2 of 72. 1.0 Introduction. History is the study of life in society in the past, in all its aspect, in relation to present developments and future hopes. It is the story of man in time, an inquiry into the past based on evidence.

Explain the structure of your essay in a few lines, ideally with three points or themes which you intend to examine – ‘signposting’ them, so that it is clear to the reader what the main body of the essay is made up of. Finally, state your thesis and briefly explain why you think this is the most convincing argument.

Historical research involves the following steps:

1. Identify an idea, topic or research question.
2. Conduct a background literature review.
3. Refine the research idea and questions.
4. Determine that historical methods will be the method used.
5. Identify and locate primary and secondary data sources.

STRUCTURING AN INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH: Briefly introduce the reader to the subject. (Example: “The Civil War, occurring between the years 1861 and 1865, was the most devastating conflict in American history.” 2. Provide an insightful comment that establishes your basis for analysis.

In A Short Guide to Writing About History Richard Marius outlines fourteen steps that every student should follow in writing a historical research paper.

1. Identify your audience.
2. Have a sharply focused and limited topic.
3. Present an argument.
4. Base your paper on primary sources and a thorough reading of secondary sources.

You may follow these steps in writing your research paper. Step 1: Select a subject. Step 2: Narrow the topic. Step 3: State the tentative objective (or thesis). Step 4: Form a preliminary bibliography. Step 5: Prepare a working outline. Step 6: Start taking notes. Step 7: Outline the paper. Step 8: Write a rough draft. Step 9: Edit your paper.

Here are 100 of the best American history research topics: Martin Luther King, Jr. The Great Depression. The War of 1812. Peninsula Campaign. Fort Sumter. The Chicago Race Riot of 1919. The Gettysburg Address.

Others allow students to choose their own research paper topics, but they may ask for a certain style. Some examples of common research paper styles include: Argumentative Research Papers. Persuasive Research Papers. Education Research Papers. Analytical Research Papers. Informative Research Papers.

Historical research is a complex and broad category because the topics of research (e.g. the study of a society) are affected by numerous factors that need to be considered and analyzed One example from the textbook is the documented expedition of Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto who discovered the Mississippi river.