All continuously assessed coursework (such as seminar papers and essays) will be marked anonymously. You are therefore required to include your matriculation number on every piece of written work that you hand in: you must not include your name on this work.

A Short Guide to Presenting History Essays

This document explains how to lay out and cite sources in history essays. It is intended to help you understand how to use and acknowledge sources, so that you write better history essays and avoid plagiarism. Further details are provided in Writing with Style, available from the departmental website.

1. Essay Presentation
Your essay should include an unnumbered title page which states the department name; module title; tutor's name (and seminar group, if relevant); title of the question being answered; your matriculation number; date of submission; and word count, including text and footnotes. Do not put your name on the title page or elsewhere in the essay.

The text of the essay must be word-processed according to the following guidelines:
· Use one side only of A4 paper per page of your essay;
· All margins should be at least 1 inch (25 mm).
· The text should have 1.5 (or double) line spacing. The text may be left aligned or justified, as you wish.
· Divide the text into paragraphs, with a blank line between each paragraph.
· The font size should be 11 or 12 point, and the print should be clear and black.
· The page number should be displayed at the top or bottom of each page, starting with 1 on the first page of text.
· Staple your essay together. You must hand in TWO copies, one of which will be returned to you after marking. A folder is neither required nor recommended.

2. Using Sources
An essay should be written in your own words. It should not be a patchwork of quotations and paraphrases cut and pasted from your reading. This may differ from the way in which you were taught to write essays in school.

The sources of quotations and paraphrases must be given in footnote references. Acknowledgement of primary and secondary sources is an important feature of a good essay. Failure to acknowledge your sources might lead you to be charged with plagiarism.

A quotation is a section of text taken word for word from a primary or secondary source. It may be from a few words to several sentences long. All quotations must be clearly indicated and their source given. Use quotations sparingly, and only when the exact wording is needed to support your argument. You must indicate quotations with single inverted commas (at 'start and finish') or by indentation if the quotation is long. Acknowledge the source using a footnote, as described below.

A paraphrase consists of a section of text taken from a source that is recognisably similar to the original, even if you have changed or omitted some words. Do not use inverted commas to indicate paraphrases, but you still must acknowledge the source, using a footnote.

Short quotations should be placed within the text, and not on a separate line, in order to keep the text flowing. Quotations need to be placed on a separate line only if they are more than forty words long (around three lines). Long quotations should be indented on the left by at least .5 inch (12 mm); separated from the text by a blank line above and below; single-spaced; and left aligned or justified (not centred). Do not use inverted commas with an indented quotation, as the indentation indicates that it is a quotation. Quotations should appear in the same font as the rest of the text, not in italics.

3. Plagiarism
It is important that you familiarise yourself with the University of Glasgow Plagiarism Statement, which is taken from in the Calendar (section 31), and from which the following points are taken (http://senate.gla.ac.uk/academic/plagiarism/plagstate.html):
· 'All work submitted by students for assessment is accepted on the understanding that it is the student's own effort.'
· 'Plagiarism is defined as the submission or presentation of work, in any form, which is not one's own, without acknowledgement of the sources.'
· 'The incorporation of material without formal and proper acknowledgement (even with no deliberate intent to cheat) can constitute plagiarism.'
· 'Alleged plagiarism, at whatever stage of a student's studies, whether before or after graduation, will be investigated and dealt with appropriately by the University.'
· Severe cases of plagiarism will be referred to the Senate Office who will decide further action. Where the case is judged less severe the Head of Department may impose penalties. Procedures are outlined in the University's Plagiarism Statement.
· The penalties for plagiarism can be severe, ranging from loss of marks to exclusion from graduation.
It is better to learn what to avoid before you submit coursework than to discover the hard way what your tutors will judge to be plagiarised. Some activities are easily detected, and just as easily avoided: never cut and paste from a website, e-journal or other source; never copy from another student's work; never quote without properly referencing; give credit where credit is due. For more help, see the sites listed in section 6 below. If in doubt seek the advice of your tutor.

4. Footnotes
Your essay should include both footnote references and a bibliography. There are many different conventions for citing sources. These guidelines are intended to help you, but it is not essential that you follow them exactly so long as you give all of the necessary information clearly and consistently. They are based on the MHRA Style Guide, which is widely used in the humanities.

