📖 Paper 1: Depth Studies
You study at least two depth studies. You answer two questions, one on each depth study you studied. The questions mix extended writing and essay-style answers.
How the Exam Works » How Your History Exam Works: Papers, Options and Timing
What you'll learn this session
Study time: 30 minutes
Edexcel spec: Assessment overview
- The two papers: how long they are, how many marks, and what each one asks
- How to find the questions on the options you studied
- The (a) 6, (b) 8, (c) 16 pattern and where you get a choice
- A timing plan, and a first Paper 2 Section A question
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Unlock This CourseTwo papers, four questions
Edexcel International GCSE History has two papers. You sit both at the end of the course, because the qualification is linear. Each paper lasts 1 hour 30 minutes, is worth 60 marks and counts for 50% of your grade. You can sit them on paper or onscreen, in June or November. Grades run from 9 (top) to 1.
Key terms:
- Linear: all the exams are taken at the end of the course, not in stages.
- Depth study: a short period studied in detail. It is the focus of Paper 1.
- Historical investigation: a study of one topic using sources and interpretations. It is Section A of Paper 2.
- Breadth study in change: a study of how things changed over a long period. It is Section B of Paper 2.
📝 Paper 2: Investigation and Breadth Studies
You study one historical investigation and one breadth study in change. Section A has one question on your investigation. Section B has one question on your breadth study.
So you answer four questions in total, two on each paper. Each one is worth 30 marks. There are no compulsory topics and no forbidden combinations of options, so the choices you made at the start of the course are yours.
Finding your options on the paper
Each paper has questions on every option, but you answer only the ones you studied. Find your options first, before you read anything else, so you do not write about the wrong period.
Check twice before you start: on Paper 1 you pick the questions for your two depth studies, and on Paper 2 you pick the one for your investigation and the one for your breadth study.
The (a), (b), (c) pattern
Every question has three parts, and the marks go up each time: (a) 6 marks, (b) 8 marks, (c) 16 marks. That adds up to 30. Here are the question types you will meet. Each one has its own lesson later, so this is only a map.
(a) 6 marks
Paper 1: what impression an author gives, using an extract. Paper 2 Section A: describe two features. Paper 2 Section B: explain two ways something was similar or different.
(b) 8 marks
Paper 1: explain two effects. Paper 2 Section A: how far one source supports another. Paper 2 Section B: explain two causes.
(c) 16 marks
A longer answer. It starts with a statement or an interpretation and asks how far you agree, or how far something changed. Most (c) questions give two bullet points to help you.
Where is the choice? You get a choice of (c)(i) or (c)(ii) on Paper 1 and on Paper 2 Section B. In Paper 2 Section A the (c) question has no choice, but part (a) does: it says EITHER one topic OR another, and you pick one.
Your work is marked in levels. Better knowledge, clearer explanations and a proper judgement push you into higher levels. If a question asks for two effects, causes, features or ways, giving only one means you cannot get more than half the marks.
Planning your time
With 1 hour 30 minutes for two 30-mark questions, aim for about 45 minutes per question. As a guide, that is about 9 minutes for (a), 12 minutes for (b) and 24 minutes for (c). This is our own planning guide, not an official rule, but it matches the marks well.
Timing plan for one question
(a) 6 marks: about 9 minutes. (b) 8 marks: about 12 minutes. (c) 16 marks: about 24 minutes. Treat 45 minutes as a rough average. If you want a minute or two to read the question again or check your work, take it from the time for (c).
Common mistakes
- Writing about an option you did not study. Check the option name first.
- Spending 30 minutes on a 6-mark question. The (c) part is worth far more, so do not run out of time for it.
- Giving one feature, cause or effect when the question says two.
- Leaving the choice question blank. Pick (c)(i) or (c)(ii) early and stick with it.
Exam-style question
Here is a Paper 2 Section A (a) question. The Berlin Wall is used only as an example. You may study a different investigation. The fact file is here so that anyone can follow the answer.
Fact file: the Berlin Wall
- After the Second World War, Germany and its capital, Berlin, were divided between the winning powers. East Germany was communist. West Germany was not.
- Berlin lay inside East Germany, so West Berlin was like an island of the West.
- Before 1961, millions of East Germans left for the West, and many went through Berlin.
- On 13 August 1961, East German troops and police closed the border in Berlin with barbed wire. A concrete wall was built later.
- The Wall ran for about 155 kilometres around West Berlin.
- On 9 November 1989, East Germany announced that travel rules would be relaxed. Crowds gathered at the crossing points and the guards opened the gates.
- Germany was reunited on 3 October 1990.
Describe TWO features of EITHER the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961 OR the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. [6 marks]
Model answer
I will describe the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961. One feature was that it went up suddenly and without warning. On 13 August 1961, East German troops and police closed the border in Berlin with barbed wire. A concrete wall followed later, so a city that had been open became divided in two.
Another feature was its purpose, which was to stop people leaving East Germany. Before 1961 millions of East Germans had left for the West, many of them through Berlin. The Wall, about 155 kilometres long around West Berlin, closed that escape route.
Exam tip
For a "Describe TWO features" question, write two short paragraphs. In each one, name the feature, then add two or three facts to back it up. One feature only means a maximum of half marks, so check you have two.