How to Write a High School History Research Paper
Hello friends!
I’m writing this primarily for students who are currently in the throes of writing a honors-level history research paper. But really, this would apply for all levels and ALSO should serve as a most excellent resource for history teachers who would like to implement a pretty straight forward (and time tested) strategy for their students.
These are the steps. If you thought about it for a sec, you probably intuitively knew all this stuff - but I have found that if a teacher lays out the strategy in plain language, it’s easy to follow and you’re more than likely to follow the plan. These are all video links to Insta. I’ll add things to this post as I go along.
Step One: Ask a historical question. This should be something that could have multiple interpretations. You’ll ultimately make an argument stating your position supported by evidence. WATCH THE VIDEO
Step Two: Mine the historical archives. There are lots of places online to visit. Try the Library of Congress, they have tons of stuff, and it’s all free courtesy of the American taxpayer. WATCH THE VIDEO
Step Three: Organize, organize, organize. Now that you’ve done the research, it’s time to put it all together into thematic sections. Stick with me…it’ll all come together soon. WATCH THE VIDEO
Step Four: Now that you got your evidence locked and roganized, it’s time to start writing - and there’s no better place to start than with the introduction. A great introduction contains four essential parts. WATCH THE VIDEO
Step Five: Topic sentences! Oh yes, use them to build the outline - a framework upon which you will construct your argument with evidence. WATCH THE VIDEO
Step Six: Evidence. HUZZAH…all that research is about to pay off. But remember, evidence without analysis doesn’t amount to much. WATCH THE VIDEO
Step Seven: The Conclusion…one of the trickiest parts of the paper, and something that requires a little more “big picture” thinking. WATCH THE ViDEO
Now - if you want to dig really deep with this stuff, you can read about it in my book: Mastering the Past: Unlocking Excellence in High School History.
The next steps on on deck…so stay tuned!
With compliments,
Keith