A Guide to Prep for a History Essay

There are numerous ways to structure a history essay assignment, but all of them will be structured in one of 3 major ways: by time period, by concept or idea (such as the development of settlers in America), or through an analysis of literature. These structures can seem daunting at first glance and sometimes seem heavily weighted towards certain types of historians (either social, economic, political). As well, both graduate and undergraduate students are often duped into thinking that only "academic" writing is needed for their History classes. Yet both experienced professors and fellow undergraduates should know that a well-structured narrative essay on a topic within History can also earn you a high grade on your final exam if it is properly researched and written correctly with some of the following tips.

During your preparation for history essay writer assignments, you should read carefully the instructions provided by your professor and take into account their advice on structure and format. If they provide a proper outline or other systematic method of organizing your research materials in an essay, follow it! There is nothing wrong with using a teacher-provided guide; after all, they have been given to you because many students are confused about how to properly prepare for such an assignment. The points below will merely help improve what you already have learned from any teachers' manual or handbook provided by your school's administration.

There are many benefits to studying history, which will not only help you in your everyday life but also enrich your preparation for essay questions on a History exam. In an interview with Professor David Turner of the University of Virginia, he provided the following insight: "Besides being able to make better decisions in life, I think some other general benefits might be greater awareness of how people have dealt with problems throughout time and space; more appreciation for the variety of goals that individuals and societies pursue (and why they pursue them); more empathy for others who live in different cultural environments; and better understanding of what it means to be human." While these insights assume a broad knowledge of history at various levels from beginner to expert, even an amateur historian can observe that understanding how our predecessors dealt with situations similar to the one they are facing will help them make a more informed decision on how to approach their own problems or issues.

Many students tend to overlook the importance of reading through various libraries and resources at their disposal this is also because of poor research skills. Reading documents from archives or other academic publications can be intimidating, especially if you have not taken many courses in History before. The following is a science-based guide that takes into account some basic principles for the best possible preparation for such an assignment:

Use the following steps to find as much information on your topic as possible:

Do an internet search for "history databases." Best search site on internet is essay writer service. This will bring up several websites that provide access to peer-reviewed museum journals, newspapers, indexes, and other similar resources. For a properly structuring essay, you should try to use a few of these in order to provide supporting details for your claims. The more evidence you can gather (such as newspaper articles written during a certain time period or pictures taken during a war), the better your essay will be. 

Now comes the analysis stage of history preparation using primary sources. There are times when searching only secondary sources (such as textbooks) is appropriate and necessary when writing about historical events; however, it is usually easier to write an essay that proves your professor's claims true or false with primary sources. Primary sources are written by people who lived and experienced the historical event you wrote about; they can range from eyewitness accounts of presidents, generals, or journalists to pictures taken during a certain time period. To properly analyze these sources, you should follow the following steps:

You have read through many different primary sources and you discovered some relevant information on how history played out in them. You decided to summarize all your research materials into a basic outline that spells out exactly why you can prove (or disprove) this historian's claim about x topic using y evidence: