Principles of Written

Presentation
http://www.history.ox.ac.uk/ecohist/coursebooklet/index.htm

Avner Offer, University of Oxford, 2005

Presentation is communication
Communication:
With yourself - from mentalese to language: cant
find the right word
With others: in writing; verbally.
Typical approaches:

producer orientation: get it done

with
consumer orientation: get it
across
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Effectiveness
Relevance -- what is the problem,
problem is it
interesting, to whom, and why?
Rigour -- is it true? can it withstand scrutiny? will
it endure?
Relevance vs. rigour tradeoff.

seductive writing
keep them turning the pages.

defensive writing
dont be caught out.
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Relevance/Rigour Tradeoff
Relevance
[consumer:
values:
expressive &
instrumental]

tim

[Mike Hicks]

holy grail

porp
Rigour
[producer values]
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historical argument
Elements
Narrative - letting story speak for itself.
Objectivity with what credibility?
Explanation -- cause and effect.

Structure:
Preface: how and why I did it. Keep short.
Introduction:
What is the problem?
What have others said.
What am I going do with it.
Sub-Divisions: chapters [short], parts.
Conclusion: I have set out to do this, and I
have done it.
Bibliography. Allows short-form footnotes.

Style
Three levels:
1. narrative; story. All argument is at some
level a story.
2. historiography/ Literature.
3. stage management: Pt 1, Pt 2, Earlier,
Later.
Dont mix levels.
Try to stay at first level.
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Pace
Flow adjusted to reader/listeners absorbing
capacity.
Avoid bottlenecks. Slow down for difficult
arguments. Repeat if necessary.
What comes next? Hold attention by means of
anticipation.
Unidirectional. Reader should never have to stop,
look back, or look ahead.
Footnotes: no stopping; no argument, no detail:
only bibliographical refs. But put at bottom.
Read for bumps and lumps, or better, out loud.
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Serial
(random walk)

Outline

Structured
(top-down)

3
4
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b c

a b c
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Oxford Reference Style

Article reference:
Surname, firstname, Title of Article, Journal of
References, vol. 28, 3 (1979), pp. 123-456.
Book reference:
Author, Title of the Book (London, 1996), pp. 353-456
Endnote oxford_ao.ens file on
www.history.ox.ac.uk/ecohist/endnote/oxford_ao.zip
Conventions booklet in .pdf format:
http://www.history.ox.ac.uk/ecohist/pdf/THESIS.PDF
Web references: cite full web URL, and download a copy.
You can then write copy available from the author.

Citation conventions:
Basic principle:
The minimal amount of information required for a
reference back to the source.

Full citation first time round

Followed by short citations.
op.cit., loc. cit., idem.. Ibid.
Current preferred system is
Short titles + bibliography. (saves on word-count)

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Dos and Donts

Do
Give precise page reference, except when the
article/chapter/book cited provides unambiguous
support for your statement.

Dont
reference commonplaces and truisms.
Use footnotes for supplementary narratives.
Break sentences with footnote refs, e.g.
The quick1 brown2 fox jumped over the lazy3 dog.4
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Notetaking and data acquisition

Full bibliographical title in every record.

Page/folio numbers on margins.
Indicate page-breaks /56/ clearly
Differentiate clearly between paraphrase and quote.
Self-discipline: No shortcuts.
If you can always trust yourself, save a lot of trouble
later.
Scanning. Scanning pens and scanners. PDF scanning.
Abbyy OCR software. Omnipage.
Digital camera notetaking. Formats. JPEG degrades.
Indexing software.

Organization of Bibliography
Primary vs. secondary sources.
Evidence (primary) vs. discussion (secondary)
Archival.
Unpublished.
Periodical.
Official.
Printed primary.
Secondary.

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TYPOGRAPHY & LAYOUT

A statement in writing is a bid for attention
Communication of:
credibility
workmanship
respect for the reader

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Path dependency
Laserprinter layout simulates legacy
systems:
Hot metal printing.
Typographical heritage. Subtle works of applied art.
Carved in miniature in hard steel.

The typewriter.
Thin typewriter fonts, designed to maximize impact
of finger stroke on inked ribbon.
Monospace.
Size of page: A4, Letter page.
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Typewriter: Fixed
Pitch
Courier

[12 pitch, elite][USA]

Elron Monospace [10 pitch,Pica][UK]

America wealthier, hence larger pitch

requires wider paper.

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Typewriter conventions:
Underlining = italics.
Double spacing. Two spaces
after full stop.
Large page (Letter/A4)
Spaces between paragraphs.
A recognizable idiom:
informality, draft status,
tentativity.
Otherwise not to be used.

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Typesetting Modes
Proportional Serif font:

Times New Roman

(also known as Dutch)
Proportional Sans serif font:

Helevetica (Arial)
proportional fonts: more letters per inch
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Zxg

FONT SIZE IN POINTS

LEADING (vertical height)

X-HEIGHT

Adgx

BASELINE

Point = 1/72nd of an inch (height)

Pica = 1/6th of an inch (length)

Basic typographical terms

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Aesthetics of typesetting

Evolution for readability.

Book format: quarto, octavo.
Justification.
Font size, leading, line length.
Adapted for A4:

line length (picas) = line height (points) x 2

e.g. 32 picas = 12pts+4pts leading
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A4 not inviting to read.

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University conventions:
Double spacing advisable for drafts.
University regulations:
If your word processor and printer produce
output which imitates letterpres then the
layout may be that of a well-designed book

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12 pts Times New Roman, 16 pts. leading, 32 picas

1. Introduction: Impeachment of the Poor Law Commissioners
In his classic 1963 paper, The Myth of the Old Poor Law and the Making of
the New, Mark Blaug accused the authors (Nassau Senior and Edwin
Chadwick) of the 1834 Poor Law Report of more or less drawing a straight line
from a set of unwarranted (Malthusian-cum-Benthamite) assumptions to a
forgone (Malthusian-cum-Benthamite) conclusion: they had deliberately
selected the facts to impeach the existing administration [of the Poor Law] on
predetermined lines (p. 177). The accusation of what can only be called
professional malpractice was further sharpened by the apparent fact that the
Poor Law Commissioners failed to account for the special problem of
structural unemployment in the countryside, but merely established the truth of
their conclusions the more the Old Poor Law relieved poverty, the more it
encouraged the poverty it relieved (p. 151) by presenting picturesque
anecdotes of maladministration (p. 177).

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Explanation
The longer the line, the larger the space between
the lines.
Keep it simple:

Dont mix fonts on page.

Serif for readability
Sans serif for graphics
Times New Roman (Stanley Morison, 1930) is highly
recommended.
Devise standard layout, and stick to it.

Text justified. First paragraph flush, next indented.

Indent 1 pica.
Verbatim text justified, indented both sides, no
quotes [smaller font?]
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GRAPHICS

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Graphics
Convey pattern information, not
quantitative information.
Bring out pattern, do not congest graphic.
Keep it simple.
As small as possible on the page
On the screen: make it large enough to see
Characters at least 20 points on screen.
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Also: scanning
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Figure 3. Household Production as

Percent of GNP, 1945-1990
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USA
40

Australia, GCI
30
20

UK, GNP
USA, TISA

10
0
1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990
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