Tips for mini-essay writing, History & Global Studies 105, Bishop's University, March 2020

1. MAPPING THE MINI-ESSAY

2. WHAT WAS IN YOUR DRAFT?
“For the mini-essay draft, you should choose a topic
from the list below. You should find and read two
conflicting secondary source interpretations and two
primary sources. Your draft should (1) introduce the
topic (2) and assess conflicting interpretations (3)
interpret the primary sources and (4) conclude.”

3. WHAT WAS IN YOUR DRAFT?
“For the final essay, you should re-read and extend your
engagement with the secondary sources, deepen your
interpretation of the primary sources, and revise the
entire paper in light of comments received. Each essay
topic is framed as a broad research question. The final
essay should contain a clear thesis statement in bold
type, stating what the paper will argue, in one
sentence. “

4. ONE POSSIBLE STRUCTURE
Intro
•Introduce the topic and your research question
•Be sure to include a thesis (your answer to the question)
Body
•No fixed structure, but do break into paragraphs / thoughts
•Compare 2 secondary sources and how they each interpret events
•Use 2+ primary sources as historical evidence
Conc
•What did you argue and how did you prove it?
•Are there broader historical or contemporary implications?

5. THE INTRODUCTION
• Each essay topic framed as a broad
research question. The final essay
should contain a clear thesis
statement in bold type, stating what
the paper will argue, in one sentence.
• In effect, the thesis is your answer to
the research question, based on the
research you have done.
• A thesis is not a topic sentence
• Topic sentence: I will do this, then I will
do that, then I will do something else...
• Thesis: I will argue that... (answers why
question)
Context: introduce the issue
& significance
Research question
(RQ): what are you
explaining?
Thesis
answers
RQ

6. THE MAIN BODY
• assess conflicting interpretations
• One historian interprets the evidence to
argue that…
• Another interprets the evidence to argue
something else
• Your essay may weigh these and decide
one is more persuasive – bring the sources
into conversation with each other
• interpret the primary sources
• Here is a piece of evidence from the time
• Here is what the source tells us that helps
answer the RQ
• This = using the source as historical
evidence Conclusion
Your
assessment
Secondar
y sources
Primary
sources

7. CONCLUSION
• What have you demonstrated in this
essay?
• You may wish to use something from
your draft conclusion as the thesis, and
restate your thesis in different words
here
• many essays lack a thesis but the
argument becomes clear in the
conclusion. Make it clear up front.
• What do you conclude from this –
take it a step further
• What is the broader significance? (The
“so what” question)
I
argued
I concluded
This matters
because…

8. POINTS ON STYLE
• Please write in complete sentences – if you are not sure, read it out loud
to see if it makes sense
• You may write longer than the assigned length if you wish to do so, but
it is not required
• If something happened in the past, write about it using the past tense

9. CITATIONS (MADE-UP EXAMPLES)
• Consult the research guide, on moodle, for examples
• The basic principle of citations is to identify the author, title, date, and where
the item can be found.
• Thus for books: Author, Title, City: Publisher, Year. Ex: Henry Ford, History is
Bunk. Detroit: Auto Press, 1938.
• For articles: Author, Title, Journal, issue (year): pages. Ex: Jo Gagnon,
“History of the Toque, 1925-39,” Historical Review vol. 28 no. 3 (2015): 341-
389.
• For a web site article, the same principle applies: Hilda Neatby, “Toques in
wartime Montreal,” The Toque site, www.toquesite.net/toques_in_wartime
• For a primary source: Author, title, date, where it can be found (book, with
full info, or web site, with info). Ex: Mackenzie King, diary entry for 12 March
1938, link

10. THANKS FOR YOUR THOUGHTS!
(and please don’t hesitate to ask for more advice)