The extended essay overview: SQA Advanced Higher History

Part A of the Advanced Higher History question paper is two extended essays worth 25 marks each, the largest share of the exam. This guide maps the essay skills; the module dot points take each in detail.

A sustained line of argument

The discriminator at this level is whether the essay argues. Take a position in the introduction, test every factor against it, and earn the judgement in the conclusion. A neutral essay that describes each factor in turn, however accurate, is capped below the top bands.

Planning and analysing factors

Read the command word first ("to what extent", "how important", "how far do you agree", "analyse the relative importance"), because it tells you whether to weigh, judge a view, or rank. Select and group the factors, decide your line of argument, and open each paragraph with a claim about importance, not a date, so the essay argues rather than narrates.

Using historiography in the essay

Historiography lifts analysis into evaluation. For each factor, set out how historians have weighed it, evaluate that against the evidence, and position your judgement within the debate. Weave it through the factor paragraphs; do not park it in an isolated block.

How to use this module

Work through the three dot points, then drill full essays on your field under timed conditions using SQA past papers and marking instructions.