DO's and DON'Ts for History Essays

✅ Do’s and Don’ts for History Essays (HL Leaving Cert)

✅ DO: Use precise historical facts

  • Why: 60% of marks are for historically relevant facts.

  • Example (good): “Unemployment reached over 2 million by 1921, fuelling support for Mussolini’s Fascist squads.”

  • Example (bad): “Lots of people were unemployed and angry, which helped Mussolini.” → too vague.

✅ DO: Write in a formal, analytical style

  • Why: The other 40% of marks are for language and treatment.

  • Example (good): “The Biennio Rosso (1919–1920) frightened the middle and upper classes, who turned to Mussolini for protection against socialism.”

  • Example (bad): “The Benio Rossio was crazy, and people wanted Mussolini to protect them.” → misspelling, casual tone, no analysis.

✅ DO: Structure your paragraphs clearly

  • Formula:

    1. Topic sentence (state the point).

    2. Evidence (facts, figures, dates).

    3. Analysis (why it mattered, how it links to question).

    4. Linking sentence.

  • Example (good):
    “Politically, Italy faced instability and weak leadership. Between 1919 and 1922, there were five prime ministers, which made decisive government impossible. This instability discredited democracy and made Fascism seem like a stronger alternative.”

  • Example (bad):
    “Politically Italy flopped and had lots of prime ministers, so democracy was bad and Mussolini took power.” → no structure, too informal.

❌ DON’T: Use vague or sentimental phrases

  • Example (bad): “Italy gained a fascist leader who praised them and their work.” → sounds emotional, not analytical.

  • Fix (good): “Italy gained a Fascist leader who capitalised on political weakness and fear of civil war.”

❌ DON’T: Get names/dates wrong

  • Victor Emmanuel III (not II).

  • Biennio Rosso (not “Benio Rossio”).

  • Operation Barbarossa = June 1941.

  • Stalingrad = Aug 1942 – Feb 1943.

Examiners dock marks heavily for repeated factual mistakes.

❌ DON’T: Over-exaggerate numbers or claims

  • Example (bad): “6 million were captured at Stalingrad.” → massively inaccurate.

  • Fix (good): “Around 91,000 Germans were captured at Stalingrad, marking the first major defeat of the Wehrmacht.”

✅ DO: Link back to the question

  • Always remind the examiner why this fact matters.

  • Example (good): “These economic crises provided Mussolini with the chance to present Fascism as the solution, directly contributing to his rise to power.”

🔑 Quick Golden Rules

  1. Facts first, flow second → Get your dates, names, and figures accurate, then polish the language.

  2. Be precise, not poetic → Examiners reward clarity over fancy phrasing.

  3. Think examiner’s brain → Ask: “If I was marking, would I see a relevant fact and a clear link to the question in this sentence?”

  4. Split big ideas into paragraphs → One theme per paragraph = clearer, easier marks.


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