historical analysis essay
Answers
The purpose of an analytical history paper is to provide an argument that proves a specific thesis. This argument should demonstrate insight by employing primary and secondary sources to prove the essay's basic claim. The success of an analytical history paper rests on the author's ability to present information in a clear and concise manner so that the reader may easily follow the analysis.
Establish a question: The question is the core of your paper. It forms the basic elements of the entire argument and establishes the topic of the paper. An analytical essay relies on a strong question that outlines the subject, temporal and geographic considerations. For example, if you are writing about the Vietnam War, a narrow topic could focus on what everyday life was like for draft dodgers who left the US for Canada.
Identify sources: Sources can be found in many forms, including primary sources that consist of written documents and photographs that originate from the period, and secondary sources that include what other scholars have written about the subject. By analyzing data pertaining to the topic you will be able to formulate an argument and provide supporting evidence for your thesis.
Develop a thesis: The thesis is generally presented in a single statement that outlines your particular interpretation of the topic. The thesis statement should be a unique perspective about the topic that is based on evidence from supporting documents. For instance, if the sources indicate that draft dodgers experienced an inability to integrate in their host society, you will need to present the argument in a logical statement that demonstrates what you plan to argue in your essay.
Write your introduction: The introduction outlines how you intend to present your analysis. It also presents a basic map for the essay that indicates how you will prove your argument. The most important component of the introduction is your thesis statement, which must be presented in clear and concise language.
Construct the body of your essay: The body of an analytical essay should do more than present a series of facts or describe a historical event. Each paragraph should present a specific point, beginning with a topic sentence that defines its aim and illustrates how the paragraph fits into the essay's overall thesis.
Summarize your argument: Your conclusion should summarize what you have presented and restate the essay's analytical focus. Furthermore, your conclusion should reintroduce the thesis statement and relate it to the evidence presented in the essay. The conclusion illustrates what you have proved in the essay and leaves the reader with an impression of its significance.
Cite your sources: Citing your sources is a valuable component of academic writing. It is important to indicate where you have obtained your evidence. Citation styles may vary; therefore, it is important to check the requirements for your paper.
Proofread your paper: Editing your paper for grammar and style mistakes will improve the academic presentation of the argument. More importantly, proofreading provides an opportunity to ensure that your argument makes sense and that the evidence supports your thesis. Proofreading can make a substantial difference in the quality of the paper.
What is it?
Historical analysis of literature allows readers to gain a better understanding of a text by becoming familiar with the time periods in which the piece takes place and when it was written. Reading literature outside of its historical context can make it difficult or even impossible to fully understand the text. Even readers who, upon first reading a text, believe they have a full understanding of the piece often realize a completely new meaning or interpretation after making themselves familiar with its historical context.
Without a full comprehension of the world the writer lived in or the events, lifestyles, and ideologies that shaped their mind, you cannot fully understand the actions of the characters they created or their intentions for writing what they did.
For example...
A character from a Jane Austen novel may be described only as “a man without a profession.” Present-day readers would likely equate being unemployed with being broke or down on your luck. However, during the time period of Austen’s novels, gentlemen were without employment though they were wealthy men with high social stations.
This is only a small example of how historical context can create a different interpretation of the text. For more examples and a larger scale implementation of this technique, make sure you read the rest of the Historical Analysis section of our website.
Sub-types
There are also subtypes of the historical analysis that narrow the historical scope to an individual aspect. These types include:
New Historicism
Attempts to show that literature impacts history and tends to focus on small elements, such as fashion.
Marxist
Focuses on literature in terms of its relationship to society at the time—usually by undermining the social structure.
Post-Colonial
Focuses on the role that literature played in the oppression and degradation of colonized people—sometimes also used in terms of racial and ethnic studies.
Racial and Ethnic Studies
Focuses specifically on the racial and ethnic aspects of the work and how they relate historically.
Gender Studies
Focuses specifically on the gender roles present in the text and how it relates to the historical norms.
While these subtypes do narrow the scope of your analysis down to a single aspect of its historical context, most pieces of literature are heavily impacted by several different elements from their time period. Therefore, you should be open to considering each historical aspect that may lead to a better understanding of the text. In most cases the best option is composing a general historical analysis, rather than limiting yourself by choosing a subtype.