Tips and Resources
There are many skills that are called upon in a Social Studies class. You may have not acquired all of the skills you need. Advanced Placement courses are designed to be college level course, so it is reasonable to infer that your writing and research should also be at a college level. However, you are still high school students and may not have all those skills fine tuned. If that is the case, this page can be very helpful. These links will assist you on your quest for success in class.
NEW: FLASHCARDS
Quick Favorites and Suggested Reading
Purdue University
University of Wisconsin-Madison
A Guide to Writing Well
Writing DBQ's
The Lively Art of Writing - Lucile Vaughan Payne
On Writing Well - William Zinsser
A Writer's Companion - Richard Marius
Strategies for Writing Successful Essays - Nell W. Meriwether
Writing With a Purpose - James M. McCrimmon
A Writer's Reference - Diana Hacker
A Short Guide to Writing About History - Richard Marius and Melvin E. Page
Reflective/ Reflection Essays
http://essayplant.com/reflectionessay.php http://www.bridgewater.edu/~atrupe/ENG101/Text/Reflection.htm http://www.services.ex.ac.uk/cas/employability/students/reflective.htm
Writing
AP US History Essay Writing Tips and Tutorials
Tutorials on Understanding Essay Prompts and on The Thesis Sentence
AP US History - Study Skills: Improving Your Writing Skills
Very good advice from the people who administer the AP program. Also applies to the World History AP course.
How to Write A Historical Essay
Provided by an APUS History teacher.
How to Write History Essays
A college professor's how-to guide, but this one uses humor.
Mrs. Ruland's Hints for Academic Writing
Online version of the handout given to APUS
Mrs. Ruland's Writing History Essays: A Series of Mini-Lessons
Online version of the in-class lessons.
OWL at Purdue University: General Writing Concerns Handouts>
Nice collection that deals with planning to write, effective writing, and revising and proofreading.
Paradigm Online Writing Assistant
Very nice collection of lessons on organizing, revising, editing, documenting sources as well as the various types of essays.
Social Sciences: General advice for non-majors
Provided by Dartmouth College to assist non-majors. Another great site for AP students
Thesis Statements: What Are They?
Nice concise discussion of the thesis statement
Writing Guide
Produced by Rutgers University History Department
10 Commandments of Good Historical Writing by Theron F. Schlabach
Nice set of "rules" for writing a history paper.
Reading
AP US History - Study Skills: Improving Your Reading Skills
Good Advice from the people who administer the AP program. This also applies to the World History AP course.
Identifying the Argument of an Essay
Created by Metropolitan Community College, this is labelled as a tutorial in critical reasoning.
Note Taking
Note Taking
Created by a History professor at North Carolina State.
Note Taking Skills
Some good hints if this is a weakness
Note Taking Skills
From the Academic Resource Center at Sweet Briar College
Comprehensive
CORE: Comprehensive Online Research Education
An interactive tutorial designed to help students learn effective research strategies. Includes a variety of modules including Topic Evaluation, Internet, and Evaluating Sources. This site does require that you logon, but you can logon as guest.
The Historian's Toolbox
A 6 part tutorial designed for beginning college History majors.
History Matters Reference Desk
This page provides annotated links to resources on standards, citing and evaluating Web sites, and understanding copyright and fair use laws as they apply to the use and creation of educational materials on the Web.
History Writing Guides
One of the best college sites. Prepared by Bowdoin College. Extensive guide that covers the reading, writing, researching and evaluating of history. A must for all AP students
Jules Benjamin, A Student's Guide to History
Contains sections on Study Assignments and Writing Assignments in History Courses, How to Research a History Topic, and How to Write a History Paper.
Reading, Writing and Research for History: a Guide for College Students
Produced by Bowdoin College
A Student's Guide to the Study of History -- Main
Written by a college professor as a guide for any student studying history. Contains segments on taking notes in class, studying, as well as the various aspects of writing.
Study Guides and Strategies
Created by the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul Minnesota. Contains sections on Preparing to Learn, Classroom Participation, Preparing for Tests, Writing Basics, Studying, Reading Skills, Taking Tests, and Webtruth.
UW-Madison Writing Center Writer's Handbook
Very clearly written in a conversational tone rather than just a list of how-to.<
Plagiarism
What is Plagiarism?
Prepared by the History News Network
Mrs. Ruland's Tutorial on Plagiarism and Paraphrasing
Avoid the pitfalls and problems of plagiarism and learn how to paraphrase.
Earl Babbie -- Plagiarism
Wonderful site that contains examples of acceptable and unacceptable paraphrasing. Learn how to avoid problems
OWL: Avoiding Plagiarism
Very nice clear information on when to document sources. Very nice practice exercise.
You Quote It, You Note It!
Fun animated tutorial from Vaughan Memorial Library in Canada.
Research
Remember that research on the Internet is not the same as surfing the Internet. Being able to find appropriate and useful information requires different skills.
Finding Information on the Internet
Very nice tutorial from UC Berkley on how to find information; includes how to use search engines effectively.
Five Quick Tips for Better Searching with Google
Excellent tips using the Advanced Search feature.
OWL: Handouts: Research and Documenting Sources
Clear discussion of many issues regarding research.
OWL: Internet Research: Searching the World Wide Web
This is a great resource if you are sometimes unable to find the information you want; it may be your searching skills. Try the interactive tutorial too.
Research and Documentation Online
Contains information on Finding Sources and Documenting Sources in the Humanities, Social Sciences and History. Includes sample MLA paper, APA paper, and Chicago paper.
A Student's Guide to WWW Research: Web Searching, Web Page Evaluation, and Research Strategies
This site is for the beginner but can also help more experienced searchers. It starts with the anatomy of a web page, discusses the types of pages, and discuses how to search.
Using the Internet as a Resource for Historical Research and Writing
This is the more involved site for those who already know the basics, but want to learn how to do it even better.
Using Primary Sources on the Web
How to find, evaluate, and site a primary document.
Working With Sources
This is particularly important for the AP students who will have to learn how to answer a Document Based Question (DBQ).
DBQ/CRQ: Teaching with Documents by Peter Pappas
Contains a variety of worksheets designed for the different types of documents used in social studies. Includes discussion of how to identify the various types of sources and how to analyze them.
Do History
Site that shows you how to piece together the past from the fragments that have survived using a case study. Part of the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University.
History Writing Guides
Bowdoin College guide on how to read and evaluate primary sources.
How to Read a Document
Great tutorial on POV
How to Use Primary Sources
The New Jersey Historical Society has created this fun series of lessons using a variety of documents in their collection to demonstrate how different types of primary sources can be analysed and used.
Making Sense of Documents
History Matters site that combines how-to guides on making sense of oral history, numbers, American popular songs, photography, letters and diaries as well as a series of pages featuring scholars in action analyzing a variety of documents.
Mrs. Ruland's Document Based Question (DBQ) Essay Hints
Mrs. Ruland's How to Use Evidence
Primary Source Document Exercise
This exercise was created by the Smithsonian as a way to introduce students to the use, comparison, and evaluation of primary source documents.
Teacher Resources - The Historian's Sources Lesson Overview
Wonderful interactive lesson on primary sources.
The Use of Evidence
Using Primary Sources on the Web
Interesting tutorial with examples; deals with finding, evaluating and citing primary sources.