You know that you will need to create a thesis statement which contains your challengeable argument, so start there. Write down your thesis first on a blank piece of paper. Got it? Good.

Now, think about how you will prove your thesis. What are the sub-arguments? Suppose we take our thesis from earlier about Kepler.

Thesis : Johannes Kepler’s mathematical evidence supporting the heliocentric model of the universe was instrumental in progressing the scientific revolution because it legitimized the need for scientists to question authority, gave scientists the tools to begin mapping out the universe, and it laid the groundwork for the level of mathematical precision called for in the scientific method.

What are the sub-arguments here? Well fortunately, because we made our thesis very clear the sub-arguments are easy to find. They are the bolded portions below:

Thesis : Johannes Kepler’s mathematical evidence supporting the heliocentric model of the universe was instrumental in progressing the scientific revolution because it legitimized the need for scientists to question authority , gave scientists the tools to begin mapping out the universe , and it laid the groundwork for the level of mathematical precision called for in the scientific method .

Now we know what the sections of our body should cover and argue:

1) Kepler’s evidence legitimized the need for scientists to question authority. 2) Kepler’s evidence gave scientists the tools to begin mapping out the universe 3) Kepler’s evidence laid the groundwork for the level of mathematical precision called for in the scientific method.

Note : The structure we are employing here is called the 5 paragraph essay . When you begin writing essays it is a good idea to master this structure first, and then, once you feel comfortable, you can branch out into different forms. You may also pursue a 5 paragraph essay with the body structure: ‘Narration,’ ‘Affirmation,’ ‘Negation,’ etc. In this structure the first paragraph provides background, the second presents your argument, and the third presents a counter argument which you proceed to rebut.

Now that we know what each body paragraph is about, it is time to fill out what information they will contain. Consider what facts can be used to prove the argument of each paragraph. What sources do you have which might justify your claims? Try your best to categorize your knowledge so that it fits into one of the three groups. Once you know what you want to talk about in each paragraph, try to order it either chronologically or thematically. This will help to give your essay a logical flow.

Once finished your outline should look something like this :

1) Introduction : Thesis: Johannes Kepler’s mathematical evidence supporting the heliocentric model of the universe was instrumental in progressing the scientific revolution because it legitimized the need for scientists to question authority, gave scientists the tools to begin mapping out the universe, and it laid the groundwork for the level of mathematical precision called for in the scientific method. 2) Body Paragraph 1 : legitimized questioning of authority 2.a) Kepler’s discovery proved that the European understanding of the universe was flawed 2.b) By proving that the European understanding was flawed in one area, Kepler’s work suggested there might be flaws in other areas inspiring scientists in all fields to question authority 3) Body Paragraph 2 : gave scientists the tools to begin mapping out the universe 3.a) Kepler’s discovery was widely read by other scientists who were able to expand on his work to make new discoveries 4) Body Paragraph 3 : laid the groundwork for the scientific method 4.a) Kepler’s discovery relied heavily on mathematical proof rather than feelings, or even observations. This made Kepler’s theory able to hold up under scrutiny. 4.b) The method of Kepler’s work impressed Renaissance thinkers like Francis Bacon and Rene Descartes who saw his work as more legitimate than that which came before it. They then measured other scientific work against Kepler’s method of experimental and mathematical proof. 5) Conclusion : Wrap up your paper and explain its importance.

The final part of your essay is the conclusion . The conclusion is the last part of your essay that anyone will read, so it is important that it is also as strong as the introduction. The conclusion should synthesize you argument into one succinct paragraph. You should reiterate your thesis statement – though in slightly different words – and explain how the thesis was proved. Be sure that your conclusion does not simply summarize your paper, but rather ensure that it enhances it. The best way to do this is by explaining how your whole argument fits together. Show in your conclusion that the examples you picked were not just random, but fit together to tell a compelling story.

The best conclusions will also attempt to answer the question of ‘so what?’ Why did you write this paper? What meaning can be taken from it? Can it teach us something about the world today or does it enhance our knowledge of the past? By relating your paper back to the bigger picture you are able to enhance your work by placing it within the larger discussion. If the reader knows what they have gained from reading your paper, then it will have greater meaning to them.

