advanced higher history dissertation word limit

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Get help with nationals, higher and advanced higher history, how to write each essay section – advanced higher history.

The best way to write an Advanced Higher History essay is with a clear structure: introduction, main section, conclusion.

This guide shows you the type of detail you should include in each of these sections.

* Introduction

* Main section

* Conclusion

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History: writing a history dissertation.

• Writing a History Dissertation
• Referencing and Style Guide
• Literature Search Plan
• American History

Starting a Literature Search

Conducting a literature search is a great way to find a viable topic and plan your research. It will also give you the opportunity to look for primary and secondary resources that can support the arguments you make in your dissertation. 

Starting your literature search early will help you plan your dissertation and give you an overview of all the resources you might want to consult. Below are examples of how you can start this process and how they can help.

Dissertation Books

Define your Topic

Start your search by identifying a broad subject area, such as a country, period, theme or person. You might do this by looking at reference works, such as a Very Short Introduction , Cambridge Histories , or Oxford Handbooks . These books will give you an insight into the many areas you can investigate in greater depth and they will also provide references to peer-reviewed material on more defined topics. 

Next , look at material which focuses more on the area you have identified from reference works. These might be books, chapters or articles which focus on a more defined area of the subject you have identified. Use these to formulate questions that you can answer in your research.

Then ,  read resources that will help you form your argument and answer the questions you have set. This material should focus on the topic you have chosen and help you explain what has been written on this area before.

Search for Secondary Resources

In order to successfully search for resources relevant to your study, you will need to use search-terms which will retrieve the best results. The tips below will help you do this:

Terms you have found in your reading

Keep a note of terms you have seen when you have been identifying your topic. This could be anything relevant your topic, including: places, people, jobs, religions, institutions, objects, periods, or events. Also, take note of terms that are related to your topic and had an impact on the area you are studying. Write down all the terms which relate to your topic and note which ones provide the most relevant results.

It can also be useful to keep a note of what you are not looking at so that you stay focused on your topic and do not retrieve too many results.

Authors who are written about the topic

You will start to notice that some authors are mentioned as specialists on the topic you are researching. Search a variety of catalogues to find what they have written on the subject in different formats. They might have contributed to edited works, written articles, given presentations to conferences or annotated works. They also might lead you to others who have written about your topic or research groups which are relevant to your studies.

Use subject searches

Most secondary resources have been indexed according to their subject. Through using these subject terms you can search catalogues more efficiently and find relevant resources without just searching the title or author. 

If you find a useful resources, try looking at its catalogue record. See if any of the subject headings look useful and note what terminology they use as this will be consistent across most databases. When you have found a useful term, copy and paste it into a subject search (or select the link) and see what other resources are available.

You can also use an online thesaurus to find search terms. The most commonly used terms are the Library of Congress Subject Headings  which provide uniform terms across international databases.

Use databases

The University subscribes to many databases that focus on different countries and topics. These will provide a comprehensive guide to what has been written in your area and may use different subject headings. Reference databases and bibliographies can be especially useful for finding citations of everything that has been written on a certain area of history. Biographical databases can also help find information about individuals and institutions. For a complete list of all the databases the University subscribes to, look at the A-Z of databases . 

Search for Primary Resources

There are plenty of primary resources that can be used in your dissertation. The University subscribes to many databases that provide access to primary resources and some of our libraries hold special collections which can be used in your research. Below are some examples:

The University subscribes to many newspapers from the past and present. They can be a really useful tool for finding contemporary accounts of events and provide more than just articles (including: advertisements, illustrations, family notices, sports, arts, court cases). Many newspaper databases will also include related content, such as pamphlets and newsbooks.

The University Library has a collection of print newspapers which can be consulted on site. The University also subscribes to electronic databases of national and local newspapers across the world. More information about the newspaper databases we subscribe to is available on our  dedicated website .

Special Collection Material

Many libraries and archives provide access to rare, unique and specialised collections of books and manuscripts. The University Library, for example, provides access to Manuscripts and Rare Books Departments , as do some of the colleges. Some of the more frequently used and important material is also available as part of an online library, such as Cambridge's CUDL .

Official Publications (Government Documents)

Documents produced by governmental and intergovernmental bodies can provide an insight into their decision making and governance. Several libraries in Cambridge have received official publications material and a lot of material is now available online. More information about the official material in Cambridge libraries is available on our Official Publications LibGuide .

Data and Statistics

Figures can be used to help illustrate a point and provide evidence as you answer the central question in your dissertation. You might chose to refer to census data, crime statistics, trade figures, or any other data set that relates to your area of history. This sort of information can be found in databases and replicated in secondary resources. 

Private Papers

If you are researching an individual (or someone who played a prominent role in the area you are focusing on) it is a good idea to see if they have deposited private papers in an archive. These might includes diaries, letters, draft works, or anything else that was kept and not published. These works are normally kept in an archive, so a good starting point is to look at a catalogue that might show where relevant papers are held (such as Archives Hub )

These can include maps, cartoons, paintings and photographs. Images are available both in print and online, but you need to be cautious of the copyright restrictions of images before you use them (check the information given by the source). Some databases will allow you to search images, like ARTstor , so use them as a good starting point for your search. 

