Obviously, you are expected to address the question in hand. A poor answer will miss the point of the question. You should therefore spend some time just thinking about the implications of the question. Is the question necessarily as straightforward as it seems? In contrast, a good answer will deal with the established question in a competent and intelligent fashion. But a really outstanding essay will be detailed, well-written, closely researched, and will sometimes transcend the limits of the question, raising broad and fundamental issues about the discipline as a whole. You should address the question with reference to a range of historical examples: how you do so, however, is up to you. It might be that, having briefly demonstrated an acquaintance with a range of historical issues, you decide to subject the essay question to closer scrutiny with reference to one or two particularly well-chosen historical examples. On the other hand, it may be that you decide to concentrate on a wider range of less developed examples, in order to demonstrate the breadth of your historical reading. The choice is yours; the important thing is that your answer is solidly based upon strong evidence. You should use a minimum of SIX SOURCES. Your answer should deploy a proper range of scholarly apparatus: footnoting carefully both primary and secondary sources; being careful to recognize quotations; building effectively towards your final point; written with style and fluency; including a bibliography. The footnotes are necessary, when using quotes a full footnote is required, not simply the author and the year in brackets. You will be assessed not only upon the intellectual content of your work, but also upon its structure, coherence and organisation. ... Thanks to my course booklet for that one!