History Skills: A Student's Handbook

Book Cover......Page 1
Half-Title......Page 2
Title......Page 3
Copyright......Page 4
Contents......Page 5
A passion for the past......Page 6
The history of history......Page 7
The Christian tradition......Page 9
The antiquarian tradition......Page 12
The heritage of the ancient world......Page 14
The Whig tradition......Page 18
The scientific revolution of the nineteenth century......Page 20
Social science......Page 21
The Marxist tradition......Page 22
History today......Page 23
Your priorities and circumstances......Page 28
Course structure......Page 29
Entry requirements—formal......Page 30
Entry requirements—informal......Page 31
Profile of students......Page 32
Sources of evidence......Page 33
Sources......Page 36
Resources......Page 39
Essentials......Page 42
Strategies......Page 44
Endnote......Page 46
Why write essays?......Page 48
Investigation......Page 49
Decoding the question......Page 51
Constructing an academic argument in response to the question......Page 52
Presentation......Page 53
The finished product......Page 54
References in the body of an essay......Page 55
The history essay......Page 56
First Class work......Page 57
Third Class work......Page 58
 Failed work......Page 59
The case for exams......Page 60
Exam formats......Page 61
Preparing for exams......Page 62
Active revision......Page 63
Coping with stress......Page 64
The exam itself......Page 65
7 Classes: preparation and participation......Page 68
Why seminars?......Page 69
The challenge of talking about history......Page 73
Take control—look ahead......Page 74
Participation......Page 75
Two common worries......Page 76
2  Question asking—asking questions of the tutor or one another......Page 77
3  Responding to the tutor’s questions......Page 78
4  Making a presentation......Page 79
5  Taking part in a discussion......Page 81
Conclusion......Page 82
8 Research methods......Page 84
Formulating a research topic......Page 85
Time available......Page 86
Practical guidelines for success in research......Page 87
Where to find your sources......Page 88
Finding aids......Page 89
Time management......Page 90
Recording information......Page 91
Writing up......Page 92
Presentation......Page 93
Scholarly apparatus......Page 94
Programme for research......Page 96
Fear of figures......Page 98
Why bother with statistics?......Page 100
The next stage......Page 108
A checklist for quantitative historians......Page 110
Notes......Page 111
 Historical terms......Page 114
Bibliography......Page 122