What kind of essays do history majors write?

Adam: What kind of essays do history majors write?
Any history majors here? I was thinking about switching my major to history, but I am unsure about what kind of course work history majors do. Specifically, what kind of essays would I write or issues would I argue for as a history major? Are the essays mostly like regurgitating information/dates/ etc…? If any of you are history majors, could you give some sample essay questions that you’ve had to write about?

Answers and Views:

Answer by Hamburger
History is a very writing-intensive major. You can expect to write AT LEAST one research/thesis paper per class per semester, and in the upper levels these can be quite lengthy (many departments have actual requirements of 7-15+ page papers per semester, outside of the professor’s power to change). Also, most tests will consist largely of writing, with some short answers (one paragraph), some short essays ( 3 paragraphs) and some long essays (2-5 pages).

There will also be a lot of reading, of both text books and primary source documents, as well as essays, opinion pieces, historical journals, and other articles.

While some teachers are sticklers for dates, most aren’t. However, it IS history, so you have to have a good general framework of events, such as what order they came in, and roughly when they occurred. By “roughly” I mean that most professors will require you to say things like “from the 8th to the 10th century” or “In the late 19th century” or “in the mid-1600s…”

Some teachers are very loose with writing assignments–as loose as “Pick a subject in French history prior to WWI,” or “Write about an American historical figure during the colonial period” to more specific ones. However, when you are writing your own research paper (not an essay for a test) you will most likely be encouraged to find a subject that interests you. Professors understand that it is your interest in history that made you choose to major in it, and they feel the same way you do–some things interest them, and some things bore their pants off. Historians in the “real world” research and write about topics that interest them, so as a student, so will you. The important thing is that you hone your writing skills, and learn to research and communicate your arguments effectively.

To summarize: you will be doing a lot of reading, a lot of writing, a lot of research, and you will have to have a pretty good handle on dates.