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HINTS FOR IMPROVING YOUR HISTORY DAY ENTRY

I. Choosing a Topic:

A. Make sure it will fit the year's theme.

B. It should be narrow enough that it can be researched thoroughly in the time available.

C. It should be significant. If students work on a local topic, they should be able to explain to someone from another state (or country) why it is important for them to know something about this topic. Topics in local history often have significance beyond their locality--they illustrate something about the human condition generally or about some problem of wider significance.

II. Finding Source Material:

A. Libraries--school, community, college. Librarians are helpful people. If students can't find a published work in the library, they may get it through inter-library loan.

B. State and regional archives--especially useful for finding unpublished material on state and local topics. The state archives is located in Olympia. There are regional archives in Seattle and at Eastern Washington University, Central Washington University, and Western Washington University.

C. National Archives, Pacific Northwest Region, 6125 Sandpoint Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115. The NA-PNW has material bearing on national subjects.

D. Museums. Be sure to check out the museums in your area to learn the range of subjects on which they have materials; especially useful for learning about artifacts and lifestyles of a given era.

E. Bibliographic Aids. Large libraries have a wide range of bibliographies that may help students find sources for a given topic. Books on a subject often have footnotes and bibliographies that can lead them to other sources. Libraries are becoming computerized and some may be able to give them a printout of sources on their topic and where they are located. Since school library budgets are limited, they might consider asking their librarian to focus on a few useful historical bibliographies.

F. Copywritten Material--PLEASE NOTE: Vast leeway is given with regard to student use of material for school projects. It is our understanding that students would not have to get permission for use of music or pictures in their entries--unless such entries would be used as promotional materials.

III.Getting Help:

A. Remember, the student must make the decisions and do the work. Teachers, parents, and others are merely advisors and coaches. A good rule of thumb is this: give only that amount of help necessary to keep the students moving on track. Be sure that parents do not do the actual work for them.

B. If you are new to History Day, don't hesitate to call the State Coordinator or someone else you know who has had experience with History Day.

C. The National History Day Contest Guide is the authority on contest rules. Study it carefully. If certain points seem unclear call the State Coordinator for an interpretation.

IV.Some Things Beginners Often Overlook:

A. You must use primary (as well as secondary) sources in your research, unless those sources are too difficult to access, which will rarely be the case. A primary source is a first-hand account of the topic under study. Newspaper stories written in the time period under study are considered primary sources, along with such things as diaries, journals, government documents, etc. You should consult the most useful and important secondary sources on their topic. A secondary source is one written by someone who was not a participant in or observer of the topic being studied.

B. Be sure to consult a standard style manual for correct footnote and bibliography form. The Contest Guide requires Kate Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses and Dissertations or the MLA [Modern Language Association of America] Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. The style must be consistent throughout the paper.

C. Annotate the bibliography. An annotation is just a short statement saying what the value of the source was to your understanding of the subject. Usually, two or three sentences will suffice. If you are using a series of articles from a newspaper, don't cite each article separately, unless the articles are bylined (have the author's name attached). Cite the newspaper, with dates of each article. For example, New York Times, August 6, 1881. Do not pad the bibliography with works you have not consulted or with excessively long annotations containing nonessential content details. Include all works you have legitimately consulted and just a few sentences of annotations.

D. Historical quality accounts for 60% of your score. Things judges will look for to evaluate historical quality include the following:

1. Has the research been adequate? Have you made use of available and relevant libraries, archives and museums to find materials? Have you made use of the major primary and secondary sources available? Depth of research is important.

2. Have you put the topic in its historical context? The historical context consists of those things beyond the topic which have some relationship to and may have influenced the topic. For example, if you are studying the Whitman mission, you should try to get some understanding of such things as the American mission movement in general, Cayuse Indian culture, government Indian policy, the westward movement, and events and circumstances leading to a decision to send missionaries to the Pacific Northwest. Then you will be able to develop a more mature perspective on what took place at the Whitman mission. You should try to show in your presentation that you are aware of the historical context. To put your topic in historical perspective, you should briefly indicate what events and developments, similar in nature, had preceded it. In the case of the Whitman mission, is this something new, is it something new in the United States, or had Americans long been interested in mission activity?

3. Are you able to perceive and analyze important historical issues? The "why" questions are crucial here. Why did this event take place or why did this individual behave as he/she did? If some change has occurred, why did it occur when it did? What is the significance of this individual, this event, or this development? How have things been different because of them? Asking why questions leads to historical analysis, which is very important in enhancing the historical quality of students' work.

4. Remember that history is the study of human experience in a time perspective. Chronology is important. You must show how your topic has developed over a period of time. Many students who choose some topic of current interest (Iraq, gun control, abortion, etc.) fail to show how this issue has evolved over time. They fail to explore its antecedents. As a result they lose points because they have done a current events topic, rather than a historical study.

