THB's 'How To Write a Killer History Essay'

Hello, I'm doing A2 History (AQA new spec), would it be a good idea to include historians' names in the exam and what they think? For example, ''Christopher Hill observed...''

Always a good idea mate, if its coursework just make sure you reference them appropriately

Do we counter our own arguments? I thought you only counter the points which are against your argument? Also can you help me with generalisations, My teacher said I keep on doing this, can you help? Also I'm struggling to keep on time for essays, planning is hard for me as I struggle to remember evidence(such as a stat) which resembles my point

The way my teachers taught me was PEACH
Point, Evidence, analysis.
Then your small counterargument for the original point, before the 'however' where you reaffirm that the original point is the right one.

Note; this can apply to any humanities long essay!

People are always asking about how to write better history essays, and indeed, writing a good essay isn't easy. However, the structure ofthe essay (which is often overlooked) is perhaps the most important thing, along with having a good introduction and conclusion of course. So, I thought I'd explain my technique from start to finish. Therefore, welcome to THB's perfect essay structure and general outline!*

*I'll try and think of a more catchy description, I promise.

BEFORE YOU EVEN PLAN

Have a good, hard think about the question before you even start planning; how am I going to answer it? What would be the best structure? How amI going to set my criteria (I will explain this shortly)? What information/sources will I discuss?

PLAN

This will always be unique to your question, so this I cannot really advise on. I like to make a little table to show what points I'm goingto make about what. Perhaps there will be more tips on this in the future.

INTRODUCTION

To me, the most important part. The reader/marker will work whether the rest of the essay is going to be good or bad based solelyon the introduction. Get this right and the rest will follow.

First, it's important to address any ambiguity in the question; so if there are any key terms (such as authoritarianism, an example of a recentessay of mine) define them! In the case of my recent essay, I discussed whatwould be seen in an authoritarian style of government; and this made it moreclear as to whether certain periods of government were authoritarian or not.

Then, set your criteria. What I mean by this is to say how you're going to measure the facts in relation to the question. For example, inessays that ask 'how far was x successful', say what would have needed to happenfor it to be considered successful!

Then, introduce your argument. Like the amuse bouche at a good restaurant, the introduction should give a flavour of what is to come, without giving away all the secrets. The reader should have an idea of what's to follow, without you putting a load of facts in. Save your facts for the body.

THE BODY; PARAGRAPH STRUCTURING

This is where you get all of your information in. There's a bit of a nonsense habit among teachers of saying 'two or three paragraphs is enough.' The amount of paragraphs you have is totally irrelevant; for each individual point should have its own paragraph.

Each paragraph should be ordered logically and clearly; following the PEE structure (that is point, evidence, explain). It's very common and you've definitely heard of it before, but it's the best way to structure your paragraphs. Now lets talk about how you should select the information in your essays.

There's a tendency for history students to either a) tell a story without any actual point to further the argument you are making and b) cram as much information as possible in. This is how you avoid doing that;

a) It isn't necessary to tell a story; you can assume that your examiner has knowledge of the subject. Recounting a story won't get you marks so don't do it unless it furthers the point you are making in the paragraph.

b) You really don't need to shove in as much information as you can; history essays aren't, contrary to popular belief, about showing off how much you know. Instead, select information that is most relevant to the question and focus on developing your point. It'll get you further.

A good body will be balanced; consider the counterpoints to your argument; why might you be wrong? How could people disagree with you? A good history essay is never polemic.Now on to getting the historiography in. This point is much more relevant to A-Level/Degree level candidates of course, but it can never hurt. You should aim to get a good handful of opinions from historians in there, and not only the ones that agree with you. As we know, history is all about debate and you'll do better for showing that there are people that agree and disagree with you and each other. Your essay will naturally be better developed if you read more, so show off your reading in it!

A general point which I always have to remember is to be concise; no one likes to read waffle; it's irritating and will make the examiner less inclined to mark you well. Make your point clearly and directly, and don't waffle just to meet the word count etc. If you're not meeting the word count, you probably have left areas unexplored!

CONCLUDING

This is when you really wow your reader; where you consider all of the evidence from the body of your essay, and really nail your argument home. A good conclusion will mirror your introduction and be highly analytical. You should never bring new information into your conclusion.

It's important for conclusions to be thoughtful, so think long and hard about the points you are making before you write it! You should close with what I like to refer to as the 'salient point'; to get the higher marks your last sentence should make a point that is original and furthers academic debate on the topic. It's very hard to describe what this will be as it's highly specific to the subject, but usually it will be a conclusion that takes on both sides of the argument.

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That's about it really! If you have any specific questions, feel free to @ me and I'll do my best to answer them!

What would you give this out of 25? https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JoD5e2rMYplKzf3nrDLIFQAnBo7twSnznmC-9WKs6bc/edit?usp=sharing

For my introductions I do DOA (dead on arrival) structure:
DEFINE the key terms in the question
OUTLINE your argument
ANSWER the question and give your own interpretation