history collection assignment

Beyond essays and exams: Other assessment ideas for the History classroom

History is not just a collection of dates, events, and figures – it's the rich and complex story of who we are, where we've come from, and potentially where we're heading.

However, traditional methods of teaching and assessing history often fail to capture this depth and breadth. Exams and written assignments can limit our understanding of history to rote memorization and simple regurgitation of facts.

But what if there were ways to assess our knowledge and understanding of history that truly reflect its complex, intriguing, and dynamic nature?

How can we make the study of history not just a requirement, but a journey of discovery? 

In this post, we will offer some other options for how to assess their learning beyond essays and exams.

The strengths, and weaknesses, of traditional essays

Traditional essays and exams have long been cornerstones of assessment in history classes, each carrying a unique set of strengths.

They serve as effective tools for evaluating a student's knowledge and understanding of specific historical events, figures, and time periods.

Moreover, essays are particularly adept at assessing writing skills. They require students to develop an argument, organize thoughts logically, and use evidence to support conclusions, thereby honing their written communication abilities.

In addition to assessing knowledge and writing prowess, essays and exams can also test a student's capacity for critical thinking.

They compel students to analyze historical events and interpret primary and secondary sources, encouraging them to think critically and formulate arguments.

Moreover, they offer a degree of standardization, providing a measure that can be used to compare student performance across the board.

This also simplifies the grading process for teachers, making it more straightforward.

However, like any educational approach, traditional essays and exams also come with inherent weaknesses.

Their main drawback is that they can often encourage a narrow focus on the memorization of dates, names, and events.

This rote learning approach tends to detract from the broader understanding of historical trends, patterns, and contexts.

Furthermore, traditional essays and exams often fail to foster creativity. They provide limited opportunities for students to explore alternative ways of demonstrating their understanding or expressing their knowledge innovatively.

High-stakes exams, in particular, can lead to heightened stress and anxiety among students.

This pressure can negatively impact their performance and hinder their overall learning experience.

Another key concern is that these traditional methods primarily assess writing and memorization skills.

Other vital skills such as collaboration, presentation, research, and multimedia skills might be overlooked in the process.

Lastly, these traditional assessment methods typically offer a single point of assessment, thereby failing to capture a student's understanding or progress holistically over time.

In the realm of education, the key is to implement a variety of assessment techniques, each capturing different aspects of learning and catering to different learning styles.

Such differentiation in assessment can aid in creating a more engaging and effective learning environment.

Other ideas for History assessment tasks

Unlike traditional essays and exams, alternative assessments often focus on skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, collaboration, and real-world application.

They allow students to connect with the subject matter in meaningful ways, going beyond the mere regurgitation of facts.

From role-playing historical events to creating multimedia presentations, conducting primary source analysis to undertaking local history projects, these alternatives offer a fresh perspective on assessment and bring the past alive in exciting, tangible ways. 

Role-Playing/Simulations

Ask students to role-play historical figures or groups. This could involve debates, decision-making activities, or recreations of historical events. Not only does this approach help students gain a deeper understanding of historical figures' perspectives and motivations, but it also helps them understand the complexity of historical events.

Research Projects

Instead of traditional reports, ask students to choose their own topic of interest within the broad range of your course, and conduct a deep-dive research project. This will help them develop skills in research, analysis, and critical thinking. You might encourage them to present their findings in creative ways, such as making a documentary, creating a website, or developing an interactive timeline.

Oral Histories

Encourage students to interview someone who lived through a particular historical event or period. This provides a personal connection to history and gives students practice in conducting and analyzing interviews. The outcome could be a written report, a video, or an audio recording of the interview.

Primary Source Analysis

Provide students with primary sources such as letters, diaries, government documents, newspaper articles, photos, or artifacts. Ask them to analyze these sources and draw conclusions about the historical period or event in question.

Historical Fiction

Encourage students to write a short piece of historical fiction based on an event or period you're studying. This could be a great way to demonstrate understanding of the context, characters, and details of a historical period.

Historical Debates

Organize debates on contentious issues from the past. Divide the class into teams, assign each team a position, and give them time to prepare their arguments. This activity requires students to delve deeply into the material, critically evaluate sources, and think on their feet.

Local History Projects

Encourage students to research the history of their local area or community. This can help make history feel more immediate and relevant, and may also provide opportunities for field trips or interactions with local historical societies or resources.

Multimedia Presentations

Instead of written reports, have students present their understanding of a historical event or concept through multimedia presentations. This could be a PowerPoint, a video, a website, or even a podcast.

Virtual/Augmented Reality Experiences

If resources permit, VR or AR technologies could be used to recreate historical events or places, offering students an immersive learning experience.

What other things have you tried?

Embracing these innovative methods can fundamentally transform how we perceive and interact with the echoes of the past.

It's not just about shifting the way we assess understanding, but about transforming the educational journey, making it a more immersive, active, and personal experience.

While traditional essays and exams have their place, the addition of these alternative strategies invites students to delve deeper, fostering critical thinking, creativity, and a profound connection to the complex narrative of our shared history.

In the end, the goal is to kindle an enduring curiosity and a lifelong love for history, empowering students to draw insightful connections between the past, present, and future. 

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Steps for Writing a History Paper

Writing a history paper is a process.  Successful papers are not completed in a single moment of genius or inspiration, but are developed over a series of steps.  When you first read a paper prompt, you might feel overwhelmed or intimidated.  If you think of writing as a process and break it down into smaller steps, you will find that paper-writing is manageable, less daunting, and even enjoyable.  Writing a history paper is your opportunity to do the real work of historians, to roll up your sleeves and dig deep into the past.

What is a History paper?

History papers are driven by arguments.  In a history class, even if you are not writing a paper based on outside research, you are still writing a paper that requires some form of argument.  For example, suppose your professor has asked you to write a paper discussing the differences between colonial New England and colonial Virginia.  It might seem like this paper is straightforward and does not require an argument, that it is simply a matter of finding the “right answer.”  However, even here you need to construct a paper guided by a larger argument.  You might argue that the main differences between colonial New England and Virginia were grounded in contrasting visions of colonization.  Or you might argue that the differences resulted from accidents of geography or from extant alliances between regional Indian groups.  Or you might make an argument that draws on all of these factors.  Regardless, when you make these types of assertions, you are making an argument that requires historical evidence.  Any history paper you write will be driven by an argument demanding evidence from sources.

History writing assignments can vary widely–and you should always follow your professor’s specific instructions–but the following steps are designed to help no matter what kind of history paper you are writing.  Remember that the staff of the History Writing Center is here to assist you at any stage of the writing process.

