To what extent was the fear of absolutism responsible for the difficulties faced by the English monarchy in the years 1678-1688

I would begin by asking the student to break down the question. First, identify that the question is asking 'To what extent', so requires an evaluative answer such as, 'To some extent' or a definite Yes/No. Then, we would identify what is meant by 'fear of absolutism' and how this might manifest itself. I would then ask them to identify what difficulties were faced by the monarchy in the years 1678-1688, and make a list while asking what the causes of these difficulties were - it is important to list other possible causes too, as these will become the 'other factors' in the answer. I always found it helpful to divide a page into two columns, one for 'Yes' and one for 'No'. If the fear of absolutism was an aspect of the cause of any given difficulty, I would put it in the 'YES' column, and if it was not, the difficulty would go in the 'NO' column. At A level, it is important to set out both sides of the argument in your essay. I think to really impress the examiner, some deeper evaluation is necessary, and thus I would help the student to see that whilst the fear of absolutism was an important cause, it was the fear of catholicism which, whilst less obvious, underpinned many of the difficulties.