AQA A Level History · Component 1C The Tudors · Section B

How to Write a Level 5 AQA Tudors 25-Mark Essay

Section B of AQA Component 1C is where most of your marks are won or lost: two essays, 25 marks each, 50 of the paper’s 80 marks. Each asks for a sustained argument across at least twenty years of Tudor history. This guide shows you how to read the question, plan in five minutes, cover the whole period without narrative and finish with a judgement you have earned.

What the question asks and how it is marked

You answer two essays from a choice of three. Each is worth 25 marks, assesses AO1 only, and the paper advises about 45 minutes per essay. AQA’s scheme of assessment states that each essay covers a minimum of 20 years and that questions with a narrow focus on specific events will not be set.

AQA uses a small family of stems on this paper:

• “[Quoted view].” Assess the validity of this view. Test every word, especially superlatives such as “most”, “main” or “never”.
• To what extent...? / How far...? Define the key term, then place your answer on a scale.
• How successful...? Judge outcomes against aims, which you must state.
• How significant...? Weigh one factor against an outcome and against alternatives.

What Level 5 rewards

AQA marks Section B in five levels. Level 5 (21 to 25 marks) is paraphrased in the A*/A Exam Masterclass as: very good understanding of the full demands of the question; well organised and effectively delivered; well-selected, precise supporting information; fully analytical, with a balanced argument and a well-substantiated judgement.

The jump from Level 4 (16 to 20) is the word “fully”. At Level 4 the judgement may be only partially substantiated. At Level 5 every paragraph weighs, saying why a factor mattered more or less than another against a named yardstick such as the scale of a threat or how long an effect lasted.

The 2023 examiner report advised students to substantiate judgements “throughout the answer and/ or in an extended conclusion”. Throughout is the key word: an examiner should be able to read any single paragraph and know your overall answer.

A step-by-step method

These steps are A*/A Exam Masterclass technique, not AQA rules. Spend about five minutes planning.

1. Read the question in five steps. Concept, claim, date limits, key terms, required judgement.
2. Define each key term in one line. In 2023 weaker answers on a crisis question “failed to consider what a crisis was”.
3. Write a provisional answer in about six words, such as “Valid for 1485 to 1497 only”. An essay planned without a position becomes a survey.
4. Choose two or three criteria. Useful Tudor criteria include scale, duration, depth, threat to whom, aims versus outcomes, and precondition or trigger.
5. Build a spine. Write your criteria down the left of the plan and draw three columns: early, middle and late. For 1485–1603 a useful default is 1485–1529, 1529–1563 and 1563–1603. Fill each box with one precise, dated piece of evidence.
6. Plan three thematic paragraphs. Paragraph 1: the given factor or quoted view at its strongest. Paragraph 2: the counter-argument, weighed against Paragraph 1. Paragraph 3: a further factor that lets you weigh all three and reach both ends of the date range.
7. Write the first sentence of your conclusion now, so every paragraph points towards it.
8. Introduce with Context, Definition, Argument. One sentence on time and stakes, one or two defining the key term and stating your criteria, one or two giving your qualified answer and naming the factors you will weigh.

Avoiding reign-by-reign narrative

Reign by reign is the structure that most often produces narrative. The monarchs are the evidence, not the argument. Test your plan: does each paragraph contain evidence from at least two different reigns or decades? If not, it is narrative in disguise. Each paragraph should follow one criterion across the whole span.

Conclusions that decide

A conclusion weighs; a summary repeats. Open with “In conclusion,” or “To conclude,” and answer directly with an extent word. Acknowledge the strongest counter-argument in one clause and answer it (“Although one could argue that..., it is clear that...”). Say which criterion decides and why. Close by showing how factors relate, using verbs such as “underpinned” and “undermined”.

Common mistakes that cap the mark

• Not covering the whole period. In 2022 the report noted answers “petering out after Wyatt’s”, neglecting the Northern Rebellion of 1569. In 2023 some answers on 1547 to 1571 went little beyond the reign of Edward.
• Not defining key terms. On a “Golden Age” question the report stated: “Clearly, the key issue was ‘for all’.”
• Description instead of analysis. On Elizabeth and Spain in 2022, answers writing at length on the Armada lost range.
• Imbalance. In 2022, long passages on Wolsey reduced Henry VIII to a bit-part in a question on king and ministers.
• Stopping at analysis. Consistent analytical paragraphs usually reach Level 4. The quickest upgrade is one sentence beginning “Measured by...” in every paragraph.

A short worked example

The question: “Economic grievances were the main cause of popular rebellion in the years 1489 to 1549.” Assess the validity of this view. Here is a conclusion that decides rather than summarises.

Why it works: a qualified verdict in the first sentence, the best case for the view answered, two criteria that give different answers, and a closing sentence that shows how the factors relate.

Section B checklist

• I have written the date limits at the top of my plan and my paragraphs reach both ends.
• Each key term has a one-line definition that fits only this question.
• I have two or three named criteria and a provisional answer before I write.
• Every paragraph draws evidence from at least two reigns or decades.
• Every paragraph opens with an argument, weighs with a criterion and includes counter-evidence.
• My conclusion decides, answers the best counter-argument and adds nothing new.

For the extracts question, read our guide to the Section A 30-mark interpretations question, or browse every guide on the A level History hub.

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