• Sometimes professors distribute prompts with several sub-questions surrounding the main question they want you to write about.  The sub-questions are designed to help you think about the topic.  They offer ideas you might consider, but they are not, usually, the key question or questions you need to answer in your paper.  Make sure you distinguish the key questions from the sub-questions.  Otherwise, your paper may sound like a laundry list of short-answer essays rather than a cohesive argument. A helpful way to hone in on the key question is to look for action verbs, such as “analyze” or “investigate” or “formulate.”  Find such words in the paper prompt and circle them.  Then, carefully consider what you are being asked to do.  Write out the key question at the top of your draft and return to it often, using it to guide you in the writing process.  Also, be sure that you are responding to every part of the prompt.  Prompts will often have several questions you need to address in your paper.  If you do not cover all aspects, then you are not responding fully to the assignment.  For more information, visit our section, “Understanding Paper Prompts.”
• Before you even start researching or drafting, take a few minutes to consider what you already know about the topic.  Make a list of ideas or draw a cluster diagram, using circles and arrows to connect ideas–whatever method works for you.  At this point in the process, it is helpful to write down all of your ideas without stopping to judge or analyze each one in depth.  You want to think big and bring in everything you know or suspect about the topic.  After you have finished, read over what you have created.  Look for patterns or trends or questions that keep coming up.  Based on what you have brainstormed, what do you still need to learn about the topic?  Do you have a tentative argument or response to the paper prompt?  Use this information to guide you as you start your research and develop a thesis.
• Depending on the paper prompt, you may be required to do outside research or you may be using only the readings you have done in class.  Either way, start by rereading the relevant materials from class.  Find the parts from the textbook, from the primary source readings, and from your notes that relate to the prompt. If you need to do outside research, the UCLA library system offers plenty of resources.  You can begin by plugging key words into the online library catalog.  This process will likely involve some trial and error.  You will want to use search terms that are specific enough to address your topic without being so narrow that you get no results.  If your keywords are too general, you may receive thousands of results and feel overwhelmed.  To help you narrow your search, go back to the key questions in the essay prompt that you wrote down in Step 1.  Think about which terms would help you respond to the prompt.  Also, look at the language your professor used in the prompt.  You might be able to use some of those same words as search terms. Notice that the library website has different databases you can search depending on what type of material you need (such as scholarly articles, newspapers, books) and what subject and time period you are researching (such as eighteenth-century England or ancient Rome).  Searching the database most relevant to your topic will yield the best results.  Visit the library’s History Research Guide for tips on the research process and on using library resources.  You can also schedule an appointment with a librarian to talk specifically about your research project.  Or, make an appointment with staff at the History Writing Center for research help.  Visit our section about using electronic resources as well.
• By this point, you know what the prompt is asking, you have brainstormed possible responses, and you have done some research.  Now you need to step back, look at the material you have, and develop your argument.  Based on the reading and research you have done, how might you answer the question(s) in the prompt?  What arguments do your sources allow you to make?  Draft a thesis statement in which you clearly and succinctly make an argument that addresses the prompt. If you find writing a thesis daunting, remember that whatever you draft now is not set in stone.  Your thesis will change.  As you do more research, reread your sources, and write your paper, you will learn more about the topic and your argument.  For now, produce a “working thesis,” meaning, a thesis that represents your thinking up to this point.  Remember it will almost certainly change as you move through the writing process.  For more information, visit our section about thesis statements.  Once you have a thesis, you may find that you need to do more research targeted to your specific argument.  Revisit some of the tips from Step 3.
• Now that you have a working thesis, look back over your sources and identify which ones are most critical to you–the ones you will be grappling with most directly in order to make your argument.  Then, annotate them.  Annotating sources means writing a paragraph that summarizes the main idea of the source as well as shows how you will use the source in your paper.  Think about what the source does for you.  Does it provide evidence in support of your argument?  Does it offer a counterpoint that you can then refute, based on your research?  Does it provide critical historical background that you need in order to make a point?  For more information about annotating sources, visit our section on annotated bibliographies. While it might seem like this step creates more work for you by having to do more writing, it in fact serves two critical purposes: it helps you refine your working thesis by distilling exactly what your sources are saying, and it helps smooth your writing process.  Having dissected your sources and articulated your ideas about them, you can more easily draw upon them when constructing your paper.  Even if you do not have to do outside research and are limited to working with the readings you have done in class, annotating sources is still very useful.  Write down exactly how a particular section in the textbook or in a primary source reader will contribute to your paper.
• An outline is helpful in giving you a sense of the overall structure of your paper and how best to organize your ideas.  You need to decide how to arrange your argument in a way that will make the most sense to your reader.  Perhaps you decide that your argument is most clear when presented chronologically, or perhaps you find that it works best with a thematic approach.  There is no one right way to organize a history paper; it depends entirely on the prompt, on your sources, and on what you think would be most clear to someone reading it. An effective outline includes the following components: the research question from the prompt (that you wrote down in Step 1), your working thesis, the main idea of each body paragraph, and the evidence (from both primary and secondary sources) you will use to support each body paragraph.  Be as detailed as you can when putting together your outline.

If you have trouble getting started or are feeling overwhelmed, try free writing.  Free writing is a low-stakes writing exercise to help you get past the blank page.  Set a timer for five or ten minutes and write down everything you know about your paper: your argument, your sources, counterarguments, everything.  Do not edit or judge what you are writing as you write; just keep writing until the timer goes off.  You may be surprised to find out how much you knew about your topic.  Of course, this writing will not be polished, so do not be tempted to leave it as it is.  Remember that this draft is your first one, and you will be revising it.

A particularly helpful exercise for global-level revision is to make a reverse outline, which will help you look at your paper as a whole and strengthen the way you have organized and substantiated your argument.  Print out your draft and number each of the paragraphs.  Then, on a separate piece of paper, write down each paragraph number and, next to it, summarize in a phrase or a sentence the main idea of that paragraph.  As you produce this list, notice if any paragraphs attempt to make more than one point: mark those for revision.  Once you have compiled the list, read it over carefully.  Study the order in which you have sequenced your ideas.  Notice if there are ideas that seem out of order or repetitive.  Look for any gaps in your logic.  Does the argument flow and make sense?

When revising at the local level, check that you are using strong topic sentences and transitions, that you have adequately integrated and analyzed quotations, and that your paper is free from grammar and spelling errors that might distract the reader or even impede your ability to communicate your point.  One helpful exercise for revising on the local level is to read your paper out loud.  Hearing your paper will help you catch grammatical errors and awkward sentences.

Here is a checklist of questions to ask yourself while revising on both the global and local levels:

– Does my thesis clearly state my argument and its significance?

– Does the main argument in each body paragraph support my thesis?

– Do I have enough evidence within each body paragraph to make my point?

– Have I properly introduced, analyzed, and cited every quotation I use?

– Do my topic sentences effectively introduce the main point of each paragraph?

– Do I have transitions between paragraphs?

– Is my paper free of grammar and spelling errors?

• Congratulate yourself. You have written a history paper!

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What this handout is about

This handout was written with several goals in mind: to explain what historians do and how they approach the writing process, to encourage you to think about your history instructor’s expectations, and to offer some strategies to help you write effectively in history courses.

Introduction: What is history?

Easy, right? History is everything that happened in the past: dates, facts, timelines, and the names of kings, queens, generals, and villains. For many students, the word “history” conjures up images of thick textbooks, long lectures, and even longer nights spent memorizing morsels of historical knowledge.

For your instructors in the history department, however, history is a fascinating puzzle with both personal and cultural significance. The past informs our lives, ideas, and expectations. Before shrugging off this abstract notion, ask yourself another “easy” question: Why are you here at UNC-CH?

Maybe you’re at UNC because it was the best school that accepted you, or because UNC has great sports teams. In the big picture, however, you are here because of history, i.e., because of past events and developments. You are here (on the planet) because two people’s lives collided—in the past. You may be here (in North Carolina) because you or some ancestor crossed an ocean several weeks, years, decades or centuries ago. You are here (in Chapel Hill) because, two hundred years ago, some people pooled their ideas, energy, and money to dig a well, collect some books, and hire some professors. You are here (at an institution of higher education) because long ago, some German scholars laid the groundwork for what we call the “modern university.”

