Start by charting out your evidence.
o Visualize how different sources serve different themes, thus giving shape to your argument.
Create an outline.
o A good outline saves time and heartache, because it maps out your argument and your logical path.
o Answer all parts of the question. Make sure you cover all the necessary themes and ideas, as well as the span of the historical time period in question.
Write clearly and in complete sentences.
o Avoid slang or sloppy sentence constructions.
o Proof read your work carefully. Let others proof read your work, too.
o One good technique is to read your essay out loud, which makes it easier to spot mistakes and awkward phrasing.
Avoid fluff in the introduction.
o Either provide relevant and necessary background or start with your argument.
Write a clear thesis statement.
o A thesis statement answers the question as specifically as possible; it states your essays argument.
o It is impossible to write a good essay without a compelling thesis statement, because the point of an essay is to prove an argument.
Make the paragraph your primary unit of organization.
o A good essay follows a logical path, and paragraphs are your readers signposts.
o Use strong topic sentences as the first sentence of each paragraph.
Provide evidence.
o Specific examples should back up general points.
o Use historical evidence from your secondary source (the textbook). Provide names, dates, and specific historical information that illustrates the point that you are making.
o Use primary sources (from the reader) to provide in-depth examples from the time period.
Analyze the primary source evidence.
o After you have presented a source, explain what it means and how it proves your argument.
o Be clear about how you use this source. What is its purpose, its audience, its methods, its biases, its limitations?
Use quotations judiciously.
o Quotations are effective, but overuse diminishes your authority.
Avoid the use of I or This essay will prove
o A formal academic essay does not use such sentence constructions.
