D7-eBecome familiar with writing conventions in history.
No matter what topic they are writing about, historians agree on some general conventions.
Historians value counterargument. To draw a conclusion about why or how something happened, historians must weigh conflicting theories and interpretations carefully and judiciously. In an essay answering the question of why the US Congress passed the Nineteenth Amendment, you might conclude that politicians truly believed that women should have the right to vote. But you would also need to account for the failure of the same legislation several years earlier. Did politicians change their minds? Or were other factors at work? (See A4-f.)
Historians conduct research. Historians, like detectives or forensic specialists, look for explanations by assessing the available evidence rather than relying on assumptions or personal opinions. They look for multiple sources of evidence to confirm their theories, and they avoid value judgments.
Historians write in the past tense when they are focusing on past events, ideas, and movements. They use the present tense (Goodman’s book reveals new evidence) or present perfect tense (Olson has vividly depicted the political scene) when talking about the contents of another writer’s work. (See G2-f.)
Historians credit the scholarship of others. Historians are aware that they are joining an existing scholarly conversation, and they place great importance on citing the ideas of other scholars. (See CMS-1c.)