how to write a gcse history essay

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GCSE History Essay Techniques

GCSE History essays are difficult. For many students taking GCSE History, how to structure your GCSE History essays and source responses are often the most challenging parts of the course. Learning core facts and remembering key dates for the GCSE History course are relatively straightforward. Analysing and evaluating the importance of various factors, reasons and causes are a lot more difficult and these skills take time to develop.

Below are some templates of how to structure your GCSE History essays and source based questions (N.B. the suggested timings may vary between exam boards, but the structure will remain the same).

What can you learn from source X about…..?

You need to make  two inferences , explained and supported with quotes if a written source or select details if it is a picture. Spend about 6 minutes on this 4 mark question

Describe how…..This is a describe / key features question

You need to make at least two statements that are well supported by own knowledge and presented in separate paragraphs. Say “Firstly….” then “Secondly…” Spend about 8 minutes on this 6 mark question

“Explain the effects of…” This is a consequence question

You need to clearly explain two or more consequences that are set out in separate paragraphs and are supported by well selected and relevant own knowledge. Show links between the consequences for full marks and assess the extent of change. How much of an impact did it have? Spend about 12 minutes on this 8 mark question

“How did X change between….” This is a change or development question.

You need to explain  two or more changes  that developed something or affected something, showing how one led to the other for full marks. You need to support your answer by bringing in your own knowledge and that you put each change in a separate paragraph. It is crucial that in your answer you refer to what the situation was like  before  to make it clear to the examiner that you understand what changed. Spend about 12 minutes on this 8 mark question

For further details about GCSE preparation, GCSE History essays, GCSE mock exams, GCSE Revision Booster courses or private tuition bespoke to your requirements, please contact us .

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A Guide to Standard Grade History: Essay Writing

A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Essays in

Standard Grade History*

A Brief Guide

The Essays: Information

The essays at Standard Grade are worth eight marks. You may hear them being referred to as “8 Markers” or “8 Mark essays”. They contribute to your Knowledge and Understanding mark, and they will be in one of the three different contexts in the paper. You will be given a choice of two different questions.

What will the question be?

It is almost impossible to tell. I managed to predict the correct context AND question, but only out of sheer luck. They are designed to push you, and make sure that you know the course inside out. If you ever progress to Higher, you will find this is mostly the case as well.

How are the marks awarded?

Well, like so:

• One mark for a reasonable introduction (1)
• A mark for each coherent point. (Ie, not just any old drivel) (6)
• One mark for a balanced conclusion. (1)

In order to achieve the full eight marks, you must meet the criteria above.

What do I do if I can’t answer the question?

Write down as much as you can that springs to mind. If you can make a decent introduction, you’ve already got a mark. Quite frankly, it would be rare if you didn’t know ANYTHING about the questions. Remember, this isn’t a test of your english skills, it’s a test of how much of the standard grade history course you know and can apply.

The essays have a really simple structure. It merely consists of an introduction, six essay points and then the conclusion. But, here we will go through step-by-step of the essay structure, to ensure that you know what to do.

Let’s assume that we are answering the 2008 essay question for this guide: “ (ii) Explain the impact upon people’s lives of immigration into Scotland”

Introduction

In the introduction, you always have to include the following:

• A very stubble reference to the question, which means basically including the question. Briefly summarise what you are going to answer.
• Background information on the topic at hand. You don’t need to write a whole story of “how it was before then”, just a brief summary.

So, here is a introduction that I have written up that would be deemed as appropriate for the essay:

Life in Scotland was very different before masses of people started immigrating to Scotland. There was a lack of culture variety but, much more jobs were free and available for Scots . There were both positive and negative impacts that this had on the Scottish people, and the immigrants themselves.

This is a preview of the whole essay

Short, simple and varied. If you have the ability to balance out your essay with both positive and negative aspects about the subject at hand (given that it’s in the right context), then you will surely get full marks.

Essay Points

This is probably the hardest bit of the essay, but you’ll surprised how simple it actually is. This is where you have to recall your own knowledge, put it into essay form and more importantly, answer the question.

