“One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.” - Malala Yousafzai

 

The Concord Review (TCR) History Camp

The Concord Review (TCR) History Camps are intensive online and in-person workshops in which secondary-school students learn and practice a toolbox of skills for researching and writing history.

Students must arrive with at least a subject they want to investigate, preferably with several books and journal articles that they’ve read about it, although they may bring a draft of their work-in-progress.

With the guidance of experienced instructors, they learn and practice fundamentals of the historian’s craft, enabling them to complete a historical research paper of 4,000 to 8,000 words - a long-term project that takes upwards of two to six months.

They are also given individualized sessions with instructors as well as ample study time on their own in the context of a fully-equipped research library.

They are given the opportunity to,

  • Formulate productive research questions

  • Find and use primary and secondary sources

  • Take effective notes

  • Examine model historical essays

  • Pursue various analytical and narrative writing strategies

  • Confront problems of structure and organization,

  • Contemplate the larger philosophical dilemmas associated with studying the past

Online Camps

The TCR History Camp is an intensive online workshop in historical research and writing for secondary students.

Our experienced instructors remotely coach students to compose a first draft of a historical research paper on a topic of their choice.

Each student prepares for the workshop, in advance, by

  • Choosing a topic

  • Procuring and reading at least 3-5 books on that topic

  • Arranging for online access to other primary and secondary sources on digital databases (e.g., JSTOR, eLibrary, Gale, EBSCO, Congressional Quarterly, etc.).

Instructors work one-on-one with students, coaching them through the research and writing process:

  • Formulating productive research questions

  • Finding and making discerning use of primary and secondary sources

  • Taking accurate notes

  • Analyzing evidence

  • Formulating a provisional narrative and testing it with more research

  • Marshaling evidence to support one's position or narrative

  • Puzzling together a narrative structure for one's essay

  • Documenting evidence with University of Chicago-style source citations

  • Writing and rewriting.  

Before You Apply

Deadlines

 

Please pay attention to the admission deadlines specific to the program you are interested in.

What to Include

 

Each program has specific items that need to be included with your application. For example, a transcript and preliminary research proposal are required for high school history camps. Please carefully review the requirements for each program.

While the TCR History Camp provides first-rate personal coaching, participation does not guarantee publication. The Concord Review selects about 5% of the papers submitted. While we welcome submissions from students who have attended the TCR Summer Programs, their papers will be considered alongside other papers submitted by diligent students from many countries.