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Paper 1

  • Paper 1

Paper 1 is a source paper in which students must answer four questions on four sources which are all related to one of the prescribed subjects.

This page gives an overview of what is required; see Guidelines for answering Paper 1 questions to get more information on what is expected for the different types of question and for suggestions on how to help students develop their source skills.

What is the nature of Paper 1?

Paper 1 is a source based paper which lasts one hour. It consists of 4 sources (one of which is visual source such as a cartoon or a map). There are four questions which require students to use their source analysis skills.

    What content needs to be covered for Paper 1?

    One prescribed subject must be chosen for study from the following list:

    • Military leaders
    • Conquest and its impact
    • The Move to Global War
    • Rights and Protest
    • Conflict and intervention

    Each prescribed subject consists of two case studies, each taken from a different region.

    What is the structure of the paper?

    Students will receive a source booklet and a question booklet). The booklets will cover all of the prescribed subjects.)

    Questions will always assess the source following skills:
    Question 1: Comprehension of sources
    Question 2: Evaluation of one source for value and limitations
    Question 3: Comparison of two sources
    Question 4: Synthesizing sources and own knowledge in an analytical essay question

    How will this paper be marked?

    The paper is marked out of 24 which is divided up as follows:

    Question 1: 5 marks

    Question 2: 4 marks

    Question 3: 6 marks

    Question 4: 9 marks

    NB There are generic mark bands for Questions 3 and 4

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