In other words, your presence on this campus is the result of many, many historical developments. Although we are all unique, we share parts of our identities with past peoples and cultures. The problems we face today may have puzzled—or even been created by—past people and cultures. This same past has eliminated many hurdles for us (think of the polio vaccine) and may even offer possible solutions for contemporary concerns (consider the recent revival of herbal medicines).

Finally, history is ever-changing. Question: what did Christopher Columbus do? Well, if you’re like many people, you’re thinking, “He discovered the New World.” Well, sort of. It took a while before the Spaniards realized he’d landed on an island off the coast of this New World. It took even longer for historians to figure out that the Vikings crossed the Atlantic long before Columbus. And now we know that this world wasn’t really “new”—there were civilizations here that far predated organized cultures in Europe.

So, historians study the past to figure out what happened and how specific events and cultural developments affected individuals and societies. Historians also revise earlier explanations of the past, adding new information. The more we know about the past, the better we can understand how societies have evolved to their present state, why people face certain problems, and how successfully others have addressed those problems.

As you can see, the questions of history include the immediate and personal (how did I get here?), the broad and cultural (why do universities function as they do?) and the purely factual (what exactly did Columbus find?). The answers historians offer are all more or less educated guesses about the past, based on interpretations of whatever information trickles down through the ages.

History instructors’ expectations of you

You can assume two things about your Carolina history instructors. First, they are themselves scholars of history. Second, they expect you to engage in the practice of history. In other words, they frequently want you to use information to make an educated guess about some bygone event, era, or phenomenon.

You probably know how to guess about the past. High school history exams and various nameless standardized tests often encourage students to guess. For example:

1. The hula hoop was invented in

d) none of the above

In academia, however, guessing is not enough. As they evaluate assignments, history instructors look for evidence that students:

• know about the past, and can
• think about the past.

Historians know about the past because they look at what relics have trickled down through the ages. These relics of past civilizations are called primary sources. For some periods and cultures (20th century America, for example), there are tons of primary sources—political documents, newspapers, teenagers’ diaries, high school year books, tax returns, tape-recorded phone conversations, etc. For other periods and cultures, however, historians have very few clues to work with; that’s one reason we know so little about the Aztecs.

Gathering these clues, however, is only part of historians’ work. They also consult other historians’ ideas. These ideas are presented in secondary sources, which include textbooks, monographs, and scholarly articles. Once they’ve studied both primary and secondary sources, historians think. Ideally, after thinking for a while, they come up with a story to link together all these bits of information—an interpretation (read: educated guess) which answers a question about some past event or phenomenon.

Sounds pretty straightforward, right? Except when two historians using different sources come up with contradictory answers to the same question. Even worse, what if two historians ask the same question and use the same sources but come up with different answers? This happens pretty regularly and can lead to heated debates, complete with name-calling. Even today, for example, historians still can’t agree on the extent of apocalyptic panic surrounding the year 1000.

To avoid unnecessary disagreements and survive legitimate debates, good historians explain why their question is important, exactly what sources they found, and how they analyzed those sources to reach a particular interpretation. In other words, they prove that both their approach and answers are valid and significant. This is why historical texts have so many footnotes. It’s also why history instructors put so much emphasis on how you write your paper. In order to evaluate the quality of your answer to a historical question, they need to know not only the “facts,” but also:

• why your question is significant
• where you got your facts
• how you engaged and organized those facts to make your point

To sum up: most UNC history instructors will expect you to both know information and interpret it to answer a question about the past. Your hard-won ability to name all the governors of Idaho in chronological order will mean little unless you can show why and how that chronology is significant.

Typical writing assignments

(For general tips, see our handout on understanding assignments .)

A typical Carolina history course includes several kinds of writing assignments:

• Research papers —As the name suggests, these assignments require you to engage in full-fledged historical research. You will read sources (primary and/or secondary), think about them, and interpret them to answer some question about the past. Note: Contrary to popular fears, research papers are not the most common kind of paper assigned in college-level history courses.
• Response papers —Much more common in survey courses, these assignments ask you to reflect on a given reading, film, or theme of the course and discuss/evaluate some aspect of it. Don’t be disillusioned, however; these are rarely intended to be free-flowing, last minute scrawls on the back of a napkin. Be prepared to address a question and support why you think that way about it.
• Exam essays —Essay exam questions are close cousins of response papers. Assuming you’ve kept up with the course, you should have all the “facts” to answer the question, and need only (!?!) to organize them into a thoughtful interpretation of the past. For tips on this, see our handout on essay exams .
• Book reviews —These will vary depending on the requirements of the course. All book reviews in history should explain the basic argument of the book and assess the argument’s strengths and weaknesses. Your assessment can include an evaluation of the author’s use of evidence, methodology, organization, style, etc. Was the argument convincing? If so, then explain why, and if not, explain why. Some instructors will also expect you to place the book within its historiographical context, examining the relationship between this work and others in the field. For more information, see our handout on book reviews .
• Historiographical essays —These assignments are common in upper-level and graduate history classes. Historiographical essays focus on how scholars have interpreted certain events, not on the events themselves. Basically, these assignments are “histories of history” and require that students be able to explain the different schools of thought on a subject.

Here’s an example of a thesis statement for a historiographical essay:

The historiography of the American Revolution can be primarily seen as a shift between various Whig and Progressive interpretations. While Whig historians are concerned with political ideology and the actions of powerful people, Progressive interpretations generally examine the social causes of the Revolution.

To begin a historiographical essay, you will first read multiple works on the same topic, such as the American Revolution. As you would for a book review, you will then analyze the authors’ arguments, being sure to avoid simple summaries. You can organize your essay chronologically (in the order that the books on the topic were published) or methodologically (grouping historians with similar interpretations together).

Some questions to consider as you write a historiographical essay are: How has the historiography on this subject evolved over time? What are the different schools of thought on the topic, and how do they impact the interpretations of this subject? Why have different scholars come to different conclusions about this topic? You may find some of the information in our handout on literature reviews helpful.

The specifics of your particular assignment will obviously vary. However, if you’re not sure how to attack a writing assignment in your history course (and why else would you be reading this?), try our 8½ Step Plan.

8½ step plan

1. Recall the link between history and writing In case you missed this, history is basically an educated guess about the past.

When you write, you will most likely have to show that you know something about the past and can craft that knowledge into a thoughtful interpretation answering a specific question.

2. Read with an eye towards writing

You will have to read before you write. If the reading has been assigned, guess why your instructor chose it. Whatever you read, ask yourself:

• How does this text relate to the themes of the lecture/discussion section/course?
• What does this text say? What does it not say?
• How do I react to this text? What are my questions? How could I explain it to someone else (summarize it, diagram the main points, critique the logic)?

For more on this, see also our handout on reading to write .

3. Dissect the question

Since you now (having completed step 1) anticipate having to make—and support—an educated guess, pick the question apart. Identify:

A. Opportunities to show what you know. These are requests for information and are usually pretty easy to find. Look for verbs like these:

B. Opportunities to show what you think. These are requests for interpretation. If you’re lucky, they will be just as obvious. Look for key words like these:

Requests for interpretation may not always be worded as questions.

Each of following statements asks for an educated guess:

• Compare the effects of the French Revolution and white bread on French society.
• Analyze what freedom meant to Cleopatra.
• Discuss the extent to which television changed childhood in America.

