old writing on parchment

Writing Guides

A citation is the part of your paper that tells your reader where your source information came from. This is one of the most important elements to your paper. In order to evaluate your argument, your reader must be able to consult the same sources you used. Proper citing is crucial to making a credible and persuasive argument, and to conforming to professional standards of proof. Citations in history papers can take the form of footnotes or endnotes. History papers should not use the parenthetical citation style common to literature and social science papers. SDSU’s Department of History uses what is commonly called the Chicago Manual of Style. Below are a few links to web sites that the department encourages its students to consult when writing a history paper.

SDSU History Department Writing Guides:

Other Recommended Guides for Writing History Papers:

Other Recommended Citation Guides: