40+ Model History Essays by RJ Tarr of www.activehistory.co.uk

As well as writing a number of articles for History Review magazine, I make it a habit to write essays in timed conditions whenever I set such assignments with my classes. These serve as very useful teaching aids which help students to develop their own essay-writing skills. Provided here are more than 40 essays and articles I have written that you might wish to use as support material with your own classes.

To accompany these resources you may also be interested in the following sections of ActiveHistory:

Pre-20th Century

Analyse the Rise and Fall of Thomas Wolsey (originally published in History Review)

Analyse the causes of the Italian Wars 1494-1516

Analyse the theological causes of the Protestant Reformation (originally published in History Review)

Analyse the historical significance of the Radical Reformation

What were the Causes of the French Revolution?

To what extent did the French Revolution deliver on its promises of "Liberte, Egalite, Fraterinite"?

To what extent is it fair to describe Alexander II as a reformer, and Alexander III as a reactionary?

To what extent do you agree that without Lenin, the October Revolution would not have happened?

Rise and Rule of Authoritarian States

Authoritarian States - Random Essay Question Generator!
This tool is desiged to help teachers and students prepare for the IB Paper 2 exam by generating possible questions to practice and discuss. It is based on the command terms and syllabus bullet points provided in the IB syllabus. Use this tool to generate a random question for a timed essay, or to sketch out various essay plans during revision season to keep minds open, flexible, and prepared for anything!

How successful was Lenin as ruler of Russia, 1918-1924? (originally published in History Review)

"Castro's mastery of guerrilla warfare was the main reason why he was able to take control of Cuba". To what extent do you agree with this statement?

Analyse the methods and conditions which led to to the rise of Mao as ruler of China.

Compare and Contrast the Rise of Mao and Stalin (originally published in History Review)

Compare and Contrast the Rise of Pinochet and Franco

Compare and Contrast the Rise of Mao and Pinochet

How Fascist was Fascist Italy?

How successful were Mussolini’s Domestic Policies?

Evaluate the political and economic impact of military rule in Chile between 1973 and 1989

By what methods, and with what success, did Fidel Castro try to eliminate domestic opposition?

Compare and contrast the foreign policies of Hitler and Mussolini (originally published in History Review)

Twentieth Century Warfare

What was the social and economic impact of World War One upon two of the countries involved?

Compare and Contrast the Origins of World Wars One and Two

Compare and contrast the role of technology in determining the outcome of two wars, each chosen from a different region

With reference to two examples from two different regions, assess (a) the reasons for the use of guerrilla warfare, and (b) its effectiveness

Analyse the causes of the Spanish Civil War

To what extent was Franco's victory in the Spanish Civil War due to the involvement of foreign powers?

Compare and contrast the role of ideology in causing two 20th-century wars, each chosen from a different region

What were the most frequent causes of 20th-century wars?

Cold War: Origins and Development

Analyse the roots of the Cold War before 1945

Analyse the Causes of the Korean War

To what extent were conflicting views about Germany the main cause of the Cold War up to 1949?

Analyse the causes and consequences of the Korean War

In what ways, and with what results, was Germany a source of Cold War tensions between 1945 and 1962?

Assess the degree to which guerrilla warfare was the main cause of communist victory in Vietnam

United States after World War Two

In what ways, and with what results, did the Cold War influence relations between Latin America with the United States in the period 1945 to 1957?

How did the early years of the Cold War (1946 to 1956) affect the political and social life of the United States?

Assess the view that “After initial failures, Kennedy’s handling of foreign policy grew increasingly successful as time went on”

Analyse the successes and failures of President Kennedy's foreign policies towards Latin America between 1961 and 1963

How successful were President Johnson's "Great Society" reforms?

Analyse the successes and failures of Nixon’s domestic policies

Assess the successes and failures of Nixon’s foreign policy

For what reasons, and with what results, did the Civil Rights movement become more radical after 1964?