Dear Historians,

Technically this might be cheating (although I don't see it that way). I'm starting a masters in September in History at a top university, and I really want to do a phd after it. This means that my grades for my coursework must be pretty excellent. I've never studied history before (miracle that i even got accepted), and I wondered if any of you would be willing to proof-read/comment on my essays before i submit them, just to give me an idea if I'm on the right track. My supervisor has suggested turning a couple of papers into him before September, so I'm keen to get going. Of course I'm not looking for an expert in my field, just someone with a knowledge of history who can point out obvious and general strengths and weaknesses in my work. Willing to pay 20 GBP for a 3000 word paper (in your own time). I'm not insecure about my intelligence, just my historical writing, and I can't afford to screw things up. Thanks

Hello,
It's not cheating--but surely if your supervisor is willing to read your essays before you start then he/she will be able to give you some pointers with your historical writing?
I'm not really a historian so probably couldn't help, though I'm sure someone would. You could probably get help from your uni with no extra cost?

How come you're doing a history masters and phd with no prior training? Is it just a passion/interest of yours?

Good luck. M,x

Hi there, I am a historian. I'm sure that your supervisor would be more than happy to guide you in your writing. What you're suggesting isn't cheating as far as I'm aware - I don't think that there is any obstruction to getting your work proof read, but I do think that possibly it is more about grammar and spelling than about content and argument - it may be that different universities are different though in that. What background are you from? You say you haven't studied history before, is your undergraduate degree in an arts and humanities subject or is all this completely new to you? I think one of the most important things about writing history is a complete acknowledgement that the past is a foreign place and approaching your sources and discussion not from a 21st century basis, but with an engagement with the time period to be studied and the norms and values of that time. A lot of a history MA is teaching you how to do that, how to approach historical sources and really getting you thinking about how your bias and culture and customs can intefere with your ability to engage fully with the subjects you are studying.

I'm sure plenty of people here would help you, but one of the main aspects of doing a taught degree is guidance from your tutors, although I do appreciate that if your background is in a very different discipline then history will be a challenge for you, having said that, if they didn't think you were up to that challenge they wouldn't have offered you the place :-)

that said, I'd read your essays for 20 quid! x

Thanks for your replies Maria and Stressed (I hope not too stressed). I am beginning my career as a medical historian. At the moment, I am a doctor. I completed med school 3 and a half years ago and while I am deeply enthusiastic about aspects of my work, being a doctor just isn't for me. I'm very excited to be starting my masters in the UK, but I haven't been graded on a history essay since, well...high school.

Oooh, that's a fantastic subject :-) I studied the history of medicine during my MA, and various other aspects of medical history during my time at uni (including some bits in my PhD) and its a brilliant area to study! I'm sorry that your career didn't work out - it had always been my plan to go and study medicine and it never happened for me, having said that, I think that now I'm on the right track and I too wouldn't have been that happy doing it. I really hope that you enjoy it, and I'm sure that during your training you must have touched on the past - a history essay isn't 'that' different, it just needs a slightly altered approach to the more scientific disciplines. I actually quite envy you lol, my History of Medicine tutor wanted me to continue to PhD focussing on that subject area, but I'd already set my heart on what I'm doing - part of me wishes I'd listened to her now ;-) I guess that's why I've changed direction slightly and am stuck in hospital records right now 8-)