Writing a Short Essay

Reading the document

In preparation for the essay, read the text of the document carefully, and ask yourself historiographical questions about it. An historiographical question is one which relates the document to its historical context. The following are examples of historiographical questions: Who wrote it? for what audience? for what ostensible reason? for what hidden reasons? at what time and in what place? with what likely effect? What are the author's theological, cultural, and other premises? What particular issues seem to concern the author? Why did the author choose this particular genre of writing? Does the document show signs of being edited? If so, is it possible to distinguish the author's premises, purposes, and historical context from the editor's?
Needless to say, documents don't provide sure answers to all these questions, or to the other questions which you might ask of the document. For some questions the document will provide no evidence at all; for others it may provide ambiguous data that can be interpreted variously.
A key skill for the historian is what Herbert Butterfield called "sympathetic imagination". The unattainable ideal in reading an historical document is to know the author's mind from the inside, to know what the author thought and felt, and why.

Structuring the essay
1. The essay should be in the style of an academic exposition. An expository essay is the statement, development, and argument of a thesis.
2 The essay should include, usually in the introductory paragraph, a clear statement of a thesis. The thesis statement makes the main point of your essay. It differs from the statement of a theme (which states a topic to be discussed but not what will be said about it). It also differs from a summary (which summarizes the document but doesn't have a point to make about it). You can test whether an introductory statement is a thesis statement by seeing whether it can be preceded by the clause, "This essay aims to demonstrate that...".
The thesis statement should be substantial, not truistic (incapable of being shown false) or trivial. To the question, "Can a valid argument be made against this thesis statement?" the answer should be "yes".
Example of a statement of a theme (not what is wanted): "In this paper we will consider Luther's ‘Open Letter to the German Nobility' and explore his criticisms of the Church in his day."
Example of a summary: "In Luther's ‘Open Letter to the German Nobility' he begins by showing three reasons why supporters of the papacy think the lay nobility shouldn't discuss theology. He shows that these reasons are wrong. One is the distinction between spirituality and temporality. Another is that only popes can call councils. A third is the monopoly of the clergy over the interpretation of Scripture. Then he discusses several things that he thinks need changing. First, etc., etc."
Example of a thesis statement: "[This paper aims to demonstrate that] In his ‘Open Letter to the German Nobility', Luther strategically identifies the Reformation with the goals of the German princes: to care for the people, to restrain the power of the Church, and to build a respectable German national identity."
3. After the statement of the thesis in the first paragraph, the second and succeeding paragraphs support the thesis by clarifying it, developing it, qualifying it, and arguing it, with reference to the primary evidence, that is, the evidence of the text itself. This is by far the longest part of the paper, and is called the "exposition."
The exposition must show that the thesis statement, properly understood, is supported by the primary evidence of the text you are examining. The views that modern scholars take about the text have no value as evidence, even when they state their opinions very emphatically and publish them in influential textbooks or important journals or expensive encyclopedias. The views of modern scholars may, however, be valuable for sparking your own thinking about the document.
Your objective is to persuade the reader, not that your interpretation is true beyond question, but only that it is more probable than the alternatives. You should therefore identify and examine alternative possible interpretations, and show why you think your own interpretation is preferable. The exposition is thus a movement of persuasive arguments.
4. Each paragraph represents one argument or idea intended to clarify, develop, or support the thesis of the paper. This one argument or idea should be stated in a single topic sentence within the paragraph. This topic sentence should be clarified, developed, qualified, and argued in the rest of the paragraph by reference to one or more examples from the primary text you're considering. In other words, each paragraph supports its topic sentence in the same way that the essay as a whole supports its thesis statement.
Any paragraph which isn't clearly related to the thesis of the essay should either be omitted or else revised to make its relevance clear.
5. Transitions connect paragraphs smoothly so that the reader can follow the line of your argument and can see how each of your points relates to your thesis statement. A transition can be a sentence either at the end of one paragraph or at the beginning of the next. Or it can be a single word or a short phrase, such as "therefore" or "nevertheless".
6. A short essay should end with a paragraph which states a conclusion. The conclusion restates the thesis, sums up the points in the exposition, and connects the thesis to a broader perspective.

Arguing fairly
1. Avoid over-generalizing. The evidence of a single document is not conclusive proof of the lifelong mentality of the author, or the rights or wrongs of a cause, or the strengths or weaknesses of a movement.
2. Be aware of your own premises, and of the perspective which you're bringing to your reading of the document. Be aware also of the limitations of these premises and perspectives.
3. Avoid appealing to information outside the text except where you're making use of material which is commonly agreed to be factual (such as the dates of a monarch referred to in the text). If you appeal to information which is not commonly agreed, however, you'll seriously weaken your argument.
4. Prefer learning from the past over teaching the past its mistakes. Avoid passing moral judgment on historical figures. Don't assume that our world is better than the past or that the past is better than our world.

Following proper style
1. Keep tenses consistent. (Don't change abruptly from past to present tense and back again.)
2. Check spelling, punctuation, grammar, syntax, etc.

Special rule for the short papers (not the research essay)
Generally you should cite only the primary source which is the subject of your paper. You shouldn't usually cite secondary sources, or primary sources you haven't read. Exception: you can cite the Bible where appropriate (for instance, where it helps us understand an author's arguments).