What kind of language do historians use and how can I write like a historian?
Historians and their language
Figure 7: Common characteristics of historians (sixth From College, Farnborough version).
Historians:
are content to be uncertain
Historians are timid and uncertain creatures; they shy away from strong generalisations and blanket judgements. Their writing usually expresses some degree of uncertainty. They sometimes they admit they do not know because the evidence is too thin.
Language used to help express this:
Possible Probable Credible Maybe Likely Very likely
Historians may use words such as no, never, any or completely but they do so on rare and carefully chosen occasions.
are interested in time
All creatures have their obsessions and for historians,
it is time. They are fascinated by how the past has moved at different paces and how events are the result of longer-term trends and short term happenings. Historians spend a lot of time troubling over the interplay of fast and slow.
Language used to help express this:
Long term Medium term short term Underlying Catalyst/ trigger
gradual, accelerating, steady, consistent, erratic, sudden, slow, rapid.
are keen to understand roles
Historians want to find out about the roles played by people and factors in making things happen. They try to understand the relationships between factors and how they worked together to make things happen. They also try to judge relative importance.
Language used to help express this:
Minor significant substantial Crucial
Partial Contributory
Important Essential
Both .... and ....... resulted in...
As well as ... also contributed to
While ....... added to ... it was .... that was crucial in
like weighing up evidence
Evidence is an historian’s treasure. Like an antiques dealer, they are interested in its origins, its authenticity and its value. They compare evidence, scrutinise it and investigate its background. But they always treat it with respect.
Language used to help express this:
The evidence of ..... is particularly compelling because... ...... strongly confirms the evidence of .... that
While .... needs to be treated with some caution, it suggests that ...
are always saying ‘Yes, but....’
Historians nearly always qualify their judgements. In other words, they say ‘on the whole this was true, but only in this way or not in that way’. They might point out differences between social classes, regions, age groups or ethnic minorities. or they might go back to that old favourite, time, and point out differences over time.
Language used to help express this:
on the whole / generally/ Mainly Especially/ particularly
Except for
However, this was not so true for... the later 1960s/ working class women/the nobles living in the south
are happy to reach more than one conclusion
It has been established that historians are cagey,
careful beings. They are very aware of complexities, qualifications and exceptions. They don’t like fence- sitting – they like making judgements. It’s just that they usually make several, not just one.
Language used to help express this:
Therefore it was certainly true that ....
However.... also ...
Furthermore, the role played by ...... was vital in ...
While .... was important in ...... ..... this was less significant
Historians and their language
Figure 7: Common characteristics of historians (sixth From College, Farnborough version).
Historians:
are content to be uncertain
Historians are timid and uncertain creatures; they shy away from strong generalisations and blanket judgements. Their writing usually expresses some degree of uncertainty. They sometimes they admit they do not know because the evidence is too thin.
Language used to help express this:
Possible Probable Credible Maybe Likely Very likely
Historians may use words such as no, never, any or completely but they do so on rare and carefully chosen occasions.
are interested in time
All creatures have their obsessions and for historians,
it is time. They are fascinated by how the past has moved at different paces and how events are the result of longer-term trends and short term happenings. Historians spend a lot of time troubling over the interplay of fast and slow.
Language used to help express this:
Long term Medium term short term Underlying Catalyst/ trigger
gradual, accelerating, steady, consistent, erratic, sudden, slow, rapid.
are keen to understand roles
Historians want to find out about the roles played by people and factors in making things happen. They try to understand the relationships between factors and how they worked together to make things happen. They also try to judge relative importance.
Language used to help express this:
Minor significant substantial Crucial
Partial Contributory
Important Essential
Both .... and ....... resulted in...
As well as ... also contributed to
While ....... added to ... it was .... that was crucial in
like weighing up evidence
Evidence is an historian’s treasure. Like an antiques dealer, they are interested in its origins, its authenticity and its value. They compare evidence, scrutinise it and investigate its background. But they always treat it with respect.
Language used to help express this:
The evidence of ..... is particularly compelling because... ...... strongly confirms the evidence of .... that
While .... needs to be treated with some caution, it suggests that ...
are always saying ‘Yes, but....’
Historians nearly always qualify their judgements. In other words, they say ‘on the whole this was true, but only in this way or not in that way’. They might point out differences between social classes, regions, age groups or ethnic minorities. or they might go back to that old favourite, time, and point out differences over time.
Language used to help express this:
on the whole / generally/ Mainly Especially/ particularly
Except for
However, this was not so true for... the later 1960s/ working class women/the nobles living in the south
are happy to reach more than one conclusion
It has been established that historians are cagey,
careful beings. They are very aware of complexities, qualifications and exceptions. They don’t like fence- sitting – they like making judgements. It’s just that they usually make several, not just one.
Language used to help express this:
Therefore it was certainly true that ....
However.... also ...
Furthermore, the role played by ...... was vital in ...
While .... was important in ...... ..... this was less significant