Customer Reviews

Short Guide to Writing About History, A (6th Edition)

5 star:		(9)
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Marius has written an extremely readable and informative book on the writing of history. He proceeds from showing readers what questions to ask in doing historical research into types of historical writing can be done, from discriptive to argumentitive.
However, the most useful part of the book is the chapter on sources and writing. He skillfully shows readers how to choose a topic and narrow their focus into a managable paper. He also discusses the use of CD-Rom and Internet sources, a necessity for any good book on the writing of history in the early 21st century, particularly due to the increase in the reliance on Internet research by college undergraduates and HS students that are comfortable with this technology. The book also makes actually doing research seem like not such a daunting scary task, which at first thought it seems like for many undergraduates. The one problem with this section is that Marius advocates the use of paper notes. As has been seen with many professional academic historians lately, the use of paper notes can end up costing the writer dearly, particularly with the use of a large amount of sources. Marius should have included a section on how to use a data base or other computerized note taking system.
Marius also uses many examples to back up his points throughout the book, even publishing one complete paper and then commenting on its strengths and weaknesses in order to give the reader a better understanding. The remainder of the book is an extremely useful three chapters on writing mechanics as well as quoting and citing a variety of sources. I found the section on footnotes quite good and useful. This section will be especially useful for the undergraduate who arrives on campus without ever having to use footnotes while in high school.
Overall, this is an outstanding book. The only real drawback is that since its publication (3rd edition) the sections on the Internet are in many ways obsolete. But with the ever changing technology and things available on the Internet, both good and bad, no book can keep up.

This book is very useful not only for the preparation of historical papers but for any research paper. Especially useful are the sections devoted to conventions about mechanics and grammar and suggestions about style. Also included are outlines for the proper construction of arguments and details addressing the modes of expression used in writing. I bought this book for a history seminar in as an undergrad and have found it helpful to me ever since as a technical guide to the proper way of writing. Highly recommended.

Richard Marius gives us in this short book an enthusiasm for the pursuit of the past that is simply infectious. Although the work is not an in-depth study of Historiography, it is a great introduction to the would be Historian on the very basic rules of researching and composing a paper on any historical subject.

A Short Guide to Writing About History is a book that has withstood the test of the time over the past two decades. Originally written in 1989 by the late Richard Marius, professor from Harvard University, the book has seen seven updated and revised editions. Marius passed away in 1999 and Melvin E. Page, professor at East Tennessee University, has continued the laborious task of keeping the book relevant as sources of information continue to evolve and appear. Page achieves the goal of keeping the guide short and, most of importantly, useful. History students need not put themselves through the monumental of task of sifting through the near-1,000 pages found in the 15th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style to determine how to write their research papers, because this short guide sums up most of what these students will need when researching.

The book serves two purposes. First, for those not familiar with the basics of researching and writing papers, it provides breakdowns on how to gather information, best practices on recording notes, how to write, and finally, documented sources. Second, the book acts as an easy quick-reference for those already familiar with these concepts. Students unfamiliar on the basic question of where to start will get a good introduction on researching methods. For example, how to approach history with a "who, what, when, where, and why" mentality. In addition, how to narrow down topics and focus in on subjects that the student can tackle with their limited time and resources. The authors state, "The most common flaw in student essays is the topics are so broad that the essays have no focus" (pg 61). For example, the causes of World War II will definitely be too big for an essay. This is an issue I have experienced when doing my own research. The author provides some good approaches on narrowing topics such as changing the angle of vision. Instead of answer how World War II started, change the focus down to groups or even individuals and then re-ask the questions with the new, limited angle.

A Short Guide to Writing About History may indeed be short, but it has longevity in its usefulness because it is perfect for refreshing one's self before approaching a new research assignment. The most helpful portions that I will refer to the most are the examples found throughout the book. Not only are there sample papers, but the book provides a concise "Writer's Checklist of Source Citations" which gives examples on how to cite some of the most commonly referenced materials such as books, articles, and journals. While this section is helpful providing some tricky situations such as how to document an author along with a translator, there is not an example dealing with volumes. While using this checklist over the past month in my own research, this has been the only area where it fell short. Volumes are common in historical research and Chicago Manual of Style has a quirky method for documenting them using "Vol." with a capital "V" in bibliography references and "vol." with a lowercase "v" in notes. Other than that, the checklist is nearly complete offering examples even in obscure sources like DVDs, thesis papers, and photographs.

The full-blown paper examples in the back are also helpful. There is one research paper, a book review, and a short essay. In my experience, I have seen many teachers provide sample research paper examples, but few provide examples on book reviews or short essays. This, unfortunately, leaves students continually questioning themselves on the best way to approach these assignments. For reviews, the book provides guidelines on what to focus on as well as tips like "don't feel compelled to say negative things about the book" (pg 192). While pointing out inaccuracies or disagreements with the author is perfectly acceptable, "passionate attacks" are not necessary (pg 192). In the realm of short essays--probably the most common assignment I have seen in my undergrad years--the book goes into detail on how to approach essays of 500 words or less. Though shorter than a regular essay, students should still answer the "who, what, when, where, and why" questions along with providing a clear thesis statement at the beginning.

Even though the book is just barely over 200 pages, it still provides some in-depth analysis crucial to any student of history. "Historical fallacies" gets a whole section going into detail on the pitfalls that even published and accomplished historians use. For example, putting too much emphasis on a single cause to explain why an event occurred. The book provides a good fallacy example in that the South lost the American Civil War only because General Robert E. Lee lost at Gettysburg. While a student or historian may feel the need to express the importance of their particular topic of research, the book points out that "events were caused by complex influences, and you should take care to acknowledge those complexities" (pg 41). Another great fallacy tackled by the book is the notion of avoiding mistakes by learning about the past. Many students point to this concept as a reason to learn about history, but "new inventions, new ways of thinking, or new combinations of ideas can upset all predictions" (pg 42). Finally, the most common fallacy I have encountered in historical works, be they by students or professional historians, is the straw man, or the fake opinion. A straw man argument provides a writer with a "cause" to rally against, but since there is no one holding the opinion he is attacking, it is a waste of his and the reader's time.

A Short Guide to Writing About History is a solid book. The examples are, for the most part, exactly what students will need. The checklist for citations will be the most used portion of the book and the paper, book review, and short-essay examples will give them solid comparisons when writing. The fallacies will help any researcher--regardless of their level--avoid the common pitfalls that plague even professional historians today. The biggest criticism I can provide on this book is the price. The $38.00 price tag is hefty for such a short book. Some students may find earlier, used editions at a cheaper price to be just as helpful. Either way, the book is a useful tool for any history student and I will definitely keep it on my shelf.

History prof recommended this for help in writing research papers in history department.

Compact and inspirational, the author makes his points by way of examples and citations from historians. Passionate about his subject area, he communicates this well and infuses it into his observations and recommendations for writing about historical topics.

While the jury is still out on my first paper to utilize this resource, I already know I am a better writer of history for having utilized this fine resource. Just the idea of grabbing your reader and making him want to read the rest was useful.

I purchased two copies of the Short Guide to Writing about History, A (7th Edition) not long ago. I bought the two copies because I have had the Short Guide to English Literature for a couple of years and found that to be a good resource for writing about literature, a good thing for an English teacher in Korea. I have to say that I like the Short Guide to Writing about History a lot better. Why do I like it? Well, it's concise, to the point which professor Strunk would approve, it's thoughtfully written but what I like the best about it is that it is simply as enjoyable to read as it is useful. However, with all that velvety and kind words, pound-for-pound it may be as expensive as a Starbucks Latte, which is not necessarily the best thing for one's wallet but the price of ignorance is even higher. Say what you will, it's really good. I didn't get a dime from Amazon for this and I even gave a copy to a humble student.

This book is an excellent guide for people who are either new to or trying to improve their skills in researching and writing about history. It includes information on discriminating between sources, proper annotations, proper writing styles, and much more. There is also a very good bibliography at the end of the book with many further resources by excellent historians. If you want to research and write about history, this book is a great place to get started with developing the skills you need.

This is a good guide for a senior high school student or first year university student for writing about history. I got some use out of it, mainly that an argument in an historical essay isn't supposed to be angry at all, it just means the direction or aim of the paper. Also, history is an almost inexhaustible subject to write about, if we're willing to choose special enough topics. Also reminded me of my mistake of thinking that history is just learning a bunch of dates and names and writing them down: "They usually mean that they have a jumble of facts in their heads but cannot tell a story about them" (p. 1) "Readers see tension, struggle, and the possibility that something is out of balance, and they read on to see how it all comes out. In writing an essay about history, you tell the story of your thinking about a topic wherein forces are opposed to each other with the outcome in doubt. You formulate a thesis to say that things happened this way and not another and that the reason they happened this way was because of this, this, and this. You allow for the possibility that if this or this or this did not happen, things could have turned out differently" (p. 1) "Historians try to solve mysteries in the evidence and to tell a story that will give order to the confusion of data we inherit from the past. Historians make connections, assign causes, trace defects, make comparisons, uncover patterns, locate dead ends, and find influences that continue through the generations until the present." (p. 11) Has a few pages of tips for writing book reviews.

Easy to read and user-friendly. This book is a great introduction on how to write professional history papers. The beginning of the process (choosing topics, asking questions) is covered in depth, as is the actual writing of the paper, avoiding plagairism, and citing sources. Most of the books required for my classes are on my bookshelf and will likely remain there gathering dust. This is a book I expect to pull off and use again and again.

A Short Guide to Writing about History, by Richard Marius and Melvin E. Page. An academic book review by Charley Severs.

The late Richard Marius left us with a wealth of information, whether it is fiction, journal articles, tips on writing about history, or the vast amounts of education he offered to his students at Harvard. Melvin Page, one of his past students, helps us as current history students to pick up and carry the torch of historical authorship, as he has contributed to the book, A Short Guide to Writing about History. As a current history student, amazed as I am with the entire concept of research, and writing, I continue to fumble with such concepts as; researching, organizing my essay, and keeping my material simple and direct. Marius and Page however, come to the history student's rescue, and offer helpful information on exactly those three topics; primary and secondary sources, how to organize your essay, and tips on how to keep it simple and direct.
Primary and secondary sources are the historian's best friend, and keeping this in mind, we find some helpful tips offered by Marius and Page. What I learned (or maybe re-learned) from A Short Guide to Writing about History is that we should never forget to get up from our computer or our chair while we do research. The point is, "...smart students and smart professors should learn to talk with reference librarians about sources of information." With the ability to search our University libraries online, and the plethora of information we can find on the world wide web, or down at the local Barnes and Noble, I have forget that an old fashioned trip to a library was a possibility. This would have been helpful in the past, as I have had the need for researching the arts

and cultures of mankind, and only used the main classroom book provided me, by talking to a research librarian about the topic, I could have gotten more assistance with my sources, and likely, more detailed information on certain works of art that I was researching. A trip to the San Francisco Public Library (I live about an hour away) to talk to a research librarian would be a worthwhile trip as I pursue information and sources on my upcoming essay, "The Evolution of the Christian Cross".
The advice on organizing an essay also proved informative. The advice offered by Marius and Page is to keep your ideas focused, and this helps in your organization of your essay. They advised that we should ask ourselves questions such as, "What do I want to prove by writing my essay? What are other historical explanations...?..look back over your research and see if you can detect a pattern." While sounding verbatim, as a Student new to learning the concept of historical writing, these basic building blocks or reminders, would have proven valuable in the past. A recent paper I did on comparing the cities of Athens and Sparta was not organized as well as it should have been, and had I concentrated on asking myself the aforementioned questions from A Short Guide to Writing about History, My essay would have proven more informational.
Finally, the topic of simple and direct writing is addressed to the history student needing help, as is my personal case. Many times I have found then when I approach a historical subject; simple and direct is not on my mind, not by choice, but usually due to the vast possibilities and amount of information that begins to pervade my conscious thoughts, which leads me to write paragraphs that at times are hard to follow. While many may feel that this is a simple concept to keep in mind, I have experienced that the ability to construct a sound paragraph[s] can garner a better grade. Marius and Page mention that "...connectors tie your sentences together-and therefore link your thoughts." And then they tell us how to test our own work to be sure that the paragraphs are coherent and structured, "You can often test paragraph coherence by seeing if every sentence has connectors that join its thought in some way to the previous sentence all the way back to the first sentence in the paragraph." This would have been a helpful strategy to employ in most other works of mine, especially more recently the aforementioned effort comparing Athenian freedom to Spartan freedom. This will also help me with my current project concerning the possible murder of Alexander the Great, as paragraph structure and logic are what helps to deliver our message in a persuasive manner.
The book, A Short Guide to Writing about History, by Richard Marius and Melvin E. Page contains useful information for history students. The concepts of researching primary and secondary sources, how to organize our essay, and tips on how to keep it simple and direct are all well addressed and thorough. Any student whether a history student or student from another discipline will find this guide useful and informative. My copy will be used and referred to frequently.