Warning: Even something as straightforward as “Did peanut butter kill Elvis?” is usually a plea for both knowledge and interpretation. A simple “yes” or “no” is probably not enough; the best answers will include some information about Elvis and peanut butter, offer supporting evidence for both possible positions, and then interpret this information to justify the response.

3½. Dissect any other guidelines just as carefully

Your assignment prompt and/or any writing guidelines your instructor has provided contain valuable hints about what you must or could include in your essay.

Consider the following questions:

• In all papers for this course, be sure to make at least one reference to lecture notes.
• Evaluate two of the four social classes in early modern Timbuktu.

History instructors often begin an assignment with a general “blurb” about the subject, which many students skip in order to get to the “real” question. These introductory statements, however, can offer clues about the expected content and organization of your essay. Example:

The modern world has witnessed a series of changes in the realm of breadmaking. The baker’s code of earlier societies seemed no longer relevant to a culture obsessed with fiber content and caloric values. The meaning of these developments has been hotly contested by social historians such as Al White and A. Loaf. Drawing on lecture notes, class readings, and your interpretation of the film, The Yeast We Can Do , explain which European culture played the greatest role in the post-war breadmaking revolution.

Although it’s possible this instructor is merely revealing his/her own nutritional obsessions, a savvy student could glean important information from the first two sentences of this assignment. A strong answer would not only pick a culture and prove its importance to the development of breadmaking, but also:

• summarize the relationship between this culture and the series of changes in breadmaking
• briefly explain the irrelevance of the baker’s code
• relate the answer to both the arguments of White and Loaf and the modern world’s obsessions

For more on this, see our handout on understanding assignments .

4. Jot down what you know and what you think This is important because it helps you develop an argument about the question.

Make two lists, one of facts and one of thoughts.

FACTS: What do you know about breadmaking, based on your sources? You should be able to trace each item in this list to a specific source (lecture, the textbook, a primary source reading, etc).

THOUGHTS: What’s the relationship between these facts? What’s your reaction to them? What conclusions might a reasonable person draw? If this is more difficult (which it should be), try:

• Freewriting. Just write about your subject for 5-10 minutes, making no attempt to use complete sentences, prove your ideas, or otherwise sound intelligent.
• Jotting down your facts in no particular order on a blank piece of paper, then using highlighters or colored pencils to arrange them in sets, connect related themes, link related ideas, or show a chain of developments.
• Scissors. Write down whatever facts and ideas you can think of. Cut up the list and then play with the scraps. Group related ideas or opposing arguments or main points and supporting details.

5. Make an argument This is where many people panic, but don’t worry, you only need an argument, not necessarily an earth-shattering argument. In our example, there is no need to prove that Western civilization would have died out without bread. If you’ve been given a question, ask yourself, “How can I link elements of my two lists to address the question?” If you get stuck, try:

• Looking back at steps 3 and 3½
• More freewriting
• Talking with someone
• Letting all the information “gel” in your mind. Give your subconscious mind a chance to work. Get a snack, take a walk, etc.

If no question has been assigned, give yourself plenty of time to work on step 4. Alternately, convince yourself to spend thirty minutes on a 6-sided strategy Donald Daiker calls “cubing.” (If thirty minutes seems like a long time, remember most instructors really, really, really want to see some kind of argument.) Spend no more than five minutes writing on each of the following (just thinking doesn’t count; you have to get it down on paper):

• Describe your subject. It’s breadmaking. Everyone eats bread. Bread can be different textures and colors and sizes…
• Compare it. Breadmaking is like making steel because you combine raw ingredients…It’s totally different than…
• Associate it. My grandfather made bread twice a week. Breadmaking makes me think of butter, cheese, milk, cows, the Alps. Loaf talks about Germans, and some of them live in the Alps.
• Analyze it. White thinks that French bread is the best; Loaf doesn’t. There are different kinds of bread, different steps in the breadmaking process, different ways to make bread…
• Apply it. You could teach a course on breadmaking. You could explain Franco-German hostilities based on their bread preferences…
• Argue for or against it. Breadmaking is important because every culture has some kind of bread. People focus so much on food fads like smoothies, the “other white meat,” and Jell-O, but bread has kept more people alive over time…

Now, do any of these ideas seem significant? Do they tie in to some theme of your reading or course? Do you have enough information in your earlier “facts” and “thoughts” lists to PROVE any of these statements? If you’re still stumped, gather up all your lists and go talk with your instructor. The lists will prove to them you’ve actually tried to come up with an argument on your own and give the two of you something concrete to talk about. For more on this, see our handout on making an argument , handout on constructing thesis statements , and handout on asking for feedback on your writing .

6. Organize

Let’s say you’ve batted around some ideas and come up with the following argument:

Although White’s argument about the role of food fads suggests that French culture drove the modern breadmaking revolution, careful consideration of Loaf’s thesis proves that German emigres irreversibly changed traditional attitudes towards bread.

The next step is to figure out a logical way to explain and prove your argument. Remember that the best thesis statements both take a position and give readers a map to guide them through the paper. Look at the parts of your thesis and devote a section of your essay to each part. Here’s one (but not the only) way to organize an essay based on the above argument:

• P1: Introduction: Why is breadmaking a relevant subject? Who are White and Loaf? Give thesis statement.
• P2: What is/was the breadmaking revolution? What traditional attitudes did it change?
• P3: How does White’s argument about food fads lead one to believe the French have dominated this revolution?
• P4: Why is White wrong?
• P5: What is Loaf’s thesis and how do you see it asserting the role of German emigres?
• P6: Why does Loaf’s thesis make sense?
• P7: Conclusion: Sum up why Loaf’s argument is stronger, explain how society has been changed the breadmaking revolution as he understands it, and tie these ideas back to your original argument.

7. Fill in the content

Fill in each section—also called a paragraph—using your lists from step 5. In addition to filling in what you know and what you think, remember to explain each section’s role in proving your argument and how each paragraph relates to those before and after it. For more help with this, see our handout on introductions , handout on conclusions , handout on transitions , and handout on paragraph development .

Ideally, this would really be steps 8, 9, and 10 (maybe even 11 and 12 for a big or important paper), but you’d never have gotten this far if you suspected there were that many steps. To maintain the illusion, let’s just call them 8a, 8b, and 8c.

8a. Check the organization This is really double-checking STEP 6. Do the parts of your paper make sense—and prove your point—in this order?

8b. Check content First, read your draft and ask yourself how each section relates to your thesis or overall argument. Have you explained this relationship? If not, would it be easier to rework the body of your paper to fit your argument or to revise your thesis to fit the existing content?

Next, reread your draft, and identify each sentence (based on its actual content): Is it “knowing” or “thinking” or both? Write one or both of those words in the margin. After doing this for each sentence in the whole paper, go back and tally up how many times you scribbled “I know” and “I think.” This next part is important:

THE “KNOWS” and “THINKS” SHOULD BALANCE EACH OTHER OUT (more or less).

This should usually be true both within specific paragraphs and in the paper as a whole. It’s fine to have 4 “knows” and 6 “thinks,” but if things are way out of balance, reread the assignment very carefully to be sure you didn’t miss something. Even if they ask for your opinion, most history instructors expect you to back it up by interpreting historical evidence or examples.

8c. Proofread for style and grammar This is also important. Even though you’re not writing for an English course, style and grammar are very important because they help you communicate ideas. For additional tips, see our handout on style and handout on proofreading .

