History 300: Historical Writing, an upper-division expository writing course that focuses on developing skills essential to historians, is required of all History majors. Through successful completion of this course one acquires or improves one’s writing skills, powers of analysis and synthesis, and historical research skills. The course culminates in the writing of a historical research paper on a topic selected with the guidance of the instructor. Students are encouraged to take this course as soon as they achieve junior status, because it benefits them in all other upper-division history courses. It is a mistake to wait to take the course until your senior year. Moreover, because you must have completed History 300 with a C or better to qualify for senior seminar (HIST 490 or 492), a decision to wait until a quarter or two before you plan to take senior seminar may jeopardize your chances of being admitted to the course. So, don’t procrastinate. Take History 300 early.
