The 16 Mark "How Far do you Agree" Question (Edexcel GCSE History): Revision Note
Exam code: 1HI0
Summary of Question 5 or 6
You will choose between Question 5 or Question 6
Answering either question requires you to:
Make a clear, sustained judgement about a historical statement
Use second-order concepts like cause, change, significance, or consequence
Compare the given reason with other valid reasons
Reach a well-structured conclusion
From the 2025 exams onwards, the question will cover either a complete period or at least 200 years
Amount of marks | 16 + 4 SPaG marks |
|---|---|
The time that you should spend on the question | 5 minutes of planning 20 minutes of writing |
An example of the type of question you may encounter can be seen below:
In previous years, this question has focused on the following topics in Crime and Punishment in Britain:
Year of Exam | Question Topic |
|---|---|
2018 (opens in a new tab) | Question 5: The work of the Fielding brothers and the improvement in law enforcement in the years c1500- c1900 Question 6: The establishment of Pentonville prison and the use of prisons in the years c1700- present day |
2019 (opens in a new tab) | Question 5: The Norman Conquest and changes in law enforcement in medieval England Question 6: Changes in criminal activity in the period c1500-c1900 |
2020 (opens in a new tab) | Question 5: The attitude of the authorities and the changes in the use of the death penalty Question 6: Specialisation and the development of police work since the creation of the Metropolitan Police |
2021 (opens in a new tab) | Question 5: The role of religion and the increase of crime against authority Question 6: Progress in dealing with the crime of smuggling in the years c1700-present day |
2022 (opens in a new tab) | Question 5: The idea of retribution and methods of punishment during the medieval period Question 6: The impact of transportation and the Bloody Code on crime |
2023 (opens in a new tab) | Question 5: Changes in criminal activity in the period c1000- c1700 Question 6: The work of Robert Peel and changes in law enforcement in the years c1700-c1900 |
2024 | Question 5: Attitudes in society affecting crime and punishment, c1000–c1500 Question 6: Changes in the work of the police, 1829–present |
Making judgements in history
The 16-mark question requires you to weigh all the evidence and make a decision
Students often find this part the hardest to do
Common mistakes in judgement questions
Explaining that all of the reasons are the most important
Avoiding a clear decision by using phrases like “kind of” or “maybe”
Giving no opinion
Changing your argument halfway through
In the example question, you state that poverty was the main reason for the increase in crime
However, in the conclusion, you state that the main reason for the increase in crime was the role of the government
Doing this means that there is not a sustained judgement and you can not access Level 4 (13–16 marks)
What makes a good judgement?
Clearly answer the question using second-order concepts
Acknowledge other sides of the argument
Have a consistent judgement from start to finish
Use your best evidence to back up your decision
There is no "right" or "wrong" answer in history
Consider other reasons
Even if you fully believe a reason is the most important, you still need to present evidence for other reasons
What makes a great conclusion in GCSE History?
Conclusions are usually where most of your judgement marks will be awarded
All great conclusions have these three elements:
Judgement – State your opinion using words from the question
Counter – Mention a reason from the other side
Support – Use your strongest evidence to explain why your side is more convincing
How to get SPaG marks
In Paper 1, students have access to an additional four marks for answering either Question 5 or 6
This is awarded for SPaG ( Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar)
SPaG mark | Reason for this mark |
|---|---|
0 |
|
1 |
|
2-3 |
|
4 |
|
Top tips for boosting SPaG marks
Spell historical terms correctly
Use paragraphs
Re-read your work for punctuation
Reading the answer in your head
Where you would take a breath, make sure there is a comma or full stop
How to answer a "How far do you agree" question
In the exam, only answer either Question 5 or Question 6
You should put an "X" in the box next to the question you have chosen to answer
You will receive two stimulus points
These are areas of knowledge to discuss in your question
If you only discuss these two stimulus points, you are limited to a maximum of 11 marks
You can choose not to use any of the suggestions
You can still achieve full marks by not using the two stimulus points
You must discuss three areas of knowledge in your answer to access Level 4
To answer this question successfully you should
Read the answer carefully and multiple times
Annotate the question to find the key demands of the question
Plan your answer, including:
What your judgement is
The key knowledge you wish to use
"How far do you agree" question structure
Your answer should include:
A logical structure
A range of specific and relevant knowledge
An explanation of the second-order concept outlined in the question
A clear and sustained judgement throughout the answer
A conclusion
If you want to include an introduction you can, but it is not necessary
Your answers could be written in PEEL paragraphs:
P - Make a point about the question
This should include your judgement
E - Use evidence that supports the point that you have made (K)
Evidence needs to be relevant and specific to the question
E - Explain why this evidence supports your point
Your explanation should be focused on the second-order concept outlined in the question (SOC)
L - Link your explanation back to the question to help sustain your argument and show your understanding of the question
The question is out of 20 marks:
6 marks for a wide range of specific knowledge of the period and the topic stated in the question (K)
10 marks for the analysis of the key second-order concepts of cause and consequence, similarities and differences and importance (SOC)
4 marks are awarded for Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (SPaG)
Worked example of a "How far do you agree" question
Worked Example
'The role of poverty was the main reason for the increase in crime in the years c1500-c1700’.
How far do you agree? Explain your answer.
(16 + 4SPaG)
You may use the following in your answer:
You must also use information of your own. |
Answer
I agree with the statement that poverty was the main reason for the increase in crime in the years c1500-c1700. However, other factors like population growth and religious changes did contribute significantly to the increase in crime during the years c1500-c1700.
Poverty was the main reason for the increase in crime in the years c1500-c1700. Poverty during this period increased due to many different reasons such as the effects of enclosed land, food price increases and poor harvests. During the years c1500- c1700, farming became more efficient and land enclosure increased. By 1700, most of the country's land was enclosed. As poorer people could not afford to buy the land, they were forced into poverty (K). Furthermore, with less land to farm, there was a decrease in food production and consequently, a rise in food prices. This caused an increase in crime because people were forced into illegal activities to survive such as poaching and petty crimes (SOC).
There were other reasons for the increase in crime during the years c1500-c1700, such as the growth in population during this period. Between c1500-c1700, England's population nearly doubled from approximately 2.5 million to 5 million. This population increase put pressure on resources and led to higher levels of unemployment. The increased population caused overcrowding in towns and cities as people moved from the countryside to urban areas to find work (K). This caused an increase in crime as more people committed crimes such as theft, vagrancy and begging due to the lack of food and unemployment due to the increase in population (SOC).
Another reason for the increase in crime during the years c1500-c1700 was due to religious changes in this period. From the beginning of the English Reformation through to c1700, England's religion changed several times between Catholicism and Protestantism. Laws were introduced to support and protect the religion chosen by the monarch, such as the Act of Parliament in 1585 (K). Due to religious instability, extremism and unrest, crime increased. People were committing religious criminal acts such as not attending church services or refusing to follow the monarch's religion (SOC).
Overall, the main reason for the increase in crime in the years c1500-c1700 was poverty because this was the root cause of crime. Poverty was the root cause of crimes such as theft and poaching. People were forced to commit crimes to survive because issues such as land enclosure resulted in a loss of jobs and high food prices (SOC). Additionally, factors such as religion were a contributing factor however they were usually only committed by a small population of the country. Whereas poverty was a widespread issue affecting all of England (SOC).
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