How to Research Effectively for History Essays

Published by rahul narain on 16th january 2024 16th january 2024.

The key to crafting an insightful and compelling history essay lies in effective research. This isn’t just about gathering facts and dates; it’s about diving deep into historical contexts and weaving together narratives that bring the past to life.

Researching for history essays can often feel like a journey through time, but knowing where to start and how to navigate the vast sea of information is key. In the age of digital resources, students frequently turn to essay writer service that write essays online, seeking assistance in framing and articulating their historical arguments. From identifying reliable sources to synthesizing conflicting viewpoints, these seven tips are designed to equip you with the tools necessary for delving into history with confidence and curiosity.

1. Identify Credible Sources

The first step in effective history research is distinguishing between credible and less reliable sources. Academic journals, books published by university presses, and documents from reputable institutions are generally trustworthy. They undergo strict fact-checking processes. For instance, when researching the Civil War, a journal article from the American Historical Review would be more credible than a generic web article.

In contrast, be cautious with sources like personal blogs, opinion pieces, and unverified online content. While they might offer unique perspectives or interpretations, their accuracy and credibility might not stand up to academic scrutiny.

2. Utilize Digital Libraries and Archives

Digital libraries and archives have revolutionized historical research, providing access to a plethora of resources right at your fingertips:

Library of Congress: A rich repository of American history documents and photos.
JSTOR: Access to a wide range of academic journals and books.
Google Scholar: For scholarly articles and legal documents.
Project MUSE: Offers books and journals from university presses.
British Library’s Online Gallery: Access to historical manuscripts and rare books.
EuroDocs: Primary historical documents from Western Europe.
National Archives: U.S. government documents and records.
World Digital Library: Resources from countries globally.
HathiTrust Digital Library: Digital versions of books from various libraries.

After familiarizing yourself with these resources, create a system to organize your findings. Bookmark essential web pages and maintain digital or physical notes for easy reference. This systematic approach will save you time and help streamline your research process.

3. Read Critically and Take Effective Notes

Adequate research requires meaningful engagement with sources. As you delve into sources, question the author’s perspective, the context in which it was written, and its potential biases.

Note-taking is an essential component of this critical engagement. Whether you prefer digital notes or the traditional pen-and-paper method, develop a system that works for you. Outline fundamental facts, jot down your ideas, and note page numbers for easy referencing. These notes will be invaluable when you start writing your essay, providing a roadmap for your research journey.

4. Synthesize Diverse Perspectives

Aim to include a range of viewpoints in your research. For instance, if you’re researching the American Civil Rights Movement, examine sources that cover different racial, political, and socio-economic perspectives. This approach enriches your understanding.

Synthesizing these perspectives involves comparing and contrasting different viewpoints, looking for common themes, and understanding how they interact with each other. This synthesis allows you to develop a well-rounded argument in your essay, showing that you’ve considered the topic in its full complexity.

5. Manage Time and Set Research Goals

Effective research also means managing your time wisely and setting clear goals.

Set specific research goals.
Use a research journal.
Use bibliographies of good sources.
Prioritize quality over quantity.
Regularly review and adjust your goals.
Keep track of deadlines.

By setting clear objectives and allocating enough time for research, you can avoid last-minute cramming and ensure a thorough and thoughtful research process.

6. Engage with Primary Sources

Primary sources are the raw materials of history, offering first-hand accounts of past events. Engaging with these sources, like letters, diaries, official documents, or even artifacts, can provide a direct window into the time you’re studying.

When working with primary sources, consider their root, intent, and the context in which they were created. This analysis helps you understand the source’s reliability and its place in the broader historical narrative. It also allows you to make your own interpretations and draw conclusions that can add depth and originality to your essay.

7. Evaluate Secondary Sources

Secondary sources, such as books and articles written by historians, provide interpretations and analyses of historical events. These sources offer context and scholarly perspectives to help shape your understanding of a topic.

