Many A-level History essays do not lose marks for missing knowledge. They lose them because the facts never add up to an answer. The cure is a line of argument: a judgement you make in your first paragraph and keep proving until your last. This guide uses AQA's published examiner report and marked answers. Other exam boards and papers differ, so check your own specification and mark scheme.
What examiners reward
AQA's report on the exam for 7042/1C, summer 2023 lists what it saw in more successful essays: careful planning, a balance of issues with appropriate judgement, an effective introduction that sets out the argument to be advanced, and an effective conclusion demonstrating overall judgement.
The same report lists what it saw in less successful essays: no effective plan, a failure to focus on the central theme of the question, a pre-planned response, long descriptive passages not clearly linked to the question, and no supported analysis or judgement.
Step 1: unpick the question
Underline the claim in the question and any key term inside it. The report describes weaker answers to a question about a crisis that never considered what a crisis was, and so produced a narrative account of events. Write a one-line definition of each key term before you plan anything else.
Step 2: make your judgement early
AQA's answers and commentaries for 7042/2R show the difference in practice. The commentary on a Level 5 response says it makes a very clear initial judgement, sustains that judgement throughout and returns to it in the conclusion. The commentary on a Level 3 response says the initial judgement could be developed, that its contextual detail sometimes lapses into a narrative account of evidence, and that the balance was not fully developed.
So your first paragraph needs one sentence that answers the question, such as 'This claim is only partly valid because...'. Every later paragraph exists to prove, test or qualify that sentence.
The ten-minute plan
- Underline the claim and define the key terms in one line each.
- Write your judgement in one sentence.
- List three factors for the claim and three against, then rank them by importance.
- Choose the paragraph order. Start with the factor that matters most to your judgement.
- Write the link sentence for each paragraph: how this factor supports, limits or changes your judgement.
- Write your conclusion's first sentence now, so you know where the essay ends.
A worked example
The 7042/2R material includes this question: 'American involvement in Europe, in the years 1945 to 1949, was primarily driven by the desire to advance US economic interests.' Assess the validity of this view.
Judgement: economic interests mattered, but they served a bigger aim of limiting Soviet influence, so the view is only partly valid.
Paragraph 1: the case for the view. The Marshall Plan offered economic aid and Europe's weak economies mattered for trade. Link: this is strong evidence, but ask who the aid was meant to protect Europe from.
Paragraph 2: the case against. Concern about Soviet expansion and the idea of containment. Link: this explains why economic help was given when and where it was.
Paragraph 3: the tipping point. The creation of West Germany in 1949 shows political and security aims in action. Link: economics and security overlap here, which is why your judgement says only partly valid.
Conclusion: return to your first sentence and say which aim you think was primary, and why.
The narrative test
After each paragraph, cover the question and read your first and last sentences. If they only tell a story, you have written narrative. Each paragraph should begin and end by pointing back to the question and to your judgement.
Practise it tonight
Pick one past-paper question from your board. Spend ten minutes on the plan only, then compare your judgement and paragraph order with the examiner commentary for a similar question. Do this three times before you write another full essay. For general advice on revising essay subjects, see our guide to studying for an essay exam.