1. Selection of Members of the Thesis Committee. Consult with your advisor about the selection of two faculty members for your thesis committee. One will be a "first" reader, the other a "second" reader. Note that Public History students are not required to have Public History faculty as committee members. You will need to meet with each of the two faculty members and ask whether they will agree to serve as readers. It is important that you conceptualize, research, and write your thesis in consultation with this committee. Ask about your readers' expectations for reviewing drafts. Do they want to read the thesis a chapter at a time or in its entirety? Will you (or they) be out of town during any stage of the writing; if so, what arrangements for consultation are necessary?

2. Submit a Thesis Proposal. The proposal should include:

• a statement of the research problem
• a preliminary statement of the argument
• an analysis of the relevant secondary literature and how your topic contributes to this literature
• an outline of the major sections or chapters
• a bibliography of primary and secondary sources
• a time table for completion

A good model is the research design you completed in the Historical Research Methods class. The thesis proposal should be submitted as early as possible for review by your committee. If readers have reservations about the acceptability of the topic, methodology, or sources, you need to know this before, rather than after, you have conducted extensive research and writing.

3. Drafts and Deadlines. To be thorough and conscientious, faculty members need several weeks of lead time to read a thesis, even one you believe to be in final form. You also need to allow yourself time to revise, and even to rewrite, major sections. To be on the safe side, you should plan to give a final draft of the thesis to your committee members six to eight weeks before the Graduate School's filing deadlines. Please do not submit the thesis any later and expect to meet the filing deadline. Note that this means you will turn in a final draft in the middle of the semester in which you hope to file.

4. Graduate School Requirements. Theses must be prepared for submission according to the current regulations of the Graduate School, a copy of which can be obtained from the Graduate Secretary, Mary Alice Spoone. You should plan to attend the workshop offered by the Graduate School on thesis format requirements. It is your responsibility to know and follow these guidelines.

5. Style and Citations. On matters of style and documentation, follow the Chicago Manual of Style. Note in particular the proper use of numerals in the text and the proper citation of newspaper titles. An abridgement of the Chicago Manual is Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, but you will find it of limited use for footnote and bibliographic conventions for many historical sources. One dissent from Turabian: subsequent references to sources in footnotes should always give a shortened version of both the author and title, not just the author, as in Turabian. Be aware of two additional conventions for a manuscript with chapters like your thesis. Footnotes are renumbered each chapter, i.e. the first footnote in every chapter is #1. In each chapter you must give the full citation of every source upon first mention, even if you have cited it in previous chapters.

6. Common Courtesies (and Common Problems). Do not ask or expect committee members to read for typos, spelling errors, or mistakes in grammar; these are your responsibility even in a "draft." Always run your computer's spelling checker before submitting any writing. To facilitate comments, please leave large margins and number the pages. To help the reader evaluate the sources you are using, please use footnotes rather than endnotes. In your writing, pay attention to the topic sentences of paragraphs. Is the thesis (or its constituent arguments) evident on every page? Is it evident in every paragraph? Avoid chronological narrative: analyze, analyze, analyze. For advice on analytical writing, consult Richard Marius, A Short Guide to Writing about History, third edition (1999).

7. Copies of the Completed Thesis. You should provide a final bound copy of the thesis to both members of your committee. This can be a copy produced by the Graduate School or by a local photocopy shop.