What is considered to be good historical writing? .
All good historical writing follows the same criteria. There are two basic elements that act as guidelines to all historical writing, a thesis and supporting evidence. The thesis and the supporting evidence, are divided into three parts; and include an introduction, the development of an argument, and the conclusion. These are essential in creating good historical writing. Good historical writing must be accurately factual, while still striving to be entertaining and unbiased.
Historical essay writing is based around the thesis. The thesis statement, an argument presented by the writer, is the author's position or point of view on the subject matter. The thesis statement should always demonstrate originality and critical thinking, while managing to grasp the readers attention and hang on to it throughout the essay. The thesis statement is based not only on the writers beliefs, but also on a logical argument supported by evidence. A good historical essay acknowledges the variety of perspectives in which the subject could be viewed, yet demonstrates and proves that the writers own point of view is valid or correct.
Evidence is a crucial aspect of good historical writing. In the introduction, the writer should relate how the implications of the thesis statement will be handled in the paper. In the body, the writer should engage in a well organized critical discussion of the different aspects of the thesis. To pose a good argument the writer must have both a strong thesis statement and plausible evidence to back it up. Both the thesis statement and the evidence are independent components of an essay, yet they support one another. Without strong evidence the thesis statement will be unsuccessful in convincing the reader, thus creating a flawed historical essay. The writer must be able to select the important facts such as quotations, dates, and details, and present them in a reasonable and persuasive manner which proves to defend the writers position.
