Few history books recreate history with a true sense of narrative purpose, which is, simply put, a good story. Now this is not to say that there is no place for history books. The chronological recording of significant events, which are accurate, is what history is all about. But sometimes adding a good story makes it all memorable. | CHAPTER Narratives for Academic Purposes USING STORIES to relate information and or recreate historical events are a rich literary tradition. Whether you use the power of narration to help you study or you use it to present your own analysis of information it is an important writing tool. Historical fiction Have you ever sat in a social studies class and dreaded the recitation of facts and details about people places and events that had absolutely no connection to you or your life Did you find it incredibly difficult to find a way to remember who was who and where and when all of the information came together Unfortunately too few history books recreate history with a true sense of narrative purpose which is simply put a good story. Now this is not to say that there is no place for history books. The chronological recording of significant events which are accurate is what history is all about. But sometimes adding a good story makes it all memorable. In fact the first definition for history in Webster s New Collegiate Dictionary is tale or story. 85 Narratives for Academic Purposes EXPRESS YOURSELF However the stories told in history science or sociology are obliged to be factually accurate. Non-fiction by definition means true. But there is nothing like a good story to keep us interested and bolster our memories. That is why historical fiction is such a popular literary genre. The term itself seems a contradiction. If history is true then how can it be fiction Well historical fiction means that the events places dates even some of the characters are likely to be factually accurate but that the stories are not necessarily true. Consider the novel by Stephen Crane The Red Badge of Courage. It takes place during the Civil War and its main character is a young boy who is fighting. The data about the war details such as the types of weapons the number of wounded the kinds of injuries the lack of supplies and the harsh camp conditions are all factually accurate. But .
