IB Docs (2) Team
4. Essay writing: Papers 2 and 3
Papers Two and Three of your IB history examination are assessed through essay writing; thus a large part of your history course will be devoted to practising essay writing, both in non-timed and in timed conditions. Below are some tips to help you develop this skill.
Please note that for every historical topic on this website we have essay planning pages with suggestions for essay plans and exercises that will help you to develop your writing skills.
The essay is key for demonstrating your historical knowledge and understanding, along with your ability to analyse and to form a judgement; this is why it plays such a key role in your assessment!
Examiners will be looking for essays which:
- Indicate a firm historical knowledge and evidence of wide reading
- Include a relevant selection of information
- Analyse the key points
- Reach a judgement on the question set
- Are clearly structured
Steps to writing a good essay
History essays are an art form, but they also benefit from an underpinning of scientific method; that is, they benefit from your development of a logical and reasoned approach to writing, construction and organisation’.
Black and Macraild Studying History, MacMillan 3rd ed pg 198
There are several key steps in writing an essay. Your first task in writing an essay is to understand what the question is asking. You have to ‘deconstruct’ the question. This means focusing on each part of the question:
- The topic – what overall issue/topic is the question focused on?
- Any dates that are given – how will it affect your answer?
- Key concepts/factors – these may need defining to make sense of your answer
- The ‘command’ words giving the instructions of what you have to do
Each part is vital to understanding what the question is asking. If you misunderstand any of the components, you may start off on the wrong track.
For example, the following question can be broken down as follows:
Evaluate the success of Stalin’s domestic policies in the period 1928 – 1939
Topic | Stalin |
Dates | 1928 – 1941 |
Key concepts/specific factors | Domestic policies |
Command words | Evaluate |
For Paper 2, you have the extra challenge of having to choose your own examples. In addition, your case studies will need to be taken from different regions
e.g. Examine the importance of air power in two wars, each chosen from a different region
Topic | Air power in war |
Examples | Wars from two different regions |
Key concepts/specific factors | Air power |
Command words | Examine |
The next step is to understand the meaning of the command words. Below is a list of the IB command words and an explanation of what you are expected to do with the question:
Analyse
It is important for all essays that you avoid a descriptive approach. To avoid doing this and to ensure that you analyse rather than describe or write a narrative of events, you should attempt to find thematic points around which to organise your information
For example with the question ‘Analyse the causes of the First World War’ – you could organise your essay around at long-term versus short-term and/or political, ideological, economic causes.
Discuss
Again – you are looking for an analytical approach. Make sure you offer a ‘balanced’ analysis. This could involve covering the successes and failures of a policy/person or the benefits and disadvantages of, for example, an interwar economic or social development.
E.g. Discuss the role of Stresemann in the 1920s in Weimar Germany
Evaluate
Here you need to identify and analyse the strengths and limitations/successes and failures/positives and negatives of an assertion made in the question or, for example a policy or development or individual. You need to weigh up different arguments.
e.g Evaluate the impact of Cavour on the unification of Italy
Examine
This will be used when a concept is being addressed or where there is a clear inter-relationship of factors. So ‘Examine the economic developments in Spain in the 1930s’ means that you need to begin by examining the economic developments and then consider how these impacted social and political developments
To what extent
You need to set up arguments both supporting and challenging the factor or concept of the question e.g. To what extent was Stalin responsible for the development of a Cold War in Europe by 1949? would involve looking first at the role of Stalin and then weighing this factor against an alternative factor (in this case Truman)
Compare and Contrast
You need to analyse the similarities and differences between two or more case studies, events or developments. You should try to refer to both case studies/events or developments throughout the essay – don’t just write about one and then the other and leave it to the end to do your comparisons and contrasts!
e.g. Compare and contrast the policies of Alexander II and Alexander III
Once you have an understanding of the essay question, you can start to plan your essay.
Why is a plan so important?
