Holy Cross High School
Higher History
Paper 1 essay writing tips
Structure: marked out of 4. The only parts of your essay that contribute towards a structure mark is
your introduction and conclusion. Look at the end of this sheet for how to write a conclusion.
Introduction: In introduction make sure you SEAF. (start date/ end date/ argument/ factors)
“SEAF you don’t- you’ll not have a good introduction ”
Start date: What is the situation at the START of your essay?
“In the mid nineteenth century, the franchise in Britain was limited to a select few on the basis of
property and wealth”.
End date: What is the situation at the END of your essay?
“By 1928, however, not only all men but all women over 21 could vote regardless of their income”.
Argument: You should use the ‘isolated factor’ if there is one to argue a point
“Undoubtedly, the extensive role played by women during WW1, both domestically and at the
western front, contributed to the eventual enfranchisement of women”. However, the war effort
alone does not explain why women got the vote (1).”
Factors: What other factors played a role? This is where you SIGNPOST to the reader where your
essay will go.
“The work done by protest groups such as the original Suffragist movement and later the more
militant Suffragettes were key in raising awareness of the question of women getting the vote (2). It
is also true to say that the position of women in society was changing on a number of levels
throughout the late nineteenth century in any case, and this, arguably would have ended in women
achieving the vote without WW1 (3). On top of this, the examples of other countries such as Denmark
and New Zealand, who were seen by some to be more progressive, also had a significant influence on
women eventually achieving the vote (4).
Note how I have signposted my factors in order of importance! This will keep me right when I am
writing my essay. I can clearly see that my paragraphs will works as follows
Paragraph 1: Firstly, ‘isolated factor’ of women in WW1.
Paragraph 2: Suffragists/Suffragettes
Paragraph 3: Changing role of women in Society
Paragraph 4: Influence of other countries
Knowledge and Understanding: Marked out of 6. The only issue here is to make sure your points are
‘accurate’ and ‘relevant to the question’. Generally, 1 mark will be given for each main point made
and if you develop it further you will gain an extra mark. A fact that would give you a mark in the
essay above could perhaps be in paragraph 3. You may say,
“Acts of parliament were passed in the late nineteenth century that gave women access to children
after divorce” (1 KU mark for this accurate and relevant piece of information).
Argument and Analysis marks: Marked out of 10.
As a general guide here, don’t make any ‘KU’ points without commenting on it. Think, ‘what does
this tell me?’. Try to argue your point consistently throughout your essay. An example of decent
analysis from the above point would be to simply add
“This shows us that women’s rights were changing well before world war one, limiting any claim that
it was only the war effort that got women the vote.”
Try to make sure your paragraphs ‘SFA’
‘Signpost’- use the signpost from introduction to help with your opening sentence
‘Fact’- use your knowledge to put a fact in
‘Argument’- Use the fact to answer the question
This is basic, and strong candidates will also use historiography, but it’s a structure.
Try to avoid writing essays in ‘first person’- ‘I think’
Conclusion: A good conclusion will effectively sum up what you have been saying in your essay. A
decent 4 sentence structure guide could be:
Sentence 1- ‘In conclusion... (acknowledge that many reasons for...
Sentence 2- ‘On one hand... (provides a summary of isolated factor...
Sentence 3- On the other hand... (balances this by showing ‘other factors’
Sentence 4- Overall... (provides a final answer to the main question)