5. Scoring is weighted in the direction of good research and analysis rather than flashy presentations. Have both solid research and analysis, as well as polished presentations.

E. It is your responsibility to show how the topic relates to the theme.

F. To Paper Writers:

1. Be sure the paper is unified and coherent. A good test of unity is to reduce the essence of the whole paper to one complex sentence.

2. Proofread it, or, better yet, have someone else proofread it for spelling and grammatical errors. Although the judges' score sheets may not show many points deducted for those things, a paper with several mechanical errors may create a negative feeling about the whole paper.

3. Pay attention to transitional words and sentences, those words and sentences necessary to get from one idea to another. Everything in the paper must hang together. Inter- relationships must be very clear.

4. Exactness. Words you choose must be very precise. They must say exactly what you mean.

G. To Exhibits Entrants:

1. Exhibits are primarily visual. The display itself must tell the story.

2. Focus. There should be a point of focus that draws the observer into the exhibit.

3. Avoid clutter. Don't put so much in the display that confusion results. The eye should be drawn easily from one idea to another until the entire story becomes clear.

4. Use the allotted space in creative ways.

H.To Performance Entrants:

1. Remember, 10 minutes is not much time. Try having several short episodes, each making an important point in the story you want to get across.

2. An elaborate set is not necessary. A few simple things to suggest the setting are sufficient. Same with regard to costumes. Characterizations and projection are more important.

3. The rules permit a lecture in this category, but when the competition gets intense, judges will probably be impressed by the more difficult and complex presentations, and lectures will appear to be simpler and less difficult than drama.

4. After the performance, quickly clear the stage, then go to the judges for questions and comments.

I.To Documentary Entrants:

1. Be sure you understand your medium thoroughly--videotape, movie, slidetape, computer--and check your equipment before the contest.

2. Although tables, screens, and TV monitors with VCR's are usually available at contest sites, be sure to bring your own equipment--projectors, extension cords, etc.

3. As with performances you have 10 minutes for your presentation. Don't waste time with trivial or marginal points. Focus on the most important ideas and present them in the way that is most effective and most economical in terms of time.

4. Think of ways to emphasize or highlight the chief points.

5. Make sure that there is a smooth flow from one idea to the next to make a connected narrative.

6. An individual documentary entry must be the work of one student. If additional students are used as "actors" on film, the entry will be considered a group entry. Students may interview on camera participants of historical events (i.e. members of their community, their city's mayor). Students must set up, run, and take down all equipment. If the student wishes to appear on film in the presentation, he or she may use a mechanical device such as a tripod. But no other person can be involved.

In reference to documentary rules concerning the use of professional photos, slides, etc., this refers to such things produced for purposes other than History Day. It is unlawful to have a professional (or anyone other than the student participant) prepare any materials specifically for a History Day entry.

7. Computer Entries: Be sure to make your entry something more than just a paper on a computer. Students must use the computer to do something that cannot be done in the historical papers category.

J. After you have done your research and are thinking about getting started on your presentation, first set down on paper the major historical points you wish to make and then build the presentation around those points. Be sure they connect to make an integrated whole.

K. Be sure to have back-up copies of everything you do. Have at least six copies of your paper. Judges are supposed to give your papers back to you, but sometimes they forget to do so, or they may want to keep them awhile for later reference. If you make it to finals and haven't yet received your papers back, you will need that extra set.

Documentary people--you should have an extra copy of your tapes, in case of breakage or some other accident.

L. Remember, you can change and improve the content of your entry, so profit from the comments of judges at one contest level to do better at the next.

M. You cannot change categories from one contest level to the next. For example, if you win in group projects at regional, and your partner drops out, you cannot enter as an individual project at the state contest. In such a case, you would have to get another partner, or explain to the group project judges that your partner could not come to the state contest.

N. Remember that your entry (paper, exhibit, performance or media) must be able to stand alone. Although judges interview students, only infrequently does the interview affect the score. Indeed, in the finals at the state and national contests, no interview is conducted. This does not mean the interview is unimportant. It has several functions:

1. To authenticate and validate the entry. Make sure that it is the students' own work.

2. To determine the degree of control that the student has over the historical material.

3. To give positive reinforcement for things well done and constructive criticism concerning weaknesses.

Keep in mind that you cannot expect the interview to be supplemental to the entry in terms of points you wish to make. Historical points you wish to make must be part of the entry presentation.

O. Teachers: Be sure to read the criteria associated with special awards, and inform your students. Some entries at the State level, though otherwise eligible, are not considered for awards because they do not meet the minimum criteria. Students that wish to be considered for awards based on research in state or national archives should indicate in the two page paper and/or bibliography what materials were consulted from those sources.

P. Teachers: Be sure to inform the parents that they are not to do the work for the students. They can suggest, advise, critique, demonstrate, and encourage, but the student must do the actual work of research and presentation.

Washington State Historical Society
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Tacoma, WA 98402
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