However, it’s essential to evaluate these sources critically. Consider the historian’s credentials, the arguments they present, and how they interpret their primary sources. Look for potential biases or assumptions that might color their analysis.

Wrapping Up

Remember, researching for history essays is a skill that develops over time. Each essay is an opportunity to refine your techniques, from identifying credible sources to synthesizing diverse viewpoints. You can also seek guidance from professional writers. An Essay Service review can help you find a researcher to collaborate with. Receiving help and continuously learning is vital in honing your skills as both a researcher and a writer. By applying these strategies, you enrich your essays with depth and insight and grow as a history student, equipped to explore the past with a discerning eye and a curious mind.

RAHUL NARAIN

Principal partner - BaseKamp Rahul has over 18 years of business & operations experience in the education domain. He is committed to bringing positive change to the education ecosystem merging improved learning with financial viability for all stakeholders. Rahul has been responsible for setting up K - 12 schools as well as vocational learning centres for premier education institutions like Aptech , EuroKids , iDiscoveri & Sesame Street . He has built a sustainable franchisee network and robust channel management. As a principal partner of Basekamp he brings entrepreneurial zeal & hands-on experience of building and raising projects successfully right from scratch. Rahul is a post-graduate in Business Management and certified in Business Environment & Strategic Management from IIT Delhi .

A note to high school students: know about your finances.

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Supporting Educators & Students

Teaching & learning.

As part of its broad-based teaching mission, the AHA develops and shares resources for educators and students. From regional teaching conferences and online programs to pathbreaking research projects, AHA initiatives foster a community grounded in our shared commitment to understanding the past. We support and convene people who share a love of history and historical thinking.

Resources for Educators & Students

K–12 Education

The AHA strives to ensure that every K–12 student has access to high quality history instruction. We create resources for the classroom, advise on state and federal policy, and advocate for the vital importance of history in public education.

"Undergraduate Orientation to the Meeting"

Undergraduate Education

Teaching and learning are at the foundation of the AHA’s mission to promote historical thinking in public life. What do students learn in undergraduate history courses? How and why are history majors so successful in a variety of careers?

Graduate Education

Many historians will pursue graduate training at some stage in their career. To meet the needs of both students and graduate programs, the AHA creates resources, provides platforms, and convenes conversations about student success from application to completion.

For Academic Departments

History department chairs are on the front lines of the discipline, defending historians’ work and supporting their professional lives at all stages of their academic careers. The AHA strives to strengthen this work and provide resources and opportunities that make chairs’ work easier and valued. The AHA provides resources and hosts a variety of events and opportunities to benefit department chairs and build community, including webinars, sessions at the annual meeting, and an in-person workshop.

Current Events in Historical Context

Essential, carefully researched resources by historians providing context for conversations about current events.

Regional Conferences on Introductory History Courses

What do students learn in introductory history courses? How can historical thinking support student learning and success across the curriculum? Our regional conferences endeavor to strengthen the community of practice focused on introductory history courses, both in secondary and higher education.

Standards & Guidelines

A very long line of yellow lines at different brightnesses on a black background

June 10, 2024

Guidelines for Academic Tenure-Track Job Offers in History

June 9, 2024

Statement on Age Discrimination

Aha historical collections.

The AHA has made primary sources available for research purposes, along with AHA archival reports and documents.

Vetted Resources

Vetted Resources compiles in a central location materials and tools that have been professionally vetted by historians, offering instructors access to high-quality materials that meet professional standards

AHA Resource Library

June 20, 2024

16 Months to Sumter: Newspaper Editorials on the Path to Secession

June 16, 2024

The History of Racism and Racist Violence: International Contexts and Comparisons

The history of racism and racist violence: monuments and museums, join the aha.

The AHA brings together historians from all specializations and all work contexts, embracing the breadth and variety of activity in history today.

How to get a H1 in Leaving Cert History

To some, History can seem like a challenging subject. The amount of information that you're expected to know by the end of 6th year might feel overwhelming, however once you break down each topic into a select number of essay titles, the information required is actually much more manageable. In this blog, Vicky goes through her tips and tricks on getting a H1 in this subject.

