Description
Book SynopsisWe have set down in this book the basic rules and principles of historical study that a student should bear in mind as he enters upon his first college history course.
Table of Contents1. A Commitment to Excellence 1
Why Study History? 1
Prerequisites for Studying History 7
2. A Matter of Definition 17
3. The Materials of History 22
4. How to Use Primary Sources 39
Basic Rules and Considerations 39
A Practical Exercise in the Explication of Primary Sources 47
5. How to Read Secondary Sources 92
6. A Practical Lesson in How to Read a History Book 106
7. Excursus on Auxiliary Disciplines 130
For Students in Survey Courses: How to Use a Textbook and Take Lecture Notes 130
For Potential and Beginning History Majors: Planning an Undergraduate History Program 135
For History Majors and Potential Graduate Students: Ancillary Materials and Disciplines 139
8. Forms of Historical Communication 148
Examinations 149
Book Reviews 161
Papers and Essays 165
9. Shaping and Historical Essay 169
Creative Historical Thinking 169
The Nature of Historical Proof 176
10. Research Techniques 181
How to Use the Library 181
Research Note-Taking 196
11. Historical Prose 204
The Qualities of Style 204
Problems in Expository Writing 211
12. Two Student Papers Critically Examined 230
13. Historiography and the Philosophy of History 242
Historiography as a Formal Subject 242
Main Trends and Problems in the Philosophy of History 253
Index 263
