✅ A feature
"The trenches were built in several lines joined together." This describes what the topic was like.
Paper 2 Section A Question Types » Paper 2 Section A Question (a): Describe Two Features
What you'll learn this session
Study time: 30 minutes
Edexcel spec: Assessment overview
- What the Paper 2 Section A (a) question asks, and how to choose between the EITHER and the OR
- What a feature is, and how it differs from a story
- How to state a feature and add supporting detail
- How to stay short and still reach the top level
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Unlock This CourseWhat question (a) asks
Paper 2 Section A is about the historical investigation you have studied. Its first part, question (a), is worth 6 marks out of the 30 for the option. It tests AO1: your knowledge and understanding of the period. There are no sources to read.
The question
"Describe TWO features of EITHER topic X OR topic Y."
You answer one of the two topics, not both. This is the only choice in Section A, so read both and pick the one where you know the most precise detail. Our guide is about 9 minutes for this question. This is our guide, not an official rule.
Key terms:
- Feature: a characteristic or aspect of something, such as what it was made of, how it worked or what it was like.
- Supporting detail: a precise fact, such as a name, date, number or example, that backs up the feature.
Feature or story?
"Describe" does not mean "tell the story". A feature is something that was true of the topic. A story says what happened first, next and last. Examiners reward features.
❌ A story
"First the soldiers dug, then the enemy attacked, then they dug more." This lists events and describes no feature.
The recipe: state it, then support it
Write two short paragraphs, one per feature. In each paragraph:
- State the feature in your first sentence.
- Add supporting detail: two precise facts that show what you mean.
That is about 50 to 70 words each. Do not write an introduction or a conclusion, because there are no marks for them. There is also no need to give reasons or judge anything. Save that for the bigger questions.
Examiners mark by levels. In plain words: a simple comment with little support is at the bottom; two features identified, with some added information, is in the middle; two features explained with good, accurate knowledge reaches the top. Levels are explained in What Examiners Reward: Assessment Objectives and Levels.
Two features, always
If you give only one feature, however good, your mark is capped at half marks. Always write two, and give each its own paragraph.
Worked example: the trenches
This is just an example. You do not need to study this period. Here is a fact file so anyone can follow the answer (in the exam you get none).
Fact file: the Western Front, First World War
- From late 1914 armies on the Western Front dug trenches, stretching from the North Sea to the Swiss border.
- The British system had a front-line trench, a support trench and a reserve trench, joined by communication trenches.
- The front line had a fire step, so soldiers could stand and shoot over the parapet, which was lined with sandbags.
- Trenches were dug in a zigzag, so a shell or an enemy soldier could not sweep along a whole length.
- Barbed wire was put out in no man's land, the ground between the two sides.
- Wooden duckboards on the floor kept soldiers' feet out of the mud.
- Dugouts gave some shelter underground.
Question
Describe TWO features of EITHER the trench system on the Western Front OR the use of poison gas in the First World War. [6 marks]
Here the student picks the trench system, because they know it well. They would not write about gas at all.
Strong answer
One feature of the trench system was that it was built in several lines. There was a front-line trench facing the enemy, with a support trench and a reserve trench behind it. Communication trenches joined them, so troops, supplies and messages could move without crossing open ground.
A second feature was that the front line was built for defence. It had a fire step, so soldiers could shoot over a parapet lined with sandbags, and barbed wire was laid in no man's land. Trenches were dug in a zigzag, so a shell could not sweep down a whole trench.
Weaker answer
The trenches were muddy and horrible. Soldiers got ill and there were rats. It was a terrible place to live.
What lifts it: the weaker answer makes general comments with no precise facts, and it is really one feature, not two. The strong answer states each feature in its first sentence, then adds named parts and details of the system, in two separate paragraphs.
Common mistakes
Common mistakes
- Only one feature. The mark is capped at half marks.
- Telling a story. "Describe" asks what it was like, not what happened next.
- No supporting detail. "The trenches were dangerous" is a comment. Add the fire step, the zigzag or the wire.
- Writing about both topics. Choose one. Extra work on the other earns nothing.
- Writing too much. Long introductions and conclusions waste time you need for the (b) and (c) questions. The source question is explained in Paper 2 Section A Question (b): How Far Does Source A Support Source B?
Exam-style question
New topics, new fact file. Choose one topic, then write two short paragraphs.
Fact file: Britain in the Second World War
- Germany began bombing London on 7 September 1940, with raids on 57 nights in a row.
- Anderson shelters were made of corrugated steel, dug into gardens and covered with soil. They were free to households earning under £250 a year.
- Many city families had no garden, so brick surface shelters were built in the streets.
- Thousands of Londoners sheltered on Underground station platforms. The government first discouraged this, then gave way.
- From September 1939 there was a blackout: windows were covered, street lights were off and car headlamps were masked.
- Air raid wardens checked that no light showed. Road accidents rose at first.
Question
Describe TWO features of EITHER the shelters used in Britain during the Blitz OR the blackout in Britain. [6 marks]
Model answer
One feature of shelters in the Blitz was that families could have their own. The Anderson shelter was made of corrugated steel and dug into the garden, then covered with soil, and it was free to households earning under £250 a year, so many families in cities such as London could have one.
A second feature was that there were public shelters for people with no garden. Brick surface shelters were built in the streets for these families, and thousands of Londoners slept on Underground platforms, although the government first discouraged this.
Exam tip
Start each paragraph with "One feature was..." and "A second feature was...". Then count your facts: two precise ones per feature.