When History Is Written

by Ashley Gill

Ashley gill is a contributing author at advancedwriters.com, where she writes about college survival and shares her tips on writing different types of college papers. Besides writing, she spends an inordinate amount of time making music and reading historical literature.

How to communicate history

There can be no doubt that humanity has a very rich history which spans over thousands of years. Thousands of people have taken it upon themselves to write down that history for future generations with varying levels of success. Then there is also the reality that not all elements in the history of a nation are of equal value to all of the citizens of such a country. What may be extremely important to one sector of a nation can be a stumbling block to another sector of such a nation. Take South African history for example; the events surrounding Blood River are extremely important to the Afrikaner Boer but it can be offensive to the Zulu people who were defeated at Blood River. Likewise the history relating to the Indian reservations is something which is proudly shared by white Americans but is not so exciting to people belonging to Indian tribes. This is why when decisions are made in recording history it is important to consider different cultures, ethnic groups and different religions. Each of these groups will have a different view of history since each of them have experienced those events in a different way.

History accounts should be relevant

Recorded history should have a positive impact upon future generations and it should motivate people to imitate the actions of their forefathers. Therefore in order to provide future generations with a historic record which is helpful and beneficial it is very important to absolutely stick to the facts and to record history exactly as it has taken place without any attempt to sugarcoat the facts. If the history which has been recorded is not relevant to the majority of the people for whom it is intended then such a recorded history will ultimately have very limited value to those coming generations. Any person who attempts to write history should consider more than the facts before them but they should also be very careful about how those facts are represented. It’s important for a writer of history to have a comprehensive understanding of the things about which they are writing and they should also have a thorough understanding of the issues which had an impact upon the way things turned out. All of these things should be carefully communicated when history is recorded.

Considering the target audience

In order to maximize the impact of your historic content you should pay attention to your target audience. The various factions within that audience will react differently to the facts which are presented in your history. In order therefore to maximize the impact of the historic record it is important to consider the beliefs, the culture and the religion of different factions within the specific location to which your history records refer to. Failing to do so will lead to a situation where your history is rejected by a very large portion of your audience. Another consideration which is important will be whether the success which has been achieved in a particular location was long-term or only short term. It simply serves no purpose to pay a lot of attention to one isolated incident which ultimately had a very limited impact upon the conditions in a specific location. Such short-term successes should only be referred to very briefly while a substantial amount of attention should be given the long-term benefits.

Sanctioning the historic record

When writing history the question which should be asked is whether a specific occurrence has truly been instrumental in bringing about a significant amount of improvement in the lives of people living in that location. This will require the writer to continually question the evidence before him in order to ensure that only events which have truly made an impact are included in the historical record. It can be so easy to get carried away by emotion and cultural and religious pride, but in order to present an accurate record it is important to present only the facts. Not everyone has the required expertise to excel in this important endeavor and therefore it may be beneficial to obtain the services of an online essay writing service – AdvancedWriters can assist you with such a project.