How do I make my A level History essay stand out?

General Overview:

1: Answer the question set, not the question you would like to answer.

2: Make sure you understand the question and all of its implications. What are you being asked to do? - e.g. To what extent / How effective / How far do you agree? / How successful was...

3: The key to securing a top mark is to think round the question and search for any hidden elements that other candidates might overlook.

Introduction: You have probably been encouraged to provide a conclusion within your introduction. However, introductions are for introducing the argument. In other words, you need to address why this is a question and how other historians have answered it. It may not be strictly necessary to cover the historiography of the topic but examiners look favourably on candidates who do. Then, you should outline the issues you will cover - without stating your answer (otherwise, the examiner will assume they are reading another basic A level essay). The introduction is the first thing the examiner will read so make sure it is clear and concise.

Main body of the essay: Make sure that you have a clear and coherent argument. It should be 'your' argument and not just a regurgitation of other historians' ideas or your A level textbook. Do not just sit on the fence; believe in your ideas and use your essay to put them forward.

The length of your essay is not important but I would suggest that you make between 4-6 points. The examiner is looking for 'your' judgement so make sure you justify the order of these paragraphs i.e. level of importance. It is useful to make mini conclusions at the end of each paragraph, although it is best to make them subtle and nuanced.

Avoid using complicated vocabulary because it draws focus away from your answer and the examiner is not interested in reading a thesaurus.

Conclusion: Use the conclusion to summarise your ideas and highlight their relevance to your answer. Avoid introducing new ideas, although you could comment on other areas of interest that you were unable to analyse. This shows an awareness of the limitations of your essay and displays a broad understanding of the topic to the examiner.

*Make sure the essay is well presented: use clear, grammatically correct sentences and good spelling.

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