- You need to have a clear argument sorted out in your head before you start writing the essay so you know the direction your essay will take
- It will allow you to see if your argument works – to see if you have enough evidence to support it
- It will allow you to sort out your key paragraphs and decide in which order to present them
- It will make writing your essay faster
- It will help cut out waffle and repetition
- If you get in the habit of writing a plan, you will find it easier to do this in the exam which will in turn help you to organise your thinking and your time under time pressure
The detail included in a plan will change according to whether you are writing the essay for a class assignment, as a revision exercise, or as a timed essay in exam conditions.
The introduction is a key part of your essay. In your introduction you will:
- Show that you understand the question; this could involve referring to the dates set or events mentioned in the title and putting them into context. It also involves explaining any concepts.
- Indicate the scope of your essay
- Set out your line of argument
- Provide a transition to the first paragraph of your essay
The reader (your teacher or examiner) should feel after reading your introduction that you have a good grasp of the key issues connected to the question and a clear line of argument.
Your essay will probably contain around 6 paragraphs. Each paragraph should include:
- A clear opening sentence which links to the question and states the key point/argument of the paragraph
- Evidence which supports the point given in the first sentence
- A final sentence which sums up the argument of the paragraph and leads on to the next paragraph
Using Evidence
‘this is a history examination and not an invitation to unleash a torrent of generalities’
May 2010 subject report
Your opening sentence should set out the argument for your paragraph. You then need to develop this idea further and support it with evidence. Selecting the appropriate evidence is key. Only include information that supports your claim – and make it clear why that piece of information supports your claim – don’t leave it for the reader to work out! You need to include ‘analytical links’ to show how your evidence links to the question. Also make sure it also includes precise detail - dates, places, names.... rather than vague, generalised points (see quote above!)
Sequence of paragraphs
Your sequence of paragraphs should lead the reader through a clear line of argument and also show that you are being analytical rather than just describing or telling a story. Different type of questions suggest different ways to organise and structure your argument. See above for the discussion of command terms for more some suggestions about this. The key thing is to use an analytical approach and to avoid a chronological or descriptive approach. However examiners are also looking for a ‘sense of chronology’ – so make sure you include dates where appropriate and deal with events in the correct order within your line of argument.
Use of historiography
Part of your evidence may include the views of historians or even direct quotes from historians. It is good to show knowledge of historical debate; however you must ensure that you essay is not an essay about historians’ views; your aim is to use historical debate as evidence for your own argument
Do not use quotations just to try to create the impression that you know more than you do! As with any piece of evidence, they must be selected carefully and should support the key point in the paragraph. Also do not overdo quotations – aim for one or two well chosen brief quotations for each key argument in your essay.
It is also worth pointing out that it is possible to meet the criteria of the higher levels without referring directly to historians. This is made clear in the History subject report of May 2010: ‘Historiography should not be a substitute/replacement for solid factual knowledge, accurate chronology and sequencing which must form the basis of any effective essay.’ (May 2010 subject report)
As the final paragraph of your essay and the last bit that your teacher/examiner will read, it is important that you leave a good impression. Try to make enough time in an examination to reach your conclusion as it gives you the chance to remind the reader of your argument.
In your conclusion it is important to
- restate your main point or argument
- link it back to the title to show that your argument answers the question set
Do not introduce any new points or evidence
Introducing a topic There were several reasons why this happened There were several results……. There were many factors that contributed to this… It is often argued that…. | Discussing a sequence of events/points Firstly… Secondly… Thirdly… Finally,… |
Adding information Additionally, In addition, Moreover, Equally important Furthermore, For example, Another point/piece of evidence… Not only…but also… While it is true that… Despite the fact that… | Emphasising a point Moreover, Significantly, Another key point Surprisingly, On the negative side… On the positive side… In fact, It is important to realise that Indeed, |
Comparing Similarly,… Likewise, In both situations/In neither situation… Compared with… In the same way… Equally… As with… …are similar in that… | Contrasting Although… Conversely, In spite of this… On the other hand, However, On the contrary, Nevertheless, |
Linking cause and effect As a result of… This means that… Due to the fact that… This caused… Therefore, Thus… | Concluding Consequently, As a result, Accordingly, In conclusion/ To conclude… |
For an explanation of what you are trying to achieve in your essay writing to get to the top levels, go to the following pages to see the criteria you need to meet. When you write an essay, check that you have met the criteria for the top levels:
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn