DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
GUIDE
TO RESEARCH AND WRITING
PREPARED
BY DR. THOMAS J. SCHAEPER
INTRODUCTION
This writing guide is
designed primarily for History
majors at St. Bonaventure University. However,
it should be beneficial to students in all majors. The ability to communicate
one’s ideas clearly and forcefully is something that can be applied in just
about any profession. Thus this
guide should help all students whose careers might involve composing research
reports, book reviews, short
stories, newspaper articles, travel
brochures, legal briefs, or any
other kinds of documents.
Disclaimer: Although this guide should prove useful to History majors as
well as other students, one should always consult with one’s professor to see
if he/she has any particular guidelines for you to follow.
For example, one professor might wish for you to avoid contractions
(e.g., “don’t”) in a formal paper, while another professor
permits such usages. One
professor might allow you to use the personal pronoun “I,” while another
asks you to shun it. One professor
might require that you use footnotes, while another lets you choose either
footnotes or endnotes.
Work on this guide was made possible by a Keenan Grant through an endowment established by Leslie C. Quick III (class of 1975) and Eileen Quick.
I wish to thank Laurie Branch for her helpful suggestions.
Any others who find mistakes in this guide or who have ideas for improving it
are invited to contact me. Office phone: 716-375-2123. Email:
tschaepe@sbu.edu
.
This guide is divided into the following parts.
Click on any line.
1.
The Ten Commandments of Good Writing
2.
The Most Common Errors That Students Make
3.
Finding Sources for a Research Paper
5.
Evaluation of Sources and Notetaking
7. When
to Use Footnotes or Endnotes
8.
Chicago, MLA, and APA Styles
for Notes and Bibliography
9. Plagiarism
10. Book
Critiques
11.
Published Guides to Good Writing
12.
Online Guides to Writing and Research
Last revised on 13 February 2005.