Find out which study method suits you

Everyone studies in a different way: some people find that flashcards help them retain the information easier, some prefer to learn from bullet point essay plans, and some like to watch historical documentaries on Netflix or YouTube!

Personally, I used a study method that was quite alternative, but it was the only method that worked for me in the long run. Since I am a visual learner, I took an essay and illustrated it into a graphic novel or comic book style. I typically had three cartoon images per paragraph and I would write the key dates or statistics in bold or bubble writing throughout the comic. It may have taken slightly longer to prepare than flashcards but once I had them drawn I could easily recall them without any issues. Perhaps if you struggle with the more familiar study methods then you could give this one a try!

Practice your timing

This tip is vital. You could have everything else planned and prepared to perfection and still end up falling at the final hurdle if you do not consider timing! History may be one of the most demanding subjects out there with regard to timing, having to write 3 long essays, 1 short essay and answer a comprehension all in the space of 2 hours and 50 minutes and so it’s crucial that you know the exact length of time that it takes you to write out the content. You should dedicate no more than 40 minutes to each question.

If you find that you're going over the limit of 40 minutes, cut the essay down. Remember that this is not an English essay, so no need for flowery prose and filler language. History essays are fact-based and you should easily be able to fit an essay into the given time.

On the day of the exam, the first tip I would give would be to bring a watch with you. As previously mentioned, the exam is heavily time-dependent and so you do not want to be wasting precious time craning your neck and squinting your eyes to the giant clock on the wall of the exam hall!

Keep calm and carry on

Breathe and remain calm: the more stress you place upon yourself, the less clearly you will be able to think and recall facts. Take the first 10 minutes of the exam to scan through the paper and highlighting the essay titles that you're capable of doing. If there are more than one per topic then choose the question that you feel more confident in answering and that suits your particular range of knowledge better.

Fail to prepare ...

... then prepare to fail. One of the most important tips I have for you is to plan all three essays in accordance to the question before you even start the exam. Remember, your OE will be based on how well you answered the question so you must be aware of what the question is asking of you. You could write 100 pages on the Moon Landing but end up getting 0 marks if you don't accurately answer the question!

What I did was write out bullet points which were simply brief sentences describing what each paragraph is about, followed by the key dates and statistics. This way you can easily reference the plans later on in the exam, when you will likely be exhausted and less focused. You will not have to worry about wasting time trying to recall a certain date mid-way through writing the essay and thus lose your train of thought.

Don't leave early!

Finally, if you do happen to write all the content very quickly and find that you have extra time at the end, do NOT leave early! Revise the essays that you have written. Fact check and date check that everything is accurate and you did not omit any information. You can always improve your essays or DBQ responses in the extra time.

For more tips and tricks, read our History Guide by clicking the button below.

Best of luck in the exam!

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Dear Life Kit
Life Skills

Forgot where you put the keys? Experts (and a trivia buff) share tips to boost memory

Andee Tagle

Margaret Cirino

Where did I put the keys? Tips to improve memory

Marker style illustration of man with colored waves. The concept of creative mind, brainstorm and learning.

Eugene Mymrin/Getty Images hide caption

You don't have to be a trivia buff to be great at remembering things.

Monica Thieu , a four-time Jeopardy! contestant and winner of the game's 2012 college championship, uses memory techniques like mnemonic devices and flash cards to retain world capitals, TV shows, Olympic cities and more.

"With practice, absolutely everyone can make their memory stronger," says Thieu, who also researches memory, human cognition and emotion as a postdoctoral scientist at Emory University.

Listen to the podcast episode: Where did I put the keys? Tips to improve memory

That's because memory is selective. What our brains choose to remember is something we can train, says Charan Ranganath , director of the Dynamic Memory Lab at the University of California, Davis, and author of Why We Remember . "It can be biased, warped and reconstructed."

If you want to improve your memory, even if it's just remembering where you parked or where you put your keys, try these science-backed strategies from our experts.

