TIPS ON WRITING AN MSCE HISTORY ESSAY COMPILED BY ADHA MKOLONGO

1. An essay is a written composition of moderate length exploring a particular issue or subject

2. It has four parts namely title, introduction, main body and conclusion in that order.
3. Each part of an essay is separated from each other with a blank space.
4. If you miss any of the aforementioned parts or you do not separate the parts with a blank
space it means you have not answered your essay question in essay form. Consequently, 7
marks is deducted from the final score given on your essay.
5. Do not use short forms in your essay. Write in full. For example, write that is and not “ie”,
for example and not e.g.
6. The first part of an essay is the title. A title is a short phrase that summarizes what the entire
essay is all about.
7. The title is always derived from the essay question given.
8. The essay title must not be in a question form.
9. The title must be aligned on the center of your page
10. The title must be in capital letters. If you choose to write it in small letters remember to
underline the title.
11. No mark is given for writing the title correctly. However, as per point 4, if you do not write
the essay title it means the essay has not been written in the correct form and 7 marks will
be deducted from the final score given on your essay.
12. After writing your title, skip a line and go to the introduction
13. The introduction gives the purpose of writing the essay.
14. Make sure you outline the main points in your introduction.
15. Three sentences are enough for your introduction.
16. One mark is given for writing the introduction correctly.
17. After the introduction, skip a line and go to the main body.
18. The main body is where the main points are explained in details.
19. Each many point must have its own paragraph. Thus the number of paragraphs in the main
body is determined by the main points you have.
20. Make sure that the main point appears in your first sentence of your paragraph.
21. Each main point must have not less than two and not more than three supporting points.
22. The supporting points can be a definition of the main point (that is if the main point requires
a definition. NB: not always are you required to give a definition of your main point), a
further clarification of the main point or an example.
23. A single mark is awarded for giving a historically correct main point. Each historically
correct supporting point further attracts a single mark.
24. Thus the maximum number of points awarded in a single paragraph is determined by the
number of historically correct points (main point and supporting points) given in the
paragraph.
25. Do not number your main points/paragraphs. Instead use signaling devices to show that
you are moving from one main point to the other.
26. Each signaling device must be followed by a comma.
27. Firstly, in the first place and to begin with are signaling devices you must use in the first
paragraph of your main body. Do not use them in your introduction.
28. Lastly and finally are signaling devices used in the last paragraph of the main body. Do
not use them in the conclusion of your essay
29. For paragraphs that lie in between the first paragraph and last paragraph of your main body
the following signaling devices can be used
 Furthermore
 Besides that
 To add on that
 Apart from that
30. Each paragraph in the main body must be separated with a blank space
31. After the main body, skip a line and go to the conclusion.
32. The conclusion summarizes what the essay was all about.
33. A conclusion can be opened with signaling devices like
 In conclusion
 In summary
 To sum up
 In a nut shell
 To crown it all
34. After writing the signaling device just copy your introduction and paste it on the
conclusion. However, remember to change the tense of the verb in the introduction to past
tense.
35. A conclusion does not attract any mark. However, not including it on your essay will make
you lose seven marks from the final score given on your essay.