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Paper 1: Core Content

Candidates answer two questions from Section A and one question from Section B. Each question is worth 20 marks, totaling 60 marks for the paper. The paper assesses historical knowledge, analysis, and evaluation skills. 

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  • Section A (Core Content): Students answer two questions based on the core content they have studied. 

  • Section B (Depth Studies): Students answer one question based on a specific depth study they have chosen and prepared. 

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  • Each question is worth 20 marks. 

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Paper 1 is worth 40% of the overall IGCSE History grade. 

3 x (a), (b), (c) questions

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a) Describe something (four points) [4]

 

b) Explain something (two reasons with supporting evidence) [6]

 

c) Evaluate two arguments (at least one point on each side of the argument [10]

 

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Core Content + Russia

 

Your Paper 2 topic will not come up in Paper 1

01.

Was the Treaty of Versailles fair?

  • The roles of Wilson, Clemenceau and Lloyd George in the peacemaking process.

  • The terms of the Treaty.

  • Political, Social and Economic impacts of the Treaty on Germany.

  • Contemporary opinions about the Treaty.

02.

To what extent was the League of Nations a success?

  • Structure, aims and membership of the League

  • Crises in the 1920s (Vilna, Aaland Islands, Corfu, Bulgaria)

  • Humanitarian Agencies (Refugees, Health, Working Conditions, Slavery)

  • The League in the 1930s (Causes, Events, Consequences of Manchuria Crisis and Abyssinia Crisis)

Paper 2: Core Content

source-based paper that assesses candidates' ability to analyse and evaluate historical sources. It typically involves interpreting various types of sources, including written documents and visual materials, and using them to answer structured questions. 

The paper often includes questions that require comparison of sources, determining if one source contradicts another, or analysing the reasons for a source's creation.

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  • Source Interpretation: Understanding the message and main points of individual sources. 

  • Source Comparison: Identifying similarities and differences between sources. 

  • Source Evaluation: Assessing the reliability and potential biases of sources. 

  • Overall Evaluation: Using all available sources to answer a broader historical question. 

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The paper is worth 30% of the overall IGCSE History grade. 

FIVE questions

 

Use source material (cartoons, diaries, newspaper entries, history book extracts etc) to answer questions.

 

E.g. What is the cartoonist’s message?How far do these sources agree?Does Source X suggest Source Y is lying?Why was Source A produced in Year B?

03.

How far was Hitler’s Foreign Policy to blame for the outbreak of war in Europe in 1939?

  • Hitler’s foreign policy aims

  • Rearmament

  • The Saar

  • Remilitarisation of the Rhineland

  • The Rome-Berlin Axis and Anti-Comintern Pact

  • Anschluss with Austria

  • The Sudetenland and the Munich Agreement

  • The Nazi-Soviet Pact

  • The Polish Crisis and the outbreak of war

Paper 4: Depth Study

requires students to answer one structured essay question from a specific historical depth study they have prepared for. The question will be based on a single depth study topic chosen from the syllabus, and the answer should demonstrate both historical knowledge and analytical skills. 

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  • Structured Essay Format:

    The questions are divided into parts (a), (b), and (c), requiring students to provide well-developed and structured answers. 

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  • Analysis over Description:

    The emphasis is on analyzing the importance of different factors related to the historical events, rather than just narrating them. 

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  • Balanced Argument:

    Students should develop a balanced argument, considering different perspectives and reaching a substantiated judgement. 

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  • Time Allocation:

    Students need to manage their time effectively to answer the essay question within the allotted time, potentially allocating time for planning, writing, and reviewing. 

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  • Assessment Objectives:

    The paper assesses both knowledge recall and understanding of the past, including explanation, analysis, and substantiated judgments. 

1 x (a) and (b)

 

a) Write an Account [15]

Include as much accurate relevant information as you can. Organise  it into a logical sequence.

 

b) Discuss [25]

Identify 3 different areas of impact and support with relevant, accurate examples. Reach a conclusion on the relative importance of each impact.

 

ONLY Russia

01.

Why did the Tsarist regime collapse in 1917?

Main features of Tsarist rule and Russian society before the First World War:

  • 1905 Revolution

  • Attempts at Reform

 

Impacts of the First World War on the Russian people

 

March Revolution (1917)

02.

How did the Bolsheviks gain and consolidate power?

Provisional Government and the Soviet.

 

July Days and Kornilov Affair.

 

Reasons for the failure of the Provisional Government.

 

November Revolution (1917)

 

Roles of Lenin and Trotsky

 

The Civil War, War Communism.

 

Kronstadt Uprising and the NEP

03.

How did Stalin gain and hold onto power?

Lenin’s death and the struggle for power.

 

Reasons for Stalin’s emergence as leader by 1928.

 

Stalin’s dictatorship

  • Use of terror

  • The Purges (1934-38)

  • Propaganda, official culture, the Cult of Stalin

04. 

What were the impacts of Stalin’s policies?

Stalin’s economic policies and their impacts:

  • Industrialisation

  • The Five Year Plans

  • Collectivisation in agriculture

 

Life in the Soviet Union:

  • Differing experiences of social groups

  • Ethnic minorities and women

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