For NHD 2012, I participated in the paper category and placed 13th nationally. The theme that year was "Revolution, Reaction, Reform" and my paper was about Euclid's impact on mathematics. Below the fold are a things that either were helpful as I wrote or that I learned along the way. While I'm writing these with the paper in mind, some could apply to other events (or to process papers).
1. Before writing too much of your paper, put together a preliminary annotated bibliography.
I did this at about this time of year, probably a little bit earlier. This should happen no later than mid-January. The bibliography I wrote was never meant to be final; it would have been a bad sign if it hadn't changed at all before Districts. So why did I write it?
First, I'd put a lot of time into doing research over the prior weeks, and while I had taken notes on each source, I hadn't started putting all the sources together yet. This kept track of all the sources I had used, and the annotations meant that I had to think not only about what each source contained but about how it might contribute to the paper as a whole. At this point, I didn't really have a thesis, and writing the annotations for the bibliography helped me develop my thesis.
Second, organizing the research I had already done helped me start to find the gaps. In my case, I found that I had focused on ancient mathematics: what had been done before Euclid, what did Euclid do, what happened after Euclid. As I thought about structuring my paper and as I developed my thesis, I realized I had to come closer to the present to fully see Euclid's impact. I ended up reading 19th and 20th century sources on philosophy of mathematics, and those were some of my most valuable sources.
2. Just write.
This might not be necessary for everyone, but it is necessary for me. In order to get much on paper at all, I have to just let myself write without much of a filter. When I do this, I don't always write linearly. If I write something and don't know where to go from there, I leave it and start again somewhere else. I don't rephrase anything (though yes, I correct typos). I don't put in proper footnotes; I just make sure I know what to cite later. At the beginning, it's more important to write than it is to write really well.
This could also mean not starting with your thesis. Writing some kind of draft thesis is generally a good idea, but your thesis will become more well-defined as you start to write the rest of your paper. Don't be afraid to not entirely know where you're going.
3. Have a goal whenever you write.
How much are you going to write? A paragraph? A certain number of words? A section? That part you thought of earlier? This is useful for feeling accomplished and for pacing yourself through the paper.
It's okay to write more, but if you get frustrated after passing your goal, remember what your intention was when you started writing. If you're getting frustrated trying to meet your goal, try number 2, and if writing just isn't working, see 4 and 5.
4. Write down your questions.
What's confusing in your sources? What doesn't make sense? Are there contradictions? What other information do you think you need that you don't have?
Some of the questions you write down will be questions you try to answer in your paper; they'll help you develop your argument. Others will lead you to more references which will answer your questions and give you new ideas (and questions). Your questions can also help you figure out what you want to focus on in the paper. Remember, an NHD paper isn't that long, so you need to scope it properly. Questions are useful for that.
5. If you are frustrated, take a break.
Again, this could be a person-by-person thing, but I know I don't write well when I'm frustrated with writing. Actually, I don't do anything well when I'm frustrated with that thing. This break could be doing reading instead of writing, but in some cases, it might need to be something that is not related at all. Other times it could be really minor frustration, and you just need to work on a different part of your paper. All of these situations are okay. They only become problematic if you make no progress over an extended period of time. At that point, you really just need to write.
6. Do not get stuck in the research phase.
After you've written a first annotated bibliography, any research should be followed by writing. You've found, read, and taken notes on a new source, and you think it's useful? Add it to your annotated bibliography, and write something in your paper about it. It's okay if it's just a paragraph or a few sentences based on the reference. Write it. (This goes back to #2). If at all possible, try to integrate this with something you already have.
7. Give yourself time to edit.
This means not finishing your first draft at the last minute. Editing is not quick, and several kinds of editing need to happen.
First, you need to go back and look at your thesis. How strong is it? Is it what you actually ended up arguing? Revise your thesis to match the rest of your paper. Do the same sort of check with your conclusion.
Then go through your paper thinking about structure and flow. Are there good transitions between different parts of your paper? Would it benefit from being in a different order? Is there anything you could add that would strengthen your argument?
Next, check your paper against the paper rubric. Judges are looking for historical accuracy, analysis and interpretation, broader historical context, wide research, use of available primary sources, balanced research, clear relation to the theme, historical significance, originality and clarity, grammatical correctness and neatness, and being within the length requirements (1500-2500 words).
Most of these are pretty clear, but "wide research" and "balanced research" are pretty vague. I generally interpreted this as not drawing too much from any one source and using both primary and secondary sources, and I also saw it as being related to historical significance and broader context.
I always found reading my paper out loud to be useful in checking grammar and spelling. Having someone else read for these sorts of mistakes is also useful.
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