Students who can write well are hugely advantaged in any subject which examines learning through writing. Writing is powerful.  To quote Nelson Mandela ‘A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special.’

The extent to which students can demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of a topic is dependent on their ability to organise and communicate their ideas. However, writing in history is difficult. It is at once a memory task, a thinking task (the challenge of what to say) and a language task (the challenge of how to say it). This can place severe demands on students.  In addition, the emotional demands of writing are just as challenging as the cognitive demands. Some students are fearful of extended writing and tend to give up before they even start. These students need to see what good writing looks like and feel that it is attainable. The teacher needs to nurture a ‘can do’ mentality which makes the student believe that they can construct a piece of writing to be proud of. This means careful planning and lots of scaffolding, modelling and encouragement.

If we do not explicitly address the problems that our students face when writing analytically, we are inviting a large percentage of them to fail. Well-structured analytical writing does not have to be the preserve of the high ability pupil. Clear, effectively presented strategies that focus on the skills and thinking necessary for analytical and discursive writing can enable students of all abilities to achieve success in history. These strategies need to be developed rigorously through the course, providing systematic and explicit guidance on how to express themselves in written form. Addressing writing skills in history is not about doing the job of an English teacher: it is about inducting learners into how knowledge is expressed and how thinking occurs in that subject’s disciplinary context.

The way that students are expected to write in history is also different to other subjects. It is important that the teacher “explicitly teaches the discourse of their subject”.  For example, students need to be provided with and armoury of appropriate connectives, phrases and sentence starters that allow them to write with fluency and think and express themselves clearly. To do this is to empower students with the means by which they can produce sustained, fluent analytical responses.

See example Page KP4-a and b

History mats, printed out as desk-sized mats, provide a constant reminder of key phrases and language for different purposes and tasks, the structures of paragraphs and conclusions and any other aspect of writing that your students will feel helpful.

See example Page KP4-c

Students also need to build up a rich subject-specific vocabulary. Encouraging students to keep a glossary at the back of their books is only a first step. Far better for pupils to write a definition of the word, add a visual image or reminder cue and then demonstrate that they can use the word in context.

Departments also need to decide what are the key “game-changing words and phrases that help pupils to read, write and speak like an expert”.  They can turn these into word walls that are regularly revisited during the course. Key words should be given to pupils to learn as homework with follow up quizzes or key word games (such as taboo, odd one out, pictionary, charades and dominoes) in lessons.

See example Page KP4-d

High expectations are crucial. When a class begins a new piece of writing the teacher should introduce a “taste of excellence” – showing models of work by former students and models of work from professional historians.  Discussions should focus on what makes the work effective and powerful.  Good modelling includes a commentary where the teacher breaks down complex processes into simple steps, providing time to check understanding and making sure students have opportunities to ask questions. 

Ideally display work will be annotated by students and the teacher and displayed on the wall so that students can weigh their efforts against strong work in the past.  It is also important to show examples of earlier drafts next to a completed piece of writing so that students can see the importance of the refinement process. 

To sum up - students need to know what constitutes good writing in history. Modelling is important, no amount of words can convey what one good model can show.  It provides a visible picture of what quality writing looks like and demonstrates that it is achievable.  It is not enough to simply give students a checklist.