Higher History Essay Help

Hello all,
We're about to be assigned an essay, more specifically on Labour's welfare state and the extent to which it tackled Beveridge's "five giants." Seeing as I didn't do brilliantly on my previous essay (Liberal reforms), I'm really trying to aim for a 19/20 grade. Therefore, I just want to know if anyone has any advice as to how to gain the most marks available, and what I should do to really make my essay stand out. Many thanks. :smile:

Reply 1

laurenmckay

7

In my opinion, the best thing that you can do is put as much argument in as possible! Remember that you are only awarded a maximum of 6 marks for knowledge, so don't waste valuable time putting extra knowledge in unless you are turning it in to an argument.

Hope this essay goes well for you! (I hated that one :tongue:

)

Reply 2

ScottishFraz

I agree, argument is key my teacher always drilled that into my class! With a few historians and a solid argument you will get 6+ it. Also context in your introduction is good and a solid conclusion. I did my extended essay on that last year :biggrin:

good topic in my eyes :wink:

Reply 3

Quick-use

20

Original post by ladymarshmallow

Hello all,
We're about to be assigned an essay, more specifically on Labour's welfare state and the extent to which it tackled Beveridge's "five giants." Seeing as I didn't do brilliantly on my previous essay (Liberal reforms), I'm really trying to aim for a 19/20 grade. Therefore, I just want to know if anyone has any advice as to how to gain the most marks available, and what I should do to really make my essay stand out. Many thanks. :smile:

What everyone else has said: argument. I know that can be quite a little vague, but basically make your factors very thorough: pros, cons, what historians have said, how historians have disagreed, how the factor has affected things/people, is it limited?

Historiography is brilliant at Higher especially if you want an A. It's not a requirement for Higher, but please if you want an A, use historiography. Have different historians backing up what you say, but also compare and contrast historians with one another and even your own argument/view. Finally, a fantastic thing would be to group historians together in different schools of thought. For example, in your introduction you might say: However, economic historians argue...; whereas, [other] historians argue... Afterwards, when you mention these specific historians in your main body you can be VERY THOROUGH in assessing what they're really saying in terms of that society instead of simply saying: ...and this historian agrees when he says "..." Therefore, it's really important knowing what aspects historians are arguing against and for - this will help you build a much more persuasive and strong argument.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 4

anthonyfl

11

Original post by ladymarshmallow

Hello all,
We're about to be assigned an essay, more specifically on Labour's welfare state and the extent to which it tackled Beveridge's "five giants." Seeing as I didn't do brilliantly on my previous essay (Liberal reforms), I'm really trying to aim for a 19/20 grade. Therefore, I just want to know if anyone has any advice as to how to gain the most marks available, and what I should do to really make my essay stand out. Many thanks. :smile:

The best way to approach a Higher History essay is through a simple, technical method.

I'll guide you through the technique I use which always seems to get my essays As.

Out of the 20 marks,
4 are available for Essay Style,
6 are available for Knowledge and Understanding and
10 are available for Analysis and Evaluation.

Essay Style constitutes a good introduction and conclusion, decent vocabulary and paragraph linking.

•

Make the intro and conclusion precise and to the point. Neither should be more than 130 words. Mention the things you will discuss in the essay but don't go into detail. Don't use the 1st Person ~~(e.g.. "I will discuss)~~

•

Vary your vocabulary.

•

Check all of your paragraphs link with each other once you're finished.

Knowledge and Understanding marks can be gained from providing a statistic or relevant information, e.g.. "In 1918 some women gained the vote, however it was only available to females who were over thirty and owned property, had husbands who owned property, or who had a University Degree." This would constitute 1 knowledge mark.

Finally, Analysis and Evaluation is the most difficult part of the essay. Historiography is important. e.g.. "Some historians disagree and think...," "Some historians partly agree with this statement however feel..." or "Historian Professor Martin Pugh once noted that some advocates of the secret ballot had expected this to end bribery, but in practice the secret ballot often enabled voters to receive payments from both sides instead of one!"

Try and keep the essay between 1200 and 1400 words. Don't ramble. Write down what is needed for the marks then move on. I hope this helps :smile:

Reply 5

ladymarshmallow

OP

16

Original post by anthonyfl

The best way to approach a Higher History essay is through a simple, technical method.

I'll guide you through the technique I use which always seems to get my essays As.

Out of the 20 marks,
4 are available for Essay Style,
6 are available for Knowledge and Understanding and
10 are available for Analysis and Evaluation.

Essay Style constitutes a good introduction and conclusion, decent vocabulary and paragraph linking.

•

Make the intro and conclusion precise and to the point. Neither should be more than 130 words. Mention the things you will discuss in the essay but don't go into detail. Don't use the 1st Person ~~(e.g.. "I will discuss)~~

•

Vary your vocabulary.

•

Check all of your paragraphs link with each other once you're finished.

Knowledge and Understanding marks can be gained from providing a statistic or relevant information, e.g.. "In 1918 some women gained the vote, however it was only available to females who were over thirty and owned property, had husbands who owned property, or who had a University Degree." This would constitute 1 knowledge mark.

