How should you structure your

paper 4 answers?
 Paper format:
 AO1 - 50% (Recall historical knowledge - evidence) - carries 30
marks - 15 marks per question
 AO2 - 50% (Demonstrate an understanding of the past through
explanation, analysis and substantiated judgement)
 This means that in order to succeed in this paper you need to have a
good mix of historical knowledge in the form of developed and
strong points to argue for and against the question/topic asked, in
order to form a balanced argument.
 You must also reach a substantiated or sustained judgement here of
which factor is seen as the most important and why that is so, to
access the higher levels of the mark band (22-23 marks at the very
least which is the bare minimum to net you an A grade for this
component).
Question time breakdown:
 1 hour 45 minute paper. Answer 2 questions from a choice of 4 (you
would have ideally studied either 2 or 3 options, answer questions
only from the topics you have studied) of a given option (European,
American, International option).
 Time breakdown will thus be about 52.5 minutes per question. I
would advise spending 5-7 minutes just for planning before you
answer, and allocate 45 minutes for writing down your answer.
 Previously in the old 9389 and older syllabuses it was recommended
to write for 45 minutes as that was the maximum recommended
time per question, since we have more time under the 9489
syllabus it is best in my opinion to spend this extra time to plan
and organise your material and lay it out as best you can in the
exam conditions to score well.
 All of the questions given in the question paper will contain a command or
key word. This in effect tells you how to structure your answer. Generally
questions can come in 2 different 'structures', so to speak, these are:
 Questions which give you a specific 'side' - the question might for example
give you a statement and ask you to evaluate whether this is true or not. For
these types of questions (usually asked in the form of 'How far do you
agree..?', 'To what extent...', Evaluate this statement....' or similar) you have
to begin with the side that the question has posed to you, and then bring in
additional points supported by evidence in order to provide a balanced
argument on the other 'side' as well.
 Questions which ask you to discuss the entire picture - these questions usually
come in the form of 'Assess' or similar and will ask you to present all of your
points in a structured manner and then argue which point is the most
important and why OR it could ask you to determine whether a given policy or
measure was successful or not in a historical knowledge with the information
that you have written.
Other comments:
 Support to back your points is very important in order to make a sustained
judgement on which aspect of the question is the most important and why.
 Regardless of the question asked the answer which you provide must have an
element of balanced and cannot be one-sided (for example the AS 10-marker
is like this, it does not ask you to consider multiple perspectives, something
which is essential for success in this A2 component).
 Another important aspect that you must include is an element of analysis.
This means that you will need to analyse the implications of the historical
period in question and then provide evaluative comment (by evaluating and
referring back to your historical knowledge and then offering comment).
 To further enhance your answers, you can include a historiographical debate
on the topic in question and present the view of a historian who shares a
similar view to your conclusion on which factor is the most important,
however this is not explicitly required by the syllabus (although implicitly it is
because it has been mentioned before in past examination reports).
Structure
 Short introduction of the topic referenced in the question
 Point 1 (perhaps agreeing with statement/'side' given if applicable) +
Evaluation for Point 1
 Any additional points + evaluation
 Now I consider other points which might go against with the statement/'side'
given in the question or alternative discussions in order to provide balance
 Point 2 + Evaluation for Point 2
 Point 3 + Evaluation for Point 3
 Point 4 + Evaluation for Point 4
 Sustained conclusion with explanation on which 'side' is seen as the most
important. Addition of historian's quote/historiographical debate if possible
(although not explicitly required by syllabus/mark schemes).
 If the question asks you to examine all possible factors (e.g. 'assess all
factors'), then I just do that and then provide a longer conclusion as to which
individual point is the most important rather than the 'side' or was it a
'success' or 'failure'.
 Number of points you need to use: at least from what I have seen - around 4-5
points, this can vary by topic area. The main thing to note here is that the
amount of specific detail/narrowness of the questions is more compared to AS
20-markers in Paper 2, you can say that 'quality' of the argument and analysis
provided together alongside it is seen as more important than 'quantity' - that
is the amount of points.
 It all comes down to impression-based marking in the end in any case, so just
put in your best you can under exam conditions and good luck!