I’ve found that the following little formula helps:

For each point (paragraph) in your essay, I suggest you write in the following format:

• (Joining word) These are good for liking up your essay. Things like: Firstly, secondly, moreover, furthermore, on the other hand, also, but, to further this point, in conclusion, lastly…these make your essay seem a lot more professional.
• Point . When you start your paragraph, basically just say what happened/what formed/who done whatever. No waffle needed. Also, you must referrer to the question at some point in the essay!
• Back-up/Evaluation . Why did that (your point) change peoples lives? Did it lead on to something else? How effective was it? Do you have any evidence? It’s not really enough to just tell a story of what happened, it’s much better to back up your point with some evidence or evaluation (or both!).

Note: If you are trying to have a varied essay, even out the points. If it’s a case of positive or negative, have three positive points and three negative points.

Here is the next six points of the essay written out with this formula.

Firstly , immigration into Scotland had a positive impact on Scots because when the Irish immigrated into Scotland, they helped with the development of the railway lines and canals. This proved to be an positive impact on peoples  lives in Scotland because it enabled transport for leisure and importing goods much more accessible, therefore helping the country as a whole.

Secondly, immigration into Scotland had a positive impact on Scots because Italians who immigrated managed to introduce a different variety of exotic and healthy foods into the typical Scottish diet . This proved to be an positive impact on peoples lives in Scotland because it improved the awful diet that the Scottish people had, which in turn, improved their health as a whole.

Furthermore , immigration into Scotland had a positive impact on the Scottish people because many experienced nurses and doctors immigrated to Scotland to help improve the health of the Scottish people.   This proved to be an positive impact on peoples lives in Scotland because it obviously helped make Scots much more healthier, and be able to have a more healthy life style.  

But on the other hand , immigration into Scotland had a negative impact on the Scottish people because hostility grew between both the Protestant and Catholic churches and the Jewish church . This proved to have an negative impact on peoples lives in Scotland because it led to many fights and disputes, therefore creating a cultural void in Scotland.

Moreover, immigration into Scotland had a negative impact on the immigrants because they were deemed responsible for taking up a lot of jobs, therefore leading to unemployment for Scots. This proved to have a negative impact on Scotland peoples lives in because it caused dispute between the groups, which still go on today.

Lastly , immigration into Scotland had a negative impact on the immigrants because sometimes they were unwelcome and Scots would harass them all the time. This proved to have a negative impact on peoples lives in Scotland because it gave an impression that Scotland was an unfriendly nation, which put off a lot of people from immigrating to Scotland.

As you can see, you don’t need to make it over complicated. But, here are some general tips for writing the essay points:

• Try to make it sound professional. The people who will be marking your paper will be more than likely quite good at english. If you can include good sentence structure, grammar and punctuation, then you’ll be fine.
• DO NOT WAFFLE. This gives an impression that you don’t know what you are writing about.
• Never speak in first person. You only do this in the conclusion.
• Remember to write the correct question number in the margin.
• Remember to count how many points you have done, sometimes people forget this and end up doing eight by mistake, when you only need six.

So, you’ve finally got the worst part over with and your at the conclusion. This is a nice way to give your essay that good finishing touch. But, the key to a successful conclusion is to have:

• A balancing summary.
• A point from your essay that you think that contributes most to the factor being written about, and why you think it contributes the most.

Here is a sample conclusion.

In conclusion, I think that immigration had an negative impact on peoples lives in Scotland. Whilst some of the negatives stand out from the rest, the most negative impact would have to be the fact that immigrants were being deemed for taking up Scots’ jobs, therefore creating a cultural void that still exists today.

• Write out as many practice essays as you can.
• Memorize 6 things about each topic, and more.
• Look over other essays and improve your technique, you will be amazed on how much you can pick up on.
• In the exam, read the question carefully and pick the right question AND WRITE THE NUMBER IN THE MARGIN . If you don’t, you might not get any marks for your essay.
• Reading never does any good! Make spider diagrams, write out the points or even read them out to yourself when revising and will definitely remember them.
• Good luck, and remember to ask your teacher if you are struggling!

(Essay in full, answer to 2008 question “ Explain the impact upon people’s lives of immigration to Scotland ”)

Life in Scotland was very different before masses of people started immigrating to Scotland. There was a lack of culture variety but, much more jobs were free and available for Scots. There were both positive and negative impacts that this had on the Scottish people, and the immigrants themselves.

Firstly, immigration into Scotland had a positive impact on Scots because when the Irish immigrated into Scotland, they helped with the development of the railway lines and canals. This proved to be an positive impact on peoples  lives in Scotland because it enabled transport for leisure and importing goods much more accessible, therefore helping the country as a whole.