While every assignment and course will have its unique quirks and requirements, you’re now armed with a set of basic guidelines to help you understand what your instructors expect and work through writing assignments in history. For more information, refer to the following resources or make an appointment to work with a tutor at the Writing Center.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Collingwood, R. G. 1989. The Written World: Reading and Writing in Social Contexts . New York: Harper Collins.

Daiker, Donald, Andrew Kerek, and Max Morenberg. 1994. The Writer’s Options: Combining to Composing , 5th ed. New York: Harper & Row.

Marius, Richard, and Melvin E. Page. 2010. A Short Guide to Writing About History , 7th ed. New York: Longman.

Smith, Hadley M. 2012. Writing in the Disciplines: A Reader for Writers , edited by Mary Lynch Kennedy and William J. Kennedy, 7th ed. New York: Pearson.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Explores race, class, and gender in American history and culture. Secondary source material by scholars of American Studies and primary source materials in a variety of genres, including music, poetry, art, and material culture, convey the ways in which American culture has been shaped by and has helped to shape ideas of race, class, and gender.

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Educator Resources

Document Analysis

Document analysis is the first step in working with primary sources. Teach your students to think through primary source documents for contextual understanding and to extract information to make informed judgments.

Use these worksheets — for photos, written documents, artifacts, posters, maps, cartoons, videos, and sound recordings — to teach your students the process of document analysis.

Follow this progression:

Don’t stop with document analysis though. Analysis is just the foundation. Move on to activities in which students use the primary sources as historical evidence, like on DocsTeach.org .

• Meet the document.
• Observe its parts.
• Try to make sense of it.
• Use it as historical evidence.
• Once students have become familiar with using the worksheets, direct them to analyze documents as a class or in groups without the worksheets, vocalizing the four steps as they go.
• Eventually, students will internalize the procedure and be able to go through these four steps on their own every time they encounter a primary source document. Remind students to practice this same careful analysis with every primary source they see.

Worksheets for Novice or Younger Students, or Those Learning English

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Worksheet for understanding perspective in primary sources - for all students and document types.

This tool helps students identify perspective in primary sources and understand how backgrounds, beliefs, and experiences shape point of view.

• Understanding Perspective in Primary Sources

Former Worksheets

These worksheets were revised in February, 2017. Please let us know if you have feedback. If you prefer the previous version of the worksheets, you can download them below .

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• Writing Assignments: A Comprehensive Guide to World History Education
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Welcome to our comprehensive guide on writing assignments in the field of world history education. Whether you are a teacher looking for new assessment tools or a student struggling with a particular writing assignment, this article is here to provide you with all the necessary information and resources. We have carefully curated this guide to help you navigate through the complex world of history education and improve your writing skills. So, let's dive into the world of writing assignments and discover how they can enhance your learning experience in history. Welcome to the world of writing assignments! As you embark on your journey to deepen your understanding of world history, this article will serve as your ultimate guide.

In this article, we will cover everything you need to know about writing assignments and how they can enhance your understanding of world history. From explaining the importance of writing assignments in history education to providing tips on how to write effective assignments, we have included it all. So, let's dive into the world of writing assignments!Writing assignments are an essential part of any history education curriculum. They not only help students develop their writing skills, but also allow them to critically analyze and interpret historical events and figures.

By engaging in the process of researching, organizing, and presenting information in a written form, students are able to gain a deeper understanding of the subject matter. Writing assignments also encourage students to think critically and creatively, as well as develop their communication and analytical skills. Now that we have established the importance of writing assignments in history education, let's discuss some tips on how to write effective assignments. Firstly, it is important to choose a topic that is relevant and interesting to you. This will make the research process more enjoyable and help you stay motivated throughout the assignment.

Next, make sure to do thorough research and gather reliable sources for your information. It is also crucial to organize your ideas and thoughts before starting to write, as this will help you create a coherent and well-structured assignment. When it comes to assessment tools for writing assignments, there are various options available. Some common methods include rubrics, self-evaluation checklists, and peer evaluation forms. These tools not only help evaluate students' knowledge and understanding of the subject matter, but also provide valuable feedback for improvement. To further demonstrate the benefits of writing assignments in history education, let's look at some examples.

For instance, instead of simply reading about the French Revolution, students can be assigned to write a letter from the perspective of a French citizen during that time period. This not only allows them to understand the historical context and events, but also provides a personal and engaging experience. Another example could be creating a timeline of important events in World War II, which not only tests students' knowledge but also helps them visualize the timeline and make connections between different events. In conclusion, writing assignments are an integral part of history education that can enhance students' understanding of world events and cultures. With the help of clear examples and proper assessment tools, writing assignments can become an enjoyable and effective way to learn about history.

Understanding Writing Assignments

Writing assignments, assessment tools for writing assignments.

They help students understand what is expected of them and provide a clear structure for grading. Rubrics typically include categories such as content, organization, grammar and mechanics, and citation style. Another important tool is peer review. This involves having classmates read and provide feedback on each other's writing assignments. Peer review not only provides an additional perspective on your work, but also allows for collaboration and constructive criticism. Additionally, instructors may use quizzes or exams to assess your understanding of key concepts in a writing assignment.

Tips for Writing Effective Assignments

• Start by choosing a compelling topic that will pique the interest of your audience.
• Do thorough research on the topic and gather relevant information from reliable sources.
• Organize your thoughts and ideas in a structured outline before starting to write.
• Use clear and concise language to convey your message and avoid using jargon or technical terms.
• Incorporate visuals such as images, charts, or graphs to enhance the visual appeal of your assignment.
• Provide examples and real-life scenarios to make the content more relatable and engaging.
• Edit and proofread your assignment multiple times to ensure it is free of errors and flows smoothly.

Grace Thompson

Grace Thompson is a dedicated historian and writer, contributing extensively to the field of world history. Her work covers a wide range of topics, including ancient civilizations, cultural histories, and significant global events like the World Wars. Known for her meticulous research and clear, engaging writing style, Grace makes complex historical subjects accessible to readers. Her articles are a valuable resource for both students and educators, providing deep insights into how historical events shape the modern world.

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Go beyond the Research Essay with Engaging, Effective History Assignments

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Sheila McManus, Go beyond the Research Essay with Engaging, Effective History Assignments, Journal of American History , Volume 107, Issue 4, March 2021, Pages 963–967, https://doi.org/10.1093/jahist/jaaa467

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The classic research essay, beloved by history professors, is meant to engage students in the research process and the scholarly act of writing history. In most iterations of this assignment, students begin with a topic or question that they may or may not get to choose. They then conduct research with some primary and a good number of secondary sources. They present their results in a formal essay written in the third person, which supposedly fosters the “objectivity” that the discipline has prized since the late nineteenth century. Such essays do help students develop their research skills and learn the conventions of academic writing, but they do not necessarily spark real excitement for students or motivate them to see value in the full range of research and communication skills they can learn in a history class. Traditional essays can also mask the messy, creative process historians go through to produce those secondary sources, the passion that brought us to this discipline in the first place, and the profound debates about “objectivity” that have shaped our practice for millennia.

