By: Siena Jeakle ’15
Thursday, January 8th, historian Walter Stahr came to Prep to speak to the Junior class about writing history. The Juniors, just days away from the due date of the infamous National History Day paper, were lucky to have the eloquent guest speaker, a successful historian and biographer, to give them some pointers. Stahr, who has written the books John Jay: Founding Father (2006) and Seward:Lincoln’s Indispensable Man (2012), has developed a number of steps to stay organized and to write good history. He emphasized the advantage of telling history like a story, instead of just reorganizing a compilation of empty facts. Stahr was kind enough to share his procedure with the students of Seattle Prep:
1) Organize your notes chronologically — Before developing an argument, Stahr researches his characters and records important events. Having a time line immediately provides a useful basic outline for writing history.
2) Start with the bibliography — Likewise, Stahr records his sources as he goes along, including a note specific enough that he can return to the source later and knows where to find it.
3) Write as you research, not after you research — While getting to know an event and its characters, people naturally form opinions about what we have learned. Stahr suggests that writers begin recording their thoughts while they are still in the process of researching. This way, their opinions are fresh and authentic instead of half-heatedly resurrected.
4) Keep a to do list — Decide which topics you want to touch upon in your writing, and make a to do list. Your thoughts and research will be organized, and you won’t be overwhelmed by possibilities because you’ll have a clear plan.
5) Make it a story — Think of the audience as an audience. Write in a way so that the reader wants to know what happens next: Don’t aim to write history the same way that it seems like your textbooks do. Stahr always referred to his objects of research as characters; the way he explained them made it sound like they were dear personal friends of his. Don’t ignore the human qualities of history. After all, they were people back then, too.
6) “Grab” the reader with a compelling first sentence — Never, ever begin a history paper with: “Throughout history…”, “Since the beginning of time…”, “For thousands of years…” or any other variation on the ubiquitous and vague display of unoriginality. That is terrible. Instead, take a page out of Stahr’s book, with an opening clincher like this: “Outside the Lafayette Square home of Secretary of State William Henry Seward, in the shadows of an early spring evening in Washington, two assassins watched and waited, their horses and weapons at hand.” Exciting things happened in the olden days, too; let people know.
7) Good history tells a story — Don’t leave out the exciting details of your research; focus on making it compelling rather than solely factual (while still being historically accurate, of course). Tell your event like the interesting story that it is.
This advice was immediately relevant to the flustered Juniors, but all students could benefit from Stahr’s instructions. It’s important not to let your unexcited view of school work fool you into thinking that things have to sound boring in the professional world. Always tell a story. Follow these tips the next time you write a history paper, and you’ll be thanking your lucky stars.
