Teaching Activities

 

Try the following with your students:

1. Using the two exemplar essays, discuss the importance and purpose of essay planning in successfully answering an AS essay question. What makes a good plan?
2. Compare the introductions and/or conclusions of the two exemplar essays. Which is the more effective and why?
3. Both essays refer to a number of reasons for military success. Ask students to rank the reasons in order of importance and, more importantly, to justify their ranking to each other. This should focus minds on reasons why one factor is more significant than another and how reasons can be linked together.
4. Using extracts from both essays, discuss how the two candidates have examined the Battle of Austerlitz. Which is better and why? This could lead to discussion on how to use knowledge effectively to back up analytical points.
5. Take one of the ‘more important factors’ – such as Napoleon’s generalship. Ask students to research this area carefully. Ask some students then to produce a case that Napoleon was a military genius, and others to produce a case criticising his generalship. Class discussion could then focus on where the balance of the argument lies. To consolidate, students could write up a balanced assessment and conclusion.