Pay attention to what you want to remember

"The first necessary ingredient in creating a memory that lasts longer than the present moment is attention," says Lisa Genova , a neuroscientist and the author of Remember: The Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting . "We need that input — otherwise that memory doesn’t get made, even if your eyes see it."

When people gripe about having memory problems, they're often having attention problems, she adds. For example, if you blame your memory because you can't find your parking spot, you probably weren't paying attention to it in the first place. So slow down and focus on what you want to remember.

Don't always depend on GPS. Your sense of direction will thank you

Create a rule and a habit.

If you repeatedly lose track of an object like your keys, wallet or cellphone, pick a designated spot in your home and keep it there when it's not in use, says Genova. That way, you don't have to expend effort trying to remember where you placed it.

"If you put it in the same place every time, you've made it [a fact], sort of like your address and birthday: My keys always go in this bowl. There's a rule and a habit," she says.

The more details the merrier

To form memories you'll naturally keep, make them as immersive as possible, says Thieu. This is especially helpful when you're tackling a subject that you find difficult to connect with.

Let's say you're trying to learn more about the Renaissance era. Commit the period to memory by absorbing information about it through a variety of mediums, says Thieu. Make a playlist of music from the era. Watch period dramas set at that time. And "any time you have an opportunity to learn something in a richer way, do it" — like going to a theater performance on the subject matter.

Our brains love to remember anything that's "meaningful, emotional, surprising or new," says Genova. So the more details you can give your brain to latch onto, the stronger that a memory becomes and the easier it is to recall later.

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Trigger your memory

When your brain creates a memory, it naturally weaves together all the sights, sounds, tastes and smells associated with that memory, says Genova. So use those connections to your advantage.

Let's say you're studying for a vocabulary test. If you always listen to Dua Lipa while you're studying and "have a chance to listen to Dua Lipa while you take the test, it might help you remember those words," says Genova. Psychologists call this process "context-dependent memory."

Genova suggests enhancing your study space with smells, music or certain tastes. Try chewing a piece of cinnamon gum, for example, while you're preparing for a big exam — and then again while you're taking it. Your senses can act as triggers for the rest of your memory to fall into place.

Negotiating isn't just for job offers. Here's how to use it in everyday life

"chunk" long strings of information.

If you have a big load of information to recall at once, Ranganath suggests a strategy that researchers call " chunking ." It's a way to organize longer strings of information to make them easier to recall. Let's say you want to remember the phone number (130) 555-1212. "That’s 10 digits, which is a lot to juggle around in my mind."

So "chunk" it into three parts, he says: 130, 555, 1212. Instead of recalling each number individually, you can recall the entire group — and then retrieve each individual number more easily.

Create a "mind palace"

Need to remember to grab eggs, milk and coffee creamer from the store? Ranganath suggests a method that memory researchers, as well as memory champions, call a "mind palace" — or the method of loci , which means "places" in Latin. You may have seen this ancient mnemonic device on TV shows like Sherlock .

This technique allows you to pair a place you know well, like your childhood home, with new information. Picture yourself placing the items of your grocery list around the house. Place a carton of eggs on your couch. Put milk on the kitchen counter. Put some creamer on the coffee table. Later on at the supermarket, recall this path through your house as you're shopping. It'll help you remember your grocery list.

How to start a new habit: think small

Try good old flash cards.

Don't overlook the power of reviewing flash cards, says Thieu. "Some of the best trivia experts I know do a lot of flash-carding."

Thieu likes to watch old Jeopardy! reruns and create flash cards for the information in each episode. Then, she'll use the cards to quiz herself. She also uses this technique to drill lists of more specific trivia information — say, the world's longest rivers or deepest lakes.

Take your flash-carding one step further by testing yourself before you learn the information, to see what you already know, and then afterward to see what you were able to remember. A pre-lesson test primes your brain for what you'll need to recall later on.

"We learn the most when we challenge ourselves — and that's an extraordinarily powerful tool for retaining information in the long run," says Ranganath.

Go easy on yourself

Lastly, don't expect your memory to be perfect, say our experts. It's normal to occasionally misplace your keys or forget to pay a bill.

