The dissertation overview: SQA Advanced Higher History

The project-dissertation is the largest single component of Advanced Higher History, worth 50 of 140 marks. This guide maps the dissertation skills; the module dot points take each stage in detail.

Choosing a question and planning research

A good question is focused, debatable and well sourced. Map the historiography first so the reading has direction, then read secondary works for the interpretations and primary sources to test them, recording every source fully. Start early, because the dissertation rewards reading and redrafting that cannot be crammed.

Building historiography into the dissertation

The debate is the spine, not a literature section. Set out the schools of interpretation, evaluate them against your primary evidence, organise the dissertation around the points of contention, and reach a conclusion that takes a position within the debate. Avoid the segregated literature review the argument then ignores.

Structuring and writing the dissertation

Frame the question and the debate in the introduction, build argued sections that test interpretations against evidence, reference accurately, and reach a conclusion that judges rather than summarises. The 4,000-word limit forces selection: every section must earn its place by advancing the argument.

How to use this module

Work through the three dot points in order, and start the dissertation early in the course, well before the exam term.