The 2 Mark "Describe One Feature" Question (Edexcel GCSE History): Revision Note

Summary of Question 1

• Question 1 requires you to identify and describe a feature of an event, person or development in the period of history that you have studied

• This question has changed format since 2024

  • Previously, you were asked to explain two features of one event

  • Now, you have to explain one feature of two given events, separated into:

    • Question 1 (a)

    • Question 1 (b)

• 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 the reigns of King Richard I and King John: 

"Describe one feature" question structure

• Your answer should have: 

  • A key feature of the event, person or development

  • Specific and relevant knowledge

• Your answers could  be written in ID format:

  • I — Identify a key feature that is relevant to the question

  • D — Describe the key feature using a specific piece of knowledge

• Each "Describe one feature" question is worth 2 marks

  • 1 mark for stating your key feature (1) 

  • 1 mark for knowledge about the feature (1) 

• For answering both Questions 1 (a) and 1 (b), 4 marks are available

Worked example of a "Describe one feature" question