A-Level History students are often told they “need historians” to reach the top bands, yet very few are taught how to select, adapt and deploy historians effectively.

The result? Essays filled with memorised quotations, dropped names and forced interpretations that add little value, and sometimes actively hold answers back.

At Apollo Scholars, we teach a smarter approach:

Use historians selectively, strategically and purposefully; to sharpen judgement, not replace it.

This guide explains how to choose the right historians, where to use them in essays, and how this works across the major A-Level History topics, including:

• Tudor England (1485–1603)
• Making of Modern Britain
• Nazi Germany
• The Cold War
• USA 1865–1975 and America’s Rise to Power
• Fascist Italy
• The Rise and Transformation of China (1936–1997)
• The Troubles (1968–1998)
• The Gulf War

Do You Actually Need Historians to Get Top Marks in A-Level History?

The honest answer: not always, and never by default.

Examiners reward:

• Clear judgement
• Sustained evaluation
• Accurate, relevant evidence

Historians do not earn marks on their own. A weak argument with a historian attached is still a weak answer.

Historians are most effective when they:

• Reinforce a judgement you have already made
• Frame historical debate
• Demonstrate awareness of disagreement

This is why we teach method first, historians second.

When Should You Use Historians in an A-Level History Essay?

1. Interpretation Questions

For questions such as:

“‘Tudor rebellions posed little threat.’ How far do you agree?”

Here, historians are essential. They allow you to:

• Support or challenge the given interpretation
• Show awareness of historical debate

2. Judgement-Based Essays

For questions like:

“How effective was Tudor government?”

“How far was ideology responsible for Nazi control?”

Historians are useful when they:

• Reinforce evaluation
• Clarify long-term significance

3. Conclusions

A well-chosen historian in a conclusion can:

• Strengthen your final judgement
• Show confidence and selectivity

One historian, well used, is far more powerful than three poorly explained ones.

How to Select the Right Historian: The Apollo Scholars Method

Step 1: Identify the Core Debate

Ask:

• Threat vs stability?
• Control vs consent?
• Ideology vs pragmatism?
• Success vs failure?

Your historian should take a clear position in that debate.

Step 2: Choose Historians You Can Paraphrase

Top answers rarely quote directly. They explain ideas clearly in their own words.

Examiners reward understanding, not memorisation.

Step 3: Use Historians Sparingly

Historians should:

• Appear once or twice
• Be tightly linked to judgement
• Never interrupt analytical flow

Using Key Historians Across Major A-Level History Topics

The Tudors: England (1485–1603)

Core debates:

• Strength of the Tudor monarchy
• Threat posed by rebellion
• Effectiveness of government

Key historians:

• G.R. Elton 
• Steven Gunn 
• Mark Nicholls 

Used well, these historians allow students to argue that:

• Rebellions were large but rarely existential
• Stability relied on both monarchs and institutions

Read more about Tudor England on our blog here.

Master Tudor England: A-Level Model Answers 1485–1603

The Making of Modern Britain (1951-2007)

Core debates:

• Extent of social reform
• Continuity vs change
• Government responsibility

Key historians:

• Kenneth O. Morgan 
• Martin Pugh
• Dominic Sandbrook

These historians help students avoid simplistic “golden age” narratives.

Read more about The Making of Modern Britain on our blog here.

Democracy and Nazism: Germany, 1918-1945

Core debates:

• Control vs consent
• Hitler’s role
• Intentionalist vs structuralist interpretations

Key historians:

• Ian Kershaw
• Martin Broszat 
• Richard Evans

Historians are particularly powerful here because interpretation is central to the topic.

Read more about Democracy and Nazism: Germany, 1918-1945 on our blog here.

The Cold War, c. 1945-1991

Core debates:

• Responsibility for origins
• Escalation vs miscalculation

Key historians:

• Arthur Schlesinger
• William Appleman Williams
• John Lewis Gaddis

Using these selectively allows students to evaluate blame rather than narrate events.

Read more about the Cold War, c. 1945-1991 on our blog here.

America’s Rise to Power: 1865-1975

Core debates:

• Federal power vs states’ rights
• Economic vs political change
• Domestic vs foreign priorities

Key historians:

• Mary Beth Norton
• Alan Brinkley
• Walter LaFeber 

Read more about the America’s Rise to Power: 1865-1975 on our blog here.

Mussolini, Fascism and the Fall of Democracy in Italy (1900-1945)

Core debates:

• Strength of Mussolini’s control
• Consent vs repression

Key historians:

• Renzo De Felice
• Denis Mack Smith

Read more about the Mussolini, Fascism and the Fall of Democracy in Italy (1900-1945) on our blog here.

The Transformation of China (1936–1997)

Core debates:

• Ideology vs pragmatism
• Mao vs Deng

Key historians:

• Jonathan Spence
• Frank Dikötter
• Maurice Meisner

Read more about the The Transformation of China (1936-1997) on our blog here.

The Troubles in Northern Ireland (1968-1998) and The Gulf War (1990-1991)

Key historians:

• Paul Bew
• Fintan O’Toole
• Lawrence Freedman

Read more about the The Troubles in Northern Ireland (1968-1998) and The Gulf War (1990-1991) on our blog.

Why Our Model Answers Often Do Not Include Historians

You may notice that many Apollo Scholars model answers do not explicitly name historians.

This is deliberate.

We want students to:

• Master structure
• Build judgement
• Control analysis under time pressure

Only once those skills are secure do historians become a strategic enhancement rather than a distraction.

In our premium resources, we show:

• Exactly where historians fit naturally
• How to paraphrase interpretations confidently
• How to adapt historians to different questions

Where Apollo Scholars Teaches This in Depth

At Apollo Scholars, students learn:

• How to select historians efficiently
• How to paraphrase interpretations under exam conditions
• How to integrate historians without losing clarity or time

This is taught through:

• Exclusive Apollo Scholars Revision Guides (available in our store)
• Our paid newsletter, featuring model answers with embedded interpretation
• 1:1 and small-group A-Level History tuition, where these skills are applied live

Final Advice: Let Historians Strengthen Your Argument, Not Replace It

Top A-Level History answers are built on:

• Clear judgement
• Structured evaluation
• Precise evidence

Historians should sharpen that foundation, not overshadow it.

Learn the method first.

Then learn how to use interpretations properly.

That is how top grades are achieved, consistently.