The 4 Mark "Describe" Question: America 1920-1973 (Q4) (AQA GCSE History)

Revision Note

Natasha Smith

Expertise

History Content Creator

Summary of Question Four

  • Question Four requires you to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key features and characteristics of the period you have studied

  • You should describe two parts of the issue outlined in the question 

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:

Question Four for America 1920-1973
An example of Question Four in Paper 1A
  • In previous years, this question has focused on problems in American history such as:

Year of Exam 

Question Topic 

2018

Problems face by President Hoover from 1929-1932

2019

Problems faced by African- Americans in the 1950s and 1960s

2020

Problems faced by immigrants in America 

2021

Problems tackled by Feminist movements in the 1960s and 1970s

2022

Problems faced by Americans during the Depression 

Sample 1

Problems faced by Kennedy and Johnson in the Civil Rights

Sample 2

Problems faced by President Roosevelt and the New Deal 

  • Although previous examples have focused on problems in America, it may not always be focused on problems

How to Answer a “Describe” Question

  • When answering a describe question you need to: 

    • Read the question carefully 

    • Include all of the key parts of the question in your answer 

    • Include specific and relevant knowledge 

    • Describe two reasons

An image showing the example question annotated. The yellow shows the key knowledge needed. The blue shows that the focus of the question is on problems
An image showing the example question annotated. The yellow shows the key knowledge needed. The blue shows that the focus of the question is on problems
  • This is a described question. Your answer should be: 

    • Concise 

    • Focused on the topic 

  • You may want to consider using language like ‘one problem’ and ‘another problem’ at the start of each of your paragraphs to: 

    • Clearly show the examiners that you have described two reasons 

    • To make sure you do not write more than what is needed in this answer 

  • You do not need to explain the question 

“Describe” Question Structure

  • You need to provide two points of the issue outlined in the question

  • For each part, you should: 

    • Identify - write a relevant point based on the question topic (1)

    • Describe - add relevant specific information about the point you have made (1)

  • To achieve full marks, you must do these steps twice 

Worked Example of a “Describe” Question

Worked Example

Describe two problems faced by older industries during the Great Depression of the 1930s. 

[4 marks]

Answer:

One problem faced by the older industries during the Great Depression of the 1930s was the use of alternative or cheaper resources (1). For example, the coal industry suffered as more businesses used alternative energy resources of oil, gas and electricity and they lost a lot of money as a result (1).

A second problem faced by the older industries during the Great Depression of the 1930s was wages and unemployment (1). Workers in older industries faced falling wages and unemployment as these older industries struggled to compete with cheap labour, especially in the Southern states (1)

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Natasha Smith

Author: Natasha Smith

After graduating with a degree in history, Natasha gained her PGCE at Keele University. With more than 10 years of teaching experience, Natasha taught history at both GCSE and A Level. Natasha's specialism is modern world history. As an educator, Natasha channels this passion into her work, aiming to instil in students the same love for history that has fuelled her own curiosity.