In order to write an excellent history essay you need to use a variety of skills. Some skills — like a focus on the question — are fairly basic. Focusing on the question is a foundational skill: you need it, but focus alone will not get you an excellent result. In addition to focus, you will need lots of detail: statistics, proper names, dates and technical vocabulary. Together, focus and detail are a really good start. They are necessary in any history essay. But above these skills are a series of high-level skills. These high-level skills, which sit at the top of the mark scheme, are the key to the top marks.
Different exam boards use different vocabularies to describe top-level skills. For example, you may have heard of ‘analysis’, ‘explanation’, ‘evaluation’, and ‘reaching a supported judgement’. Whatever terms are used, there is a relatively small range of high-level skills that you will need to master if you want to achieve a good grade.
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