How to organize Paper 2 essay?

[xxAnkaxx]

Hey guys,

I would appreciate it if someone can give me a general plan of how to write a really good paper 2.

I need guides for my papers, for example in English I know I have to write a 5-paragraph essay, otherwise my paper is going to be really chaotic...

Thanks for your help!

Kind regards

Anka

[Arrowhead]

As far as I know the rules for History have not changed substantially, so I'm assuming you still have those 5 sections and having to answer two questions from two different sections in 1.5 hours total.

When I prepped for Paper 2, I looked at past exam papers at length and figured out which questions ALWAYS come. What I found was there is always a question on the World Wars in Section 1, every year the subject of the question alternated i.e. causes, consequences or nature of the World Wars. So I studied the causes and consequences of the WWs at length and did just enough for Nature of Warfare. In 2010, it just so happened that the question was about Nature, but I knew enough to bullsh!t my way through.

The other question that always turned up was in the Cold War section, there was ALWAYS a question on the Origins/Causes of the Cold War. So I prepped for that question extensively as well. This question turned up just as I expected it to.

In terms of the actual exam, you have 45 minutes to write each essay, which is very little time. I suggest writing both essay outlines before you start writing the examination in as little time as possible. I wrote my Outlines in 6 minutes flat for both essays and then started writing, giving me roughly 42 minutes to write each essay.

The actual body of the essay should be something like this:

Introduction: Not more than two sentences from which the second sentence should be a succinct description of your thesis.

Body Paragraph: First sentence should be a descriptor of what exactly you want to prove in that particular body paragraph. You then say Historian X believed Nationalism was a Cause for WW1 and WW2. This essay finds that Nationalism was more of a Cause of WW2 in Germany and WW1 in France because of this... Therefore Historian X is right in this regard, but wrong in that regard. Your last sentence is a concluding sentence that connects the topic back to the thesis of your essay and explains briefly the purpose of including this analysis in your essay.

You should generally have 3-4 body paragraphs, however, when I say body paragraphs, I mean important points as subtheses. You can very much divide each subthesis into one, two, or more body paragraphs as you discuss them, something I often did, which resulted in my History essays having 6-9 body paragraphs in general.

An important technique to keep in mind when writing about historic events and assuring that you've analysed them sufficiently is ID/MHS = Identification AND Major Historical Signifiance. Every time you mention an important happening in an essay i.e. say the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Six Day War '67, The U2 Incident '62. You should always identify the event in one line and explain what happened and then spend alteast one to two sentences outlining its major historical significance in the context of your essay and thesis. This ensures effective analysis.

Conclusion: I'm sure you know how to write an effective conclusion. Briefly summarise your points throughout your essay, not more than 3-4 short sentences. It is important that you restate your thesis, then show through brief discussion of the body paragraphs that you have proven it in some manner.

That should ensure an effective structure and provided you put in sufficient content and analysis, a formidable essay.

[xxAnkaxx]

Thanks, that helped a lot!

Hope the exams next year won't be too bad...

[Cryphisss]

Thanks for the help Arrowhead!

Edited April 14, 2014 by Cryphisss