1. Why do historians set essays?
It is useful to begin by considering why essay writing has long been the method of choice for assessment in history. The chief reason is that no other method provides as effective a means of testing a student's comprehension of a topic. We want you to show us that not only have you acquired a knowledge of the topic but also that you fully understand the topic and the issues raised by it. Essays test understanding by asking you to select and re-organize relevant material in order to produce your own answer to the set question.
An undergraduate essay need not be particularly innovative in its approach and insights, but it must be the product of the student's own dialogue with the subject. Essays which do not answer the question can only be regarded as demonstrating some knowledge of the topic, they cannot be said to show understanding of the topic. Essays which plagiarize or merely reproduce what others have said do not even show knowledge of the topic. Plagiarism is thus not merely a matter of theft; it involves an entirely unacceptable subversion of the learning process.
2. Is there a right and a wrong answer?
History essays are less about finding the correct answer to the set question than they are about demonstrating that you understand the issues which it raises (and the texts which discuss these issues). With most historical problems (certainly the most interesting ones) it is seldom possible to arrive at a definitive answer. The evidence almost always permits a variety of solutions, and different approaches generate divergent conclusions. There are, however, limits to the field of possible solutions, since they must fit in with 'the evidence'. Of course, exactly what constitutes 'the evidence' is almost invariably one of the issues under discussion among the historians who are most deeply engaged with the problem, but in general for each historical question there will be a body of evidence which is recognized as being relevant to it. This body of evidence will typically comprise what the primary sources tell us about the events and phenomena under discussion. A good answer will need to harmonize with all of this evidence, or explain why particular items have been dismissed as having no bearing on the problem.
It follows from all of this that there certainly are wrong answers that is, answers which fall outside the field of possible solutions or which fail to take account of received evidence even though there is no 'absolutely right' answer.
3. Analyzing the Question
Essential steps: select a question; identify the subject of the question; what are you being asked to do - that is, what kinds of information will you need to answer the question, and how will you have to treat it? Circling the key words in the question is sometimes a helpful first step in working out exactly what you need to do. It is useful to note that there is usually a natural way of structuring your answer: that is, a way of organizing an answer which follows naturally from the format of the question and which will put the fewest obstacles in the way of the reader
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