History essay structure

[pringles]

So I am looking at past questions for History (I take HL). In general, I'm super confused about how to structure an essay. My teacher says to incorporate historical perspectives, but what exactly does 'historical perspective' include, and how do I put them in my essay? I found other forums on this but they're based on the old history syllabus, which puts a lot more emphasis on using historian's names and their school of thought. Are there any general structures I could follow for my essays?

For example, I'm looking at the question: Assess the importance of the use of force and economic policies in the establishment and maintenance of power of one authoritarian or single-party ruler. [15]

1. What are the IB definitions of establishment of power and maintenance of power? I read somewhere that 'establishment' doesn't refer to the 'rise to power'.

2. What possible structure could I use to write this? I was planning on 'use of force in the establishment of power', 'use of force in the maintenance of power', 'economic policies in the establishment of power', and 'economic policies in the maintenance of power'. 

[IB_taking_over]

I still did the old syllabus but learned a bit about the new one as well. It is my understanding that historical perspective is basically historiography. Basically that you can recognize, and use where applicable, different points of view. For example, you recognize that Stalin's Five Year Plans have both positive and negative outcomes and can explain where the analysis comes from. [Although Stalin may not actually work for this question, cuz he did not establish power according to one of the IB marking guides from a Paper 2 from 2010-2015]

1. You have the opportunity to define however you like (within in reason) to in your introduction of your essay. The advantage to this is that you tell your reader exactly how to interpret them. I have no clue if establishment is different from rise to power according to IB.  

2. You could use that setup you mentioned. That's definitely the most thorough method. Some of it is dependant on the guy you pick.