First of all, it is worth saying that strict adherence to the required format and careful study of the task itself can help you a lot. In order to understand what the developers want from you, read EVERYTHING that is written in the task. Take your time! From my own experience, I can say that there is a very high probability of missing key points and requirements after reading the essay topics for the first time.

So, in this task you are offered a choice of 3 time periods that coincide with important periods in the history of Russia. Based on them, you need to write an essay, revealing in your work several events and the role of historical figures in them, the choice of which is yours. For example, you are given the following time periods: (1964-1982); (1855-1881); (1237-1242).

The peculiarity here is that you are immediately tested on your knowledge of dates and periods in history, because without this knowledge you will not be able to understand which personalities and events relate to each of the segments, since besides these dates you will have nothing else. Therefore, my first advice to you: in 95% of cases you will be offered 3 time periods exactly according to this principle, which must be memorized like a mantra:

1st period - the reign of the Rurikovichs (+ Time of Troubles)

2nd period - the reign of the Romanovs

3rd period -XX century.

And only the remaining 5% accounts for the probability that you will be given the beginning of the 21st century in one of the segments, and it is very important not to forget about this while preparing for the exam. The complexity of this task also lies in the fact that last year options were introduced in which segments are indicated with specific months, beyond the boundaries of which it is impossible to go. For example: October 1917-December 1922.

II Writing format

It is important to note here that you should not expect special attention to the use of various cliches or writing features on the part of the commission members, however, there are a number of general recommendations for each of the paragraphs. There are supposed to be 5 of them in total. Now we will analyze each of them in detail in accordance with the criteria.

Paragraph 1 should begin with the phrase: “The period being analyzed is very important in the history of Russia.” Here, very little is required of you: just indicate 2 events/processes (preferably with reference to a specific date) that fit within the framework of the period, without detailed disclosure. Result - 1 criterion is already in your pocket!

Paragraph 2 should contain a disclosure of the roles of two historical figures associated with the above events. The algorithm here is as follows: 1 person - role in 1 event; 2nd person - role in 2nd event. At this step, students very often encounter the difficulty of interpreting the very concept of “role in an event.” In fact, everything is very simple: the role of an individual in an event is mainly his specific actions (orders, command of troops, negotiations, etc.), which influenced this event and are directly related to it. For example: the role of Peter I in the Battle of Poltava was that it was he who gave orders to the troops and it was under his direct command that the Russian army defeated the Swedish one. The role itself must be disclosed in as much detail as possible so that the inspectors do not have unnecessary questions.

Paragraph 3 can be called the most difficult in terms of scoring points, and now we will figure out why. It requires you to indicate two cause-and-effect relationships within the selected period. What does it mean? You need to take 2 more new (!) events (processes, phenomena) and indicate the other 2 events that they influenced, indicating the cause-and-effect relationship. Sounds scary, doesn't it? Although in reality everything is very simple! Here is a striking example: we take the 10th Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) in 1921 as an event and point out that it directly influenced the replacement of the policy of “war communism” with the policy of “NEP”. The cause-and-effect relationship is indicated, and again the point is in your pocket!

Paragraph 4 should contain a historical assessment of the significance of the period based on facts or authoritative opinion. Here you have 2 options: either you generally assess the significance of the period, “throwing” into the text the facts of its impact on other events (in this regard, you can go beyond the upper limits of the period and describe its impact on events in the future), or you memorize in advance opinions of famous historians on all periods and indicate them. In this regard, one can quote such authoritative historians as Klyuchevsky, Solovyov and Karamzin.

In paragraph 5, you end the entire essay with the classic “the significance of this period for the history of Russia cannot be overestimated because of...”. And score again!

Overall, following this format will provide you with 7 points out of a possible 11. Another point concerns the use of historical terms and concepts, you will receive 2 points for the absence of factual errors, and the last point for the form of presentation. Finally, the most important thing is not to get lost in a large number of facts and be sure to indicate specific dates and facts that will not cause the slightest doubt in the commission!

By following the link you can view my essay from last year, which meets all the criteria and helped me write the Unified State Examination in history for 100 points.

Hello, friends. Ivan Nekrasov is in touch, the same one who hasn’t written a blog for a week. Where have I gone? Nowhere. We are preparing bomb material for a school preparing for the Unified State Exam in history and society. There are only a few weeks left until enrollment closes. All your energy and time go there, so you don’t have time to write regular articles, sorry. We are also already waiting for the start of the main stage of the Unified State Exam 2017 and the results of my graduates.

