ANSWER ESSAYS, whether for coursework or exams, are a part of advanced History study and require sharply defined skills which all students are able to develop and master. The following comments are divided into two: basic procedures and advanced answer writing.

An essay is your response to a particular question and your teachers and examiners expect you to direct all you write to that particular question. Sometimes students’ essays are admirable in every respect except for the failure to answer the question: they receive less reward, therefore, than they otherwise deserve. It is prudent, therefore, to consider the question with care.

To be clear what the question asks, try this procedure. Underline the key words and then re-write the question in your own words. You will notice that most questions at your level require analysis or judgement of the topic you have studied. If you have undertaken some of the suggestions in Chapter 3 and Chapter 6 answer preparation will be easier.

When you are planning an answer, especially in an exam, it is useful to have a headings’ check list so that, instead of waiting to stumble across information and ideas, you have reference points to what could be relevant. You can make your own check lists. Here is one, which can be adapted for Modern History, for Early-modern English History. It is designed to be memorised easily.

Government. King. Council. Committees. Court.

Administration. Chancery. Exchequer. Courts, London and

Assize. Army and Navy.

Church. Bishops. Convocation. Priests. Orders.

Policy. Foreign. Fiscal. Religious. Economic. Social.

Functions. King: Law. Defence. Order. Patronage.

Oversee administration.

Subjects: Loyalty. Help - advice and  military aid and Money.

With your rough working finished you have thought through the question and your answer and you have prepared your answer plan. With this thinking completed, and your sketch plan made, you are free to concentrate on writing your answer as clearly and as persuasively as possible.

The emphasis of advanced essay work is on argument. High-grade answers have a very clear structure, which enables the reader to follow easily the argument. Summarise your argument or main theme in your introduction. Thereby you make it clear to the reader from the beginning what is the direction of your answer. Your introduction, which is, of course, the summary of your full essay, is best if it is short, just a few lines in length. Your argument will be more clear, if not mixed with other information. Your second, third, fourth … paragraphs support your main theme or argument.

Aim to write the main point of each paragraph as the first sentence. The first sentence, therefore, defines the content of the paragraph. The rest of the paragraph should be a reference to events which illustrate, support or explain the main point of your paragraph.

The short essay answer example (partially in note form later in this chapter) illustrates clearly the procedure. You will note from this example that the answer has only three elements: 1) The summary of the answer which is written in the introduction; 2) Three statements, written at the beginning of the subsequent paragraphs, to support the summary; 3) The third element, in the paragraphs after the introduction, is reference to events which support or illustrate the theme of the paragraph. With the argument stated in the introduction and supported in the three following paragraphs, a conclusion is not needed but it could be added as an option.

When your essay answers are assessed the reader will use six criteria. You can see why the short answer example will score well.

1. Does the answer have an argument or theme and is it directed to the question asked?

2. Is well-chosen evidence used to support or illustrate the theme or argument?

3. Is the answer structured to develop the argument?

4. Is the presentation of the argument persuasive and the English correct, clear and effective?

5. Does the answer indicate the writer has a sound understanding of the topic and its context?

6. Does the answer have indications of the writer’s own thought and, where appropriate, does the answer show awareness of other views and debates on the subject?

You will note that students who follow the procedures outlined will score well with criteria 1, 2 and 3. Criterion 4 will be considered in Chapter 9 and criteria 5 and 6 will reflect, partly, your work with reading, noting and working with information. You may wish to assess the sample essay answer against the six criteria.

Essays reflect your work on a topic and your thought about it. Better answers from students, nearer the end of their course, are clinical in their clarity and elegant in their delivery. When you have practised these answer preparation procedures and you are confident working with them you will be ready to develop further your answer skills.

Higher-level answer writing is a creative act in which you encapsulate your mastery and expertise with a topic and demonstrate your skills in scripting an answer. It is a personal statement and the answer can demonstrate a creative refinement as a master potter or sculptor. Without loss of focus, structure and argument, the highly skilled answer writer will reflect penetrative insights and a depth of understanding of how things are, the nature of man and the possibilities of life in society, whether present or past, in an elegantly expressed but intellectually controlled piece of writing of limited length. Such an answer will show a sure grasp of the subject, judgement in choice of telling examples and reflect the writer’s own ideas. An answer of this quality, the singular creation of a reflective thinker, is light years away from the cut and paste efforts of weaker students and it should be the aim of all top-grade students.