1. A Crash Course in Academic Writing for Essays and Research Papers
First, let’s talk about what an academic essay is
In orderto define andclarifywhatanacademicessay is, let’sstartoff by sayingwhatitis not.
 It isnot an overviewof asubjector a summaryof the assignedreadingthatyouwrite to
demonstrate thatyouknowthe material (like abookreport,areport youdidin highschool,or
an essayquestiononatest).
 Your essayshould notbe your opinion aboutwhatyoureadin the assignedreading.
Nowfor whatan academicessay is. An academicessays ismeantto standalone as an objective,
scholarlyworkthatpresentsa thesis. A thesis isa proposition,theory,orhypothesis putforwardfor
consideration;one thatstatesapositionthatcan be defendedagainstobjectionsfromotherscholars.
Whenwriting anacademic essay,think ofyourselfas a historianwho iswritinga paper for publication
in a professional journal thatwill be read by other historiansandscholars (andstudent researchers!).
Your paper isyour contributionto the debate on the issue.
The all-important heart of your paper: the thesis statement
A thesisstatement is a one sentence statementthatpresentsyourstand onthe issue provided inthe
assignment. Essayassignmentsare sometimesverystraightforward,asking aquestion youare
expectedtoanswerabouta specifictopic. Butsometimeswhatisrequiredisalittle lessobvious.
Sometimes youmaybe given differentviewpointson a specificissueandtoldtowrite aboutit;
assignments canalsocome inthe formof a statementona topicthat isa matterof debate among
historians,ortheymayask youto write aboutthe reliabilityof aparticularsource. Whateverformit
takes,yourtask isthe same: youhave to compose a thesisstatement that addresses all the issues
raised inthe assignment.
A strongthesisstatement:
 Addressesthe assignedtopic
 Is narrowlyfocused
 Expressesone mainideaorissue
 Clearlyassertsthe writer’s standon thatissue
A thesisstatementisNOT:
 A general statementaboutasubject

2.  A sentence fragment of atopic
 A statementof fact
 A quote
 The opinionof anotherscholar
 A rewritingof the assignment
 A question
In orderto understandwhatmakesa goodthesisstatementgoodandabad one bad, let’scompare
some examples. Saythe topicof your assignmentis the historicityof the Bible and itsvalue asa primary
source to historians.
The firstthingyou have to do is compose a thesisstatement.
A goodway to getstartedis to reframe the assignmentinthe formof a question: IstheBible a reliable
historical record that can be usefulto historians? Yourthesisstatementshouldanswerthatquestion.
Let’scompare some sample thesisstatementsforthisexample assignment:
 Many scholarsandhistoriansdisagree on whether the Bible shouldbe used as a
historical sourcein their research.
Thisis nota goodthesis statementbecauseitdoesnotanswerthe question;it only
statesthe obvious. Italsodoesn’tfulfill the mostimportantrequirementof a thesis
statement:the author’s positiononthe issue.
 I think that the Bible shouldbe regarded as a historical recordbecause it is the word of
God.
While itisgood thatthe authortook a standon the issue, the firstperson(“I”) should
neverbe used inan academicpaper. What’smore, your paperisn’taboutwhat you
think;it isabout whatyou can defendwithobjective,scholarlyevidence. Andyou
shouldneverrepresent yourpersonal beliefsasfactor commonknowledge. Also,this
statementis phrasedasif it isa response toa directquestion,notastatementthat
representsathesis.
 The Bibleis a collectionoffairy tales andshouldnot be used by historiansasa source
for their research.
The use of the term fairy tales iscondescendingandtherefore inappropriate. Itreveals
the author’sbias,whichcompromises hiscredibility. Itwouldbe reasonable forthe
reader to expectthatthe author’sanalysis will notbe objectiveorscholarly.
 The Bibleas history?
Thisis notonlyan incomplete sentence,itisinthe formof a questionanddoesnot
state the author’spositiononthe issue.

