Paper 3
Paper 3 is an in-depth essay paper for Higher students only.
This page gives an overview what is required; see Essay writing for Paper 3 to get hints for tackling Paper 3 essay questions and suggestions for helping students develop their essay writing skills.
What is the nature of Paper 3?
Paper 3 is a two hour and 30 minute essay paper. Students have to answer three essay questions out of a choice of 36 questions.
What content needs to be covered for Paper 3?
There are four regions to choose from:
- History of Africa and the Middle East
- History of the Americas
- History of Asia and Oceania
- History of Europe
For whichever region is selected, three sections must be studied from a choice of 18 sections. These sections allow content from a wide range of time periods to be covered.
What is the structure of this paper?
There are 36 essay questions on the paper. These will be grouped under the section headings - two essays per section. However students can answer ANY three questions on this paper (i.e. they could do two from one section)
How will this paper be marked?
Each essay is marked out of 15. There are generic markbands for marking the essays as well as indicative content. A student-friendly breakdown of the markbands can be found on the page: Assessment for Paper 3
Selected Pages
Paper 3
Option 2: History of the Americas Free
There are 18 possible topics in this section which range from 8th Century to 20th Century, from Medieval times to developments...
Paper 3
15: Diplomacy in Europe (1919–1945) Free
This topic covers the inter-war period as states sought to deal with the repercussions of the First World War, to establish...
Paper 3
Option 3: History of Asia and Oceania Free
There are 18 possible topics in this section which range from 8th Century to 20th Century, from Medieval times to developments...
Paper 3
Option 4: History of Europe Free
There are 18 possible topics in this section which range from 11th Century to 20th Century, from Medieval Europe to the...
Paper 3
16: The Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia (1924–2000) Free
This topic covers the dramatic events in the Soviet Union from Stalin's establishment of a totalitarian state through economic...
Paper 3
12: Imperial Russia, revolution and the establishment of the Soviet Union Free
This topic looks at the last Tsars of Imperial Russia, the growing clash between conservatism and modernization and the...