Secondly, immigration into Scotland had a positive impact on Scots because Italians who immigrated managed to introduce a different variety of exotic and healthy foods into the typical Scottish diet. This proved to be an positive impact on peoples lives in Scotland because it improved the awful diet that the Scottish people had, which in turn, improved their health as a whole.

Furthermore, immigration into Scotland had a positive impact on the Scottish people because many experienced nurses and doctors immigrated to Scotland to help improve the health of the Scottish people. This proved to be an positive impact on peoples lives in Scotland because it obviously helped make Scots much more healthier, and be able to have a more healthy life style.  

But on the other hand, immigration into Scotland had a negative impact on the Scottish people because hostility grew between both the Protestant and Catholic churches and the Jewish church. This proved to have an negative impact on peoples lives in Scotland because it led to many fights and disputes, therefore creating a cultural void in Scotland.

Lastly, immigration into Scotland had a negative impact on the immigrants because sometimes they were unwelcome and Scots would harass them all the time. This proved to have a negative impact on peoples lives in Scotland because it gave an impression that Scotland was an unfriendly nation, which put off a lot of people from immigrating to Scotland.

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GCSE History: How to Write a Strong Essay

Mastering essay writing and writing the best gcse history essay you can..

Writing a strong essay is an important skill for success in GCSE History. The ability to analyze and evaluate historical events, sources, and interpretations is essential to achieving good grades in this subject. In this blog post, we will discuss some tips and strategies for writing a strong essay in GCSE History, which will help you to demonstrate your understanding of the subject and achieve good grades.

Tip 1: Understand the Question

The first step in writing a strong essay is to fully understand the question. This means reading the question carefully and making sure that you understand what is being asked of you. Try to identify key words and phrases that will help guide your research and writing. This will ensure that your essay is focused and relevant to the question.

Tip 2: Research Thoroughly

Research is an essential part of writing a strong essay in GCSE History. Make sure to gather a wide range of sources, including primary and secondary sources, and evaluate them critically. It is important to consider different perspectives and interpretations of the historical event or topic you are writing about. This will help you to develop a well-informed and nuanced argument.

Tip 3: Plan Your Essay

Once you have completed your research, it's important to plan your essay. This includes outlining the main points you want to make, the evidence you will use to support them, and the structure of your essay. Having a plan will help you to stay focused and organized when writing your essay. It will also ensure that your essay has a clear and logical structure.

Tip 4: Use a Clear and Persuasive Argument

A strong essay in GCSE History should have a clear and persuasive argument. This means presenting a thesis statement and using evidence to support it. Make sure to use specific examples and evidence from your research to back up your argument. This will demonstrate your understanding of the subject and will make your essay more convincing.

Tip 5: Use Historical Terms and Concepts Correctly

GCSE History is a subject that requires a good understanding of historical terms and concepts. Make sure to use them correctly and in the right context. This will demonstrate your understanding of the subject and will make your essay more persuasive. It will also ensure that your essay is clear and easy to understand.

Tip 6: Proofread and Edit Your Work

Finally, it's important to proofread and edit your essay before submitting it. This means checking for spelling and grammar errors, making sure that your argument is clear and well-supported, and that you have cited your sources correctly. Proofreading and editing your essay will ensure that it is well-written and error-free.

Conclusion:

Writing a strong essay in GCSE History requires a good understanding of the question, thorough research, a clear and persuasive argument, the correct use of historical terms and concepts, and a careful proofreading and editing process. By following these six tips, you will be able to write a strong essay that demonstrates your understanding of the subject and will help you to achieve good grades in GCSE History. As the famous historian and writer, Barbara Tuchman, said, "Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly. That's why it's so hard." Keep practicing and keep improving!

How to write the best essay you can for GCSE History

It can be difficult to find tips on writing the best essay for gcse history; that's where ucademy comes in. ucademy is an educational community which lets you learn effectively using the leading evidence based techniques. you simply login to your ucademy course, and then you can follow the in-depth session(s) on the best ways to study and prepare for gcse and beyond.

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The founder of Ucademy, Usman Rana, attended the 3rd lowest ranked school by grades in Birmingham, where most students didn't achieve their GCSE grades.

Usman went onto study at the University of Oxford and at the University of Birmingham. Since founding Ucademy, we have supported an audience of 10,000+ for GCSE and A-level across the world, been featured in The Telegraph, and have helped students achieve places in competitive courses such as Medicine or at Oxford.

Quite the journey! You can read more on this  by clicking Here!

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Essay Writing

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History is not just about writing lots of essays! It is also about discussion, debate and evidence. However, there will be, as with many other subjects at A-Level, some essays to write - but it is not as tough as it looks. Essay writing is a skill that you will get better at over time, but you might find the guide below useful to help you along.

How to Write a History Essay

• Are you new to the 6th form?
• Are you already in the 6th form but worried about your essay writing skills?
• Are you moving on to study history at university?

Then this could be just what you need! This guide will not help you to get outstanding grades - that is up to you, but it will prepare you with the skills that you need to produce that masterpiece!

Key Features: The Must Haves

A-Level/Undergraduate essays should contain the following features; although it depends on the type of essay you are writing as to how far you go; for example, a personal study or dissertation will require a great deal of historiography and referencing, whereas class essays may require less. If you are unsure as to how much your teacher will expect, it is best to ask! 

A well considered argument - This is VERY important to get right. It means that you will need to make sure that you clearly state your line of argument and do it convincingly. At the same time, you will also need to give full coverage to other factors/opinions/arguments that are at play - even if it is to rubbish them!

Reference to the question

An introduction

A middle -  the substantive part of the essay, where you present the evidence and arguments

A conclusion

Footnotes and bibliography

Before You Start...

The key to success in any history essay is preparation. This not only includes focussed and wide reading around the topic, but also your preparation of your thoughts and arguments. Richard Harris, experienced history teacher and now lecturer in education at Southampton University provides a very good starting point for essay writing. His plan is designed to get you thinking and planning your structure before you write. You can find a copy of this planning sheet at the end of the guide. 

1) Considered Argument

The key to providing a considered argument is to read widely! What is the historiography (views of different historians) surrounding the topic? What evidence is there to support different lines of argument? Your job is firstly to present these lines of argument.

Secondly, you should critically evaluate these views and evidence as you explain them. Is there evidence to counteract? By providing a considered argument - what we don't mean is that you sit on the fence! Every essay MUST have an argument, but by considered, we simply mean that you should be prepared to consider other arguments/factors, other than your own view, even if it is to critically evaluate them and dismiss their importance! But you must be convincing and be prepared to examine them fully.

At A level, the mark-schemes tend to be stepped into 5 different levels; you cannot progress beyond level 2/3 if you do not provide a well considered argument! The examiner wants to see what your opinion is, but they also want to know that you have not just "plucked" this opinion from nowhere - they want to see that you have considered the topic fully, taken account of all of the views and arguments before making your judgement. Therefore, you should stick to your line of argument throughout, but you should clearly evaluate other points of view, showing your reader how and why they are less valuable arguments than your own. 

2) Reference to the question

Where possible you should show how the evidence you are presenting links back to the question. You should refer back to the question wherever a link or piece of evidence provides some clues to help formulate an answer. This should help you to avoid going off track. Always think as you are writing "does this paragraph help to present the evidence to support my line of argument or help me to answer the question?" 

3) The Introduction

The introduction should set the scene. It should be short and snappy, no more than a few lines, but they are very important as you need to hook your reader in. There should be some very brief background detail to the question. You should also include some brief historiography - what is the main debate among historians about this issue? Who is saying what? You should also at this point wish to state what YOUR argument is going to be.

You should then refer back to the question by stating how you are going to measure/argue your case; a good way to do this is by referring back to the question itself. It should help you to get the question straight in your own mind too and give you some direction. For example, if you have a question asking you how significant an event was, you need to explain what is meant by significance and how you will measure this.

E.g. 'How significant was the Reichstag Fire in the Nazi revolution?'

When this question is analysed, bit by bit it helps us to explain to our reader what the essay intends to cover. 

4) The Middle

This is the substantive part of the essay. This is the bit where you have to present the evidence and arguments. It should predominantly contain your analysis/argument but you must also look at the counter-arguments and the views of historians.

