Writing task
“We should judge historical figures by the moral standards of their time, not ours.” Discuss. Consider different perspectives and use examples to support your reasoning.
Exam time split: 10 minutes planning, 30 minutes writing, 5 minutes checking.
Time: 45 minutes (as indicated for this published task).
Practise this exact question with personalised feedback on your writing.
Understand the task
Should We Judge History by Today’s Morals? is a discursive essay task that tests logical argument, counterarguments, structure. Differentiate understanding a historical context from excusing harmful decisions.
- logical argument
- counterarguments
- structure
- accuracy
Requirements to keep in mind
Recommended writing time: approximately 45 minutes (as indicated in the paper/section); Published task/option: 2 (where the source offers alternatives, pupils answer the paper's specified number, not all)
Plan your response
- Differentiate understanding a historical context from excusing harmful decisions.
- Plan a clear beginning, development and ending within the time available.
- Use precise vocabulary and vary sentence lengths where appropriate.
- Proofread spelling, punctuation and paragraphing before finishing.
Check your response against the task requirements. Leave time to review sentence clarity, punctuation and spelling.
Short atoply teaching example
Written by atoply, not an official school answer or mark scheme. This short illustration shows selected techniques. It does not set a target length or expected mark for the timed task.
Reveal example and teaching notes
It is unfair to assume that people in the past possessed the knowledge and freedoms we have today. To understand a historical figure, we should examine what they knew, what alternatives were available and how their contemporaries behaved. However, context cannot erase suffering. Some people challenged injustice even when it was widely accepted, showing that moral disagreement was possible. We should neither worship historical figures nor dismiss them with a single modern label. A thoughtful judgement explains their achievements and failures, while remaining clear about the consequences of their actions.
Learn from the example
- The response connects a central idea to reasons or qualifications, creating a line of thought rather than a list of opinions.
- In a full response, develop the supporting examples and address a different view before reaching a conclusion that answers the question.