A good paper has an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. The introduction explains why the
topic of the paper is of interest and indicates what questions the paper will examine. The body of
the paper should draw on evidence from published scholarly sources of information about your
topic and presents such evidence in an analytical and systematic fashion, answering the questions
posed in the introduction. The conclusion summarizes the findings of the paper and may also
include some generalizations about the broader significance of these findings. Do not submit a
simple narrative of the events described in your sources.
The essay should present an argument, supported by proper evidence. For this reason, you should
consult at least FOUR sources, books and/or articles. The basic principle of writing analytical
essays is to use good source material, that is, SCHOLARLY SOURCE MATERIAL, to get the
information you need in order to write about the topic in your own words.
Generally speaking, textbooks and encyclopaedias are NOT ideal source material for research
papers as they are too general in nature. Textbooks and encyclopaedias can be helpful by
providing convenient access to general background information, but they must NOT be used and
cited as sources for analytical essays.
ATTENTION! Wikipedia, in spite of its soaring popularity, is NOT appropriate source material
and should NEVER be cited for history papers, or papers of any other disciplines for that matter.
Web surfing is becoming quite popular among some people as a way to do research online. So
far as this course and this writing assignment are concerned, NO INTERNET OR WEBBASED SOURCES ARE ALLOWED, with the only exceptions of the licensed databases that
the Okanagan College Library, for academic purposes, has subscribed to such as Historical
Abstracts, America: History and Life, and JSTOR. If you are not certain if a particular
website can be used as a source, please ask our friendly library staff for help and clarification on
this matter.
Historical Abstracts provides citation information and abstracts for articles from over 2,000
journals, plus books and dissertations, published since 1954, on all aspects of world history from
1450 to present (excluding Canada and the United States). Publications are in over 50 languages;
article titles and abstracts are included in English translation.
America: History and Life covers the history of Canada and the United States from pre-history
to the present. It indexes about 2,000 journals, and in addition to the principle English language
sources in the field, it includes some (about 10%) in other languages, as well as some state and
local history journals. All aspects of historical inquiry are represented: diplomatic, ecclesiastical,
agricultural, cultural, economic, political, military and others. The index also provides citations
to book and media reviews from about 100 journals and references to abstracts of dissertations in
the field. All abstracts are in English.
JSTOR is a digital archive collection of scholarly journals. It is unique in that complete archives
of these journals have been digitized, starting with the very first issues. Accessible to academic
libraries, the Okanagan College Library included, the JSTOR archive combines high-resolution
page images for display and printing with a linked text file for full-text searches of major
scholarly journals. Staff and students affiliated with participating institutions, such as Okanagan
College, can search, view, and print JSTOR journal articles using personal computers at any time
and from any location.
Once you have all the sources you need, be sure to cite the sources in footnotes or endnotes. You
can put the notes either at the bottom of the page as footnotes or at the end of the paper as
endnotes, depending on personal preferences. The basic rule for footnoting is this: all quotations,
paraphrases, statistics, interpretations, and significant phrases taken from books and articles must
be cited in footnotes. On the other hand, common knowledge in the form of obvious facts on
which all authors would agree do not have to be footnoted.
The first time you refer to any book or article, give the author, complete title, and other
publication data. Do not repeat the full publication data over and over again each time you refer
to the same source. After the first time, simply give the author’s last name, a short version of the
title, and the page number. If the footnote refers to the source cited in the immediately preceding
footnote, write ibid. and give the page number. Ibid is short for ibidem, which means, in Latin,
“in the same book, chapter, etc” previously quoted.
Examples of footnoting in the style of the Chicago Style guide are available in the Okanagan
College Library and on the Library website.
All papers must include footnotes and a bibliography listing all the sources you use. Failure to
properly document sources may constitute PLAGIARISM, and handing in a paper with no
footnotes can also be considered plagiarism, that is, taking and using somebody else’s ideas,
words, etc as your own. Plagiarism is academic dishonesty which carries a hefty penalty at this
and all other post-secondary institutions across North America.
Last but not least, the essay should be written in proper English and be attentive to matters of
style, grammar, spelling, and overall clarity of expression. Grammar, spelling, and style will
count significantly in the instructor’s evaluation of your paper. A good essay is not a first draft.
Always proofread your paper carefully before submitting it.