Several years ago, I reached a point where traditional essays just did not seem that exciting for me or for my students. Nor did the essays seem effective at developing the range of skills I wanted my students to have. I wanted my students to engage more deeply by pursuing topics they genuinely cared about, digging up sources I never knew existed, and imagining they were writing for audiences other than a professional historian. Since I started giving all of my students more choices I do still receive great research essays, but I also get Web sites and podcasts, lesson plans and board games—each demonstrating a profound grasp of the course material and a highly original way of conveying that content to a wider audience. These assignments are not just engaging; they are also highly effective, with extensive research backing up their pedagogical benefit. 1

The kinds of assessment strategies teachers use in their courses send clear signals about what we value and where we expect students to put their effort. Traditional research essays risk suggesting that we value caution rather than enthusiasm. Such essays tend to involve what the University of California, Berkeley, education researcher Randi Engle and her associates describe as “a bounded framing of roles,” where learners are “positioned on the periphery of a learning context” and “report on their learning about the ideas of others, such as those presented by a text or teacher” instead of sharing “their own ideas.” These assignments thus reinforce what the Brazilian educator Paulo Freire dubbed the “banking model” of education, where the lack of knowledge students have about the past is corrected by depositing the expertise of professional historians. The historian Alan Booth's research indicates that these assignments can also have a negative effect on students' “motivation and intellectual risk-taking.” Essays are safe choices, especially for senior history students who know what we expect of them. In contrast, I want my students to have the confidence to ask atypical questions and present their findings in formats that could appeal to a wide audience. 2

Decades of scholarship about the best teaching and learning practices have demonstrated that student-centered learning helps students learn more effectively. We can apply those same principles to designing better writing projects. For example, in a massive research project into the kinds of writing students are doing at American colleges and universities, the writing experts Michele Eodice, Anne Ellen Geller, and Neal Lerner found that—no matter the discipline—students are more likely to describe a writing project as meaningful if it has three characteristics. First, the assignment should give students the freedom to choose their topic and might even include the freedom to choose how they wanted to present their findings. This matches a key result from research about effective, student-centered teaching and learning practices, which has demonstrated repeatedly that designing courses and assignments with a high degree of student agency helps students learn better. Kevin Gannon, a historian and director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Grand View University, includes student agency as one of his “essential features of a pedagogy of hope,” observing that “we know … student motivation increases in direct variation with the degree of control or autonomy [students] perceive themselves as having in a course. We also know that increased motivation has all sorts of positive effects on learning.” This can also be one of the easiest changes to make to your writing assignments. As Gannon notes, the simple act of creating opportunities for students to choose their own research topics can give them a greater sense of involvement in their own learning, letting them “see themselves as not just the recipients of content but as knowledge producers.” 3

The second characteristic of meaningful writing for students is that the projects provide them opportunities to engage actively with their “instructors, peers, and materials.” Students gain a better understanding of how a discipline works, the raw evidence professional scholars work with, and the passion their instructors have for the disciplines they teach. Instead of what the literature scholar Boyda Johnstone has described as a “pedagogy of detachment,” where we, as instructors, “[embody] more authority” and feel less “beholden to the needs and preferences of each student,” Eodice and her associates ask what it would “look like if we shared our passion for the subject matter more explicitly, viewing our teaching and writing assignments as connections to content.” A similar perspective comes from the historian Jessamyn Neuhaus's Geeky Pedagogy , where she argues that “we have to foster a geek culture in our classrooms not of exclusion nor of hostile gatekeeping but rather of enthusiastic sharing.” If we present our expertise to students in its final, polished state, as a sophisticated product instead of a passionate obsession, Gannon notes that we make it harder for our students to see how they can actively engage the past and dive into historical sources and interpretations on their own. Writing assignments that are shaped by an instructor's passion for their subject, that emphasize primary research over secondary scholarship, and that encourage collaboration between students, make space for students to acknowledge their own passion for history, and engage more deeply and authentically with the ways historians create knowledge about the past. 4

The third feature has a close relationship: these assignments allow students to draw connections between their “previous experiences and passions” and their “future aspirations and identities.” Booth's research demonstrates that recognizing “students' interests, prior knowledge and conceptions of learning (and teaching) in history, and how those can be effectively connected to course goals, content and methods, is essential in the creation of an environment for fostering complex learning.” This is another challenge to the banking model of education: instead of seeing students as blank slates, entering our classrooms for us to fill their empty heads with our wisdom, it is more effective to see them as whole human beings who bring a wide range of knowledge and experience to every course and assignment. We can then design courses and assignments that show students why our classes and requirements are relevant and explicitly foster lifelong learning. The historian and director of the Lepage Center for History in the Public Interest Jason Steinhauer has written about creating assignments that encourage students to see themselves as history communicators, taking the skills and content they learn in a history course and sharing it with wider audiences. We can add value to our assignments by creating opportunities for students to use nonacademic language in nonacademic formats, helping them imagine themselves in a variety of writing genres in their futures. 5

This final feature of a meaningful writing project, where students can connect their previous knowledge and their future goals to their writing assignments, should encourage us to rethink our discipline's attachment to demanding an “objective” third-person voice in student assignments. Gannon notes that history, like most scholarly disciplines, has a deep “reverence” for “objectivity”—the “separation of subject and knowledge”—which is supposed to “render our work more ‘scholarly’ and thus ‘authoritative.’ Despite the fact that true objectivity is a myth, any challenge to its regime feels transgressive and is likely to be treated as less-than.” The educator and activist Parker Palmer's classic work The Courage to Teach includes a powerful anecdote about a student who was not sure if he could use the pronoun “I” in an autobiographical essay. When Palmer asked what had prompted the question, the student replied, “I'm a history major, and each time I use ‘I’ in a paper, they knock off half a grade.” Palmer goes on to argue that this “academic bias against subjectivity not only forces our students to write poorly (‘It is believed’ instead of ‘I believe’) but also deforms their thinking about themselves and their world. In a single stroke, we delude our students into thinking that bad prose can turn opinions into facts, and we alienate them from their own inner lives.” Similarly, the author, activist, and literature professor bell hooks observes that “many of our students come to our classrooms believing that real brilliance is revealed by the will to disconnect and disassociate. They see this state as crucial to the maintenance of objectivism. They fear wholeness will lead them to be considered less ‘brilliant.’” 6

Booth, and fellow historian Robert Bain, take these critiques further by unpacking history's distinctive, and somewhat hypocritical, attachment to “objectivity.” For example, Bain argues that “history is more than a discrete subject matter; it is an epistemic activity. The discipline of history depends upon historians reconstructing the past, for doing history is more than merely uncovering facts. Likewise, learning history is more than memorizing facts. Students of history actively construct the past in their own minds.” Booth adds that while many of history's current disciplinary conventions “foreground detached approaches to the subject in the interests of dispassionate judgement, imaginative engagement is as essential to high-level learning as it is to serious historical writing.” Historians organize a massive amount of information “into meaningful patterns, and the incomplete and often fragmented nature of evidence about the past compels the historian to ask imaginative questions, intuit connections and follow hunches if an event or episode is to be adequately explained or represented, just as attempting to understand what motivated people in the past involves some empathetic engagement with their lives as a whole. The practice of history is therefore inherently creative.” The standard diet of exams, book reviews, and formal research essays does a good job of reinforcing the perception that “objectivity” is the most important quality in good historical writing, but it hides the imaginative questions, intuitive connections, empathy, and the passion that drives many historians. Palmer notes that “behind their fearful silence, our students want to find their voices, speak their voices, have their voices heard.” We can encourage them to find their own voices by letting them hear more of our own. 7

