1. How to succeed in your history coursework

2. The Requirements
A personal study based on a topic of student's choice.
The essay must cover 100 years
It must not duplicate the content of options studied for the examined units
Assessed
3,000 – 3,500 words
40 marks
20% of A-level
marked by teachers
moderated by AQA

3. Topics
Civil Rights in America 1877 to 1980 (can move later if you like)
Anti-Semitism in Europe c1819 to 1945 (again can be moved later)

4. Notetaking
Why taking good notes is important and how to make notes effectively

5. Why is it important to take good notes?
It will help you understand the material better
You won’t have to do the same work twice
You will remember the information you have found
It makes referencing easier.

6. In your coursework you need to:
Be able to explain how and why things change (cause, consequence and change) and how and why they stay the same (continuity)
Be able to explain similarities and differences across time and analyse how far comparison can be made
Be able to give specific and detailed evidence and examples
Understand the key debates about the topic you are studying (historians’ views/interpretations). You need to be able to explain the views of at least two historians
Form your own opinion about the answer to your question.

7. In your notes you should record
Key events, facts, developments
Historians’ views
Your own ideas

8. Top tips Always note down the FULL title of the book
Note down the page number of any fact/quote
Look for key facts and developments
Look for interpretations or historians’ views
Use your own words in your notes unless you are quoting
Note down your own ideas, responses and questions as you go. Make it clear what these are by writing ‘ME’ or your name next to them.

9. Outline of the essay
Structure, making an argument, continuity and change

10. What do I need to do in my essay? Part 1
AO1: 20 marks
Demonstrate, organise and communicate knowledge and understanding to analyse and evaluate the key features related to the periods studied, making substantiated judgements and exploring concepts, as relevant, of cause, consequence, change, continuity, similarity, difference and significance.
Essentially, this is writing a good history essay.
Answer the question
Have a clear argument throughout
Make judgements that are backed up with evidence.
Focus on cause, consequence, change, continuity, similarity, difference and significance

11. Making an argument
You need to set out your argument in your introduction.
You need to outline what the debate/different interpretations are in relation to your question
You need to give reasons why your argument is valid and why it is more valid that counter arguments
You must refer back to your argument throughout the essay

12. Key words in the mark scheme: Cause and consequence
When you look at cause and consequence it must focus on the question you are trying to answer

13. Essay question: ‘…To what extent was Martin Luther King the most important civil rights leader?’
Which extract deals more successfully with cause and consequence?
The Birmingham campaign of 1963 was a huge success for the civil rights movement and clearly demonstrates King’s excellent leadership abilities. The decision to use children proved to be a key factor in gaining the necessary publicity for the campaign, which is the main reason why President Kennedy was forced to act. Although the idea for the Children’s Crusade came from James Bevel, the overall strategy of provoking confrontation was King’s. Before the campaign he wrote to Wyatt Walker ‘We’ve got to find a way to make Bull Connor tip his hand.’ On June 11 Kennedy made a speech promising a new civil rights bill. The key factor in his decision to do this was his embarrassment over Birmingham….
The Birmingham campaign of 1963 was a huge success for the civil rights movement and King personally. It made King even more prominent and famous as the campaign garnered such media attention. James Bevel’s idea to use children proved to be a key factor in gaining the necessary publicity for the campaign. The pictures of schoolchildren being attacked by dogs and water hoses shocked the nation. This publicity is the main reason why President Kennedy was forced to act. On June 11 Kennedy made a speech promising a new civil rights bill. The key factor in his decision to do this was his embarrassment over Birmingham….

14. Which of the following extracts deals more successfully with continuity and change?

15. Key words in the mark scheme: Continuity and change, similarity and difference
The Hep Hep riots (1819) and Kristallnacht (1938) were both violent attacks on the Jewish population. In the Hep-Hep riots, Jews were attacked spontaneously by mobs chanting ‘hep-hep’ (Jerusalem is Lost). The majority of the participants were middle class. The militia were called to restore law and order and did this effectively. In one case, Jews were protected by a university professor, but in generally people did not help them. Kristallnacht, which also involved violent attacks on Jews and their property shows similar anti-Semitism. One key difference is that the authorities were actively involved in the violence and did not attempt to put it down. However, the key similarities between the Hep-Hep riots and Kristallnacht show that anti-Semitism in Germany never really changed during this period.

16. Key words in the mark scheme: Continuity and change, similarity and difference
At face value, the Hep-Hep riots (1819) and Kristallnacht (1938) show a high degree of similarity in popular anti-Semitism across time. Both involved violence against Jewish people and property. However, there were some key differences. The Hep-Hep riots were spontaneous and the participants were mainly middle class civilians. The state, in the form of the militia, put down the riots. In contrast, Kristallnacht was instigated by the Nazi party and although ordinary citizens joined in, a far greater number of people helped Jews during Kristallnacht than during the Hep-Hep riots. This could suggest that perhaps most German citizens were actually less anti-Semitic in 1938, but the state was obviously more so. Perhaps this is the reason why the violence during Kristallnacht was so much more severe. Even though there are similarities, it is difficult to argue that Hep-Hep and Kristallnacht show continuity in the treatment of the Jews across time as there is such a long gap between them. Both outbreaks of violence were exceptional rather than the norm.