Audio-Visual

Similarly to images, the University provides access to a variety of audio-visual resources, including interviews, recordings, radio and films. If there is a particular DVD you would like to use, try searching the title in iDiscover. For example, " Interviews with Historians " will take you to a comprehensive collection of DVDs available at the Seeley. Many films are also available online, such as British Pathe .

Organise and Save Your Research

You will be able to do a comprehensive and efficient literature search if you keep a record of what you have read, where you read it and what each item means to your research. The best way to achieve this is to:

1. Record the key ideas, themes and quotes from what you have read. Try to find a uniform way to do this as it will make it easier to find information when you come to write your dissertation. Some formats are freely available on the internet, such as the Cornell Note Taking System .

2. Save citations you have looked at so you do not struggle to find them again. Also, this will help you when you come to do your references. There are many reference managers available to help you store this information and create a fully formatted bibliography.

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Dissertation

Here are some useful resources to help guide you through your Dissertation:

General Reminders:

• Dissertations should be between 2500 and 3000 words.
• Use of secondary Critical Perspectives is advisable in the support of your line of argument
• Sources which directly impact on your dissertation need to be fully referenced (Primary and Secondary sources) using footnotes and a Bibliography – see guide below.
• The dissertation must be clearly comparative
• Maintain a clear line of argument throughout – should be related to your proposal (what you have set out to prove)
• Analysis needs to be detailed and supported with clear textual evidence
• Make sure your stance is evaluative and genuinely engages with the texts and their key concerns

Guide – Dissertation Guide

Note-Taking – Note Making Advice

Proposal Table – Dissertation Proposal Table

Example Proposals – Example Dissertation Tasks

Example Openings – Dissertation Openings

Referencing Guide:  How to reference sources ; Referencing

Exemplar Dissertations (most old style max word count 4500 – except final one which got 24/30): English Dissertation Final ; Dissertation ; Dissertation ; room-and-lullabies

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Advanced Higher English - project-dissertation

Project-dissertation 2023  (all links open as pdf files), an analysis of the narrative techniques employed by laurie lee and lorna sage to explore the theme of childhood in their novels "cider with rosie" and "bad blood" respectively..

• Candidate Evidence 2023
• Commentary 2023

Project-dissertation 2022  (All links open as PDF files)

An exploration of narcissism in the secret history by donna tartt..

• Candidate Evidence 2022
• Commentary 2022

Project-dissertation 2021  (All links open as PDF files except where indicated otherwise)

• 2021 Advanced Higher Dissertation, guidance on marking (webinar recording)   (48:41, mp4) (External link to SQA website)
• 2021 Advanced Higher Dissertation, guidance on marking presentation   (Accompanies webinar) (pptx)

How does Catholicism influence relationships in Brideshead Revisited?

• Candidate 1 Evidence

Comparative analysis of psychological impacts resulting from life under totalitarian rule in ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ and ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’

• Candidate 2 Evidence

A critical comparison of Poe’s exploration of madness in ‘The Tell-tale Heart’, ‘The Black Cat’ and ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’

• Candidate 3 Evidence

An exploration of how Thomas Hardy uses characterisation, symbolism and key events in ‘Far from the Madding Crowd’ and ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’ to convey his condemnation of the treatment of women in the Victorian era

• Candidate 4 Evidence
• Candidates 1 to 4 Commentary

Project-dissertation 2019  (All links open as PDF files)

How does the color purple reveal the themes of oppression and empowerment, rejecting the single story: a literary examination of how chimimanda ngozi adichie develops the characters of ugwu and olanna throught their experiences of the biafran war in her novel half of a yellow sun, a study of margaret atwood's exploration of identity in the edible woman (1969).

• Candidates 1 to 3 Commentaries

Project-dissertation 2016  (All links open as PDF files)

From session 2019/20 onwards, the word count for the Advanced Higher English project: dissertation will increase to a maximum of 3,500 words (was previously 3,000 words). None of these examples reflect the revised word count however, they all remain valid and continue to exemplify national standards. Please also note that the marking instructions for the project dissertation have not changed. You should view these materials in conjunction with the revised Advanced Higher English course specification. https://www.sqa.org.uk/files_ccc/AHCourseSpecEnglish.pdf 

Candidate 1 - Comparative analysis of vengeance in Euripides and Sophocles

• Candidate 1 Commentary

Candidate 2 - Eliot and existentialism in The Four Quartets

• Candidate 2 Commentary

Candidate 3 - A critical analysis of the theme of seeing clearly in Jane Austen

• Candidate 3 Commentary

Candidate 4 - The Byronic hero in Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights

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Candidate 5 - Free will and choice in Trainspotting and A Clockwork Orange

• Candidate 5 Evidence
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Candidate 6 - The varying moods of Sylvia Plath in her poetry

• Candidate 6 Evidence
• Candidate 6 Commentary

Candidate 7 - Female emancipation in The Color Purple and Beloved

• Candidate 7 Evidence
• Candidate 7 Commentary

Candidate 8 - The theme of growing up in The Cement Garden and Atonement

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• Candidate 8 Commentary

Candidate 9 - Religion, belief and worship in Small Gods and American Gods

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• Candidate 9 Commentary

Candidate 10 - Orwell's portrayal of social injustices in fiction and non-fiction

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Candidate 11 has been repackaged and is now Candidate 1 in the 2021 section with new candidate commentary

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