This document provides guidance on how to plan an essay response by breaking it down into four key parts: 1) Understanding the exact question being asked 2) Establishing relevant context about the time period 3) Identifying 2-4 factors that could be discussed to answer the question 4) Determining what the conclusion or line of argument will be It then offers three possible approaches for identifying factors: presenting evidence in a yes/no style, discussing possible reasons for an event, or identifying relevant events/actions that could be analyzed using the isolated factor.

1. @mrmarrhistory

2. • What is the exact question?
Check the question; what is it asking you to do? Are there
any relevant dates included? Does it have an isolated factor?
• What will your context be?
What do you know about the period that the essay covers?
Are there any useful facts to help you introduce the essay?
• What factors will you discuss?
Can you think of different factors you could discuss to help
answer the question (including the isolated factor)? What
do historians think? You should aim to discuss 2-4 factors.
• What will your conclusion be?
What is your conclusion/line of argument going to be?

3. Write the
question here
Context
FactorsLine of
argument
Question
meaning
Historian
views

4. How to identify factors
• You should identify 2-4 factors (preferably 3) which will
help you answer the question
POSSIBLE APPROACHES
• Present evidence in a Yes/No style
• Discuss possible reasons, one of which will be the
question’s isolated factor
• Identify events/actions relevant to the question’s theme;
use these as factors and the isolated factor as analysis

5. Present evidence in a Yes/No style
• Imagine answering the question by saying Yes or No (or
instead It was or It wasn’t)
• Provide evidence which supports each point of view
For example:
To what extent was Nazi foreign policy driven by
economic factors?
1. Evidence it was driven by economic factors
2. Evidence it wasn’t driven by economic factors

6. Discuss possible reasons, one of which will be
the question’s isolated factor
• Try to think of possible causes of an event (ideally three)
• Discuss each of these causes (inc. the isolated factor)
For example:
To what extent was Nazi foreign policy driven by
economic factors?
1. Evidence it was driven by economic factors
2. Evidence it was driven by need to keep domestic
support
3. Evidence it was continuation of previous policies

7. Identify actions relevant to the question; use
these as factors & the isolated factor as analysis
• Think what you know about the theme and consider the
events/actions you would discuss as part of your answer
• Discuss each action on its own (as your factors) and use the
question’s isolated factor for your analysis/evaluation
For example:
To what extent was Nazi foreign policy driven by
economic factors?
1. Rearmament actions
2. Anschluss with Austria
3. Invasion of Sudetenland and Czechoslovakia