3.  My father studiedthe Biblefor years and my discussionswithhimonthe subject
convincedme that the Bibleis an accurate historical account.
Notonlyis thisstatementwritteninthe firstperson, itisananecdotal account,and
anecdotal accounts do notbelongina thesisstatement-- oranywhere elseinan
academicpaper.
 Whilecertain historical eventsrepresented in the Bible have been objectivelyverified,
the Bible is comprisedmostlyof folklorethat was passeddownorally formany
generationsbefore it was written down,makingthe stories highlyvulnerableto
mutation.
While thisstatementtakesamore objective,scholarlyapproach,notice thatisdoesn’t
really address the entireassignment,namely,can itbe a valuable source forhistorians?
Evenif the historicity of aprimarysource isflawed, itcan still be avaluable source for
historians. Itisimportantto read the assignmentcarefully andmake sure youaddress
all theissues putforth inthe assignment.
 The Bibleis a text of significantvaluetohistorians,notonly as a source ofcomparison
with other historical texts andartifacts,but alsofor the insight it providesinto the
cultures ofancient Israel andJudah.
Thisis a strongthesisstatement. Ithasspecificity;it takesa firmstandon the issue;it
addressall aspectsof the assignmentand ithas a historian’sperspective.
TIP: If you still findyourself strugglingwithhow tocompose agood thesisstatement,here are acouple
websites withmore examples thatmayhelp:
http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/thesis_statement.shtml
http://www.bowdoin.edu/writing-guides/thesis.htm
The basic structure of an essay
The basic structure of an essayis like askeleton. Youdon’tsee it,but itholds everythingtogetherasa
complete whole. Yourpapermusthave a:
 Heading– Your heading(yourname,professor’sname,date,class) mustbe formatted in
conformitywith MLA guidelines (awebsite thatcoversMLA guidelinesisprovidedbelow).
 Title- A title mustbe representative of the subject. Don’trewritethe assignmentorusethe
assignmentnumber.

4.  Introduction–Thisis where you introduce yourtopic,provide somecontext,and present
your thesisstatement. DoNOTuse phraseslike,“Iwill argue …” or “Thispaperwill show …” or
“I hope to prove …”
 Body– Thisis where youpresentyourpoints,backthemupwith evidence and provide
analysisinanorderly,logicallyprogression.
 Conclusion– Thisis where you give anoverview of yourargument andreaffirmhow the
evidence youpresented supportsyourthesis(do notjustrestateyourpointsasif the reader
hadn’tjustread them). ThisisNOT the place to introduce new points. Also,don’tstartyour
conclusionwithphraseslike“Inconclusion,…”
Remember, this is the underlyingstructure – donot label the sectionson your paper with
‘Introduction,’‘Body’and‘Conclusion.’
Youare required to followMLA or Chicagorulesfor the formattingofyour entire paper. Thisincludes
margins, line spacing, punctuationspacing, indenting, andawhole bunchof otherdetails. Here isa
goodwebsite forMLA rules: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/11/ .Clickon "MLA Overview
and Workshop." Scroll downandthenclickon "General Format." There youwill findwhatyouressayis
supposedtolooklike:heading,title,pagination -- the works. Take some time tolookoverthe restof the
site as ithas some reallyimportantinformationthatyouwill use oneverypaperyouwill everwrite in
college.
For Chicagostyle,goto: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/02/ . Clickon Chicago
Manual of Style 16th
Editionandthenrefertothe side menuforthe differentcategories.
Putting it all together:thestep-by-step process
Academicwritingcanseemintimidatingatfirst,butyoumay be surprisedathow smoothlyitcan go and
howgood youcan be at it if youare organizedandfollow aprocess.
1. Read the assignmentcarefully makingsure thatyou understand all the issuesraisedinthe
assignment.
2. Write your thesisstatement. Some academicwritersadvise writingyourthesisstatementlast,
afteryou have done yourresearch. Thisisbecause youobviously can’ttake astand on an issue
until youknow somethingaboutit. Thisisa good approachfor researchpapers,whenyouare
the one determiningthe whatthe focusof yourpaperwill be andyou won’tknow yourposition
until youdo yourresearch. However, inthisclass, since you will be givenatopicand writing
your essaysaftercompletingthe assignedreading,youshouldhave aprettygoodideaof your
pointof view aboutthe topicby the time youget to the assignment. Therefore,write your
thesisstatementbefore youdelve intoresearch,butkeep inmindthat,insome cases, youmay

