A plan is a short map that keeps your answer pointed at the question. It matters most on “why” and “how far” questions, where students commonly retell the topic instead of answering. Planning takes only a few minutes and protects the rest of the time you spend writing.
This lesson belongs to writing and answer development and leans on the cause skills in causation and supported explanation.
How do you plan, step by step?
- Circle the command word. It tells you the type of answer: explain, describe, compare, how far.
- Underline the focus. This is the exact event or change the question asks about, with its time frame.
- Name two or three factors. A factor is a reason or point that answers the question. One short phrase each.
- Attach one exact fact to each factor. A date, figure or action you can state from memory.
- Decide the link. Say in a few words how the factors connect or which matters most.
Worked example
The examples in this module use an invented event, the Port Marlow dock dispute of 1926. The facts:
- 10% pay cut announced by the firms: 1 March
- Strike begins: 3 May
- Outside workers arrive: 17 May, unloading at about half speed
- Council proposes talks: 8 June
- Union fund empty: 12 June
- Agreement cutting the reduction to 5%: 19 June
Question: Why did the strike end on 19 June 1926?
Step 1, command word: “Why” asks for reasons.
Step 2, focus: the ending of the strike, up to 19 June. Not the start, and not the pay cut itself.
Steps 3 and 4, factors with facts:
| Factor | Exact fact |
|---|---|
| Union ran out of money | fund empty by 12 June |
| Firms still under pressure | outside workers at half speed from 17 May |
| Outside help to settle | council proposed talks on 8 June |
Step 5, link: the empty fund forced the union to settle, the half-speed unloading made the firms willing to compromise, and the council gave them a way to talk. I will argue the fund was the main reason, because the strike ended one week after it ran out.
That plan took five lines. Writing from it keeps every paragraph tied to “why did it end”.
The mistake to watch for
Mistaken plan: 1 March pay cut announced. 3 May strike begins. Workers angry about wages. Strike lasts seven weeks.
This plan is a timeline of the whole dispute. Nothing in it explains the ending, so the answer will become a narrative with no argument. The fix is to go back to step 2: the focus is the ending, so every line of the plan must be a reason for the ending.
Check yourself
1. For the question “How far was the council responsible for ending the strike?”, what is the command phrase and what is the focus?
Show answer
The command phrase is “How far”, which asks for a judgement about degree. The focus is the council’s responsibility for ending the strike. Your plan needs the council’s role and at least one other factor to weigh it against.
2. Write a one-line factor with an exact fact for “Why did the firms bring in outside workers?”
Show answer
For example: “To keep unloading going during the strike: outside workers arrived from 17 May.” Any reason that stays on the firms’ decision, with a specific fact, is acceptable.
3. A plan for “Why did the strike end?” begins “The pay cut was 10%.” Is this on target?
Show answer
Not by itself. The pay cut explains the start. It becomes relevant only if you connect it to the ending, for example by saying the agreement reduced the cut to 5%.
Where does this lead next?
With a plan ready, the next skill is choosing the facts that support each point: use precise evidence rather than a list of names. You can then test planning in the integrated practice set.
Some students plan well at home and lose it in the exam room. An experienced teacher in online one-to-one History tuition can practise that pressure point with you.