Examination Of Teh Researching History Guide

EXAMINATION OF THE RESEARCHING HISTORY GUIDE

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EXAMINATION OF THE RESEARCHING HISTORY GUIDE

Historical research needs thorough and in-depth analytical skills that can be developed by following a well-devised set of instructions and guidelines. In this context, Patrick Rael’s “Writing, and researching for history: a guide for college students” is a significant help. The book is written with the association of Bowdoin College in 2004 and proffers a preamble and core comprehension regarding the formal historical studies for university-level students. Throughout the content, underlying concepts and aspects of historical researches are elucidated that also include the usage of secondary and primary historical sources. The textbook comprised of various authentic writing pieces and explicates the proper documentation and implications of scholarly guidelines and references. Moreover, it is highlighted how students can draft, compose, edit, and write an excellent history paper by implementing the research rudiments ascribed in the book.

The book elaborates several instructional points that are necessary to consider while writing a research paper. Students generally miss the underlying intricacies of history, and in turn make substantial mistakes in their history research papers. Rael starts from the start and asserts that it is imperative to pinpoint a valid topic so that students have something extraordinary to delve in and yield productive and impressive outcomes from their research. After analyzing the book, it becomes evident that in the modern era of technological advancement, it is convenient to surf the web to acquire relevant information. The vast horizons of internet and online archives proffer bright chances to explore the essential pieces of history just through a few clicks. However, the ease of technology always associates with a definite tinge of suspiciousness in the context of authenticity. Internet is laden with a myriad of websites and blogs that are based only on content generation, and they have nothing to do with accuracy and authenticity. Therefore it is advocated to always concern the authentic books and other historical annals for the research inclusion purposes.

However, still gathering authentic data in history research is the main difficulty in the chronological research process. It happens because most of the first-hand knowledge generically comes from the primary sources and the primary sources can infuse a hue of biases into the research. There are several instances of primary sources that involve a lot of preferences as well as the influence of personal perspective of the narrator, and that can somehow alter the course of research and can establish discerned conclusions. However, the main problem is that it is not easy to differentiate between the prejudiced and original account of incidents that could affect the authenticity of a history research paper. Rael incorporates an exacerbated account of historical research information and the bullet style elaborative content is effectively relayed. However, the content should be more enhanced as it is explicitly written for university-level students.

Regardless of all intricacies, complications, and difficulties, it is evident that the mentioned book is a valuable source and by following the instructions and the provided framework, history students can polish their writing skills. In this regard, the most significant factor is the sequence that underlines the history research process from scratch and proceeds gradually. Throughout the chunky data, the book enwraps all the fundamental ideas that can be extremely helpful in developing conceptualization and establishing compelling propositions. The very content of the discussed book assisted me in clarifying a few ambiguous aspects of historical research that were otherwise unknown to me completely. On the other hand, with the help of this book, I have created a mind map that equips me with directions to follow the step-wise process, and it becomes easier for me to have an accurate picture of my progress in the research process.

Bibliography

"Reading, Writing, and Researching for History." Accessed May 8, 2019. http://www.napavalley.edu/Library/Documents/reading.writing.history.pdf.