Taken together, these characteristics of meaningful writing projects demonstrate what Engle and her colleagues describe as “expansive framing,” which involves students as “active participants in a learning context where they serve as authors of their own ideas and respondents to the ideas of others.” In addition, expansive, student-centered writing assignments foster more of the characteristics of “high-level learning” in history that Booth describes than traditional research essays. Both encourage students to seek out sources that are often incomplete, widely scattered, and contradictory; develop the analytical tools and critical thinking skills that historians value; and convey what they have learned to an audience. However, innovative assignments create more space for students to develop and apply their own “insights and interpretations” and think creatively about their place in the world outside a history classroom. 8

In March 2020, when my university was forced by the coronavirus pandemic to close with just three weeks left in the term, these features of more engaging, student-centered, meaningful assignments helped my students complete high-quality final projects amid the chaos and stress. In my third-year class on the history of the U.S. West, students submitted everything from a surprisingly lively podcast on “free silver” and a set of “person, place, thing, disease” trivia cards, to a storyboard for a film about a time traveler in 1940s Hollywood and a well-researched board game about the mafia's role in 1960s Las Vegas. The projects from my students in the mandatory second-year “History in Practice” course included a two-person podcast (complete with product placements) discussing the accuracy of the 2013 video game Assassin's Creed VI: Black Flag , as well as blog posts critiquing the 2009 film The Young Victoria and the 2011 film Captain America: The First Avenger . The quality of the research and analysis was not diminished because they had the freedom to choose topics and genres that genuinely excited them. On the contrary: the “free silver” podcast would help any listener understand a complex topic; the trivia cards captured the randomness and contingency of “westward expansion”; the board game embedded a complex notion of how power can play out in a city such as Las Vegas; and even the humorous product placements turned into clever reminders that only certain kinds of history are commodified in popular culture. More importantly, my students told me that they appreciated having one fun thing to think about as their term crumbled around them amid the many tragedies of the coronavirus. 9

There will always be a place for traditional writing assignments in history classes. We should, however, make a case for trying something different. As hooks declares, “the classroom should be an exciting place, never boring.” At the academic level, Eodice and her colleagues conclude that “a meaningful writing project with the potential for students to ‘transfer in’ passion for a subject and ‘transfer forward’ to future writing and future identities is remarkably powerful.” At the human level, many instructors increasingly share the view of the scholars I have cited here—that being a great teacher means caring as much about our students' humanity as we do about their mental and critical development. Those traditional research essays can serve a purpose, to be sure, but more engaging, effective writing assignments can be transformational. 10

For more on other formats for presenting information, increasingly called “un-essays” because they can take any shape a student chooses (including board games, quilts, Web sites, paintings, or plays), see Emily Suzanne Clark, “The Unessay,” Aug. 1, 2016, Emily Suzanne Clark: Teaching and Researching American Religions , https://esclark.hcommons.org/the-unessay/ ; and Catherine Denial, “The Unessay,” April 26, 2019, Cate Denial Blog , https://catherinedenial.org/blog/uncategorized/the-unessay/ .

On valuing caution rather than enthusiasm, see Alan Booth, Teaching History at University: Enhancing Learning and Understanding (London, 2003), 128. Randi A. Engle et al., “How Does Expansive Framing Promote Transfer? Several Proposed Explanations and a Research Agenda for Investigating Them,” Educational Psychologist , 47 (July 2012), 218. Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed (New York, 2010), 72. Booth, Teaching History at University , 133.

Scholarship on the efficacy of student-centered learning includes Donald L. Finkel, Teaching with Your Mouth Shut (Heinemann, 2000); Ken Bain, What the Best College Teachers Do (Cambridge, Mass., 2004); Dean A. McManus, Leaving the Lectern: Cooperative Learning and the Critical First Days of Students Working in Groups (San Francisco, 2005); Maryellen Weimer, Inspired College Teaching: A Career-Long Resource for Professional Growth (San Francisco, 2010); Susan Ambrose et al., How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching (San Francisco, 2013); L. Dee Fink, Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approach to Designing College Courses (San Francisco, 2013); Stephen D. Brookfield, The Skillful Teacher: On Technique, Trust, and Responsiveness in the Classroom (San Francisco, 2015); James M. Lang, Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning (San Francisco, 2016); Sarah Rose Cavanaugh, The Spark of Learning: Energizing the College Classroom with the Science of Emotion (Morgantown, 2016); Kevin Gannon, “Lecture-Based Pedagogy and the Pitfalls of Expertise,” blog posting, Jan. 16, 2018, The Tattooed Professor , https://thetattooedprof.com/2018/01/16/lecture-based-pedagogy-and-the-pitfalls-of-expertise/blog ; and Joshua R. Eyler, How Humans Learn: The Science and Stories behind Effective College Teaching (Morgantown, 2018). Michele Eodice, Anne Ellen Geller, and Neal Lerner, The Meaningful Writing Project: Learning, Teaching, and Writing in Higher Education (Logan, 2016), 4. Kevin M. Gannon, Radical Hope: A Teaching Manifesto (Morgantown, 2020), 88–89, 94. I replaced exams in my freshman history survey with a completely student-choice-driven series of written assignments. See Sheila McManus, “Assignment: Describe and Defend,” in The Academics' Handbook , ed. Lori A. Flores and Jocelyn H. Olcott (Durham, N.C., 2020), 178–79.

Eodice, Geller, and Lerner, Meaningful Writing Project , 4. Boyda Johnstone, “A Pedagogy of Detachment,” Jan. 26, 2016, Hook & Eye , https://hookandeye.ca/2016/01/26/a-pedagogy-of-detachment/ ; Eodice, Geller, and Lerner, Meaningful Writing Project , 133. Jessamyn Neuhaus, Geeky Pedagogy: A Guide for Intellectuals, Introverts, and Nerds Who Want to Be Effective Teachers (Morgantown, 2019), 13. Gannon, Radical Hope , 41.

Eodice, Geller, and Lerner, Meaningful Writing Project , 4, 38; Booth, Teaching History at University , 10. On fostering lifelong learning, see Gannon, Radical Hope , 23. My inspiration for getting my students to think of themselves as “history communicators” came from Jason Steinhauer's blog. See Jason Steinhauer, “Introducing History Communicators,” Jan. 29, 2015, National Council on Public History , https://ncph.org/history-at-work/introducing-history-communicators/ . On students writing in a variety of genres, see Eodice, Geller, and Lerner, Meaningful Writing Project , 41.

Gannon, Radical Hope , 19. Parker J. Palmer, The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher's Life (San Francisco, 2017), 19. bell hooks, Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope (New York, 2003), 180.

Robert B. Bain, “Into the Breach: Using Research and Theory to Shape History Instruction,” in Knowing, Teaching, and Learning History: National and International Perspectives , ed. Peter N. Stearns, Peter Seixas, and Sam Wineburg (New York, 2000), 332. On the practice of history as inherently creative, see Booth, Teaching History at University , 6. Palmer, Courage to Teach , 47.

Engle, Geller, and Lerner, Meaningful Writing Project , 218. Booth, Teaching History at University , 25–26.

Assassin's Creed VI: Black Flag , PlayStation 3 ed., dir. Jean Guesdon, Ashraf Ismail, and Damien Kieken (Ubisoft, 2013); The Young Victoria , dir. Jean-Marc Vallée (GK Films, 2009); Captain America: The First Avenger , dir. Joe Johnston (Marvel Studios, 2011).

bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom (New York, 1994), 7. Eodice, Geller, and Lerner, Meaningful Writing Project , 106. On caring about students' humanity in addition to their mental and critical development, see John M. Dirkx, “Nurturing Soul in Adult Learning,” New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education , 74 (Summer 1997), 79–88.