"Life is an open-book test," says Genova. You're not cheating if you look something up or write it down. It could save your mental energy for something more meaningful.

The audio portion of this episode was produced by Margaret Cirino. The digital story was edited by Malaka Gharib. The visual editor is Beck Harlan. We'd love to hear from you. Leave us a voicemail at 202-216-9823, or email us at [email protected].

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Sophia Bush’s Coming Out Journey in Her Own Words After Debuting Ashlyn Harris Romance

Sophia Bush Coming Out Journey in Her Own Words After Ashlyn Romance Debut

Sophia Bush has candidly discussed how coming out has helped her learn more about herself.

Bush opened up in April 2024 about being part of the LGBTQIA+ community, writing in an essay for Glamour , “As I came into myself, I already felt it was my home. I think I’ve always known that my sexuality exists on a spectrum. Right now, I think the word that best defines it is queer. I can’t say it without smiling, actually. And that feels pretty great.”

The actress also confirmed her romance with soccer star Ashlyn Harris , who filed for divorce from wife Ali Krieger in October 2023. Bush, for her part, made headlines in August 2023 with news oft her split from Grant Hughes . The former couple were married for 13 months before parting ways.

While reflecting on her evolving sexuality , Bush recalled knowing something wasn’t right before she exchanged vows with Hughes.

Jonathan Groff Says He Came Out to His Brother

Related: Celebrity Coming Out Stories

“In April of 2022 I was close to calling off my wedding. Instead of running away, I doubled down on being a model wife,” she noted in the Glamour piece. “In 2023 my now ex-husband posted a lovely tribute to our first anniversary on Instagram. When I saw it, I felt the blood drain from my face.”

Bush has since found happiness within the LGBTQIA+ community .

“I was like, ‘Oh, my God, the queer community has been my home and is the home of my whole family since I was old enough to understand,’” she said on the “Work in Progress” podcast in June 2024. “Uncle Tony had a boyfriend and not a girlfriend. I would never want to hurt the people I care the most about who’ve been in this fight for liberation for so long. I’m gonna get out of the way. And then, it was like, ‘Well, maybe I don’t have to get out of the way. Maybe I just get to like who I like.’ What a revolutionary f–king idea.”

Keep scrolling for Bush’s coming out journey in her own words:

Her Coming Out Message

“I sort of hate the notion of having to come out in 2024. But I’m deeply aware that we are having this conversation in a year when we’re seeing the most aggressive attacks on the LGBTQIA+ community in modern history,” she wrote for Glamour in April 2024. “There were more than 500 anti-LGBTQIA+ bills proposed in state legislatures in 2023, so for that reason I want to give the act of coming out the respect and honor it deserves.”

Bush noted that coming out made her feel like she could “finally” breathe, adding, “I don’t think I can explain how profound that is. I feel like I was wearing a weighted vest for who knows how long. I hadn’t realized how heavy it was until I finally just put it down.”

Related: Sophia Bush’s Dating History

Appreciating the support.

After opening up about her decision to live her authentic life , Bush thanked her fans for their outpouring of support, writing via Instagram in April 2024, “Thank you for the kindness, vulnerability, and the stories and journeys of your own so many of you have shared. Courage is contagious. Here’s to a life in progress.”

A Message for Herself

Two months after coming out, Bush attended her first Pride event and shared an empowering message in honor of the milestone moment.

“You are perfect. No matter how long it might take, you’ll find your people,” she wrote via her Instagram Story in June 2024. “And they will help you find more and more of yourself. It’s worth it. You’re worth it.”

Related: Sophia Bush and Ashlyn Harris’ Relationship Timeline

What her loved ones saw.

Bush didn’t always know about her sexuality — but her friends did notice.

“I think so many women are like, ‘Well, I’m settling a little bit,’” Bush said on an episode of her “Work in Progress” podcast in June 2024. “Everyone says everything’s hard, all my friends hate their husbands. And you sort of go like, ‘Oh.’ Then maybe that’s not it.”

