What's the best way to write a history essay?

I think the key is to be argumentative, the structure you're given is more of a guide than a rule - essentially, you need to have an opinion, state that opinion and provide all the evidence for that; then you need to counter other arguments, but do so in an academic way: instead of saying that they're wrong, state that they're unconvincing for several reasons, and don't be afraid to admit why they might convince some people (do this at the start of a paragraph/section, and not at the end) And vocabulary and phrasing are key to sounding really analytical: instead of saying "the fact a lot of Protestants voted Hitler shows that cultural factors were important" say "the fact that a great proportion of the Nazi vote was a protestant vote lends legitimacy to the case that cultural identity was an important factor in the rise of Hitler". Reading is key here! You'll learn academiese the more you read.