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ScotlandHistory

The Extended Essay

3 dot points across 3 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How do you plan a 25-mark Advanced Higher History essay and analyse the factors so they argue rather than describe?

Planning the essay: reading the command word, selecting and grouping the relevant factors, isolating and weighing each, and using detailed evidence to analyse rather than narrate so each factor answers the question.
How to plan a 25-mark SQA Advanced Higher History essay and analyse its factors. Covers reading the command word, selecting and grouping factors, isolating and weighing each, and using detailed evidence to analyse rather than narrate so every paragraph answers the question.
12 min answer →

How do you structure a 25-mark Advanced Higher History essay around a sustained line of argument?

The 25-mark essay: an introduction that takes a position and previews the factors, analytical paragraphs that argue rather than narrate, and a conclusion that weighs the factors and reaches a judgement matching the line of argument.
How to structure a 25-mark SQA Advanced Higher History essay around a sustained line of argument. Covers the introduction that takes a position, analytical paragraphs that argue not narrate, and a conclusion that weighs factors and reaches a judgement.
12 min answer →

How do you weave historians' interpretations into a 25-mark Advanced Higher History essay to lift analysis into evaluation?

Using historiography in the essay: framing each factor against how historians have weighed it, positioning your judgement within the debate, and avoiding the historiography paragraph that sits apart from the argument.
How to weave historians' interpretations into a 25-mark SQA Advanced Higher History essay. Covers framing each factor against the historians' debate, positioning your judgement within it, and avoiding the isolated historiography paragraph that does not advance the argument.
12 min answer →