5. refine orevenchange itafterdoingmore in-depthresearch. Havingastrong thesisstatementat
the start will helpyou narrowyourfocuson the topicand siftout irrelevantinformation.
3. Organizeyour research. A goodway to organize yourresearchiswhenyoucome across
somethinginone of yoursourcesthat youwant to use inyour paper, write abrief summaryof
the information ona 3x5 card or post-itnote. Afteryouhave gone throughall yourresearch
you’ll have agroup of cards that you can layout and rearrange as youfinalize yourdecisionon
whichonesyouwantto include andwhatorder youwant topresentthemin. You may even
finda gap inyour argumentthatwill sendyoubackto do more research!
TIP: Make a runninglistof yoursources and assigna numbertoeach one as you go. As soonas
youknowyou are goingtouse a source, addit to the list. Then,on each3x5 card/post-it,put
the numberof the source where that information came fromaswell as the page number(if itis
a book) where youwill pull the informationfrom.Thatway,whenyougo to cite the source,you
won’thave to go diggingtofindwhere the informationcame from.
4. Outlineyour essay. Once youdetermine the orderof the pointsyouare goingto present,make
a general outline of yourpaper. Inorderto make an effectiveargument,yourpointsshould
followinalogical progression. The structure of your outline shouldlooksomethinglike this:
I. Introduction(where youleadintoyourtopic,provide some contextandmake your
thesisstatement)
II. Body (where youmake yourargumentsinsupportof yourthesis)
a. Point1 / Beginwitha Topic Sentence (the first pointyouare goingto make)
i. Supportingevidence &analysis of thatevidence
ii. Supportingevidence &analysisof thatevidence
b. Point2 / BeginwithaTopic Sentence (the second pointyouare goingto make)
i. Supportingevidence &analysisof thatevidence
ii. Supportingevidence &analysisof thatevidence
c. Point3 /Beginwitha Topic Sentence (the third pointyouare goingto make)
i. Supportingevidence &analysisof thatevidence
ii. Supportingevidence &analysisof thatevidence
d. (and soon)
III. Conclusion(whereyousumuphow you have demonstrated thatthe evidence supports
your thesis).
Notice thateach pointstartswitha topic sentence that indicates the pointyouare aboutto
make;thenyoupresentthe evidence and youranalysisshowinghow thatevidence supports

6. your point. Note: Don’tthinkof the sectionsof your outline as paragraphbreaks whenwriting
your paper. A single pointinyourargument mayverylikely take upmore thanone paragraph.
The outline isforprovidingstructure toyouressayand organizingthe sequenceof the points
youare goingto make in developingyourcase;ithelpsyouorganize yourargumentandkeeps
youfrom wanderingoff topic.
Every pointyou make mustconnect to your thesis statement. Thisnot onlykeepsyoufrom
wanderingoff topic,itstrengthensyourargumentbykeepingoutunnecessaryorirrelevant
information.
“Supportingevidence”islistedtwice undereachpointjusttogive youanideaof the structure.
You may onlyhave one piece of supportingevidence foranygivenpointoryoumay have more
than two. By “supportingevidence,”Imeanany quote orinformationtakenfrom asource. For
some points,youmay evenwantto give multiple examplesfromaprimarysource,providing
differentexcerptsthatillustrate the particularpointyouare making,andthenalsoprovide
information fromanotherscholarorexpert(asecondarysource) insupportof yourargument.
Conversely,youdon’thavetocite multiple sourcesforeverypointyoumake -- buteverypoint
musthave at least onepiece of supportingevidence and yourexplanation (analysis)of howthat
evidence supportsthe pointyouare making.
Remember, makingapointandthenprovidingevidence isnotenough. Youmustprovidean
analysisofthe evidence, explaininghow the evidencesupports yourpoint. Thisprocess is
knownbythe acronym, PIE. The P standsforPoint; the I standsfor Illustration(the evidence)
and the E stands forExplanation.
5. Finally,use yourwritingskillstoputit all togetherasyou transitionfrompointtoevidenceto
analysistonextpoint,etc.sothat your papercoalescesintoacoherent,narrativewhole.
Transitionsshouldbe smooth,notabrupt or jarring.You don’twant yourpaperto read like a
bulletedlist.
TIP: whenyouare readingsource materials,readthemnotonlyforthe facts youwill cite to
supportyourthesis,butalsofor the scholar’s style. Notice how scholars presenttheir
arguments,cite otherscholars,anddraw theirconclusions.
Assume the reader of your paper is notfamiliarwiththe assignment,thereading,or anyof your
sources. (Remember,you arenota studentwriting an assignmentthatonly yourprofessorwillread.
You area historian writing an article fora scholarly journal!) Therefore,be sure to brieflyset up, define
or explain any special terms you use.
Voice and Perspective
One of the mostimportantskillstodevelopinessaywritingis ascholarlyvoiceand a historian’s
perspective. Thisincludes neverusinganecdotal evidence orpersonal commentary. Yourpointsshould