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Bush revealed how a loved one approached her after her divorce from Hughes.

“One of my best friends looked at me and was like, ‘I gotta say, that was just painful to watch, and I’m so glad you’re getting out of it,’” she recalled. “‘But, like, I don’t just think he was not the right person for you, but also, I don’t actually think you like men.’ And there was sort of the aha moment.”

According to Bush, she actually once “fell in love with” a “beautiful French exchange student” when she was a teenager. She had conflicting feelings, however, about referring to herself as bisexual in her 20s because some people around her pointed out that she “mostly dated men.”

Sophia Bush

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The Ultimate Guide to Writing a Brilliant History Essay
History Essay Writing
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History Essay: A Complete Writing Guide for Students
📗 Oral History Essay Example
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बाबर द्वारा लड़े गए युद्ध
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To Memorize My History
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COMMENTS

How to memorise essays and long responses
So when it comes to memorising the whole thing, it's a lot easier to break the answer down into logical chunks and work on memorising it bit by bit. So if you want to memorise your Discovery Essay, you might have something like this: Introduction. Theme 1 with the assigned text. Theme 1 with the related text. Theme 2 with the assigned text.
How to Study History: 15 Steps (with Pictures)
Use several resources to ensure the accuracy of your historic research. 4. Write down connections between the chronological notes you take. Studying history can often feel like you're memorizing a bunch of disconnected dates, names, and places. Avoid this by making the connections explicit in the notes that you take.
4 Ways to Prepare for a History Exam
1. Make flashcards of key terms, people, and dates. Studying history involves memorizing lots of dates, names, events, and other facts. Look through your notes and textbook and identify keywords. Make a list of them, then create flashcards with a word on one side and its definition or explanation on the other.
5 Ways to Memorize History Lessons
1. Put the information in a rhyme. Using rhyming and even melodies can help you remember facts. By incorporating rhythm or the tune of a simple song into your memorization you can also help your understanding of how key events, people, dates, etc. fit together.
How to Study History
Consequently, it's very important that your notes are in chronological order. When organizing your notes, divide them by (1) topic, (2) then years, (3) decades and (4) centuries. History is full of facts, events and details. In fact, there is so much information to learn and memorize it may seem impossible at times.
Study Skills: Learn How To Study History
1. Active Reading Techniques: A Journey Through the Ages. Engage in active reading by annotating your history texts. Highlight key information, jot down marginal notes, and ask questions that prompt critical thinking. This approach ensures you absorb information effectively and retain it for future reference. 2.
How to Learn U.S. History on Your Own (An 8-Step Roadmap)
2) Read A Little History of the United States. A Little History of the United States is the perfect survey text. It covers 500 years of US history in just over 300 hundred pages. The chapters are short and it's not overly detailed but still manages to cover the most important topics, events, and threads of US history.
How to write source-based history essays
If you understand how each part works and fits into the overall essay, you are well on the way to creating a great assessment piece. Most essays will require you to write: 1 Introduction Paragraph. 3 Body Paragraphs. 1 Concluding Paragraph.
PDF HOW TO WRITE YOUR HISTORY ESSAY 1. How to think about your question
following common mistakes: Do not write the history of your topi. from the beginning of time. Get your reader into the story as quickly and directly as possible! Provide exactly the. background information your reader needs to follow your exposition of the question, and no more. Avoid present.
Writing a history essay
To write an effective essay, students should examine the question, understand its focus and requirements, acquire information and evidence through research, then construct a clear and well-organised response. Writing a good history essay should be rigorous and challenging, even for stronger students. As with other skills, essay writing develops ...
10 Tips for Writing a Perfect History Essay
It is also important to realize the key mission. It can be one of the following: Explain why historical events took place; Interpret and analyze a topic; Support or disagree with a specific idea; Justify a certain position. It's a great idea to focus on keywords - they'll be defined at the essay's beginning.
History Essay: Topics, Tips and the Outline