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In this article, I will debunk all your doubts about task 25 in history, tell you about the updated criteria for writing a historical essay, teach you how to deceive an expert when writing your work and fulfilling criterion K4, and so on. Interesting? Then read the article further!

Has historical writing changed?

So, just yesterday, a draft of an essay of this type for the period 1125-1132 was sent to me in a personal message on VKontakte:

1125-1132

The period of Russian history is 1125-1132. called the period of feudal fragmentation.
The main reasons for feudal fragmentation:
- princely civil strife, the desire of princes to strengthen and expand their possessions;
— formation of local princely dynasties;
- growth of cities, their transformation into centers of individual territories;
- strengthening of the local boyars, the desire of the boyars and local princes to strengthen and expand their possessions.
Years 1125-1132 - fall during the reign of Mstislav the Great, the son of the famous Vladimir Monomakh, whose activities were associated with the cessation of princely strife and the protection of Russian borders from raids by nomads.

Let's check your historical essay online

Let's figure it out, because... Five of the six essays contained similar questions and errors. What needs to be done? To begin with, download demo versions of the FIPI Unified State Exam in history 2017 and refer to the wording of the task itself:

1) 1125–1132; 2) 1825-1855; 3) 1945-1953

The essay must:
to a given period of history;
and using knowledge
stories.

Let's check this work and identify all the errors + give an answer to the question about the form of writing the work.

Working with criteria

We look at K1 - everything is fine, more than two phenomena and processes are indicated. Checking this criterion has always been very simple - you just need to find two historical dates in the work. If they are, you give two points.

K2 - Monomakh and Mstislav are in place. Last year, this criterion would have been taken into account, but now there is an amendment to the criteria stating that figures must have a commentary containing their role in the history of Russia. How to write and highlight a role? For this, a verb is used, for example issued, commanded, led, led, etc.

There is no role of a figure in this work - 0 points.

Cause and effect example

K3 - There are simply no cause-and-effect relationships in the work. What it is?

Cause-and-effect relationships are generally a situation where the influence of a period on subsequent years of the development of the state is shown. That is, you take the results and continue the thought, looking beyond the year 1132. The key question is: what did it lead to? In my courses, I recommend using a crossover model of writing cause-and-effect relationships using CAUSE-EFFECT keys.

An example of a cause-and-effect relationship. The role of Vasily Golitsyn is highlighted in blue:

Vasily Golitsyn, who was Sophia’s favorite, played a special role in the country’s foreign policy. In 1686 Golitsyn initiated the conclusion"Eternal peace" between Poland and Russia. The reason for this event there was a need for the final division of Ukraine between the spheres of influence of Russia and Poland. Consequence of this world final recognition of Left Bank Ukraine and Kyiv by Russia. In addition, Russia entered into an anti-Turkish coalition with Poland, Austria and Hungary. In this coalition, Russia was assigned a secondary role: the fight against the Crimean Khanate.

Result: 0 points

K4 - Consequence of the period on future history. Last year, the historical essay required knowledge of historiography for the graduate. This is a historical assessment on behalf of a famous historian, for example Karamzin. This year there is no such requirement. It is necessary to write what the period in the future influenced

An example of a correctly opened K4:

This period is assessed very controversially in domestic historiography. For example, L. Katsva believes that this period was favorable for the state, but at the same time, in these years the will of the people was not taken into account. It seems to me that this period is a period of very bold transformations that should have happened sooner or later. “Perestroika” subsequently led to the collapse of such a state as the Soviet Union and the creation of the Russia in which we live today.

As you can see - also 0 points.

K5 - Use of a historical term. In this case, it is civil strife. Plus one point.

K6 implies the absence of factual errors, as does criterion K7 - the form of work, like an essay. Thus, when answering a question, you need to write the answer to task 25 as an essay on Russian language and literature without using points and subparagraphs.

This is not observed here: 0 points.

Artasov's speech - video from courses for Unified State Examination experts

Thus, this essay can be assessed with a minimum number of points, but this is very easy to fix. Now I propose to complete a similar task for you and send it to me at personal messages on VKontakte. In addition, I strongly advise you to look at the commentary of the compiler of the Unified State Exam 2017 for changes in the historical essay - consolidate the material you have studied.

Practice on your own!

