✅ An effect
A result of the event: a change in people's lives, a new law, a loss, a new attitude, a change in power. "Because of the event, ..."
Paper 1 Question Types » Paper 1 Question (b): Explain Two Effects
What you'll learn this session
Study time: 30 minutes
Edexcel spec: Assessment overview
- What the Paper 1 (b) question asks and why it is worth 8 marks
- What counts as an effect, and what does not
- A paragraph method: point, evidence, explain
- Why you must explain two effects, each in its own paragraph
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Unlock This CourseWhat question (b) asks
Part (b) of each Paper 1 question is worth 8 marks: 4 for AO1 (knowledge) and 4 for AO2 (explanation). It always looks like this:
The question
Explain two effects of [an event, policy or person's actions] on [a country, group or aspect]. [8 marks]
There is no extract and no choice. You need your own knowledge of the depth study you have learned. The facts in this lesson are only an example, so you do not have to study this period.
Key terms:
- Effect: something that happened because of an event. It is a result, not the event itself.
- Hyperinflation: prices rising so fast that money loses almost all its value.
What counts as an effect
An effect comes after the event and was caused by it. Many students lose marks by describing the event again. Test your idea with one question: "Did this happen because of the event?"
❌ Not an effect
A description of the event, or something that happened before it. Telling the story of what happened gets almost no credit.
Do not mix up effects and causes. A cause is why something happened. An effect is what happened next. Causes are explained in Paper 2 Section B Question (b): Explain Two Causes.
The method: point, evidence, explain
Write two paragraphs, one for each effect. Each paragraph has three steps.
- Point. Name the effect in one sentence.
- Evidence. Add precise facts: dates, names, figures. This is where AO1 marks come from.
- Explain. Show how the event led to the effect. This is where AO2 marks come from.
Linking phrases make the explanation clear. Use words that show consequence:
- "As a result, ..."
- "This led to ..."
- "Because of this, ..."
- "This meant that ..."
- "The consequence was ..."
Examiners mark by levels, and we describe them in plain words. A simple comment or general knowledge earns the lowest marks. Effects explained with specific facts reach the middle. Showing clearly how the event led to each effect, with accurate and relevant detail, reaches the top.
Why two effects?
The question says "two". If you explain only one effect, you can score no more than half marks (4 out of 8), however good it is. Give each effect about the same effort. A good guide is about 70 to 100 words each and about 12 minutes in all. That timing is our guide, not an official rule.
Worked example: the hyperinflation of 1923
This is just an example. Here is a short fact file so that anyone can follow the answer. In the exam you get no fact file.
Fact file: hyperinflation in Germany, 1923
- Germany had to pay reparations (money paid to the winners as compensation) after the First World War.
- In January 1923, French and Belgian troops occupied the Ruhr, a major industrial area, because Germany was behind with its payments.
- The German government told Ruhr workers to strike, and paid them by printing more money.
- A loaf of bread cost about 250 marks in January 1923 and about 200,000 million marks by November 1923.
- Many families had savings in banks in marks.
- People who owed money could pay it back with almost worthless marks.
- In November 1923 a new currency, the Rentenmark, replaced the old marks.
Question
Explain two effects of the hyperinflation of 1923 on Germany. [8 marks]
Strong answer
One effect of the hyperinflation was that many middle-class families lost their savings. By November 1923 a loaf of bread cost about 200,000 million marks, so money saved in banks over many years bought almost nothing. As a result, careful, hard-working people became poor almost overnight, and many blamed the government for letting this happen. This damaged their trust in the new German republic.
Another effect was that people with debts gained. Because prices rose so quickly, anyone who owed money could pay it back with almost worthless marks. This meant that people with loans, such as some businesses and landowners, escaped their debts, while savers lost out. The consequence was a deep sense of unfairness in German society, as some people profited while others were ruined.
Weaker answer
The French took over the Ruhr and the government printed money, so prices went up and bread cost lots of marks. Lots of people were poor.
What lifts it: the weaker answer retells the event and mentions only a vague result. The strong answer names two separate effects, gives precise evidence for each, and uses linking phrases such as "as a result" and "this meant that" to show how the hyperinflation produced each effect.
Common mistakes
Common mistakes
- Describing the event. If your paragraph tells the story, it is not an effect. Start with "The effect was ...".
- Writing only one effect. The mark is capped at half. Always write two paragraphs.
- Two effects that are really the same. "People lost money" and "people were poorer" is one effect said twice. Choose clearly different effects.
- Facts with no link. A list of figures is not enough. Say how the event led to the result.
- Writing about causes. Do not explain why the event happened.
Exam-style question
New context, new fact file. Write two paragraphs using point, evidence, explain. Use the fact file if you need it.
Fact file: the Irish Famine, from 1845
- About 8 million people lived in Ireland in 1841.
- Many poor families depended on potatoes as their main food.
- In 1845 a disease called blight destroyed much of the potato crop, and it returned in later years.
- Ireland was then part of the United Kingdom and was ruled from London.
- About one million people died of hunger and disease.
- About one million people emigrated, many to North America and Britain.
- By 1851 the population was about 6.5 million.
Explain two effects of the Irish Famine on Ireland. [8 marks]
Model answer
One effect of the famine was a sharp fall in Ireland's population. After the potato blight destroyed much of the crop in 1845, about one million people died of hunger and disease, because many poor families depended on potatoes as their main food. About one million more emigrated, many to North America and Britain. As a result, the population fell from about 8 million in 1841 to about 6.5 million by 1851.
Another effect was damage to how Ireland and Britain viewed each other. In 1845 Ireland was part of the United Kingdom and was ruled from London, so the government in London was blamed by many Irish people when the crop failed and so many died. This meant that the famine became a source of anger and mistrust towards the government, which stayed in people's memories long after the blight ended.
Exam tip
Before you write, jot down your two effects in the margin and check that they are different. Then give each paragraph a date, a name or a figure, and end it with a phrase such as "as a result" so the examiner can see the link.