7. be backedup with systematic,objective,scholarlyevidence. Don’tuse referencessuchas“our
textbookstates…”or“according tothe secondarysource…” or “AsI see it, …” or “according to whatI
read…” or any otherreference thatindicatesyouare merely answeringaquestionon anassignedtopic.
Havinga scholarlyvoice andhistorian’sperspective alsoincludes avoidingtheuseof casual language
and never makinggeneral or loose claims.Forexample,don’tuse phraseslike,“mostpeoplethink…”
What do youmeanby ‘most’ – over50%? Over75%? And how do you evenknow? Canyou cite an
actual accredited survey?
Here is an example of the difference betweenastatementmade using casual language inageneral
conversational styleandhowyoucan phrase the same ideafroma historian’sperspective:
The non-historianvoice: “No onereally thoughtaboutwho theauthorof TheGreat Flood story
wasformany years.”
The historianperspective: “There is no evidencethatany religious scholarchallenged the
authorship of thestory of Noah and theGreat Flood for overa thousand years.”
See the difference? Inthe secondexample,the languageismore precise andhasspecificity.
Also, beware ofmakingdeclarationsor usinglanguagethat canbe construedas indicatingabias.
Regardlessof yourpersonal,political,orreligiousbackground andbeliefs,itisimportanttoapproach
academicwritingfroma historian’s perspective. Signsof bias can be subtle andcan sneakinwithout
yourealizingit.
Remember,avoidfirstperson phrasessuchas, “inmy opinion…”and “I think…”Andbe sure notto state
your ownbelief asfact or assume thatyour belief iscommonknowledge.
Quoting and Citing Sources
While itisrequired that youuse directquotesfromprimary sources in presentingyourarguments,
quotesfromsecondarysourcesshouldbe very rare.The general rule is: quoteprimary sources,
paraphrasesecondaryones. Using directquotesfromsecondarysources shouldreallyonly be usedfor
thingsthat the authorhas phrasedina particularlyimportant ororiginal waysothat it really can’tbe
paraphrased withoutcompromisingitsmeaningorvalue -- NOTfor general factsandinformationthat
youcan putin yourownwords. A good example iswhen anauthorhascoineda particularphrase you
wantto use.
It isimportantthat the quotesyouuse are substantive. Quotesmustbe relevant andsupportiveof
your arguments.Don’tletthemseemgratuitous.
Whenyou quote primarysources, be sure to introduce the source and put it intocontext the first time
you use it. For instance,insteadof justsaying,“Accordingtoso-and-so…”(assumingthatyourreader
knowswhoare talkingaboutandwhytheyshouldcare about whathe hasto say), tell the readera little