You need to write a historical essay about ONE of the periods of Russian history:

1) 1237–1240; 2) 1881-1894; 3) 1953-1964

The essay must:
– indicate at least two events (phenomena, processes) related toto a given period of history;
– name two historical figures whose activities are connectedwith the specified events (phenomena, processes),and using knowledgehistorical facts, characterize the role of these individuals in events(phenomena, processes) of this period of Russian history;
– indicate at least two cause-and-effect relationships that existedbetween events (phenomena, processes) within a given periodstories.
Using knowledge of historical factsand (or) the opinions of historians, giveone historical assessment of the significance of this period for the history of Russia.
During the presentation, it is necessary to use historical terms and concepts related to a given period.

Comment, like and subscribe to blog updates. This is where I end the article.

Want to understand all the topics in your history course? Sign up to study at Ivan Nekrasov’s school with a legal guarantee of passing the exam with 80+ points!

Best regards, Ivan Nekrasov

Similar materials

Writing a history essay is actually very simple. Here are a few little tricks:

1. Say NO to dates.

Do not overuse dates in essays. Why? Yes, because the requirements do not say anything about dates, but 2 points can be deducted for an error. Therefore, before you write down the year-month-day-hour-minute of the events that you so meticulously studied, think - are you sure of its correctness? Of course, such significant dates as, for example, the Battle of Kulikovo (1380) or the Baptism of Rus' (988) should still be indicated, but you must answer for their correctness with your head.

2. You are not Pushkin. There is no need to write TO BE BEAUTIFUL.

Leave beauty for literature essays. There must be a beginning, a climax, and a disclosure of the theme. In a history essay, you WILL NOT get points for beauty. Therefore, we write clearly, informatively, it’s okay if the text seems clumsy and if it contains tautologies. The main thing is that the essay meets all the requirements for which points are awarded. But the expert will not appreciate your “beauty” - he will have more of these essays per day than you will write during the entire period of preparation.

3. You are not Tolstoy. There is no need to write SO MUCH.

Think about an expert: do you think he wants to read your opus? No, I don't want to. Therefore, we strictly write only what is specified in the requirements: 2 personalities, 2 events, 2 consequences and an assessment of the period. If possible, you can add one event and one consequence to each person - just in case, if suddenly the main events you indicated do not seem important enough. But no more. Have pity on the expert.

Hi all! Andrey Puchkov is in touch.

He held another free webinar for everyone, where he explained the basic principles of how to write an essay on history. This USE test task number 25 causes traditional difficulties for applicants. I have been preparing guys for the Unified State Exam for a long time, for 9 years now, and therefore I saw the earliest versions of this task.

At that time, a historical essay was a historical portrait. Currently, this task has become more adequate and consists of writing an essay on one of the four historical periods that are offered to the graduate.

How does everyone write a historical essay?

Students usually think that a historical essay is something like a final literature essay in which you express your opinion. Just at the designated webinar, the guys conveyed this understanding.

That is, everything is written according to the usual scheme: introduction, main part, conclusion. As a result, the maximum they score is 4-5 points out of 11 possible... Yes, yes, guys, today 11 primary points are given for a historical essay in the test. This is a fifth of the entire work.

Why is the “school” method of writing such an essay rated by experts at 4-5 points? Because such work does not meet the evaluation criteria at all. You can find them in the demo test itself, which can be downloaded from the FIPI website. That is why the way everyone writes essays does not suit us - after all, we need maximum scores!

Here's how to write a history essay

As soon as I explained at the webinar that the history essay for the Unified State Exam 2018 must be completed according to a pre-drawn plan, questions immediately began to pour in. In one of them, a participant asked if there were any clichés for writing essays? Roughly speaking, is there any pattern for its implementation?

My friends, if you start writing a template essay, forget about high scores. First you need to learn to write an essay according to a plan, and not according to a template. It is used only if the student cannot cope on his own. Then the teacher can make such a sample, with missing parts of the text. Such a sample is written by the teacher himself for a specific student, taking into account his mistakes and his misunderstanding. After all, one may not understand what the historical process is. Another will confuse historical events with historical phenomena.

Such a sample may include both the text of the essay itself and a plan drawn up in advance by the teacher. In particular, we use this method in our preparation courses for the Unified State Exam in history .

In general, the webinar proposed the following scheme for completing task 25:

• We draw up a plan based on a model for a given historical period: that is, we prescribe the historical processes and events that made them up.
• Next, we write the text of the essay itself based on this plan.
• We write a conclusion in which we use either our opinion about the period or the positions of different historians.

A sample of a well-executed essay you can

Remember that you need to constantly train to complete task 25 for maximum points. Moreover, you need to be constantly corrected by an experienced teacher. The guys in our courses are already writing essays using a more advanced method. And they write 11 points out of 11 on the real Unified State Examination.