Kemnay Academy
History Department
Advanced Higher
History
Improve your Essay
Writing Skills
Preparing for the Examination
It goes without saying that good preparation is essential. How can you prepare for
the essay-writing part of your Advanced Higher History examination?
A thorough knowledge of the topics is essential. You should study your course
notes and textbooks thoroughly. Further reading is always a good idea.
During the course of the year, you will have written a number of essays to help
you prepare for the examination.
It is a good idea if you do some additional practice essays at home.
If there is any area of the course content or essay-writing techniques you are
unsure of and would like extra help with let me know and they will be happy to
help.
Different Types of Question
Questions will normally ask you to:
Explain the reasons why ….
e.g. ‘Why were so few Russians prepared to defend Tsarism in February 1917?’
For this type of question, you first have to identify what the main factors were
that led to the growth of democracy; discuss each in turn, and come to a balanced
conclusion.
Compare the importance of different factors
eg. ‘How important were policy issues in Stalin’s rise to power?’
For this type of question, the first section of your essay should focus on the
importance of policy issues; you then need to balance this by discussing the
importance of other factors before coming to a conclusion.
Make a judgement about historical events
eg. ‘How successful were the Five Year Plans 1928 – 41?’
For this type of question, you need to weigh up the evidence that suggests the
Five Year Plans were successful and compare this with the evidence that their
success was limited before reaching a conclusion.
Preparing for Writing Essays
It is important to know what different questions might appear in the examination
paper. You should be aware that there are 3 or 4 likely questions that might come
up for each topic.
For example with regard to Stalin’s Rise to power, you could be asked:

To what extent do you agree that Stalin came to power as a result of his
political opportunism?

How important were policy issues in Stalin’s rise to power?

How far would you agree that Stalin came to power as a result of his
opponents’ weaknesses?
Each question emphasises a different aspect of the topic; you should be prepared
to answer all of these questions. This means that you should have a clear
structure in place for each likely question that might come up.
REMEMBER THE GOLDEN RULE
Do not try to ‘memorise’ a set answer only to find it doesn’t fit the question that
comes up! It is a very common (and costly) mistake to ignore what the question is
actually asking and simply write down everything you know about the topic. The
exam board penalise this very heavily!
You will get far more credit if you are seen to be attempting to answer the set
question rather than writing down lots of information, especially if it isn’t
relevant!
Timing
You only have about 55 minutes to write each essay! Don’t panic! This simply
means you must get to the point of the essay quickly, write concisely and make
sure you are relevant to the question.
A clear structure will help you to answer the question in the time available.
It is a common mistake to spend too long on the introduction and first part of
your essay – inevitably this means you will run out of time later on.
Another Golden Rule
You should spend equal amounts of time on both essays. The exam board make it
clear that candidates who spend longer on one essay at the expense of the other
almost always perform poorly
Planning
An essay has 3 main components – the introduction, the development (main body)
and the conclusion. Each of these is important to the overall quality of your essay.
It is acceptable to write a short plan before you begin your essay, but remember
you have only about 55 minutes so there is little time to lose!
Writing a plan is a matter of personal preference; certainly, it can help to focus
your mind on the key factors before you start. If you do write a plan, it should be
very short and either in the form of bullet points or a spider diagram:
For example:

Why did the White forces lose the Civil War?

The Factionalism of the White Army

Poor leadership & logistical problems

Use of propaganda and Terror

The Strengths of the Red Army
(It goes without saying that you will also need an introduction and conclusion in
your essay!)
Key Points of Writing a Good Essay
The Introduction
Making a good impression in your introduction goes a long way to impressing the
examiner. Unfortunately, the introduction is often the most poorly-done part of
the essay. Your introduction should be reasonably short and to the point. Read
the question carefully and be sure what you are being asked to write about.
The purpose of a good introduction is to show that:

you understand clearly what the question is asking

you can put the theme of the essay into context

you can identify the key issues that will be addressed
Ideally, your introduction should:

address the question at the outset (it may help to refer to the wording of
the question)

Give brief, relevant background details to put the essay into context

Identify the key issues/factors that will be discussed in the main body of
your essay
Example of a good introduction:
‘Why were so few Russians prepared to defend Tsarim in 1917’?
nd
On 2 March 1917, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia abdicated, thus bringing to an end
the Romanov Dynasty that had ruled over the Empire for 300 years. By the time
of his abdication, it was clear that the Tsar had few supporters to whom he could
turn: his dictatorial rule and mishandling of the war had led to widespread
discontent among the people. Long-term factors such as the issue of land reform,
the oppressive nature of the Tsar’s regime, and his reluctance to make
concessions to the liberals were compounded by the misery of war-time inflation,
food shortages and unemployment; add a whiff of royal scandal and it is no
surprise that by February 1917, few Russians were prepared to defend Tsarism.
The Development (Main Body)
You now have to develop the key factors that you raised in your introduction. You
therefore need to structure the main body of your essay into several paragraphs,
each relating to one of the key factors.
Remember – the purpose of the main body of your essay is not to write down
everything you know about the topic. It is to present a well-balanced, clearly
structured discussion where you show awareness of historical debate and make
judgements as appropriate.
In the main body of your essay, you should aim to:

introduce each key factor using a topic sentence that refers to the
question

develop the theme of the topic sentence using detailed but concise
evidence to illustrate points

