How do you plan and write the 20-mark period-study essay, ranking factors and reaching a judgement for AO1 and AO2?
The 20-mark period-study essay: decoding the command, selecting and ranking the relevant factors, organising thematically, supporting with precise ancient detail, and structuring towards a substantiated judgement for AO1 and AO2.
An OCR A-Level Ancient History technique guide to the 20-mark period-study essay. Explains how to decode the command, select and rank the relevant factors, organise thematically, support with precise ancient detail, and structure the essay towards a substantiated judgement for AO1 and AO2, with a worked example transferable to the Greek and Roman period studies.
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What this dot point is asking
The 20-mark period-study essay is the main essay in Section A of both the Greek and Roman papers. This page teaches the transferable skill of planning and writing it: how to decode the command, select and rank the relevant factors, organise thematically, support with precise ancient detail, and structure the essay towards a substantiated judgement for AO1 and AO2. Good planning is what separates a ranked argument from a narrative.
The answer
Decode the command
The command is the instruction: it tells you whether to rank causes, test a claim, or judge significance, and the answer must do exactly that.
Select and rank the factors
Identify the factors or criteria the question turns on, the causes of an event, the measures of success or significance, and decide your ranking in advance. Knowing which factor you will argue mattered most, and why, before you write, means the essay builds towards a judgement rather than stumbling onto one. The plan is essentially this ranked list plus a provisional verdict and the key evidence for each factor.
Organise thematically with precise detail
The two habits that lift a period essay are thematic organisation and precise evidence: each paragraph weighs a factor and proves it with exact detail (the lex Gabinia of 67 BC, Salamis in 480 BC, the dictatorship for life in 44 BC).
Structure towards a judgement
Plan the introduction to state the thesis (which factor is most important, or how far the claim holds), the body to weigh each factor in ranked order with precise evidence, and the conclusion to confirm the judgement with reasons. The judgement should be visible from the start and earned through the body, not produced as a surprise in the final line.
Examples in context
A model plan fits on a few lines: the decoded command, a ranked list of factors with key evidence, and a one-sentence provisional judgement.
Try this
Q1. Plan an answer to: "Augustus's control of the army was the main reason for the success of the principate. How far do you agree?" [20 marks]
- What the marker wants. A plan that decodes "how far" (test the claim, weigh for and against), ranks army control against the constitutional powers, wealth and auctoritas with precise evidence, organises thematically, and states a provisional judgement.
Q2. What should a period essay be organised by, and why? [2 marks]
- Cue. By factor or theme (one paragraph per factor), not by chronology, so the factors can be ranked and weighed against the question, which is the core AO2 skill.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of OCR exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
OCR H407 201920 marksAssess the reasons why a major event in a period you have studied happened. [generic 20-mark period essay, applicable to any option]Show worked answer →
A generic AO1 and AO2 period essay, applicable to Persia and Greece or the Julio-Claudians.
Plan. Decode the command ("assess the reasons" means rank causes and judge). List the relevant factors with precise ancient detail, and rank them in advance.
Structure. One paragraph per factor, each with a claim, precise evidence and a weighing of importance, building to a judgement on the main reason. The top level shows a ranked, thematic argument with accurate detail, not a narrative.
OCR H407 202120 marks'One named factor was the most important cause of a development in a period you have studied.' How far do you agree? [generic 20-mark period essay]Show worked answer →
A generic AO1 and AO2 period essay.
Plan. Decode "how far do you agree" (test the claim, weigh for and against). Identify the named factor and the rival factors, and decide the ranking with precise evidence.
Structure. Argue the case for the named factor, then weigh the rivals, then judge how far the claim holds. The top level plans a thesis and a ranked structure supported by accurate ancient detail, not a chronological account.
Related dot points
- The 12-mark source-utility question: reading the sources against the enquiry, weighing each source's provenance, grouping and comparing where there are several, testing against context, and reaching a judgement on usefulness for AO3.
An OCR A-Level Ancient History technique guide to the 12-mark source-utility question. Explains how to read the sources against the enquiry, weigh each source's provenance, group and compare several sources, test against contextual knowledge, and reach a judgement on usefulness for AO3, with a worked example transferable to the Greek and Roman topics.
- The 36-mark depth-study essay: building a sustained argument on and from the prescribed ancient sources, integrating source evaluation with analysis, ranking factors, and reaching a substantiated judgement that weighs the evidence.
An OCR A-Level Ancient History technique guide to the 36-mark depth-study essay. Explains how to build a sustained argument on and from the prescribed ancient sources, integrate source evaluation with analysis (AO1, AO2 and AO3), rank factors, and reach a substantiated judgement that weighs the evidence, with a worked example transferable to the Sparta and Late Republic depth studies.
- Exam timing and revision: how to divide the 2 hour 30 minute paper across the short answers, the 20-mark essay, the 12-mark source question and the 36-mark depth essay, and how to revise the content, the prescribed sources and the exam skills.
An OCR A-Level Ancient History technique guide to exam timing and revision. Explains how to divide the 2 hour 30 minute paper across the short answers, the 20-mark period essay, the 12-mark source-utility question and the 36-mark depth essay, and how to revise the content, the prescribed ancient sources and the exam skills efficiently.
- The four assessment objectives: AO1 knowledge, AO2 analysis using second-order concepts, AO3 the use and evaluation of ancient sources, and AO4 the evaluation of modern interpretations, and how each question type in H407 targets them.
An OCR A-Level Ancient History skills guide to the four assessment objectives. Explains AO1 (knowledge), AO2 (analysis with second-order concepts), AO3 (the use and evaluation of ancient sources) and AO4 (the evaluation of modern interpretations), which AO each H407 question type targets, and how knowing the target AO shapes your answer.
- AO3 source skills: evaluating ancient sources for their utility to a stated enquiry, using content, provenance (nature, origin and purpose) and contextual knowledge, and reaching a judgement on usefulness rather than labelling a source reliable or biased.
An OCR A-Level Ancient History skills guide to evaluating ancient sources for the AO3 source-utility question. Explains how to judge a source's value for a stated enquiry using content, provenance and contextual knowledge, why utility is not the same as reliability, and how to reach a judgement, with a worked example transferable to Greek and Roman topics.
Sources & how we know this
- OCR A Level Ancient History H407 specification — OCR (2017)