History Dissertation Format: Guidelines for Submissions

History dissertation format guidelines exist to serve two essential functions: to help to help students submit a document that displays consistent formatting, and to help students avoid losing marks on presentation.

Of course, by the time most students reach the doctoral level they will have produced many large papers; however, the dissertation is not only the culmination of your thought but also represents your contribution to the existing body research that surrounds your topic.

As such, history dissertations deserve special care and consideration. If the deadline for your history dissertation is fast approaching, consider the following format guidelines for history dissertations before you submit:

• Footnotes. History is subject to interpretation. Different historians focus on different facts and infer different deductions from said facts. It is the nature of history to change based on current developments in theory and advances in technology, which often allow historians access to information unavailable or misinterpreted in previous centuries. Thus, the history dissertation may house numerous conflicting descriptions and interpretations of a historical event. When writing a dissertation for history, avoid using the footnotes as a means to allay the conflicting views surrounding a given historical event. Rather, use the footnotes to elucidate disagreement among historical authorities that pertains directly to your thesis.
• Quotations. History dissertations rely on the effective use of quotations. Most historians employ the Chicago Manual of Style, so verify with your advisor if your department follows Chicago. Dissertations for history must never correct the mistakes found in primary source quotations. This is very important; many historical texts contain glaring errors, yet if you correct them, you will be penalized. If you see an obvious error in one of your source quotes, correspond to the original explicitly. After the error, write [sic] in square brackets and italicize only the word ‘sic’. Sic is Latin for ‘thus’ or ‘just so’ – this word is used to indicate that the error occurred in the original, not your transcription.
• Sources. A history dissertation benefits from primary sources more than secondary. The scholar draws his or her own conclusions much more effectively from a primary source as opposed to a secondary source, so use primary sources such as manuscripts and archives wherever possible. These sources are much harder to access but well worth the effort, since you can make your own deductions based on your personal experience of the primary source.