17. What do I need to do in my essay? Part 2
AO2: 10 marks
Analyse and evaluate appropriate source material, primary and/or contemporary to the period, within the historical context.
You need to pick at least 3 primary sources (of at least 2 different types) that relate to the topic you are studying. They should not all relate to the same event or time period within your essay.
Explain how valuable each source is when answering your particular question (thinking about how the content, provenance and tone affect the value)
Reach a judgement on how valuable each source is

18. How to examine primary sources
Essay title: To what extent was Martin Luther King the most significant civil rights leader in the years ?
Martin Luther King, Look Magazine (1968)
Non-violent direct action enabled the Negro to take to the streets in active protest, but muzzled the guns of the oppressor because even he could not shoot down in daylight unarmed men, women and children. This is the reason why there was less loss of life in ten years in southern protest than in ten days of northern riots.
How does this source help you answer the question?
Think about:
Content/argument
Provenance
Tone
How valuable is this source to an historian answering THIS QUESTION

19. Martin Luther King, Look Magazine (1968)
Content
Reflecting on success of non-violent direct action (which he led)
Gives some hard evidence of success of tactic
However, doesn’t mention limitations to progress
Provenance
Written by King – not ‘bragging’ but believes in non-violence so will play up the success of non-violent action
Written after the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act – significant change has been achieved
Tone
Celebratory – King is emphasising success of civil rights action – his aim is not to write about all the continuing problems/failures. Therefore this info isn’t present.
Value?

20. What do I need to do in my essay? Part 3
AO3: 10 marks
Analyse and evaluate, in relation to the historical context, different ways in which aspects of the past have been interpreted.
Show that you understand different interpretations (different opinions given by historians about the answer to your question)
Explain which interpretation you find most convincing and why (backed up with evidence)
Explain the context in which the historians are writing and any ways in which their own views/circumstances/background might affect their interpretations

21. Explain the context in which the historians are writing and any ways in which their own views/circumstances/background might affect their interpretations
How might the context in which an historian writes affect their interpretation?
- Are the writing during the time of the events they are analysing? Or afterwards? How might this affect their perspective? Can they assess the long-term consequences?
- What is happening at the time they are writing that relates to the topic? E.g. What is happening with civil rights?
What are the resources available to them in the time they are writing? Do they have eye witnesses willing to share their testimony? Have government archives been released? Have key people written their memoirs?
What are the dominant historical ideas at the time? E.g. do most historians focus on the ‘Great man’ theory of history? (Civil Rights). What is the key debate at the time of writing about the Holocaust? (e.g. emphasis on role of Hitler?)

22. How might the personal circumstance/background of the author affect their interpretation?
Were they personally involved in the events they are writing about?
Have they personally been affected by the events they are writing about?
Do they know any of the key players?
Are they a trained historian? What is their reputation among other historians?

23. How convincing are the interpretations?
Give evidence to explain why they are/aren’t convincing

24. How to structure your essay
Things to consider
Thematic or chronological?
Where to put the primary sources?
Where to put the secondary sources?

25. Thematic vs Chronological
IT DEPENDS ON THE QUESTION!
If you are doing the Supreme Court and Civil Rights you should structure your essay chronologically. This will help you break up the role of the SC into different phases (e.g. helpful phase, obstructive phase)
All others are best structured thematically – easier to be analytical

26. Anti-Semitism themes Anti-Semitic violence
Anti-Semitic press/literature
Anti-Semitic laws and government
Anti-Semitic groups
You can then make comparisons across time, which will help you discuss change and continuity and similarity and difference.

27. Civil Rights leaders themes
Could look at a variety of factors, e.g.
Ability to organise campaigns/events
Ability to influence powerful people e.g. presidents
Effect on laws
Effect on economic wellbeing
Ability to inspire people (could link to charisma, public speaking)
Ability to make long-term changes

28. Structure: Secondary sources
Outline the key debate at the beginning of the essay
Give an overview of the different historical interpretations and assess the limitations of the historians
Refer back to the debate throughout. When you find evidence to support or challenge an interpretation, refer back to it. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT
Do your overall comparison and evaluation of the interpretations at the end of the essay once you have assessed all the evidence.

29. Structure: Primary sources
You need at least 3 sources
You need at least 2 different types of source (ie you can’t have 3 speeches)
Try to find primary sources from a range of time periods and across different themes.
Introduce your primary source when you write about the relevant bit of content.

30. Very brief outline Introduction (definitions, criteria, judgement)
2x historians views and the context in which they write (4 paragraphs)
Main body of the essay
Primary sources will be embedded into relevant themes/chronology
Historians views and whether they are convincing embedded into relevant themes/chronology
Conclusion

31. How to research

32. This an independent research task

33. Finding information: Books
Types of books
Things to do
Textbooks
Basic introductions
Popular history
Academic History
Use contents and index pages
Read the book’s conclusion and chapter conclusions first (you are looking for arguments)
Find out a bit about who the author is (are they an expert/ historian)

34. Task For each book identify what type of book it is
Identify a view point/ argument
Use the index to look something up and discover a piece of factual information
What can you learn from the book’s ‘blurb’ about the author/ authors

35. Internet resources:
Choose one of the possible coursework topics and try searching for materials on the broad topic:
Using normal Google
Now try
Now try
What differences do you find?
Try narrowing your search to something specific: an event, theme, development, or person. Again use all three search types.
Narrow your search further e.g. King’s role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott.