history 104: writing a historical thesis
DESCRIPTION
for my history students at MiraCosta CollegeTRANSCRIPT
History 104: Writing a Historical Thesis
Lisa M Lane
A historical thesis is kind of like a thesis for an English paper. It is a statement or sentence that you need to prove. You prove a thesis by presenting a brief
argument and some evidence.
That evidence comes from the resources we have for this class. We want to use primary sources (writings or artworks created at the time we’re studying) whenever possible to support our theses.
In this online class, we will be developing historical theses for our posts and essays. You'll write a lot in this class, but you won't write any research papers. All the writing is in discussion forums and in your exams.
There is no research paper, because we're doing research all the time, finding new
sources or working together, instead of saving up for a big individual project.
Photo credit: acordova on Flickr
In the Sources and Writing forums, you'll post good primary sources that you find yourself. Then, later in the week, you will choose a few of these sources and pull them together to write about them. We’ll practice both gathering sources and writing about them every week.
Don't worry about how "good" your thesis and writing is at first. It's a bit unnerving to post your work, get to know each other, absorb the facts, get used to the online format. But this introduction should at least let you know what I have in mind for your work, and mine, in this class.
A good thesis takes the evidence into account, using the primary sources to prove a
point. A "wrong" thesis is one that has no evidence - it can’t be proven.
Bad: The 17th century was a golden age for the Netherlands because Martians controlled their trade.
Good: The 17th century was a golden age for the Netherlands because they expanded their control of international trade.
A "bad" answer, one gets an F, is an answer that is plagiarized. It is copied from another source, without citing or referencing the original creator.
By the end of the class, writing a thesis will be quick and easy, which will help you in all your classes, not just this one. At the same time, you'll gain understanding of historical patterns over time, because you'll be creating your own historical narrative as you work in this class. So let's get started!
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