Opinion

On this page you will find:

Historians' views on the latest policy issues
Advice for historians on writing opinion pieces
Previous examples published in national media

We will soon be publishing original opinion by historians, commenting on the latest policy issues. If you are interested in submitting an article, please read the following advice first.

To be accepted for publication on this website, contributors should observe the following guidelines:

Articles should be 700-900 words of text in short, clear paragraphs
Use a punchy, accessible style with no wasted words
Get to the point in the first sentence and hook your argument firmly into the current issue
This is an opportunity to give your opinions, but not to rant
Focus on the current issue, with history used sparingly to make your case
Deploy brief historical examples and quotations where appropriate
Read recent press coverage of the issue at hand and make sure your angle is original
The last paragraph should reinforce your point and the relevance of history

The History News Service website provides excellent advice for historians on writing opinion pieces, with samples and style guidelines. If you have an idea for an article and would like to discuss it, or to submit a draft, please contact Sonia Christie (sonia.christie@sas.ac.uk). We can also help you to place articles with newspapers.

Previous examples

Below are some good examples of published articles by History & Policy contributors:

Avoiding past mistakes

Jim Moher
Guardian Unlimited, 9 September 2007

Past opportunities

Virginia Berridge
Guardian Society, 20 June 2007

Enlist the Blitz spirit, get out the carbon ration book [pdf file, 32KB]

Mark Roodhouse
Financial Times, 14 March 2007

Blair Must not repeat Attlee's pensions mistake [pdf file, 25KB]

Pat Thane
Financial Times, 24 May 2006