1. NCEA 1.5 Writing Historical Essays
Origins of World War II
Essay Lesson 1
NCEA 1.5 Writing Historical Essays
Essay Plans
Handouts: SC/NCEA Essay Questions sheet

2. Essay Writing Requires Good Content Knowledge
Content Knowledge is about these types of questions:
What Happened?
Who was involved?
When did it happen?
Where did it happen?
You cannot answer deeper questions unless you can answer these types of questions

3. You don’t believe me? Try this then
Answer this essay question:
What were the various aims of the 1916 Easter Rebellion leaders?
What effect did the Easter Rebellion have on Irish conflict up to the end of 1919?
Thought so….You can’t…..Why?
Because you know nothing about it…Yet

4. CONTENT UNDERSTANDING REASONING What Who When Where Why How
What happened?
Who was involved?
When did it occur?
Where did it occur?
UNDERSTANDING
Why How
Why did this happen?
How did it come about?
Consideration of
CAUSE and EFFECT
REASONING
Argument Debate
An Essay Requires a REASONED Argument built on:
Good CONTENT knowledge
and Good UNDERSTANDING

5. Summary of Essay Plans Analyse the essay question
Key word(s)
Time frame
Essay theme
Make a plan using the point format
Start with three key-points for each question
Continue onto the three sub-points
Continually Go back to the question
ask yourself if the essay question is being answered
Ie is the structure/plan going to answer the question