Writing Historical Essays - Present Tense Usage

Writing Historical Essays - Present Tense UsageThe first thing to remember when writing a historical essay is that the current tense should always be used for events and details that took place in the past. A lot of grammar rules are put into place by a person's language. However, there are certain words that should never be used at all and this includes certain tenses.Many people who are very passionate about their history and their region know how important using the present tense can be. In fact, using the present tense is what gives the entire piece of writing it's purpose. Here are some examples of historical essays and where the present tense should be used.Perhaps one of the best examples of how the present tense should be used in an essay is the story of Columbus. Many people use present tense when writing about a person or a group of people in history. However, the timeline in which the Columbus made his voyage is quite fuzzy. The actual event might have been even after 1492 .The primary objective of this essay is to present factual information. It doesn't matter if Columbus' actual voyage happened over 150 years ago or it happened hundreds of years ago, it doesn't make any difference. The timeline is too jumbled to ever truly be categorized as an event.While writing historical essays, the best advice is to always stick with the present tense. In fact, there are only three things that the essay will be failing at if you do not stick with this rule. The most important being in trying to present any sort of narrative.There is no way to include anything as a narrative in a historical essay. If there was any kind of narrative, it will not be included. When dealing with a person or a group of people, it is vital to use the present tense. What you should be doing is to present the facts.Nowadays, many people are able to handle the process of writing about historical facts. For this reason, they tend to say things such as 'the truth' instead of 'the facts'. In this way, they can avoid grammatical problems that may arise from using the present tense.When writing a historical essay, you should know the rules about using the present tense. However, do not overuse it. You will find that once the rules are followed, the essays written are more accurate and that they will stand up better in the future.