Developing solid skills in research, analysis, and writing are fundamental to a successful
university education, as well as to many future job prospects. These skills are particularly
relevant to the discipline of history, and the research paper is often one of the most important
components of any history course. It is vital that you set aside enough time to do it properly. A
history paper is not just a compilation of facts that you cut and paste into a report. A good paper
needs to explain something important about the past; it requires you to think critically about the
topic, to draw on different sources, to sift through and analyze competing claims. You typically
need to proceed through each of the following stages: defining a topic, building a bibliography,
reading and taking notes, writing an outline, composing a draft, and revising your draft into a
polished essay. These stages often overlap.
This guide addresses some of the most common questions related to researching, writing,
and formatting a history research paper. It provides visual examples for the main stages of the
history research paper writing process. It is not, however, meant to be comprehensive and does
not include every question and concern that might arise. If you have questions that are not
addressed in this manual, please consult your professor, the Academic Writing Help Centre, or
the resources listed in the bibliography, and/or the links provided in the footnotes.
We recommend that you read the entire guide once; you can subsequently jump directly to
various sections for quick reference. First-year students, as well as non-history majors taking a
history course for the first time should also look at the Appendix which provides some additional advice