Introduction
Ideally, opinions are ideas worth having and sharing. In a voting democracy like ours, it is incumbent on every member of society to form and act on viable opinions. To do that entails three simple steps: (1) understand the facts; (2) assess them rationally; and (3) express them cogently. The Writing Guide below addresses the last step in that process.
The medium of history and classics as intellectual disciplines is the written word. Successful students in these fields must be able not only to read but write well. That is, they must be able to receive and impart words with precise meaning. Sloppiness of expression is as detrimental to any historical study as faulty equations are to physics. This guide is designed to help you avoid some of the more obvious pitfalls of misstatement into which students often fall.
Remember that good writing is actually very simple. Essentially, it requires only two things: preparation (i.e. awareness of pertinent data and the construction of a viable argument) and the precise, direct expression of your thoughts. Thus, the advice below is broken into two parts, Style and Content.
Overview of the Writing Guide
Cory's Guide to Good Style: A Primer on How to Write not only Correctly but Well
- Part 1: Clarity of Expression
- Part 2 Clarity of Thought
More Resources
- PDF Copy of The Writing Guide
- Structuring Persuasive Papers Graph: A graph showing how sentences should be structured and enumerated in a paper
- Sample Essay: An example of an essay properly enumerated and written in the style recommended in The Writing Guide