Narrative history allows you to master the art of good storytelling that lies at the heart of most compelling history.

In a nutshell, narrative history asks you to tell a story: when, where, and (hopefully) why a certain event occurred, its larger significance or context, and who the important participants were. This is one of the more basic types of assignments you are likely to encounter, well-suited for (although not limited to) a short paper assignment.

Usually (in the context of a "W" class, for example) your professor has already covered the event. You have read about it and discussed it in class, and the assignment's objective is simply 1) to get you writing and, 2) to allow you to display, in writing, your mastery over the material.

Often - especially in a "W" course - the professor will ask you to limit your sources to those used in class, to use a system of annotation of his or her choosing, and to display basic quoting skills. Most likely, the professor will also require you to provide a "Works Cited"-page, or bibliography. (In the event that your professor asks you to access sources aside from those used in class, go to types of sources).

Such an assignment will invariably require you to develop a thesis (a basic claim, or question, your paper seeks to prove or answer) and to formulate a conclusion. In between, in the main body of your paper, you will tell your story: what happened, when, and why.

Here is a typical question that falls into the category of a narrative history assignment, and one that is integral to our larger thematic focus on events leading up to World War II:

The events that marked the pre-WWII foreign policy of Nazi Germany, although complicated, are well-documented (they are listed below). You will find them briefly explained in any standard textbook of European, World, or American history. Most likely, your professor expects you to introduce your topic, to establish a broader context, to place the relevant events into chronological order, to explain each one briefly, and to draw a conclusion.

The benefits of such assignments are several: Most importantly, they get you to write on a straightforward topic. Secondly, they heighten your awareness of cause and effect and the importance of chronology. (Follow the above link to explore the relevance of cause and effect in the context of this assignment.) Finally, they also ask you to develop a thesis and formulate a conclusion.

A thesis, in the case of narrative history, can be modest: "The foreign policy pursued by the Nazi government under Adolf Hitler from 1933 to 1939 paved the way for World War II." A more ambitious thesis might add a statement along the following lines: "The unwillingness of the League of Nations or the United States to challenge Hitler's foreign policy may have emboldened him in his increasingly aggressive tactics. Ultimately these mutually reinforcing strategies culminated in the major confrontation that became World War II."

For a lengthier version of this paper, you may choose to establish a broader context in your thesis, also: "Still-recent as well as current events in Europe and in the world further contributed to the short-sightedness with which the League of Nations and the United States responded to Hitler's policies." (Follow the link above to see how to establish such a broader context for this sample assignment.)

Following your thesis, and having told your story (what happened, when, and why: consult the timeline below) you will formulate a conclusion. A conclusion does more than just summarize your findings: while briefly recapping the major points in the story you have told, your conclusion should also, as importantly, present the insights and larger lessons your story has yielded: that which makes your topic worthy of historical investigation.

For more on this sample assignment, see Establishing a Broader Context.