David Boyk

Advice on Writing Papers

I developed this guide for my students in history classes at Berkeley, but I hope it will be useful to others as well.

The writing process

• Outline. Lots of people think there’s no point to outlining, because their ideas naturally come out in the right order. They are wrong. Even a basic outline helps you distill what you have to say and how each idea relates to its neighbors. A richer, more detailed outline is even more useful. By going through each specific argument you plan to make and each piece of evidence you can call on, you can think about how strong each claim is. Writing a detailed outline will both save you time, because you won’t waste effort on arguments that you can’t back up, and it will also make your paper much more convincing, because the arguments will be more robust, more coherent, and better integrated with each other.
• Figure out your thesis first. It should be an original answer to a substantive, but not overly broad, question. It should indicate both your main point and its basis in evidence – that is, what you are arguing and why you are arguing it – and it should also acknowledge its limits. One of many formulas you can start with is, “Although [LIMIT], [CLAIM] because [SUPPORT].” One good way to think of a thesis is by talking about the material, either in real life or with an imaginary friend. Your thesis will eventually go into your introduction, but don’t put it in yet. Instead:
• Write your introduction last. Typically, we don’t entirely know what we want to say until we’ve said it. Only after you’ve actually made your argument can you fully understand what it is. Then you can summarize it, phrase it in the boldest and most eloquent terms, and stick that up top where it will help the reader anticipate what you will say. At this point, you may also have to revise the body of your essay in order to bring this argument out clearly.
• A body paragraph is a microcosm of the entire paper. They don’t have exactly the same structure, mainly because a body paragraph leaves the door open for the next argument instead of wrapping up the way a paper would. However, they are similar in that they make a particular argument and then reinforce it with evidence, which is arranged in a logical order.
• Prove your points. Just as quotations need explanation, arguments need proof. Your arguments should come from your involvement with your sources, and the sources should support them. If the sources are specific, the arguments should also be specific. Texts in general can only tell you so much, and especially when they are personal and idiosyncratic, so always be sure that your argument and your evidence are appropriate for each other.
• Anticipate objections. Instead of ignoring alternative interpretations or conflicting evidence, use them to strengthen your argument. For instance, if two texts use different methods to accomplish the same goal, or the same method to accomplish different goals, then explain if, and why, each is appropriate in its place.
• The conclusion is not the same as the introduction. Both of them contain summaries of your argument, but where the introduction is general, the conclusion is specific. Since you have already introduced and analyzed various examples that prove your point, you can refer to them. Take the separate and specific points that you’ve made in each body paragraph and explain succinctly how they relate to and support each other.
• Edit. Nobody writes anything perfectly the first time. Once you’re done writing, go back and think about how your arguments relate to each other. Make sure the structure clarifies your arguments instead of making them more confusing. Don’t be afraid to rearrange, massage, add, and subtract. You will have phrased things redundantly, made arguments that didn’t go anywhere, and used long words when short ones would have done. That’s fine in a first draft; the point of a second draft is to prune the dead branches.
• Proofread. Proofreading is like editing, but you’re specifically looking for anything that’s wrong or ugly. This is the time to focus on small errors in your usage of pronouns (“she,” “they”), articles (“a,” “the”), subject-verb agreement (they should match in number), verb tense (generally, events are recounted in the past tense, but texts are discussed in the present tense), numbers (spelled out up through one hundred), punctuation (careful about run-on sentences and comma splices), modifiers (make sure adjectives and adverbs really refer to what you want them to refer to), and so forth.
• Don’t just fix typos, but think about how the sentences sound. It’s best to read aloud.

Things to keep in mind

• Use simple language. Clarity is not only about word choice, but also grammar. Of course, you should avoid pretentious language – “use,” not “utilize”; “praise,” not “laud”; “explain,” not “explicate” – but also make your sentences direct and meaningful.
• Be appropriate. Academic language is its own dialect, and mastering it is a challenge separate from mastering argumentation. On the one hand, it should be expressive and precise, without being confusing or unnecessarily complex, but on the other hand, it should also respect a certain formality. It can be playful or vivid or witty, but it shouldn’t be corny (avoid rhetorical questions) or too colloquial (“amazing,” “relatable”).
• Paraphrase or summarize where you can, and use quotations when the author’s specific phrasing is relevant. Don’t assume that an example from a text speaks for itself. Instead, explain what it means and how it strengthens the point you’re making.
• Be careful about the categories you use. Terms like “modernity” or “middle class” don’t have an obvious meaning, so it’s often helpful to explain how and why an author uses a particular term or idea.
• Use a standard citation format. Many historians use Chicago style; both a very useful quick reference and the complete guide are available.
• Format your paper correctly. Almost every paper ever is double-spaced, has one-inch margins, and is in an easy-to-read, 12-point, serif font like Times. Paragraphs should have no spaces between them (except between sections of longer papers), and should begin with an indentation. Typically, professors expect you to use a simple header, at the top right of your first page, giving your name, the class number, and the due date. A descriptive title is sometimes optional and sometimes required, depending on the class.
• Cut out fluff. You don’t need to say things like “I will argue that,” “in conclusion,” or “ever since the dawn of time.” In the first case, you should just say what you will argue rather than that you will argue it; in the second, it will be obvious when you are concluding, and announcing the fact adds nothing useful; and in the third, overgeneralizations and attempts to exaggerate the importance or authority of your argument undermine rather than strengthen your case.
• Remember Orwell’s maxims from “Politics and the English Language” (including the hedges!):
  1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
  2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.
  3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
  4. Never use the passive where you can use the active.
  5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
  6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

Other resources

• Bowdoin College offers a very useful guide to reading and writing history.
• Mark Brilliant has collected a lot of useful resources at his site. Two items that will be especially useful for history students are the guide to reading historiography and the guide to taking notes on secondary sources.
• The Berkeley library also has a good collection of guides to research, writing, and citing.
• Most word processors include some kind of outlining feature. You can also use dedicated outlining software like OmniOutliner. In my favorite writing program, Scrivener, the outline itself is the document.