• Present evidence in a balanced way: You should present your argument/response to the question clearly and effectively, using the views of historians and other evidence to back up the points you make. On the other side, you should also consider the arguments against your own and critically evaluate them in order to show why they are less important/plausible than your own.
• Present your evidence in a logical order : Try to avoid jumping around. Make a plan before you write that organizes your evidence logically. This could either be in themes or in chronological order.
• Include analysis: You must make sure that you don't just fall into the trap of presenting evidence without analysis. This reads more like a list! When presenting a piece of evidence or the view of a historian, don't forget to critically analyse. Is the evidence reliable? Is the view of the historian reliable or are they writing from a specific viewpoint? Are there different interpretations? What do you think? Is it a valid point?
• Refer often to the title: Don't forget to link your points back to the question where possible. It will help your essay and your reader stay focused on the answer to the question!

How to Structure Paragraphs:

It is important to structure your points within the scaffolding of the paragraph well. A good way to do this is to PEE all over your paragraphs!!!

Of course, don't take this literally and ruin your essay - what we mean is to use the PEE formula:

E - Example

E - Explanation.

This is a good habit to get into and a good way to provide structure. Simply make your point, give an example or piece of evidence to back it up, then explain it. What is the context? How or why is it significant/insignificant? How does it fit into the topic? How does it help to answer the question? 

Test yourself:

See if you can spot the PEE on this paragraph which forms part of an answer to the question "Was Edward IV a new monarch?"

"Edward's power did not increase at the expense of the nobility; a key criteria for new monarch status. Edward continued the tradition of letting powerful magnates rule the peripheral regions of the country, such as the North and Wales. This resulted in the creation of a number of large power bases including the Herberts in Wales, Gloucester in the North, the Percys in the eastern marshes and the Woodvilles in London. This was largely due to the small number of noble creations in his reign - he only made nine promotions to high nobility. On the one hand this shows that he was in form control as he had sufficient power and stability without having to make lots of noble creations to gain support, yet on the other hand he was creating a volatile situation as rivalries built up between powerful factions and Edward was cresting a potentially explosive situation which only he could control." 

5) Conclusion

This is the end of the essay. This is the bit where you are expected to answer the question! Here you should sum up in a couple of sentences what your argument is, and why it is the most plausible explanation, being careful to remind the reader of supportive evidence. Finally, you should put the essay in context. Explain the wider context to the question. It might be that there are longer-term or under the surface issues that need further exploration, or it may be that there is a bigger picture in play. By putting your answer in context, we don't mean just adding some extra facts about the period at the end - your setting in context should display your broader understanding of the period. A good example of this is when a student was writing about the Golden Age of Spain:

"In conclusion, the extent to whether this period can be deemed as a "Golden Age" ultimately rests on the context of the time. Although it is true to say that Spain was making advances in several areas, in terms of power, unity, wealth, economy, culture, empire and discovery. The extent of religious and racial persecution however, could be deemed as less golden in terms of morality, even if both policies were successful in terms of strengthening Spain's power base. In the wider context of the time, Spain's achievements seem less golden than they may at first appear. We have to remember that this period saw the Renaissance. The Renaissance affected practically every area of life at the time, and was a new dawn of discovery and thinking -  Leonardo Da Vinci, William Harvey, Martin Luther, Copernicus and Galileo were but a few of the characters that shaped the time;  therefore, if Spain had a golden age, so too did many other countries." 

• Re-state your argument using the key words from the title
• Be confident in your argument
• Hint at a broader context
• What other issues would you explore, given more time? 

6) Footnotes and Bibliography

At A-Level and undergraduate level, you will be expected to footnote your essays. Because you are not expected to do this at GCSE, this may be a new skill for you, but it is very easy! 

What are footnotes?

When you quote evidence or the views of a historian from a book or periodical, you are expected to let your reader know where you got this evidence from, so that if they wished (very few would) they could go and check your evidence. You can do this by including citations or footnotes.       

How to Footnote

The process of footnoting is slightly different on different computer programs and may differ again if you are using a MAC, but the process is the same, even if you are handwriting.

Footnotes should be numbered and should either appear at the bottom of the page on which they are cited or in a list at the end of the essay. They should include the following information:

1.) Author's name (surname first)

2.) Date and place of publication (found on the first page of the book usually)

3.) Title of book (in italics)

4.) Page reference. 

How to footnote on the computer

If you have Microsoft Office, the simplest way to insert a footnote is by going to the references section on the tool-bar and then following the instructions above. If you are using an earlier version of Office, you should click on insert and then select footnote from the list.