Finally, Analysis and Evaluation is the most difficult part of the essay. Historiography is important. e.g.. "Some historians disagree and think...," "Some historians partly agree with this statement however feel..." or "Historian Professor Martin Pugh once noted that some advocates of the secret ballot had expected this to end bribery, but in practice the secret ballot often enabled voters to receive payments from both sides instead of one!"

Try and keep the essay between 1200 and 1400 words. Don't ramble. Write down what is needed for the marks then move on. I hope this helps :smile:

I realise this is a silly question, but should I include historiography both for and against a certain viewpoint even if I want to get the message across that I think, for example, that the education reforms under the post-war Labour government, were unsuccesful?

Reply 6

anthonyfl

11

Original post by ladymarshmallow

I realise this is a silly question, but should I include historiography both for and against a certain viewpoint even if I want to get the message across that I think, for example, that the education reforms under the post-war Labour government, were unsuccesful?

It depends what the essay question is. If it is asking you for evidence that they were (or were not) successful, probably not. However, if the essay was more generally on the reforms then absolutely include both view points. I don't have experience giving my personal opinion in history essays - I think that examiners consider it an immature writing style - rather I note the historians who disagree with each other.

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Reply 7

username967462

14

Original post by ladymarshmallow

I realise this is a silly question, but should I include historiography both for and against a certain viewpoint even if I want to get the message across that I think, for example, that the education reforms under the post-war Labour government, were unsuccesful?

Try and include a quotation etc for both viewpoints. You need to be balanced :smile:

.

Reply 8

ladymarshmallow

OP

16

I'm not sure if this would be allowed, but would anyone on here be willing to take a look through my essay once I'm done (1-2 weeks time)? :smile:

Reply 9

laurenmckay

7

Original post by ladymarshmallow

I'm not sure if this would be allowed, but would anyone on here be willing to take a look through my essay once I'm done (1-2 weeks time)? :smile:

give me a message and I'll do my best to help you out!!

Reply 10

ladymarshmallow

OP

16

Original post by laurenmckay

give me a message and I'll do my best to help you out!!

Thanks - I'd really appreciate it! I hope to have it done in about a week, and then I'll PM you.

Reply 11

Defensive Gnome

Original post by anthonyfl

The best way to approach a Higher History essay is through a simple, technical method.

I'll guide you through the technique I use which always seems to get my essays As.

Out of the 20 marks,
4 are available for Essay Style,
6 are available for Knowledge and Understanding and
10 are available for Analysis and Evaluation.

Essay Style constitutes a good introduction and conclusion, decent vocabulary and paragraph linking.

•

Make the intro and conclusion precise and to the point. Neither should be more than 130 words. Mention the things you will discuss in the essay but don't go into detail. Don't use the 1st Person ~~(e.g.. "I will discuss)~~

•

Vary your vocabulary.

•

Check all of your paragraphs link with each other once you're finished.

Knowledge and Understanding marks can be gained from providing a statistic or relevant information, e.g.. "In 1918 some women gained the vote, however it was only available to females who were over thirty and owned property, had husbands who owned property, or who had a University Degree." This would constitute 1 knowledge mark.

Finally, Analysis and Evaluation is the most difficult part of the essay. Historiography is important. e.g.. "Some historians disagree and think...," "Some historians partly agree with this statement however feel..." or "Historian Professor Martin Pugh once noted that some advocates of the secret ballot had expected this to end bribery, but in practice the secret ballot often enabled voters to receive payments from both sides instead of one!"

Try and keep the essay between 1200 and 1400 words. Don't ramble. Write down what is needed for the marks then move on. I hope this helps :smile:

How are you going to write two 1200+ word essays in an hour and a half?

Reply 12

laurenmckay

7

Original post by ladymarshmallow

Thanks - I'd really appreciate it! I hope to have it done in about a week, and then I'll PM you.

any time! x

Reply 13

Hype en Ecosse

20

Original post by Defensive Gnome

How are you going to write two 1200+ word essays in an hour and a half?

Welcome to your English exam, paper 2.

Reply 14

anthonyfl

11

Original post by Defensive Gnome

How are you going to write two 1200+ word essays in an hour and a half?

Thousands of pupils do it every year :smile:

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Reply 15

Defensive Gnome

Original post by anthonyfl

Thousands of pupils do it every year :smile:

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We were told to remain below 900 words in our History essays. I've stuck to that and still managed to get 17+/20 each time. I'd struggle to write that much and keep my writing legible; but if you can do it, then there's no harm in doing so.

Reply 16

anthonyfl

11

Original post by Defensive Gnome

We were told to remain below 900 words in our History essays. I've stuck to that and still managed to get 17+/20 each time. I'd struggle to write that much and keep my writing legible; but if you can do it, then there's no harm in doing so.

I totally agree with you. The best method is to remain brief and bag as many marks as possible. All of my essays so far have been just above 1200 words (my last 1240), I would definitely never go near 1400 :smile:

I find that it's the same with English. My essays are so much shorter this year than they were for standard grade. In my opinion, it's a real skill to be precise whilst simultaneously achieving a good grade.

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