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undergraduate history exam/ essay structure

what essay structure do you use in a history exam at university... pls

It's essentially the same as the structure you use in essays submitted during the semester; introduction, mid-section and conclusion. You won't need footnotes however.

The introduction sets the scene for the reader, perhaps with some historical background information. It also sketches out your approach to the question. It should only be a paragraph, two at the most and should account for around 10% of the essay (though this depends a little bit on how long the essay is, which itself depends on how much you can write in the amount of time you have before your hand seizes up - the joys of history!)

The mid-section is then comprised of a series of paragraphs. Each paragraph covers one point which directly answers the question asked. Paragraphs should open with a topic sentence which tells the marker what the theme of that paragraph will be. This is followed by your evidence, then a sentence wrapping the argument up and if possible setting up for the next paragraph. The type of information you need to give really depends on your question, but if it's something like 'Compare and contrast', or 'To what extent do you agree/can it be said that...' then you need to remember to give a balanced answer which looks at the question from all angles. This mid-section will take up roughly 80% of your essay.

The conclusion pulls together all your arguments and states your final answer to the question. Don't introduce any new information or terminology at this point. Like the intro., this should be about 10% of the essay.

You may find it helpful to check out my e-book on Amazon Kindle entitled 'How to write an essay like a pro'. It gives far more detail than I can fit in here, plus examples.

I hope all goes well with your exams :-)