Writing Conventions for History
Chicago notes–bibliography is the working system
Citations go in footnotes, with the full form at first use and a shortened form thereafter, and a separate bibliography at the end. Author–date is rare in history because a note can carry commentary alongside the reference.
Archival citation identifies the physical location of the document
A footnote names the item, the collection, the box and folder, and the repository with its city — enough for another historian to request the same document. Digitized collections add the database and, where stable, a permanent link.
Historiography replaces the literature review
Instead of summarizing findings, you narrate how interpretations of your subject have changed and which school your argument enters. The point is to locate a live disagreement, which is what makes the reader care about your intervention.
The thesis is an argument, not a hypothesis
History papers are argument-driven: you make a contestable claim about causes, meaning, or change over time, and the evidence is marshaled to support it. There is no methods section testing a prediction, so the argument has to be visible from the introduction.
Primary evidence is quoted; the interpretation is yours
Extended quotation from sources is normal and expected, with original spelling and punctuation preserved and any intervention marked in brackets. Every substantial quotation needs analysis attached, or the paper reads as a transcription.
Tense marks the difference between events and texts
Past events are written in the past tense, but what a source or a historian says is often present tense — “Thompson argues,” “the petition claims.” Holding that distinction keeps the reader clear on whether you are narrating or analyzing.
Translation and transliteration choices are declared
When working across languages, state whose translation you use, or that translations are your own, and name the transliteration system for non-Latin scripts. Once declared in a note, the choice is applied consistently throughout.
