The 8 Mark "Explain the Importance" Question: Elizabethan England (Q2) (AQA GCSE History)

Summary of Question Two

• Question Two requires you to explain the importance of an event, group, individual or development from the Elizabethan period 

• You will need to explain the question using

  • Second-order concepts 

  • Relevant knowledge and understanding 

• 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: 

How to Answer an “Explain the Importance” Question

• In history, the word "importance" refers to a historical event or person which stands out from other events, individuals and groups

• When considering the importance of a historical event or person you should consider:

  • Causes and consequences 

  • Change and continuity 

Cause & Consequences

• Causes and consequences are like falling dominos

  • The causes are what push the dominos over

    • For the example question, a cause of the Earl of Essex Rebellion was the Queen removing Essex's sweet wine monopoly

  • The consequences are the other dominos that fall

    • For the example question. a consequence of the Earl of Essex Rebellion was the weakness of Elizabeth's control over her nobility

• Cause and consequence can be directly linked and can be used to help explain the relationship between events, issues or developments 

Change & Continuity

• Change and continuity can also be viewed as falling dominos

  • An important event, development or person is a domino which changes the direction of all of the dominos that come after it

Explaining Importance

• The question will provide an event or group which it will want you to explain the importance of 

  • You will need to write about two ways in which it was important 

    • For the example question, the Earl of Essex Rebellion was important because it showed the lack of loyalty of Elizabeth's advisors and the threat of the nobility to Elizabeth

    • Show the importance of the event or group through a second-order concept 

“Explain the Importance” Question Structure 

• Your answer should consist of: 

  • Specific and relevant knowledge 

  • Cause and consequence or change and continuity

  • An explanation of how the event or issue mentioned in the question impacted the wider development of the topic

• Your answers could be written in PEE paragraphs: 

  • P- Make a point about the question

    • This point could focus on the importance of the issue or group mentioned in the question 

  • E- Include knowledge to support the point you have made

    • Focused on the event or group in the question 

    • Show knowledge to demonstrate a cause or change 

  • E- Explain the question

    • Focus on the key event or group of the question

    • Include an explanation showing your understanding of the consequence or continuity of the event or group mentioned in the question

• To achieve full marks, you need to repeat this twice 

• It is tempting in this question to write your answer like a story, do not do this 

  • The question asks you to explain the causes and consequences or change and continuity of the event or group mentioned in the question

Worked Example of the “Explain the Importance” Question 

Explain what was important about the Earl of Essex Rebellion for Elizabethan England

[8 marks]

Answer:

The Essex Rebellion was important because it showed that Elizabeth’s control of her kingdom was fading by the end of her reign. Earlier in her reign, Elizabeth could always count on the loyalty of her closest advisors like William Cecil, who worked hard to maintain Elizabeth’s control of England. The Essex Rebellion was important because it showed that the most powerful people in England were willing to disrespect and fight against her. Essex’s attempt to capture the Queen would have been unlikely at the beginning of her reign because Elizabeth was the centre of the patronage system at court. This made most of the senior Nobles loyal to her because they all wanted to be her favourite. 

The Essex Rebellion was important as it demonstrates how easy it was for someone to lose favour in the Elizabethan court and the threats posed to Elizabethan England. Elizabeth removed Essex’s sweet wine monopoly after he went against her order to crush the rebels in Ireland and instead made peace with them. When he returned from England Essex stormed into Elizabeth’s private quarters without her wig on. This was important because, when Essex lost his position and wealth, he fell into debt. This resulted in Essex wanting to remove Robert Cecil and forming a rebellion against Elizabeth. The rebellion did not succeed as only 200 people supported Essex. However, the rebellion demonstrated that even by the end of her reign Elizabeth still faced threats to her throne.