1. Answer two questions in an essay format
Essay Writing Tips
Guide to paper 2
Answer two questions in an essay format
Duration : 1.30

3. COMMAND TERMS & UNDERSTAND THE QUESTION
Which command term is used? 
What is the question asking you to do?
E.g. Analyse, evaluate, compare and contrast
Underline key words and have a clear idea of the parameters of the topic.
E.g. Analyse the success of Stalin’s domestic policies in the period
Take note of dates

4. Command Terms Pay attention to the way it is worded and presented.
Be aware, for example, that "evaluate" does not mean the same thing as "describe," and neither is the same as "compare/contrast," or "analyze.“

5. Command Verbs What are the key words? Can you properly define them?
What sort of evidence is required to respond effectively?
If you are developing your own topic, what are the important issues and what questions can you pose yourself?
Then select if you choose that question on the exam

6. Glossary of Command Terms

7. 2. LEARN to PLAN YOUR ESSAY
You can do this in a variety of ways, including:
a) Linear
b) Mind map
c) Matrix/Grid/Table
5 minuts maximum can be spared on it.

8. Elements of a Good Essay
Rule of a HISTORY ESSAY ( PERSPECTIVES) Balance of a solid ,cohesive, coherent structure and of an excellent argument. Structure : Introductory Paragraph, minimum 3 developin the argument paragraphs, conclusive paragraph Argument : State ,Support, Explain

9. Elements Again
The basic elements of academic essay writing are two: a thesis and evidence, divided into three parts: an introduction, the systematic development of an argument, and a conclusion.

10. Introductory Paragraph
2 sentences to define or introduce the subject matter( NO MORE AS THERE IS NO TIME FOR VERBOSE OR VERBAL GYMNASTICS)
THESIS STATEMENT ( combines all of the arguments )

11. Thesis Historical essay writing is based upon the thesis.
A thesis is a statement, an argument which will be presented by the writer. ( YOU ARE the WRITER )
The thesis is in effect, your position, your particular interpretation, your way of seeing a problem.

12. Your thesis
Your thesis is the analytic heart and soul of your essay and should be clearly laid out in your essay‘
Your thesis is the argument / interpretation you propose to advance / defend over the course of your essays introductory paragraph.

13. Resist the temptation, which many students have, to think of a thesis as simply "restating" an instructor's question.
The writer should demonstrate originality and critical thinking by showing what the question is asking, and why it is important rather than merely repeating it.
Your own informed perspective is what matters.

14. You may wonder
Many first-year writers ask whether the "thesis" is not just their "opinion" of a historical question.
A thesis is indeed a "point of view," or "perspective," but of a particular sort: it is based not only on belief, but on a logical and systematic argument supported by evidence.

15. However
The truism that we each have "our own" opinions misses the point.
A good critical essay acknowledges that many perspectives are possible on any question, yet demonstrates the validity or correctness of the writer's own view.

16. Let’s see
IB Question:
How and why did Anne Hutchinson pose a threat to the established structures of power and authority in Puritan Massachusetts?

17. Bad Thesis:
Anne Hutchinson posed a threat to the established structures of power and authority in Puritan Massachusetts. (Note how this thesis statement simply rephrases the assignment question in the form of an answer, offering no clue as to what exactly the writer intends to prove.)

18. Better Thesis
Anne Hutchinson posed a threat to the power and authority of the Puritan leadership because she was a woman, a popular preacher, and because of her religious convictions. (Note how this thesis is more specific than the previous one, but is still too broad, especially for a short essay. It also provides little brief insight into why the stated factors posed such threats.)

19. Even better Thesis
The leaders of Anne Hutchinson's community not only felt uneasy about Anne Hutchinson's role as a public figure, but were further threatened by her belief that individuals could communicate directly with God. (Note how this thesis is even more specific and focused than the previous two. Still, it could go a bit further in shedding light on the omnipresent “why” question.)

20. Still Even Better
While many Puritan leaders were uneasy about the involvement of women outside the traditional female sphere, Anne Hutchinson’s preaching that every individual had the ability to communicate directly with God posed a threat to the ecclesiastical hierarchy in Massachusetts, which based its power and authority on its role as mediator between God and the congregation

21. Body Paragraphs ( minimum 3)
( Topic sentence + Development of Argument+ Evidence )
Topic Sentences and arguments derive from your THESIS STATEMENT
Topic sentence ( statement that defines ONE AND ONLY TOPIC OF YOUR PARAGRAPH ) CONSISE < COHESIVE <COHERENT

22. State It. Support Explain It

23. WHAT IS EVIDENCE
It is presented to persuade the readers and used with powerful arguments in the texts or essays.
It is factual information that helps the reader reach a conclusion and form an opinion about something. 
Evidence is given in research work or is quoted in essays and thesis statements but is paraphrased by the writer.

24. In rhetoric, when a person makes a claim or presents an argument, he needs to present evidence in support of his claim and argument in order to establish the veracity and authenticity of his claim or argument.
If there is no evidence, the claim stands quashed.

25. Thesis and Evidence FYI
To make a good argument you must have both a strong central thesis and plausible evidence; the two are interdependent and support each other.
Some historians have compared the historian's craft to assembling and presenting a case before a jury.

26. A strong statement of thesis needs evidence or it will convince no one.
Equally, quotes, dates, and lists of details mean nothing by themselves.
Your task is both to select the important "facts" and to present them in a reasonable, persuasive, and systematic manner which defends your position.

27. So Demonstrate A Mastery
Marshal and explicate historical evidence, demonstrating a mastery of historical details (i.e., names, dates, places, etc.) from the lectures and readings in the service of defending.

28. Your thesis is only as strong as the evidence you mount in its defense.
Evidence does not stand alone; it does not speak for itself.
Rather, it requires explication.
It requires, as well, that you connect it to your thesis.
Remember that you bring evidence in support of your thesis and evidence that's evidence that does not serve that purpose should be excluded

29. Conclusion
Paragraph that sums up your Prove or Disprove of the THESIS STATEMENT
NO NEW CONCEPTS EVER INTRODUCED

30. Conclusion
 Revisiting the main points of your paper in your final paragraph is a good idea, yes.
But then, take things to the next level. Remember the question or claim you articulated in your thesis, whose resolution has been the main objective of your paper? That question now needs to be re-invoked and, this time, definitively answered.

31. Be aware also that "historical" writing is not exactly the same as writing in other social sciences, in literature, or in the natural sciences.
Though all follow the general thesis and evidence model, historical writing also depends a great deal on situating evidence and arguments correctly in time and space in narratives about the past.

32. Historians are particularly sensitive to errors of anachronism—that is, putting events in an "incorrect" order, or having historical characters speak, think, and act in ways inappropriate for the time in which they were living.
Reading the past principally in terms of your own present experience can also create problems in your arguments. Avoid grand statements about humanity in general, and be careful of theories which fit all cases. Make a point of using evidence with attention to specificity of time and place, i.e. "context”

40. Avoid using personal pronouns E.g. “I think that…”
colloquial language/emotive language/overly subjective statements E.g. “Stalin was a really bad guy…”
Abbreviations. E.g. AIII (write Alexander III instead)

41. Avoid giving a one-sided interpretation of the question- you must consider multiple perspectives and have balance in your argument.  
This might be through discussing different schools of thought, using historiography or offering alternate views of events (and their causes, course and consequences)