8. aboutwho youare goingto quote andgive a little informationonwhythissource is importantand
authoritative. Forexample,
“HermanGigas, a fourteenthcentury FranciscanfriarfromFranconia, gave the followingfirst-
handaccount in 1349 …” [thenpresentthe quote thatsupportsyourpoint].
The nexttime youquote that source,youcan thensay somethinglike,“Gigasalsodescribes…”or
“Gigas goeson tosay …” or even,“AccordingtoGigas…” because yourreaderisnow familiarwithwho
he is.
Or, forevenmore context:
“In 1253, KingLouisIXof France senta friar namedWilliamRubruckona two-yearexpeditionto
the Mongol capital of Karakorum. The Journey of William Rubruckof the Eastern Partsof the
World, 1253-1255, As Narrated By Himself, isa first-handreportof Rubruck’sexperienceswith
detailedaccountsof hisobservationsof the Mongols. TranslatedbyWilliamWoodvilleRockhill
in1900, it isconsideredone of the masterpiecesof medievalgeographical literature. According
to Rubruck’saccount,…” [thengive aquote that backsup the pointyou hadjust made].
It isoftena good ideatointroduce andput intocontextone or twoof yourimportantsecondarysources
as well,especiallyif youare goingtodiscusstheirtheoriesorrepresentations incontrasttoyour own.
Thiswill notonlymake yourpapermore professional,itwill give yourargumentmore credibilityand
gravitas.
For instance,insteadof:
According to Fernandez-Armesto…
Brieflyintroduce andcontextualize the source:
According to Dr. Felipe Fernandez-Armesto,holderof theWilliam P.ReynoldsChairof History at
the Universityof NotreDame and authorof thebook, The World:A History, …
Choosingwhentoquote andwhen to paraphrase can be tricky. If youeverfeel thatyouare unsure,
here’sagood site thatgivessome prettygoodguidelines:
http://writingcommons.org/research/integrate-evidence/summarize-a-paraphrase-sources/when-to-
quote-and-when-to-paraphrase
REMEMBER: You absolutelyMUSTcite ALL sources,both direct quotes andinformationfrom
secondarysources you have put inyour own words. This mustbe done by usingparenthetical in-text
citationswhere the information orquote appearsin your paper AND a full citationmustappear in a
WorksCited sectionat the end of your paper. All citationsare required to be in proper MLA or Chicago
Style format.

9. The very picky rules about citations
It bearsrepeating: youmustfolloweitherMLA or Chicago ruleswith respectto citations, bothin-text
and ina WorksCitedsectionatthe endof yourpaper. Inthe bodyof your paper,youmustinclude a
parenthetical in-textcitationwheneverthe informationyouprovide isfromanothersource, whetherit
is paraphrasedor quoteddirectly. Then,yourWorks Citedsectionatthe endmustlistthe detailed
citationof every source that you cited. There shouldnotbe a source listedinyourWorksCitedsection
that doesn’thave acorrespondingparenthetical citationinyourtext,andvice-versa.
Here’sa great site thatwill helpyouputall yoursourcesinthe correctform:
http://citationmachine.net/index2.php It’sfabulous. Youclickonthe formyouwant to use (MLA or
Chicago),click onwhat type of source it is(book,journal,website,lecture,etc.),putinthe information
aboutthe source and thenclickthe ‘make citation’bubble andvoila! Itdoesitfor you.Both the in-text
and full versionforyourWorksCitedsection.
Whenyouuse the Bible as a source,be sure to include the versionyouare usinginthe full citationfor
your WorksCitedsection, andhere isan excerptfromthe MLA/Perdue websiteonhow tomake in-text
citationsforthe Bible:
Citing the Bible
In your first parenthetical citation, you want to make clear which
Bible you're using (and underline or italicize the title), as each
version varies in its translation, followed by book (do not italicize
or underline), chapter and verse. For example:
Ezekiel saw "what seemed to be four living creatures," each with faces
of a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle (New Jerusalem Bible, Ezek. 1.5-
10).
If future references employ the same edition of the Bible you’re
using, list only the book, chapter, and verse in the parenthetical
citation.
Grammar and Spelling
Since textinghastakenoverall of our lives,itseemsasif grammarand spelling ruleshave becomethe
forgottenartifactsof a lostcivilization. Butinacademia,grammarand spelling still count-- A LOT. And
don’tthinkthat these skillsare confined toacademia. Inorderto be takenseriouslyinthe adultworld,
youmust be able to communicate asan educatedadult – and that means youmustbe skilledin
grammar and spelling. Eveninabusinessletter,if youmix up their,they’re,andthere (all of whichwill

10. pass a spell checker),you’lllose credibility. So,here are a couple goodsitestobrushup on your
grammar:
http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~wricntr/documents/GP.html
http://oxforddictionaries.com/words/grammar-tips
http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbtenseintro.html
Youare expected to turn in polished,scholarly,final draftqualitywork,whichmeans youmust proof
read your papers.Several times,infact. Anda good trickto catch errorsthat youmightotherwise miss
isto read yourpaper out loudwhen you proofit. Let itsit a day or two(or at leasta few hours)
betweenproof readingssoyoucan approachit withfresheyes. If possible,have someoneelse(who
knows therules of grammar) readittoo. Writingcentersoncampusare an excellentresource forthis!