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HIST 299: Exploring History (BMC)

Welcome to special collections, collections for march 8, 2024 class meeting & assignment, special collection/primary source analysis – short assignment, explore primary source collections online.

• Bryn Mawr & Haverford Collections

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Louise Heron Blair Daura Collection:  https://archives.tricolib.brynmawr.edu/resources/bmc-m12

Lucy evans chew diaries and papers:  https://archives.tricolib.brynmawr.edu/resources/bmc-m90, summer school for women workers in industry collection:     https://archives.tricolib.brynmawr.edu/resources/bmc-rg-13d, special collections is open by appointment from march 11th to 15th. march 18th to 21st we are open 12pm to 4pm for drop-ins, or by appointment. if you would like to make an appointment, please email [email protected].

ASSIGNMENT: Due 3/20

Special Collection/Primary Source Assignment : 2-3 pages

This assignment will focus on the sets of historical primary documents from the three collections you looked at in class. If you missed the library session on 3/8, you will need to visit Special Collections when you return from spring break.  The assignment consists of two parts/tasks.

First, consider your selected primary source from Special Collections in terms of the historical questions the source could and could not answer.  In addition, reflect on the types of methodological approaches that working with the source would require. 

Next, identify a similar set of primary sources from one of the collections/data sets that you were introduced to in class.  Having spent some time with your selected primary source as described above, consider what else you might find that you could potentially analyze alongside it.  This can be a single primary source or a collection of primary sources. Describe why the source would be a good complement to the Special Collection primary source. 

Large databases like Adam Matthew Explorer act as platforms housing a number of primary source subcollections.  Find letters, diaries, government records, illustrations, and materials from museum and library collections within Adam Matthew Explorer. 

Collections you will find in Adam Matthew Explorer:

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Health History Data Collection in Nursing Assessments: A Guide

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As aspiring nurses, understanding the significance of health history data collection in nursing assessments is paramount. It forms the foundation for delivering exceptional client care and developing personalized treatment plans. 

Effectively conducting health history assessments is integral to a nurse’s role in delivering client-centered care. By meticulously collecting and documenting essential health information, nurses can assist health care teams in making well-informed decisions and implementing personalized treatment plans.

Health history data collection is a dynamic process that requires active listening, empathy, and strong communication skills. As nursing students, practice active listening during client interviews and take notes meticulously. Be mindful of verbal and non-verbal cues that provide additional insights into the client’s health concerns.

Moreover, always approach health history assessments without judgment. Clients may feel vulnerable sharing sensitive information, and creating a safe and non-threatening environment to facilitate open and honest conversations is essential.

How to Assess Health History

Nurses play a pivotal role in gathering vital information about clients’ health and medical backgrounds when conducting health history assessments. 

During the interview, encourage clients to express their thoughts and concerns freely. Avoid interrupting them. And if necessary, use open-ended questions to elicit more detailed responses. Remember, client-centered care is all about empowering individuals to actively participate in their health management.

This process involves thorough client interviews, careful documentation, and attention to detail. 

Let’s explore the essential steps for assessing health history:

• Establish Rapport: Building a strong rapport is crucial before diving into a client’s health history. Establishing a trusting and compassionate relationship with the client will encourage open communication and lead to more accurate information.
• Collect Demographic Information: Begin the assessment by gathering basic demographic details, such as the client’s name, age, gender, and contact information. This information is essential for creating accurate and organized client records.
• Comprehensive Medical History: Ask about any previous medical conditions, surgeries, or hospitalizations the client has experienced. Pay close attention to chronic illnesses, allergies, and family medical history, as they can significantly impact current and future treatments.
• Medication and Allergies: Document the client’s current medications, including prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines, and herbal supplements. Be sure to inquire about any allergies to medications or specific substances to prevent adverse reactions.
• Lifestyle Factors: Understanding a client’s lifestyle choices, such as diet, exercise routine, smoking habits, and alcohol consumption, can help identify potential risk factors and develop tailored health promotion strategies.
• Psychosocial History: Inquire about the client’s social support system, occupation, living environment, and any significant life events. These factors can influence the client’s well-being and healthcare decisions.

Example of Nursing Health History Assessment

To better grasp the concept of health history documentation, let’s walk through an example of a nursing assessment for a fictional client named Mr. Smith, a 55-year-old man seeking treatment for persistent lower back pain.

Client: Mr. Smith

Gender: Male

Contact: 555-123-4567

Medical History:

• Hypertension (diagnosed at age 45)
• Hyperlipidemia (diagnosed at age 48)
• Appendectomy at age 32
• Allergic to Penicillin

Medications:

• Lisinopril 10mg once daily for hypertension
• Simvastatin 20mg once daily for hyperlipidemia
• Sedentary lifestyle, no regular exercise routine
• Occasional alcohol consumption (social gatherings)

Psychosocial:

• Married, living with wife and two adult children
• Retired accountant
• Significant life event: Recent loss of his mother, whom he was very close to

Enhance Your Nursing Assessments

As you embark on your nursing journey, remember that health history data collection is the foundation of providing quality client care. Practice your interviewing and documentation skills regularly to become a skilled and compassionate nurse. 

Utilizing digital nursing study tools can enhance your learning experience and prepare you to significantly impact the healthcare field. 

SimpleNursing offers personalized study plans, question banks, lecture series, videos with rationales, and much more to boost your nursing knowledge.

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HUMA 1301 - History's Mysteries Assignment - Fall 24 - Pope: Start Here

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Welcome to your HUMA 1301 Class Guide! Use the tabs across the top of the page to navigate through the different sections of this guide. It will help you locate information on your assignment for HUMA 1301.  If you have questions, feel free to send me an email, and don't forget to visit  library.austincc.edu  for everything you need to know about ACC Library Services! 

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Toronto Blue Jays Star Closing in on Rehab Assignment in Welcome Development

Brady farkas | sep 3, 2024.

• Toronto Blue Jays

Things are finally starting to look up for Toronto Blue Jays star Bo Bichette, who has been out since just after the All-Star break with a calf issue.

Per Keegan Matheson of MLB.com:

Bo Bichette ran the bases yesterday and will again tomorrow. He’s also hitting, fielding, etc. Bichette will travel to Atlanta with the this weekend while he ramps up and could begin a rehab assignment soon.

Bo Bichette ran the bases yesterday and will again tomorrow. He’s also hitting, fielding, etc. Bichette will travel to Atlanta with the #BlueJays this weekend while he ramps up and could begin a rehab assignment soon. — Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) September 3, 2024

It's been a dreadful year for Bichette, who is hitting just .222 with four homers. He's been on the injured list multiple times and has played with seven games, and his underperformance is a major reason why the Blue Jays are likely to finish last in the American League East.

However, getting him back out on the field is important for multiple reasons. First, if the Jays are going to keep Bichette this offseason, it can be a good chance to establish some confidence moving forward into spring training. Secondly, if the Jays are planning on trading Bichette (which is a possibility), then it will be important to get him a little showcase heading into the offseason, especially if he plays well.

The 26-year-old is a two-time All-Star who led the American League in hits in both 2021 and 2022. He received MVP votes in each year from 2021-2023 and is a lifetime .290 hitter, even despite his subpar year this year.

The Blue Jays will be back home on Tuesday night taking on the Philadelphia Phillies at Rogers Centre. First pitch is set for 7:07 p.m. ET.

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BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady.