Purpose

This is the first of a series of blogs on writing history for the class room. I plan to come a few minutes everyday to explain briefly my ideas about writing. Which should create a guide for students whether they are in my classes or not. For those in my classes this will also serve as a guide to my grading approach and method.

To begin with the basic purpose of writing in history is to transmit information clearly. That means this guide is going to deal directly with basics. There will be nothing complicated or fancy and little bonus for creativeness or imagination. The secret is to say what needs to be said simply and directly. That is what you should strive for so that will be my approach throughout.

When you are writing for a class your second objective is to demonstrate to the grader that you understand the material covered by the assignment. I have read a lot of fun and elegant essays written perfectly with style and imagination that said nothing about the reading assignment under discussion. "True enough I say, but you could well have written this without reading the assignment." Show the instructor that you have read and understood the reading material.

So there you have two rules or guides:
Say what needs to be said simply and directly.
Show the instructor that you have read and understood the reading material.
Next I want to write about how to do just that.