The 4 Mark "Explain One Way" Question (Edexcel GCSE History): Revision Note
Exam code: 1HI0
Summary of Question 3
Question 3 tests your ability to explain one similarity or one difference between two historical events or developments
It always draws on content from two time periods in Medicine in Britain, c1250–present
Amount of marks | 4 |
|---|---|
The time that you should spend on the question | No more than 5 minutes |
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 Medicine in Britain:
Year of Exam | Question Topic |
|---|---|
2018 | Care in hospitals (opens in a new tab) |
2019 | Cause of illness (opens in a new tab) |
2020 | The role of the physician (opens in a new tab) |
2021 | Surgery (opens in a new tab) |
2022 | Spread of infectious diseases (opens in a new tab) |
2023 | Prevention of illnesses (opens in a new tab) |
2024 | Treatment of infectious diseases |
Explaining similarities and differences
This is part of the thematic study, so Question 3 assesses:
Your understanding of continuity and change over time
Your use of similarities and differences
Questions may:
Compare two events across the four time periods of the course
Focus on a specific areas, such as surgery or disease prevention
Use the key themes of the course to help with this question. These are:
Causes of disease
Treatment
Prevention
How to answer an "Explain one way" question
To access Level 2 (3-4 marks), you must:
Read the question carefully
Focus only on the two time periods mentioned
Mention one similarity or one difference, not both
Make a direct comparison between the two events or developments
For the example answer, a direct comparison is that both periods show a belief in outdated ideas about the cause of the epidemic disease
"Explain one way" question structure
Your answer should include:
Specific and relevant knowledge about the topic to support the comparison
An explanation of the similarity or difference outlined in the question
Your answers could be written in a PEE paragraph:
P — Make a clear statement about how the two events are similar or different
E — Support your point with accurate knowledge from each time period (K)
Use comparative phrases such as "similarly", "whereas" and "in contrast"
E — Explain the question (SOC)
Explain why they are different or similar
Link back to the focus of the question
There are four marks available for this question:
2 marks for your analysis of a similarity or difference between the two given time periods (SOC)
2 marks for specific knowledge of each time period (K)
Worked example of an "Explain one way" question
Worked Example
Explain one way in which people’s reactions to epidemics of disease were similar in the 17th and 19th centuries.
(4)
Answer
One way in which people's reactions to epidemics were similar in the 17th and 19th centuries was because the public held onto outdated ideas about how epidemics were caused (SOC). In the Great Plague (1665), the public believed that it was a punishment from God due to people's wickedness (K). This is despite religious explanations for diseases being in decline. Similarly, in the cholera outbreak in 1854, people believed that miasma was the cause of cholera (K). This was despite John Snow's findings that cholera was spread through contaminated water.
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