Essaying the Past – How to Read, Write and Think about History, Fourth Edition

JIM CULLEN, PHD, received his doctorate in American Studies from Brown University and is the author of many books and anthologies. His articles and reviews have appeared in prestigious publications, including The Washington Post, USA Today, CNN.com, the Journal of American History, and the American Historical Review. Jim has taught at Harvard University and Sarah Lawrence College and is a member of the faculty at the Greenwich Country Day School in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Preface to the Second Edition vii Preface to the Third Edition xi Preface to the Fourth Edition xiii Acknowledgments xvii Introduction to the Student: Why Would You Look at a Book Like This? 1 Part I Thinking and Reading about History 5 1 History: It's about Time 7 2 What's the Story with History? 15 3 The Sources of History 21 4 Good Answers Begin with Good Questions 31 5 Search Engines, Research Ingenuity 37 6 How to Read a Book without Ever Getting to Chapter One 47 Part II Writing about History 61 7 Analysis: The Intersection of Reading and Writing 63 8 Making a Case: An Argument in Three Parts 73 9 Defining Introductions 81 10 Strong Bodies (I): The Work of Topic Sentences 95 11 Strong Bodies (II): Exposition and Evidence 103 12 Strong Bodies (III): Counterargument and Counterevidence 115 13 Surprising Conclusions 123 14 Scaling the Summit: Crystallizing Your Argument 131 15 Writing is Rewriting: The Art of Revision 137 16 Putting It All Together: The Research Essay (A Case Study) 145 Conclusion: The Love of History 165 Appendices A Writing an Essay: Ten Easy Steps in Review 169 B Essay Varieties: DBQs, Reviews, and Comparison Assignments 171 C Let's Give a Hand: Bibliographies and Footnotes 177 D Credit Scams: The Dangers of Plagiarism 187 E Web of Lies? Weighing the Internet 191 F A Glossary of Key Terms 195 G More Reading about Writing 201 Index 203