Description
Whether you're starting down the path as a history major, or simply looking for a straightforward and systematic guide to writing a successful paper, you'll find this text to be an indispensable handbook to historical research. This text's "soup to nuts" approach to researching and writing about history addresses every step of the process, from locating your sources and gathering information, to writing clearly and making proper use of various citation styles to avoid plagiarism. You'll also learn how to make the most of every tool available to youï'especially the technology that helps you conduct the process efficiently and effectively.
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Given what passes for "doing history" these days, including unloading what is actually speculative fiction on an unknowing public and slamming out videos on the "what happened" without the "why," it is refreshing to know that doing real history still takes place. The authors (all from James Madison U.) give college students and enthusiasts a decent background in what it takes to establish a topic, conduct research in primary sources, collect and analyze data, and write clearly. They start with a very nice chapter on what history is and is not, the varieties of practice and theory, and the fact that doing history is hard work, then get into conducting research into primary sources, using secondary sources judiciously, evaluating evidence, beginning the writing process and following through all the way to the final paper or oral presentation, and wrangling with footnotes, bibliographies, and historiography. The final checklist is a gem. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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