Firstly, avoid procrastination and start early. Secondly, leave yourself plenty of time to brainstorm, outline, research and write. Finally, follow these five tips to make your history essay shine: Write a substantial introduction. Particularly, it's the first impression the professor will have of the paper. State a clear thesis.
Style, Voice and Using Evidence: 7 Tips for Writing a Better History Essay
Persuasive sentences also sound persuasive, which is another reason why it is good to read your paper aloud. It is easier to write with confidence from the beginning than to go back and change passive sentences into active ones. Examples. Passive voice example 1: An attempted invasion was thwarted in 1588.
How to Write a History Essay
Step 1: Understand the History Paper Format. You may be assigned one of several types of history papers. The most common are persuasive essays and research papers. History professors might also ask you to write an analytical paper focused on a particular source or an essay that reviews secondary sources.
How to Write a History Essay (with Pictures)
Download Article. 1. Have a clear structure. When you come to write the body of the essay it is important that you have a clear structure to your argument and to your prose. If your essay drifts, loses focus, or becomes a narrative of events then you will find your grade dropping.
History Essay: A Complete Writing Guide for Students
The best of all is, to begin with, a brief context summary, then go to addressing the question and express the content. Finally, mark the direction your essay about history will take. Body part. Its quality depends on how clear you divided the whole essay into sections in the previous part.
3 Ways to Memorize an Essay
Learning Each Part of the Essay. Download Article. 1. Make a schedule. Plan out how long you have to memorize the essay. If you have more time, you can study a little each day for 20 or 30 minutes. If you only have a day or 2, you can memorize it in 30-minute chunks with a break of an hour or 2 in between. [1] 2.
A guide to writing history essays
Things to remember. Write history essays in the past tense; Generally, avoid sub-headings in your essays; Avoid using the word 'bias' or 'biased' too freely when discussing your research materials. Almost any text could be said to be 'biased'. Your task is to attempt to explain why an author might argue or interpret the past as they do, and ...
How to Memorise Long Text in the Shortest Amount of Time Possible
3. Combine the first chunk with the second chunk. Once you have a handle on your chunks, it's time to put them together so you can eventually memorize the whole text. Start with the first text and try to recite it from memory. But this time, instead of stopping with the first chunk, move on to the second chunk.
How to Write a History Essay
Write in the past tense when discussing history. If a historical event took place in the past, write about it in the past. Be precise. Focus on your thesis and only provide information that is needed to support or develop your argument. Be formal. Try not to use casual language, and avoid using phrases like "I think.".
How to Write a History Essay ‹ OpenCurriculum
At the beginning of each new paragraph you should have a topic sentence. The topic sentence explains what the paragraph is about and how it relates to your thesis statement. In this way the topic sentence acts like the introduction to the paragraph. Next you must write the body of the paragraph itself - the facts and evidence which support ...
How to Research Effectively for History Essays
Remember, researching for history essays is a skill that develops over time. Each essay is an opportunity to refine your techniques, from identifying credible sources to synthesizing diverse viewpoints. You can also seek guidance from professional writers. An Essay Service review can help you find a researcher to collaborate with. Receiving ...
Teaching & Learning
Resources for Educators & Students K-12 Education The AHA strives to ensure that every K-12 student has access to high quality history instruction. We create resources for the classroom, advise on state and federal policy, and advocate for the vital importance of history in public education. Learn More Undergraduate Education…
How to get a H1 in Leaving Cert History
Breathe and remain calm: the more stress you place upon yourself, the less clearly you will be able to think and recall facts. Take the first 10 minutes of the exam to scan through the paper and highlighting the essay titles that you're capable of doing. If there are more than one per topic then choose the question that you feel more confident ...
Forgetful? Try these science-backed techniques to improve your memory : NPR
Our brains love to remember anything that's "meaningful, emotional, surprising or new," says Genova. So the more details you can give your brain to latch onto, the stronger that a memory becomes ...
Sophia Bush's Coming Out Journey: What She Has Said About Her Sexuality
Sophia Bush has candidly discussed how coming out has helped her learn more about herself. Bush opened up in April 2024 about being part of the LGBTQIA+ community, writing in an essay for Glamour ...
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