Footnotes enable the reader to locate the source of specific information to which you refer in the text; by acknowledging your sources you also protect yourself from charges of plagiarism. The departments of History and Economic and Social History use the short-title system: give full bibliographical details the first time you refer to a source, and use a shortened form for later references to the same source.

Indicate a footnote reference by inserting a superscripted number at the end of the sentence. (Microsoft Word will do this for you when you choose Insert Footnote.) The number in the text points the reader to the bottom of the page, where bibliographical details are provided after the same number. Use ordinary arabic numerals (1, 2, …), not Roman numerals or letters.

Single space footnotes. Provide a full reference at the first mention of a source, and a shorter reference if the source is mentioned again; make sure to include page numbers. Use the following examples to help you decide how to present foonotes:

Books
Notes 1-2 show first references, and 3-4 show later references ('pp.' stands for pages and 'p.' for page).
1. Ian Kershaw, Hitler, 1889-1936: Hubris (London: Penguin, 1998), pp. 465-67.
2. A. L. Beier, D. Cannadine, and J. M. Rosenheim, eds, The First Modern Society (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989).
3. Kershaw, Hitler, p. 21.
4. Beier, Cannadine and Rosenheim, Modern Society, p. 11.

Articles in journals
Notes 5-6 show first references and 7 shows a later reference.
5. Roger Swift, 'Urban Policing in Early Victorian England, 1835-86: A Reappraisal', History 73 (1988), p. 215.
6. Michael Sonenscher, 'Journeymen, the Courts and the French Trades 1781-1791', Past & Present 114 (1987), pp. 91-92.
7. Swift, 'Urban Policing', p. 215.

Articles in books
Notes 8-9 show first references and 10 shows a later reference.
8. Ian Gentles, 'The Impact of the New Model Army', in The Impact of the English Civil War, ed. by John Morrill (London: Collins & Brown, 1991), p. 102.
9. R. M. Smuts, 'Public Ceremony and Royal Charisma: The English Royal Entry in London, 1485-1642', in The First Modern Society, ed. by A. L. Beier, D. Cannadine, and J. M. Rosenheim (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989), pp. 84-85.
10. Gentles, 'New Model Army', p. 105.

Edited Texts, Translations and Reprints
These notes show first references. Follow the model of books for later references.
11. Fernand Braudel, The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II, trans. by Siân Reynolds, 2 vols (London: Collins, 1973), i, p. 245. [The roman 'i' means volume 1.]
12. Daniel Defoe, The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (1719; repr. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1965), p. 34.

Internet sites (Webpages)
Notes 13-14 show first references and 15-16 later references.
13. Tim Hitchcock and Robert Shoemaker, 'Policing in London before the Bobbies', The Proceedings of the Old Bailey London 1674 to 1834 <http://www.oldbaileyonline.org.uk/ history/crime/policing.html> [accessed 31 March 2004] (para. 3).
14. 'Working Lives', Moving Here <http://www.movinghere.org.uk/galleries/histories/ caribbean/working_lives/ working_lives.htm [accessed 12 January 2004] (para 2).
15. Trial of Elizabeth Canning, April 1754 (t17540424-60), Old Bailey Online [accessed 17 June 2003).
16. 'Working Lives', para. 4.

5. Bibliography
The bibliography at the end of the essay should list all books, articles, websites and other sources you used in preparing your essay. List items in alphabetical order, by author's surname. It is conventional to use a hanging indent, as shown below. The bibliography should be single-spaced, starting each source on a new line, with an additional blank line between sources. The following examples show how some of the footnoted sources would appear in a bibliography. Note how the author's surname appears first, and start and end page numbers of articles are given.

