History is an essay subject where technique matters as much as knowledge. One to one, online, building arguments that answer the question asked rather than the one revised for.
Students stuck in the middle bands usually know plenty. What is missing is an argument held from the first line to the last, and evidence chosen to serve it rather than to demonstrate revision.
Open with a clear, assertive position and sustain it, rather than drifting into narrative and arriving at a judgement in the final paragraph. This is the most reliable change to a History mark.
Origin, purpose, content and limitations, applied consistently under timed conditions rather than remembered in the calm of a revision session.
Using and evaluating historians’ interpretations is what separates A and A* responses, and it is the part most schools have least time for.
Marks come from evidence deployed to support a claim, not from the quantity recalled. Knowing what to leave out is a skill in itself.
History specifications vary enormously between schools, so sessions are built around the units you are actually studying rather than a fixed topic list.
History differs from the sciences in that two schools on the same board may study entirely different periods. We work from your specification and your units, which we establish in the first lesson.
The same process every ILE student goes through, set out in full on our method page.
A free 60-minute lesson. Bring a marked essay and we read it against the level descriptors to find where the argument is actually losing the marks.
Technique first where essays are the problem, content first where a unit is genuinely thin, and usually both at once.
Planning, writing and marking essays against the real descriptors, with source work built in rather than treated separately.
Timed essays under exam conditions, which is a different skill from writing one well with the books open.
Essays that narrate rather than argue. The most common reason a well-read student is stuck in the middle bands.
Running out of time in the exam. Planning and timing are separable from knowledge and quicker to fix.
Struggling with sources. A distinct skill that rewards a repeatable method.
Coursework and NEA. Often the least supported part of the course, and worth a significant share of the grade.
Applying for History or Law. Where written argument is the point of the subject.
Chasing an A*. At the top end it is historiography and sustained judgement.
Grades sat by ILE students, with the full set on our results page.
“My essays were always too descriptive. After six sessions I had a proper argument structure for every question type and I actually understood how to use historians rather than just naming them.”
Freya J.Year 13 · Now at Durham HistoryPer hour, one to one, at A-Level. No sign-up fees and no contracts. Full rates for every level are on the pricing page.
AQA, Edexcel and OCR. History varies more than most subjects because two schools on the same board can study different periods, so we work from your specification and units.
Yes, for technique, which is most of what moves a History grade. Where a session needs the content itself we match you to a tutor who has studied that period.
Yes. It is frequently the least supported part of the course and carries real weight in the final grade.
Usually argument rather than knowledge: a clear position held throughout, with evidence chosen to serve it. Description caps out below the top bands however thorough it is.
A full 60-minute lesson with your matched tutor, with no card details and no commitment. It is a real session rather than a sales call.
Yes, on Google Meet, anywhere in the UK.
A full 60-minute lesson on a marked essay, free and with no card details. Bring one that came back lower than you expected.
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