essay writing

• Introductory paragraph clearly related to the area/topic of the question, containing understanding of focus and key terms of the question, which gives a clear sense of the direction of the essay.
• Background sentences: Two or three sentences that introduces your reader to the larger topic that you will be focusing on. This will provide a brief explanation of the key people, places, events and concepts that will be mentioned later in your essay. This information should be drawn from your background research. This should orient your reader, so they can be aware of what time and place in history you will be focusing on.
• Hypothesis or Thesis statement: One or two sentences that states what you are going to be arguing for the rest of your essay. It should be clear in this sentence what your entire argument will be and what conclusion you will draw in response to the key question.
• Elaboration sentences: Explains the key points that your topic sentences will touch on in each body paragraph. You don’t need to give all the detail from your separate topic sentences but should mention the crux of their arguments.
• Signpost sentence: A final sentence that prepares the reader for the topic of your first body paragraph. Usually it will state the importance of the first point that you’re about to make.
• Demonstrates an understanding of the inter-relationship between events, people and ideas, and continuity and change.
• Detailed, accurate and relevant evidence used in a manner that assists analysis and evaluation. In responding to an essay instruction of debate or evaluate that proposition, historical evidence is used to argue for and against a view/proposition. Uses and cites accurately modern sources to develop or strengthen arguments.
• Topic sentence: The very first sentence that clearly states what you are going to be arguing in the paragraph.
• Explanation sentence: provides a detailed explanation of what your topic sentence means, or the main points that your sources will focus on. This usually means providing details about a historical person, location or event.
• Evidence from your sources: Incorporate a number of good pieces (usually 3-4) of evidence from your knowledge that prove your point for this paragraph. As you incorporate your quotes, ensure you provide analysis and evaluation of your sources.
• Clincher: Make a clear statement about how all the evidence you provided helps prove what you had stated in your Topic Sentence.
• The conclusion briefly restates your main arguments and shows how they answered the hypothesis.
• Restate your key points: Highlight the overall points made through the course of the essay
• Restate the hypothesis: A sentence that restates clearly what you have been arguing for the whole of your essay. However, do not simply copy word-for-word from your introduction.
• Concluding sentence: A final statement about the implications of your arguments for modern understandings of the topic OR a statement about what the effect of this historical person or event had on history.
• Avoid introducing new information into your conclusion as it will confuse the reader.