Undergraduate history · Online, UK-wide
History is an argument. Most essays only narrate.
One-to-one tutoring for undergraduates — building essays that argue, reading historiography with a critical eye, and getting a dissertation from proposal to finished draft.
- Free 15-minute intro call
- No block booking required
- Enhanced DBS in place
About
Hi, I'm James
I took my BA in History with the Open University between 1998 and 2002, and have never really stopped reading since. Most of what I bring to a session comes from years spent past the set texts and inside the arguments historians are actually having with each other — which is usually where undergraduate reading stops short.
Between 2016 and 2019 I worked as a specialist mentor for university and postgraduate students. In practice that meant taking a module that felt enormous and turning it into a short list of things to do this week, then checking the list every session. It is the same method I use now.
We start from the essay title, the reading list, or the chapter you are actually stuck on — never a tour of the syllabus. Sessions run entirely online via Teams or Zoom, with screen-sharing and a shared whiteboard, so we can take a reading or a draft apart line by line.
A good essay does not tell the marker what happened. It tells them why one account of what happened is better than another.
- BA History — The Open University, 1998–2002
- Specialist mentor in higher education, 2016–2019
- Enhanced DBS check — available on request
Getting started
How sessions work
A short, low-pressure process before anything is booked or paid for.
Email me
A line about your course, your next deadline, and where you are stuck.
Free 15-minute call
So the first paid session opens on your actual essay title, not a warm-up.
A written plan
A short list of what we will cover and in what order, agreed before we begin.
Weekly sessions
Via Teams or Zoom, checked against the plan and adjusted as deadlines move.
What we cover
The skills that move a grade
Period knowledge matters, but it is rarely what holds an undergraduate essay back. These are what students book for.
Argument & essay technique
Turning a title into a thesis, structuring a case, and making every paragraph work for the argument.
Historiography
Reading historians against each other, placing a text in its school, and using the debate as evidence rather than decoration.
Primary sources
Provenance, audience and silence — what a document was for, and what it is not telling you.
Reading at volume
Getting the argument out of a three-hundred-page monograph in an evening, with notes you can actually cite from.
Exam technique
Planning under time pressure and getting a defensible case down in forty minutes.
Dissertations
From a researchable question and a literature review through to structure, pacing and the final draft.
Periods Modern Britain, modern European history and the Second World War — broadly the last two hundred years. If your module falls outside that, I will say so before you book.
Rates
Simple, per-session pricing
No subscriptions — pay for the sessions you book.
| Session | Length | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Free intro call | 15 minutes | £0 |
| Single session | 60 minutes | £40 |
| Block of 5 sessions | 60 minutes each | £160save 20% |
Rates are for undergraduate tutoring. Payment by bank transfer, due after each session.
FAQ
Good questions to have answers to
Do sessions run online or in person? +
Online only, via Teams or Zoom, with screen-sharing and a shared whiteboard for readings and drafts — so location is not a barrier anywhere in the UK.
Which courses and periods do you cover? +
Undergraduate history modules and dissertations. My strongest ground is modern Britain, modern Europe and the Second World War — broadly the last two hundred years. Mention your exact module or essay title when you enquire and I will tell you honestly whether it plays to my strengths. If it does not, I would rather say so than take the booking.
Will you read a draft before the session? +
Yes. Send a draft or an essay title a day or two ahead and I will have read it before we start, so the hour goes on the work rather than on catching up.
Do you write or edit essays for students? +
No. I will help you plan, structure and sharpen your own argument, and tell you where it is not landing — but what you submit has to be yours. That is the line every university draws, and I draw it too.
Can I book a single session, or do I need a block? +
Single sessions are fine — nothing upfront. Blocks are there for students who know they want regular support and prefer the saving.
What if I need to cancel or move a session? +
Let me know at least 24 hours ahead and we will rearrange at no cost. Inside 24 hours, or a missed session, is charged in full — though if something genuinely goes wrong, just tell me.
How do I pay? +
Bank transfer, with details sent after the intro call and payment due after each session.
Start here
One free call, and you'll know if it's worth booking.
Fifteen minutes, no cost and no obligation — just your essay title, your deadline, and an honest answer about whether I can help.
Email JamesReplies usually within a day.
Get in touch
Email me
Tell me what you are studying and where you are stuck, and I will reply personally to arrange a free intro call.
A short email is plenty — your course and year, the module or essay title, and what you would like help with.
Email James