history coursework essay plan

How to Write a Good History Essay. A Sequence of Actions and Useful Tips

Before you start writing your history essay, there is quite a lot of work that has to be done in order to gain success.

You may ask: what is history essay? What is the difference between it and other kinds of essays? Well, the main goal of a history essay is to measure your progress in learning history and test your range of skills (such as analysis, logic, planning, research, and writing), it is necessary to prepare yourself very well.

Your plan of action may look like this. First of all, you will have to explore the topic. If you are going to write about a certain historical event, think of its causes and premises, and analyze what its impact on history was. In case you are writing about a person, find out why and how he or she came to power and how they influenced society and historical situations.

The next step is to make research and collect all the available information about the person or event, and also find evidence.

Finally, you will have to compose a well-organized response.

During the research, make notes and excerpts of the most notable data, write out the important dates and personalities. And of course, write down all your thoughts and findings.

It all may seem complicated at first sight, but in fact, it is not so scary! To complete this task successfully and compose a good history essay, simply follow several easy steps provided below.

Detailed Writing Instruction for Students to Follow

If you want to successfully complete your essay, it would be better to organize the writing process. You will complete the assignment faster and more efficient if you divide the whole work into several sections or steps.

• Introduction

Writing a good and strong introduction part is important because this is the first thing your reader will see. It gives the first impression of your essay and induces people to reading (or not reading) it.

To make the introduction catchy and interesting, express the contention and address the main question of the essay. Be confident and clear as this is the moment when you define the direction your whole essay will take. And remember that introduction is not the right place for rambling! The best of all is, to begin with, a brief context summary, then go to addressing the question and express the content. Finally, mark the direction your essay about history will take.

Its quality depends on how clear you divided the whole essay into sections in the previous part. As long as you have provided a readable and understandable scheme, your readers will know exactly what to expect.

The body of your essay must give a clear vision of what question you are considering. In this section, you can develop your idea and support it with the evidence you have found. Use certain facts and quotations for that. When being judicial and analytical, they will help you to easily support your point of view and argument.

As long as your essay has a limited size, don’t be too precise. It is allowed to summarize the most essential background information, for example, instead of giving a precise list of all the issues that matter.

It is also good to keep in mind that each paragraph of your essay’s body must tell about only one issue. Don’t make a mess out of your paper!

It is not only essential to start your essay well. How you will end it also matters. A properly-written conclusion is the one that restates the whole paper’s content and gives a logical completion of the issue or question discussed above. Your conclusion must leave to chance for further discussion or arguments on the case. It’s time, to sum up, give a verdict.

That is why it is strongly forbidden to provide any new evidence or information here, as well as start a new discussion, etc.

After you finish writing, give yourself some time and put the paper away for a while. When you turn back to it will be easier to take a fresh look at it and find any mistakes or things to improve. Of course, remember to proofread your writing and check it for any grammar, spelling and punctuation errors. All these tips will help you to learn how to write a history essay.

A Level History Coursework AQA – A Guide

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• Post date January 8, 2024
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This guide shows you how to plan, research and write A Level History Coursework for AQA using ideas, resources, examples and structure. This coursework is weighted in the following format. Assessment Objective One (AO1) 10% (20 marks), Assessment Objective Two (AO2) 5% (10 marks) and Assessment Objective Three (AO3) 5% (10 marks). For AQA coursework this gives a total of 20% (40 marks) divided as shown above across all three of the A Level History Assessment Objectives.

A Level History Coursework AQA – Ideas, Examples and Resources

Choosing an Issue and Question – You are required to identify an issue or topic that you wish to study and develop a question from this. This gives a broad scope for potential questions. There are however two specific requirements of the question.

• The question must not duplicate any of the content that you are studying for examination assessment in components 1 and 2.
• The question must place the issue or topic in the context of approximately 100 years of history.

Question Ideas, Example and Selection

There are two potential ways to ensure that you cover the 100 year requirement for this coursework. You could identify an issue and related question which traces development over approximately 100 years. Alternatively, you could focus on a narrower issue but place it in the context of a 100 year period. Lets look at a couple of examples below to make this clear.

• Q1. Q. ‘Despite a period of unprecedented economic and social change, British women remained marginalised and downtrodden’. During the period 1760-1867, assess the validity of this view. – This is the perfect example of a broad issue and question from which you could analyse development over the time period.
• Q2. In the context of the period 1905 to 2003, to what extent was the Cuban missile crisis the biggest turning point in the relationship between Russia and the USA? – This question highlights a more specific issue (the Cuban missile crisis) and places it in context of the relationship between the two countries over the c100 year period.

There are some key points to consider when selecting a question for your coursework.

• Question formulation – Students are advised to use the type of question formulations seen in AQA examinations and shown in the examples above.
• Historiographical debate – There needs to be a scholarly debate around the question or issue. This means differing views on the question from different historians. This makes it easier to select appropriate works to analyse and compare.
• Primary sources – Is there a range of primary sources and primary material available to support the coursework? These primary resources need to be accessible to the student.

Coursework Resources

• Library – school, local, college, university – you should be able to borrow appropriate works.
• Teacher – your teacher should be able to provide you with copies of appropriate resources to use.
• JSTOR – www.jstor.org – contains a large collection of journal articles from historical publications covering numerous topics. These will often engage in the historical debate by replying to opposing views.
• Purchase Books – many second-hand books are available to purchase at very cheap prices through Amazon or similar sites.

A Level History Coursework AQA – Structure and Planning

First section – introduction to the question (c. 350 words).

Introduction to the overall topic. You need to put the question into context by providing relevant information regarding what was happening at the time. You then need to define any key terms in the question. For the British women example question above you would need to define ‘remained marginalised and downtrodden’ .

This we could do by defining;

• remained as showing continuity rather than change
• marginalised as a group treated as insignificant and peripheral. 
• downtrodden as a group oppressed or treated badly by those in power.

You would then need to set-out valid criteria by which the question can be judged in order to provide an accurate answer. These criteria will go on to become your factors as you can see in the plan below.

For the British women example question, we could potentially use the following criteria to judge whether they remained marginalised and downtrodden. Did women’s lives change for the better, during the period, in the following different areas?

• Socially and Culturally
• Legally and Politically
• Education and Work

Second Section – Historians Viewpoints (c. 800 words – 400 each)

In this section we look at the viewpoints of two different academic historians. In order to achieve the highest marks, Level 5 (9-10 Marks) we need to do the following:

• Show a very good understanding of the differing historical interpretations raised in the question.
• Convincingly evaluate the interpretations with reference to time, context and/or limitations placed on the historians.

Using the example Cold War question shown above, you could analyse the views of a US historian writing after the Cold War has ended, with a Soviet historian writing during the period. This would enable you to contrast the content of both works and evaluate the interpretations given. This would also show how the time period affected the works, how limitations affected the works, how purpose affected the works, amongst many other issues that help to explain the authors differing viewpoints.

Third Section – Factor 1 and Source 1 (c. 650 words Factor 1 and 350 words Source 1)

In this section you cover the first factor that you have identified from your criteria in the introduction, as well as one of your primary sources that matches with this theme. So for the British women example question this section would concentrate on the Socially and Culturally factor that we are using as criteria to answer the question. Crucially you have to cover the time period and show your understanding of change and continuity as illustrated by the mark scheme detailed below.

• Level 5 (17-20) marks – Very good understanding of change and continuity within the context of approximately 100 years.

You then add to this section your evaluation of your first primary source that matches with this theme. So for the British women example question you would have a primary source that related to the Socially and Culturally factor being covered here.

Fourth Section – Factor 2 and Source 2 (c. 650 words Factor 2 and 350 words Source 2 )

In this section you cover the second factor that you have identified from your criteria in the introduction, as well as one of your primary sources that matches with this theme. So for the British women example question this section would concentrate on the Legally and Politically factor that we are using as criteria to answer the question. Crucially you have to cover the time period and show your understanding of change and continuity as illustrated by the mark scheme detailed below.

You then add to this section your evaluation of your first primary source that matches with this theme. So for the British women example question you would have a primary source that related to the Legally and Politically factor being covered here.

Fifth Section – Factor 3 and Source 3 (c. 650 words Factor 3 and 350 words Source 3 )

In this section you cover the second factor that you have identified from your criteria in the introduction, as well as one of your primary sources that matches with this theme. So for the British women example question this section would concentrate on the Education and Work factor that we are using as criteria to answer the question. Crucially you have to cover the time period and show your understanding of change and continuity as illustrated by the mark scheme detailed below.

You then add to this section your evaluation of your first primary source that matches with this theme. So for the British women example question you would have a primary source that related to the Education and Work factor being covered here.

Sixth Section – Overall Conclusion (c. 350 words)

In the final section you need to produce an overall conclusion that fully answers the coursework question. So for the British women question you would be answering ‘did they remain marginalised and downtrodden during this period?’. This will take into account everything you have considered throughout the piece of work including your criteria, the viewpoints of the academic historians, the primary sources and the factors that you have covered from your criteria. In reaching a final judgement and conclusion, you need to take into account the entire period considering continuity and change across it, as you should have done throughout the rest of the coursework.

A Level History Coursework AQA – Primary Source Analysis

Looking at the primary source mark scheme table from the AQA website can help you to understand the requirements. Firstly, you must ensure that three sources are used and that there are a minimum of two different types (can be two different types of written source). To achieve the highest marks you must then ensure that a range of relevant and well supported comments are made on the value of the sources. Finally, you must provide a balanced and convincing judgement on the merits of each source in relation to our question.

Assessing Your Primary Sources

• Provenance – The five W’s of Who, Why, What, When, Where; can help you to identify the provenance of a primary source and assess its value or limitations.
• Tone and Emphasis – How does the tone and emphasis impact the value of the source. Is it impartial, critical, formal, aggressive, empathetic, mocking, candid etc?
• Content – What is the actual content of the source saying? How true is this in terms of your contextual knowledge? Is there value in the inaccuracies of the content?
• Value/Limitations and Judgement – The above three points ( Provenance, Tone and Emphasis and Content ) can be used to assess how much we can learn from the source, by weighing up value and limitations, as well as giving judgement on the merit of the source.

How To Improve Further at A Level History

Pass A Level History – is our sister site, which shows you step by step, how to most effectively answer any A Level History extract, source or essay question. Please click the following link to visit the site and get access to your free preview lesson. www.passalevelhistory.co.uk

Previous and Next Blog Posts

Previous  – A Level History Coursework Edexcel Guide –  passhistoryexams.co.uk/a-level-history-coursework-edexcel/

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When revising and editing your history coursework, fact-checking should be a priority; verifying the accuracy of all facts included can make or break an argument. Additionally, critical analysis is essential when evaluating the quality of statements made throughout the paper. This includes assessing whether the evidence provided adequately supports conclusions and identifying any possible biases present in source materials.

Contextualization is also necessary to ensure readers understand how each piece fits into a larger narrative - placing them firmly within their respective historical contexts. These steps will allow you to create a nuanced and informative document that meets academic standards. Following revision and editing, the next stage is formatting and submitting your finished product - ready to receive feedback from peers and professors alike!

5 Formatting and submitting

The submission and formatting of written history coursework is the fifth and final stage of the writing process. It is the student's responsibility to pay great attention to the format specified by their instructor.

Students need to make sure they properly cite any outside information included in their report. Both original sources, like diaries and letters, and secondary sources, like books and articles, count.

It is essential to provide complete bibliographic information for each source used so that readers can access them if desired:

● For primary sources: author (if known), the title of document/source, date of publication/documentation, and page numbers (if relevant).

● For secondary sources: author(s), title of book/article, publisher name, year of publication.

