if you enjoy lots of work and pain, this is the subject for you
quicklinks:
an outline - all the questions, ordered - paper one - paper two - paper three
past paper twos
| paper | date | parts | mks portion of GCSE |
time | Qs | mks |
| one: Med | 18th May | Western Front | 48 30% |
75' | describe 2 features | 4 |
| utility | 8 | |||||
| pointless follow-up | 4 | |||||
| Everything Else™ | explain a similarity/difference | 4 | ||||
| explain why | 12 | |||||
| 16 marker: med edition | 16 (+4 SPaG) | |||||
| two: CW&Liz | 7th Jun | Cold War | 32 20% |
55' | consequences | 8 (2*4) |
| narrative | 8 | |||||
| importance 1&2 | 2*8 (16) | |||||
| Elizabeth | 32 20% |
50' | describe two features | 4 | ||
| explain why | 12 | |||||
| the 16 marker: liz edition | 16, eponymously | |||||
| three: WR&NG | 15th Jun | unnamed section A | 48 30% |
80' | inferences | 4 (2*2) |
| explain why | 12 | |||||
| unnamed section B | utility | 8 | ||||
| main difference | 4 | |||||
| reason for diff. | 4 | |||||
| the 16 marker: Germany edition | 16 (+4 SPaG) |
| question | marks over GCSE | marks per Q | where it's found | paragraph organisation | Vincent-certified time allocation | |
| 16 marker | 48 | 16 | / | elizabeth q1c | (choice of two) intro, one agree, one disagree, conclusion (reach judgement!) | 24' |
| +4 SPaG | medicine q5/6 | |||||
| WR&NG q3d | intro, one for I2, one against I2 using I1, conclusion (reach judgement!) | |||||
| explain why | 36 | 12 | medicine q4 | three disjointed paras, each on a factor, focussing on explanation and analysis of evidence | 18' (keep it tight!) | |
| elizabeth q1b | ||||||
| WR&NG q2 | ||||||
| utility | 16 | 8 | medicine q2a | one para for each source, each split into content/provenance/conclusion - reach a conclusion but consider a limitation regardless | about 275' ideally 14' tho |
|
| WR&NG q3a | ||||||
| importance | cold war q3 x2 | two disjointed PEEL paras, each covering one criterion | 12' each, no more than 26' in total | |||
| narrative | 8 | cold war q2 | one para for each of three key events with lots of intrapara and interpara links, and a final outcome | 12', 15' max | ||
| describe 2 features | 4 | medicine q1 | state it, explain it, again | 4' | ||
| elizabeth q1a | ||||||
| consequences | cold war q1 x2 | two short disjointed essays focussing on why exactly it followed as a consequence; avoid the pitfalls | 10' ideally | |||
| main diff. & reason | WR&NG q3b&c | very formulaic, quick, short and quoting the interps | don't dwell: aim for sub-8' | |||
| follow-up | 4 | medicine q2b | fill in the boxes :) | ~3-6' | ||
| similarity/difference through time | medicine q3 | state it, give evidence for each half, and briefly explain | ||||
| inferences | 2 | WR&NG q1 | don't say what you see, don't say what you can't see | |||
(basically, Medicine)
| Q | Mks | nickname | strat | Vincent-certified time allocation |
| Section A: Western Front | ||||
| 1 | 4 | describe two features | state feature (eg. place, part, method, law, etc), briefly explain same again |
4', aim for 3' |
| 2(a) | 8 | utility | para on source A, in three parts: content; provenance; conclusion. repeat for source B. MUST include limitations and PLENTY of Own Knowledge | 15', more realistically about 275' |
| 2(b) | 4 | the stupid one | it's so basic do i need to say anything | about 2' |
| Section B: Everything Else™ | ||||
| 3 | 4 | explain a difference/similarity | pick a difference, give evidence for one, then the other. don't overelaborate. | 5' |
| 4 | 12 | explain why | three disconnected paragraphs, focusing heavily on the analysis of evidence. each paragraph is a factor. | 18' (keep it tight) |
| 5/6 | 16(+4) | the 16 marker: med edition | choice of two: do one. one paragraph agreeing, two disagreeing. make sure to include an intro/conc to differentiate from a 12mker | 24' |
(basically, Cold War & Liz)
| Q | Mks | nickname | strat | Vincent-certified time allocation |
| Booklet P4: Cold War | ||||
| 1 | 8 (2 times 4) | consequences | simple PEEL with heavy emphasis on exactly why the consequence was indeed a consequence. there are many traps which devalidate your consequence (like part of the event), so be careful! if in doubt, you can just about do a relations consequence but you have to be very SPECIFIC. think of each essay as completely separate from each other. | 10' (2 times 5') |
| 2 | 8 | narrative | this is a big one. three distinct events which form the event (make sure they're pertinent!) and heavy emphasis on the links between them - not just interparagraph but intraparagraph analytical links too. and of course the final outcome. | 12', although it may expand to 15' |
| 3 | 2 times 8 | importance | two disjointed paragraphs, each focusing on one criterion for the importance. lots of analysis of why in particular it was so important, and don't forget about the tail end!! then all again for the second choice - four paragraphs in total, each approximately four marks. |
2 times 12' |
| Booklet B4: Elizabeth | ||||
| 1(a) | 4 | describe two features | state feature (eg. place, part, method, law, etc), briefly explain same again |
4', aim for 3' |
| 1(b) | 12 | explain why | three disconnected paragraphs, focusing heavily on the analysis of evidence. each paragraph is a factor. | 18' |
| 1(c) | 16 | the 16 marker: liz edition | choice of two: do one. one paragraph agreeing, two disagreeing. make sure to include an intro/conc to differentiate from a 12mker. | 24' |
as an added bonus, this playlist is 32'55", for the 32 marks and 55 minutes of the paper!
(basically, Germany)
| Q | Mks | nickname | strat | Vincent-certified time allocation |
| Section A: misc | ||||
| 1 | 4 | inference | it's pretty easy as long as you tread the fine line of not saying what you see but not making stuff up or using Own Knowledge. maybe not easy. | 4' |
| 2 | 12 | explain why | three disconnected paragraphs, focusing heavily on the analysis of evidence. each paragraph is a factor. | 18' |
| Section B: sources & interps | ||||
| 3(a) | 8 | utility | para on source A, in three parts: content; provenance; conclusion. repeat for source B. MUST include limitations and PLENTY of Own Knowledge | 15', more realistically about 275' |
| 3(b) | 4 | main difference | literally an easy one to let you cool down after the pain of the 8mker | 4', aim for 3' |
| 3(c) | 4 | one reason | so simple. simply One reason why I.s 1 & 3 differ is because they give weight to different sources. then back up for three more marks - easy as π. | 3' (it's so formulaic) |
| 3(d) | 16 (+4) | the 16 marker: Germany Edition | are we sitting comfortably? just TWO main paragraphs (+intro,conc)! one for, quoting from I2, one against, quoting from I1. start paragraph with a judgement. quote from both interps. include Own Knowledge. justify argument through analysis. reach a conclusion. have a proper intro. |
24' |
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