Caroline Coffin
Learning to Write History
Open University of Hong Kong
historians generally agree causality central historical writing fact many school history students difficulty handling expressing causal relations therefore concern whereas historians tend favor impersonal abstract structures providing suitable explanations historical events states affairs students often focus human wants desires author argues linguistic analysis offer powerful insights successful students use grammar vocabulary build different types causal explanations move secondary schooling particular author shows functionally oriented linguistic analysis makes possible discriminate narrative analytical explanations distinguish enabling determining types causality reveal value assessing degrees causal impact