Analyzing data gathered while researching the topic is essential for completing a practical coursework assignment. The student should look at all the evidence critically and assess its impact on their argument before concluding what happened during the study period. They should be aware of potential biases when evaluating research materials, including gender bias or racism. Additionally, they may need to consider multiple interpretations depending on the available evidence.

Finally, once students have finished drafting their coursework assignment and checked it carefully for accuracy and completeness, they can submit it to their instructor according to the deadline requirements.

Practice History Essay Plans

Download practice history essay plans.

Click the button below to download this worksheet for use in the classroom or at home.

Essay Advice Sheet:

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• Essay writing advice sheet for students studying for their A-Levels.

World History teaching resources for the high school classroom: lesson plans, worksheets, quizzes and simulation games for KS3, IGCSE, IB and A-Level teachers.

This tool helps students plan history essays. it is a good idea to plan an essay as a class, and then use this tool for extra ideas., 1. type your essay question into this box., 2. choose your preferred format for the essay plan., 3. click this button to get your plan.

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How to Write A-Level History Coursework

History coursework is an academic paper which requires students’ critical thinking and evaluation on any historical events or on a series of events. This is done by including and mentioning different resources, perspectives, and interpretation of the happenings. A-level history coursework is all about writing essays. Regardless of your knowledge, if you are unable to produce a good essay you won’t be awarded good marks by your examiner.

To write a coursework, you need to have reliable resources from where you can collect information. You must also possess analytical thinking skills which help to determine the causes and effects of an event. You may also consider coursework sample to have a better understanding of the work which you are required to ask.

Taking a history course in A-levels seems to be very easy until you are asked to write a coursework. From here things become difficult for majority students as they don’t have any clear guidance to come up with a good essay. If you are also facing this difficulty, then don’t worry because you’re at the right place. This post will provide complete guidance on how to write A-level history coursework . Let’s find out more about it.

How to write a good coursework introduction?

History coursework usually depends on the thesis statement which is written in the introduction. Come up with a strong thesis statement. It is because the thesis statement describes the writer’s area of interest and the context which you are going to cover.

The introduction should be catchy and must sound appealing to the readers. While writing the introduction focus more on writing about the historical events which you have chosen to evaluate. Refer it with some pieces of evidence or facts. You can also show support by including relevant historical policies and statistics.

To make a great start, mind map a sheet with questions as it might help in building a better understanding of the subject. By doing so, it will be easy to formulate an impressive introduction. You can take help from your teacher, friend, or tutor in this regard. Moreover, look at different A-level coursework examples available at the school library.

Things to Include in Your History Coursework Body:

In the body paragraph of the history coursework, including all the arguments which support the introductory statements. For this purpose, you must have a list of outlined facts in chronological order. First, explain your quotes. Try to explain them in your own words rather than copying exact words and then shows how they support your point of view. Do include other historian’s interpretation in the same paragraph before finalizing your view.

Create a table which tabulates the data and by using statistics support your analysis with the relevant historical shreds of evidence as well as support the original interpretation. Also, highlights the limitations of the interpretation by giving a rough idea of the things which you haven’t included.

Then introduce the next interpretation and observe how similar and different it is with the previous one. Later, by following the same format conclude your essay.

How to Write a Compelling Conclusion:

The conclusion of your coursework should focus on two sources which are the most credible and detailed along with the reasons which show that your answer is according to the question. While writing the conclusion, restate your thesis statement and summarize the entire idea of the paper in just two to three lines. Also, justifies the shreds of evidence which are provided throughout the essay.

Some Easy to Understand Tips on Structuring a History Coursework:

The structure of history coursework is not much different from other academic papers. All you need is a precise introduction, main body paragraphs, and a conclusion which summarizes the entire essay.

Mentioned below are few easy A-level history tips to write a fine quality of coursework:

• Stick to the required word limit. If the required word count is of 2000 words so, avoid exceeding it unlike most students do. Writing more than the required word limit often leads to the repetition of ideas and sentences. Moreover, writing more put you in danger of the penalty of writing too much.
• Do structure your work like other academic essays. As it is not much different from other academic paper so, do write an introduction, body, and conclusion.
• Provide evidence to ensure that you refer to facts frequently. Also, give citation of quotes which you have taken from different sources.
• Make sure that you fully concentrate on your coursework question. Make it clear while introducing the subject along with the interpretation’s view. The side which you think is most credible support it with various historical pieces of evidence and examples. This will help you in forming a basis on which your judgment would be made.
• Remember in school, you were provided with an essay structure and how you can handle the sources. Here too, this will be very helpful as it will assist you to come up with not just a good structure but also a good flow of the essay. However, if you are not provided with a structure then simply familiarize yourself with each interpretation of the question as it might prove to be useful. Beginning your essay with a clear understanding which supports your arguments will help you in developing a good introduction.

Final Words:

Although, it is very stressful to come up with a competitive and coherent piece of work, especially when you lack research skills and don’t have a good grasp of grammar. However, all these things can be overcome if you know how to correct them. Producing a quality history coursework is not easy but it is not that much difficult. Follow the above-mentioned guide and try to create a better paper which not just impresses your teacher but also awards you with good grades.

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French Revolution 1799-1815 Essay Plans - A-LEVEL HISTORY

Subject: History

Age range: 16+

Resource type: Assessment and revision

Last updated

20 September 2022

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This resource contains x5 A4 essay plan templates. This includes 5-6 full points with Point, Evidence, Analysis and counter arguments, and space to fill in introduction and conclusions.

Essay plans are a fantastic way to put your learned knowledge into practice. Familiarising yourself with essay titles is a great way to approach revision.

For more History essay plans, please visit my profile.

• How important were repression and immoral methods to Napoleon’s consolidation of power 1799-1804?
• Propaganda was more important than censorship in Napoleonic France. Assess the validity of this view.
• The building of an Empire of both annexed territory and satellite states 1799 to 1808 was a triumph for Napoleon. Do you agree?
• To what extent did Napoleon preserve or destroy the Revolution?
• To what extent was Napoleon’s defeat 1813-1814 the result of his own mistakes since 1808?

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An Excellent A2 History Coursework In 13 Easy Steps

A2 History coursework tips

Date : 18/02/2015

Author Information

Uploaded by : Michele Uploaded on : 18/02/2015 Subject : History 1. Stick to your word limit, its 2000 words for a reason. Also you do not want to be penalised for writing too much.

2. In your introduction really focus on the historic event you are assessing, make explicit reference to it, supporting with statistics or relevant historic policies.

3. Clearly concentrate on your coursework question, make clear in your introduction what the different interpretation`s views of this question are. Which ones you think are the most credible and why, support with historical evidence. Then make your judgment.

4. Remember at the end of the day your coursework is indeed similar to an AS History source exam. So structure it and think of it as an essay.

5. Some schools may have given you a structure for how to tackle the sources. If they have use it, it will assist the flow and structure of your essay. If they have not given you a structure, familiarize yourself with each of the interpretations. Additionally you might find it useful to start with the interpretations which support the question.

6. In your planning stages ensure you include all of the relevant quotes from whichever of the interpretations you are examining. You might find it useful to create a table for this.

7. Then you want to briefly examine or explain this quote in your own words and demonstrate how this supports the historian`s interpretation or view. Again you could include this in the table in a new column.

8. Next still using your table justify and support your analysis so far with relevant historical evidence to support the interpretation. This could be another column in your table.

9. Ensure you frequently refer to and demonstrate with quotes, explanation/analysis or historic evidence the historian`s credibility, persuasiveness or demonstrate the strength of their argument. Again use the terms "credibility", "credible argument", "credible", "supported" etc...

10. Introduce the next interpretation by noting how it is similar to the first. E.g. "Similarly" then follow the same format as before.

11. Then highlight the limitations or weaknesses of these interpretations by explaining what they have omitted or not examined.

12. Next demonstrate how the next interpretation differs from the previous interpretation, then follow the same format for this and your final interpretation.

13. Your conclusion should explain which two sources are the most credible and why, then answer the question

This resource was uploaded by: Michele

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