Below is an example to illustrate what a footnote should look like:

"Leo, the holy pope in Rome, passed away; and in this year there was a great pestilence among cattle than man could remember for many years..." [1]   

Footnote extras

• If the book is a collection of articles or a reproduction of primary source material, it will not have an author, but an editor instead. If the main name on the book is an editor, you need to write the letters (ed.) next to the name.
• If your next footnote in the sequence is from the same book, but a different page, you do not need to write out all of the information again, you can simply write the word "Ibid" which means same source and then cite the page number. However, you should only do this once in any given sequence. If you have 3 quotes in a row from the same book, the third time, you should write out the information again. 

What is a bibliography?

A bibliography is the list of books that you have used to help you write your essay. This may include books that you have quoted from or used as part of your reading.

You should always include a bibliography at the end of your essay which lists the books that you have used. You can use the same format as you would for footnotes. Below is a sample to show you how it should look.

1.) Campbell, J (ed) Cambridge 1982 - The Anglo-Saxons

2.) Swanton, M (ed) J.M Dent 1997 - The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle                                                  

The Harvard Footnote System

Another option to make sure you have referenced correctly is to use the simpler Harvard system. This may be a preferred method for the writing of normal class essays, although for a personal study, the use of traditional footnoting is still recommended. Harvard referencing uses the author and the date of the work in the main body of the text, and then has a reference list at the end of the essay which contains the references cited in alphabetical order by author. The reference list contains the full details of the book or journal cited. Because you only refer to a shortened form of works in the main essay (author, date) your essay doesn't get filled with too much reference material. The use of the author/date shorthand does make it easy to locate works in the reference list.

An example from the main body of a text:

Within the last ten years, teachers who have attended INSET courses have reported that the courses have helped to increase their competence and confidence in using IT (see, for example, Higham and Morris, 1993; ESRC 1990), yet despite the fact that the passing years have presented opportunities for more teachers to increase their skills in IT, weaknesses identified by McCoy (1992) seem to be still evident (Gillmon, 1998; Goldstein 1997). This suggests that we need to look for explanations other than attendance at INSET courses for the reasons for the apparently poor state of teachers' competence and confidence in IT.

In this text the author is citing entire works by other researchers to support her argument. Notice the use of brackets and the author/s and dates of all works.

Another example from the main body of a text:

One resource provided in the secondary speech genre is the "posited author" (Bakhtin, 1981, p. 312).

Here the quotation is a direct one so a page number has been added. Quotations of no more than two sentences can be incorporated into the main text and marked off with quotation marks, but if you quote a longer passage it must be placed in a separate paragraph and indented from the left and right margins of the main text.

_______________ 

[1] Swanton, Michael (ed), J.M Dent 1997, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, pg. 185

Attached files:

• Essay Planning Sheet 54.5 KB Word document
• How to write a synoptic essay
• A-level 'how to' guides

How to write a conclusion for a history essay

Every essay needs to end with a concluding paragraph. It is the last paragraph the marker reads, and this will typically be the last paragraph that you write.

What is a ‘concluding paragraph?

The conclusion is the final paragraph of your essay that reminds the reader about the points you have made and how it proves the argument which you stated in your hypothesis .

By the time your marker reads your conclusion, they have read all the evidence you have presented in your body paragraphs . This is your last opportunity to show that you have proven your points.

While your conclusion will talk about the same points you made in your introduction , it should not read exactly the same.  Instead, it should state the same information in a more developed form and bring the essay to an end.

In general, you should never use quotes from sources in your conclusion.

Concluding paragraph structure

While the concluding paragraph will normally be shorter than your introductory and body paragraphs , it still has a specific role to fulfil.

A well-written concluding paragraph has the following three-part structure:

• Restate your key points
• Restate your hypothesis
• Concluding sentence

Each element of this structure is explained further, with examples, below:

1. Restate your key points

In one or two sentences, restate each of the topic sentences from your body paragraphs . This is to remind the marker about how you proved your argument.

This information will be similar to your elaboration sentences in your introduction , but will be much briefer.

Since this is a summary of your entire essay’s argument, you will often want to start your conclusion with a phrase to highlight this. For example: “In conclusion”, “In summary”, “To briefly summarise”, or “Overall”.

Example restatements of key points:

Middle Ages (Year 8 Level)

In conclusion, feudal lords had initially spent vast sums of money on elaborate castle construction projects but ceased to do so as a result of the advances in gunpowder technology which rendered stone defences obsolete.