present the evidence in the context of a well-structured, coherent
discussion

show awareness of historical debate and make appropriate evaluations in
relation to the question
(remember a mini-conclusion)
Collectivisation was another important aspect of the drive towards rapid
industrialisation. The main aim of collectivisation was to improve agricultural
efficiency, free up labour in the countryside and ensure a plentiful supply of food
for the towns. The scale of collectivisation in the Soviet Union was enormous; by
1934, it was estimated that some 70% of peasants were part of collectives.
The majority of peasants were coerced against their wishes; propaganda, fear and
intimidation played a crucial part. Thousands of Kulaks were murdered, leading to
a loss of expertise and entrepreneurial spirit as well as a lack of incentive.
Consequently, animals were slaughtered in their thousands and food production
actually fell while state requisitioning increased. Grain procurement led to
terrible famine, particularly in the Ukraine where 5 million people died. Thousands
fled to the cities to escape the famine.
It could be argued that in this regard, collectivisation achieved its aims.
Historians such as Robert Service believe that collectivisation produced a steady
stream of industrial labour and ensured adequate food supplies in the towns
through grain requisitioning, thus paving the way for rapid industrialisation. On
the other hand, the huge fall in food production, the loss of livestock and the
devastating effects of mass starvation may have been too high a price to pay.
Forming a Conclusion
It is just as important to have a good conclusion as it is to have a good
introduction! No matter how good your essay is, you could fail if you have an
insufficient conclusion or worse, no conclusion at all.
The main requirement of a conclusion is to:

Summarise the main points of your discussion in relation to the question

come to an definitive answer about the question you were originally set!
If you have written sub-conclusions at the end of each section of your essay, then
the first requirement is fairly straightforward.
It is absolutely vital that the final part of your conclusion makes very specific
reference to the question!
Example of a good conclusion:
In conclusion, the defeat of the White forces during the Civil War can be
explained by a number of factors. Certainly, there were serious problems within
the ‘White’ ranks, not least the factionalism that obscured their political
objectives, the logistical problems they faced and the incompetence that
hindered their military strategy. On the other hand, it is important to take into
consideration the advantages held by their opponents, Trotsky’s brilliant
leadership of the Red Army, the adoption of War Communism and the sheer
determination of Bolshevik forces to defend the Revolution to the death.
General Tips
Improving the style of your essay
Some students want to write down everything they know in order to show to the
examiner that they know all about the topic! While you obviously need to
demonstrate to the examiner that you have a thorough knowledge of the topic,
this must be done in the context of a relevant discussion.
Simply ‘telling the story’ of what happened – no matter how detailed you are – will
score poorly.
So how can you avoid being too narrative?

Try to write in a discursive rather than narrative style of writing

Make sure you address the question at every opportunity, making specific
reference to the wording of the question where appropriate

Make sure your essay is structured in such a way that each paragraph
discusses a key factor relating to the question

Use topic sentences at the start of each paragraph which clearly makes
reference to the question, rather than ‘storytelling’

Have short sub-conclusions at the end of each paragraph that relate to
the question
Throughout the main body of your essay, your discussion should flow well; each
paragraph should be a natural progression from the previous one. A confidently
written essay will link paragraphs together. This can be done in a straightforward
way using linking words and phrases.
Some useful words and phrases:
Although; Arguably; Additionally; Essentially; Moreover; Therefore; Furthermore;
However; Significantly; Despite; Clearly; It might be argued that…; It has been
suggested that…’; It is debatable whether…’; ;This view has been challenged by…’;
Many historians believe that…;
You are expected to demonstrate a mature style of writing: Never use first
person: ‘I think that…’; ‘In my opinion…’; ‘In this essay I will discuss…’.
Never use slang or abbreviations such as ‘etc’ unless it is appropriate to do so (eg.
NKVD).
Using Historical Debate & Quotations
At Advanced Higher level, it is essential that you show awareness of historical
debate on a given topic. This is known as historiography. A well-written essay can
be greatly enhanced by making reference to historians’ views. Historiography
must be relevant to the discussion and should fit into the natural flow of your
essay.
Where appropriate, you can make reference to a broad school of debate such as:

The Soviet View

The Liberal View

The Revisionist View
It is also a good idea to refer to the views of respected historians (using short
quotations where appropriate) to enhance or support your discussion. For the
Soviet Russia topic, this might include the views of:

Anthony Beevor

Robert Conquest

Orlando Figes

Sheila Fitzpatrick

Stephen Lee

Michael Lynch

Alec Nove

Richard Overy

Richard Pipes

Christopher Read

Robert Service
Remember, you do not necessarily have to agree with their views!
Historiography should be used selectively and should be incorporated subtly
into your essay - you should not, for example, have an entire paragraph
devoted to it at the end of your essay.
Nor should you ‘name drop’ historians just for the sake of it!
What do I need to do to get an A or B?

Have an introduction that sets the scene appropriately and identifies the
key issues to be discussed

have a clear and logical structure

have a well-developed and relevant discussion that avoids over-reliance on
narrative

use detailed and accurate presented evidence to demonstrate thorough
knowledge of the topic

show awareness of different historical perspectives, making reference to
historiography as appropriate

write in a formal, accomplished style throughout

come to a relevant, balanced and well-developed conclusion
What do I need to do to pass?

have a clear structure with an introduction, development and conclusion

show that you have at least a basic understanding of the topic by using
relevant presented evidence

make some attempt to discuss the question rather than simply storytelling
Why would my essay fail?
An Advanced Higher History essay would fail for the following reasons:

The introduction fails to address the question

The content of the essay is largely irrelevant

There is little or no attempt to answer the question

It is almost entirely narrative rather than discursive

There are numerous factual errors in the essay

The style of writing is weak or inappropriate for an Advanced Higher essay

There is little or no attempt to incorporate historiography into the essay

There is no satisfactory conclusion