Writing history

Style

How you write is as important as what you write. Badly constructed sentences, errant punctuation and poor spelling will prevent the award of high marks. In these days of word-processors and spell-checkers, there is no excuse for poor spelling. A package like Microsoft Word also has grammar-checkers that will point out, for example, where you are writing in passive language. The active voice is almost always best because, as it uses fewer words, it is clearer and leaves less room for double meaning. Here are two examples, the first passive, and the second active:

• Caesar was stabbed by Brutus
• Brutus stabbed Caesar

A simple example, but the extra words of the passive voice can become crucial as sentences become longer. At the same time, however, the passive is necessary if the explanation is unclear. Thus, historians will often write, ‘It can be argued that . . .’

No matter how well you perform in seminars, or with the spoken word, you must present written arguments in clear, uncluttered and intelligible style. Why spend hours and hours writing an essay only to see it awarded a low mark because it was not spell-checked and proofread? Always read through your history assignments, checking for problems of form, style and content.

For more advice, see and the handy tips on

The language you use in history essays is very important. Try to use the correct language, but not the slang, of everyday speech. Do not try to be clever with your writing style just for the sake of it. At the same time, do build up your vocabulary. When you come across a new word in your reading, make a note of it and look it up in the dictionary. Only use that word when you are sure of its meaning and context. Never deliberately use long words as substitutes for short ones.

Never use words that are surplus to requirements. That means checking sentences and asking ‘are all those words necessary?’ Do not use foreign phrases or scientific words where simple English versions are available. Try to avoid jargon. Napoleon was an excellent general, but historians would not describe him as ‘cool’. Avoid using too many metaphors; try not to run metaphor after metaphor. When you use them, watch out for mixed metaphors. Do not use hackneyed metaphors that you have seen in print many times before.

Language can enhance or diminish. Do not say things that are offensive or obnoxious, unless there is some important reason for doing so (e.g. if you are quoting Hitler for an essay on Nazi Germany). It is worth bearing in mind the nostrums of political correctness when you are writing. Ask yourself: is there any gender, ethnic or class group that would be offended by my essay? But such terms as mankind, man and woman can be used in context. It is, however, perfectly proper to use the language of the historical actors themselves. More generally, the cult of political correctness can be so limiting and tedious that a more robust style of terminology may be preferred.

Do not be pompous or pretentious in your stylistic construction. For example:

• Don’t use "persons" for "people.”
• Watch out for archaic words like "heretofore.”

Beware of words that do not mean what you think they mean:

• Extant does not mean existing (or at least not until the third or fourth definition in the Oxford English Dictionary).
• Disinterested does not mean uninterested.
• Decimate means ‘to reduce by one-tenth.
• Criminals are hanged, pictures are hung.
• Imply and infer are not the same.

The written word is meant to convey meaning to the reader. Tendentiousness, hectoring and arrogance will raise the readers’ ire; poor-quality writing will simply send them mad.

Keep sentences short and compact. If you have not made your point in, say, fifteen or twenty words, you probably have not said it as crisply as you might, although qualifying clauses are often a sign of maturity. If you don’t know what a semi-colon is, for example, find out. Remember, it should be possible to remove a clause (words that occur in parenthesis: between commas, dashes or brackets) from a sentence without losing its integrity and meaning.