WWI (Year 9 Level)

To briefly summarise, the initially flood of Australian volunteers were encouraged by imperial propaganda but as a result of the stories harsh battlefield experience which filtered back to the home front, enlistment numbers quickly declined.

Civil Rights (Year 10 Level)

In summary, the efforts of important First Nations leaders and activist organisations to spread the idea of indigenous political equality had a significant effect on sway public opinion in favour of a ‘yes’ vote.

Ancient Rome (Year 11/12 Level)  

Overall, the Marian military reforms directly changed Roman political campaigns and the role of public opinion in military command assignments across a variety of Roman societal practices.

2. Restate your hypothesis

This is a single sentence that restates the hypothesis from your introductory paragraph .

Don’t simply copy it word-for-word. It should be restated in a different way, but still clearly saying what you have been arguing for the whole of your essay.

Make it clear to your marker that you are clearly restating you argument by beginning this sentence a phrase to highlight this. For example: “Therefore”, “This proves that”, “Consequently”, or “Ultimately”.

Example restated hypotheses:

Therefore, it is clear that while castles were initially intended to dominate infantry-dominated siege scenarios, they were abandoned in favour of financial investment in canon technologies.

This proves that the change in Australian soldiers' morale during World War One was the consequence of the mass slaughter produced by mass-produced weaponry and combat doctrine.

Consequently, the 1967 Referendum considered a public relations success because of the targeted strategies implemented by Charles Perkins, Faith Bandler and the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders.

Ultimately, it can be safely argued that Gaius Marius was instrumental in revolutionising the republican political, military and social structures in the 1 st century BC.

3. Concluding sentence

This is the final sentence of your conclusion that provides a final statement about the implications of your arguments for modern understandings of the topic. Alternatively, it could make a statement about what the effect of this historical person or event had on history. 

Example concluding sentences:

While these medieval structures fell into disuse centuries ago, they continue to fascinate people to this day.

The implications of the war-weariness produced by these experiences continued to shape opinions about war for the rest of the 20 th century.

Despite this, the Indigenous Peoples had to lobby successive Australian governments for further political equality, which still continues today.

Ancient Rome (Year 11/12 Level)

The impact of these changes effectively prepared the way for other political figures, like Pompey, Julius Caesar and Octavian, who would ultimately transform the Roman republic into an empire.

Putting it all together

Once you have written all three parts of, you should have a completed concluding paragraph. In the examples above, we have shown each part separately. Below you will see the completed paragraphs so that you can appreciate what a conclusion should look like.

Example conclusion paragraphs: 

In conclusion, feudal lords had initially spent vast sums of money on elaborate castle construction projects but ceased to do so as a result of the advances in gunpowder technology which rendered stone defences obsolete. Therefore, it is clear that while castles were initially intended to dominate infantry-dominated siege scenarios, they were abandoned in favour of financial investment in canon technologies. While these medieval structures fell into disuse centuries ago, they continue to fascinate people to this day.

To briefly summarise, the initially flood of Australian volunteers were encouraged by imperial propaganda, but as a result of the stories harsh battlefield experience which filtered back to the home front, enlistment numbers quickly declined. This proves that the change in Australian soldiers' morale during World War One was the consequence of the mass slaughter produced by mass-produced weaponry and combat doctrine. The implications of the war-weariness produced by these experiences continued to shape opinions about war for the rest of the 20th century.

In summary, the efforts of important indigenous leaders and activist organisations to spread the idea of indigenous political equality had a significant effect on sway public opinion in favour of a ‘yes’ vote. Consequently, the 1967 Referendum considered a public relations success because of the targeted strategies implemented by Charles Perkins, Faith Bandler and the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. Despite this, the Indigenous Peoples had to lobby successive Australian governments for further political equality, which still continues today.

Overall, the Marian military reforms directly changed Roman political campaigns and the role of public opinion in military command assignments across a variety of Roman societal practices. Ultimately, it can be safely argued that Gaius Marius was instrumental in revolutionising the republican political, military and social structures in the 1st century BC. The impact of these changes effectively prepared the way for other political figures, like Pompey, Julius Caesar and Octavian, who would ultimately transform the Roman republic into an empire.

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How to write essays at GCSE / IGCSE History

A student guide with some worksheet material , designed to develop essay-writing skills with GCSE / IGCSE History students.

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