What is Historiography and how to I include it in my essay?

The use of historiography is likely to be something which is new to A Level Historians. But do not be afraid. Quite simply historiography is the discussion of what historians have said about the events rather than the actual facts behind the events, which is more likely what you have studied before. To begin with you should consider the two broadly opposing sides of historiography. For example, when considering Germany in the first half of the 20th Century there are two main camps: the intentionalists and the structuralists. The intentionalists believe that the Kaiser was to blame for WWI and Hitler to blame for WWII. They believe that it was these leaders intention to cause conflict and that the events that unravelled were premeditated. On the other hand the structuralists believe that no one individual was to blame for either war, that instead it was a culmination of events and issues within society which ultimately led to war. Once you have identified the key groups of historians and their ideas you can start looking at what individual historians have said. Some historians will be firmly intentionalist, others strongly structuralist and some may sit somewhere in the middle. It is also very important to consider change over time. Using the example of 20th Century Germany again, you would need to consider that in the more immediate post war years historians strongly believed that individuals were to blame for the war, that it was not society but instead the leaders of Germany and other influential countries. However as time went on, historians began to consider flaws within German society. Once you have gotten to grips with the different historiography you will want to consider how to include this in the essay. Firstly it is crucial to remember a few key historians and some quotes which they have said that effectively summarise their arguments. You should do this for different periods of historians as well as for the opposing arguments. When you get into the exam and you have read the question, you will want to immediately consider which historians are relevant and which argument the question aligns itself with. With this in mind you can both understand some of the reasoning behind the argument posed by the question and also bring up the opposing argument. In a source question you will want to identify parts of or quotes from the source which allude to a historians argument and quote that historian to show the examiner that you understand the broader historiography surrounding the question that you are answering.