Beier, A. L., D. Cannadine, and J. M. Rosenheim, eds, The First Modern Society (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989)
Braudel, Fernand, The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II, trans. Siân Reynolds, 2 vols (London: Collins, 1973)
Defoe, Daniel, The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (1719; Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1965)
Gentles, Ian, 'The Impact of the New Model Army', in The Impact of the English Civil War, ed. by John Morrill (London: Collins & Brown, 1991), pp. 84-103
Kershaw, Ian, Hitler, 1889-1936: Hubris (London, Penguin, 1998)
Moving Here <http://www.movinghere.org.uk/> [accessed 12 January 2004]
The Proceedings of the Old Bailey London 1674 to 1834 <http://www.oldbaileyonline.org.uk/> [accessed 31 March 2004]
Smuts, R. M., 'Public Ceremony and Royal Charisma: The English Royal Entry in London, 1485-1642', in The First Modern Society, ed. by A. L. Beier, D. Cannadine, and J. M. Rosenheim (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989), pp. 65-94
Sonenscher, Michael, 'Journeymen, the Courts and the French Trades 1781-1791', Past & Present, 114 (1987), pp. 77-109

6. Places to find more help
For more information, including advice on presenting a dissertation, see

Department of History, 'Writing with Style: A Guide to the Preparation of Essays and Dissertations in History', University of Glasgow
MHRA Style Guide (2002)

For a full statement of University policies and procedures, see

Senate Office, 'University of Glasgow Plagiarism Statement', University of Glasgow

For helpful hints on avoiding plagiarism, see the following sites:

Department of History, 'Plagiarism', University of Glasgow
'Avoiding Plagiarism', Online Writing Lab at Purdue University
'Paraphrase: Write it in your own words', Online Writing Lab at Purdue University
'Quoting, paraphrasing and summarizing', Online Writing Lab at Purdue University
Proctor, M., 'How not to plagiarise', University of Toronto

DAS, Short Guide rev 140904

Guide to Good Essay Writing

Once you have finished your reading and research and you start writing, you should have already come to your own analysis and conclusions -- your job now is to tell a story which leads the reader to what you consider to be the correct analysis and conclusions. There is a temptation (for some of us) to postpone writing and to research indefinitely. But writing, even when it is based on somewhat incomplete research, gives meaning and significance to what you have found. Historical writing is very different from other forms of writing (eg scientific, with objective statements of proven scientific facts). It is a creative process, by which complexities are unravelled and made sense of.

There are three basic forms of historical writing -- descriptive, narrative, analysis: the best essays combine all three (thus reconstructing the past, and interpreting it).

1. Description -- try to evoke atmosphere, set scene (requires imagination & eye for detail).
2. Narrative -- excite reader by telling story (suspense, emotion).
3. Analysis -- deal with questions of cause and consequence (historians try to explain long-term factors historical actors often unaware of).

Don't let any of these three forms dominate (narrative can over simplify, description can distract etc.).

Your paper will probably have three main sections:

1. The Introduction: here you get the reader interested in your subject, ask your main questions, and lay out your answer/thesis.
2. The Body: here you tell your story, lay out the evidence for your argument, and analyse what you have found.
3. The Conclusion: Here you summarise, draw your conclusions, and show the meaning/significance of what you have found. You can also suggest further questions or paths for research that your own work has raised.

It is often wise to write your introduction last - when you have a rough draft of the rest of the paper, and have read through it and thought about it, you will be in much better shape to write a coherent introduction.

Think of paragraphs as the building blocks of your paper. Make sure each follows logically from the one before. Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence (one way to edit your own paper, is to go through it reading only the topic sentences at the start of each paragraph - it should make sense). A paragraph should be less than one page long, and shorter paragraphs with more frequent topic sentences make structure of your argument more apparent.

In general, quotations should be as short as possible, and integrated with your writing. Don't overuse quotations: try to say the idea in your own words, and cite source in footnote. Avoid using too many long, block quotations as much as possible.

Keep reading and rereading what you have written, making sure that the paper is progressing logically, that each section is within proper bounds, and that you have good transitions between paragraphs and sections.

Once your first draft is complete - EDIT. This is the most important step of all. Read and reread, adding here, cutting there, rewriting sentences to make them clearer, reworking and reordering paragraphs, making your conclusions as clear and strong as possible.

Notes on Presentation of Essays

Anonymity

All continuously assessed coursework (such as seminar papers and essays) will be marked anonymously. You are therefore required to include your matriculation number on every piece of written work that you hand in: you must not include your name on this work.

Typing

Your essay must be typed, using one side only of A4 paper. As you know, the DISH lab provides extensive word processing facilities. Remember, if you are doing your own word processing, things go wrong with the best of disc and PCs. You should therefore leave plenty of time to allow for accidents and back up your files regularly.