Historical Skills: overview of SQA Higher History source and essay skills
An overview of the historical skills tested in SQA Higher History: evaluating sources by origin and purpose, putting sources in context through the 'how fully' and comparison questions, and writing the extended-response essay, with how each skill is assessed and how to study it.
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Historical Skills are the techniques the SQA Higher History question paper actually tests, whatever options you study. The Scottish paper is built on source-handling and the British and European or World papers on the extended-response essay. This page maps the skills and how to master them.
The source skills
The Scottish History paper is answered through source-handling questions worth 20 marks. Three skills recur.
- Evaluating usefulness by origin and purpose
- Judge how useful a source is for a named enquiry using its origin, purpose, relevant content and omissions, supported by your own knowledge.
- Putting a source in context (the "how fully" question)
- Select relevant points from a source and add accurate recalled knowledge it omits, then judge how fully it explains the issue.
- Comparing two sources
- Make an overall comparison of the sources' views and develop specific points where they agree and disagree.
The essay skill
The British and European or World papers are answered through extended-response essays worth 22 marks each.
Writing the extended essay. Build an introduction that states a line of argument and the relevant factors, write balanced analytical paragraphs supported by precise evidence, and finish with a conclusion that weighs the factors and reaches a supported judgement.
How the skills are assessed
- Source questions reward developed points: origin, purpose, content and omission for usefulness; source points plus own knowledge for "how fully"; and clear, developed comparisons for the comparison question.
- Essays reward structure, a sustained line of argument, accurate and relevant knowledge, analysis and evaluation of factors, and a supported overall judgement.
In every case, the examiners reward analysis and judgement over description or storytelling.
How to study historical skills
- Learn the question types. Know what each source question and the essay are asking for and how the marks are split.
- Drill the structures. Practise the source frameworks and the essay plan until they are automatic.
- Bank knowledge. Both source and essay marks depend on accurate recalled detail, so revise the content thoroughly.
- Use SQA past papers and marking instructions. They show the question stems and the exact wording examiners reward.
For the official course specification
The SQA publishes the full Higher History course specification, specimen and past papers, and marking instructions at sqa.org.uk. Always revise from the current specification and SQA past papers.
Sources & how we know this
- SQA Higher History Course Specification — SQA (2018)