Successful content in a History paper is made up of three indispensible items: Thesis, Evidence, Analysis.

A thesis is a single sentence that clearly states the argument being made in the paper. Everything in the paper should be there to prove the thesis. If it is not, then one of two things must change. Either the item must be removed from the paper, or the thesis must be reexamined and rewritten to incorporate the new item. Rewriting the thesis to fit the paper must only be done if the thesis is stronger as a result of the inclusion of the new idea or item. The most interesting theses are those that answer a "How?" or "Why?" question.

Evidence is the material that supports the thesis. Without sufficient evidence the thesis is unsubstantiated and the paper unsuccessful. Please be aware that opionins of other historians do not constitute evidence. Evidence is what those historians look at to come up with those opinions, and what you should look at also. In order for evidence to be persuasive it must be SPECIFIC and the source of it must be CITED.

Analysis might be viewed as the glue that binds the evidence to the thesis. You must explain to your reader how the evidence you are using supports your thesis. A good approach to analysis is to consider that your reader is intelligent, but does not quite understand what connection you are making. Your job is to make that connection as explicit as possible.