The 8 Mark "Explain the Significance" Question: Health & the People (Q2) (AQA GCSE History)
Revision Note
Written by: Zoe Wade
Reviewed by: Bridgette Barrett
Summary of Question Two
Question Two requires you to identify and explain the significance of a key event, development, person or group both at the time and over time
This question will require you to use second-order concepts in your answer
Amount of marks | 8 |
|---|---|
The time that you should spend on the question | No more than 10 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 Health and the People:
Year of Exam | Question Topic |
|---|---|
2018 | |
2019 | |
2020 | |
2021 | |
2022 | |
Sample 1 | |
Sample 2 |
How to Explain Significance
Significance is a key second-order concept in history
Second-order concepts allow you to:
Understand history
Have a complex explanation
Significance is decided using hindsight
Modern historians look at a time period and decide which events or people:
Created new ideas
Directly changed events at the time
Impacted a significant amount of people
Had important long-term impacts that can be seen today
For the example question, James Simpson has been selected as a significant individual because of his impact on modern anaesthetics
To understand significance, try visualising the events and people of a period as a set of falling dominoes
A significant event, development or person is a domino which changes the direction of all of the dominos that come after it
Historical significance is often:
Subjective
Each historian brings their own opinion on what events or people are important
Debatable
Historians use different evidence to come to their own conclusions about how important an event or a person was in history
Imagine the set of dominos again
A significant development, event or person is a domino that, if taken out of the sequence, stops other dominoes from falling
This shows that the development, event or person is vital for causing the events of the period
An insignificant development, event or person is a domino that, if taken out of the sequence, does not stop the dominoes from falling
This shows that development, event or person did not significantly impact the events of the period
How to Answer an “Explain the Significance of” Question
When answering an "Explain the Significance of" question, you need to:
Read the question carefully
Include specific and relevant knowledge
For the example question, the significant person that you need own knowledge about is James Simpson
Explain how the event, development, person or group impacted the time period
In Britain: Health & the People: c1000 to the Present Day course, these could include:
Medical practices in different societies
The role of religion
Individuals like Joseph Lister
Institutions like the Royal Society
Inventions like antibiotics
To access Level 4 (7-8 marks), explain that:
Significance can change over time
A person’s background and experiences affect how they view how significant an event is
“Explain the Significance of” Question Structure
Your answer should consist of:
Specific relevant knowledge
Complex explanations showing:
How a development, event or person impacted the time period
How significance changes over time or due to a person’s background
Your answers could be written in PEE paragraphs:
P- Make a point about the question
E- Include knowledge to support the point you have made
Focused on the development, person or event mentioned in the question
Show knowledge to demonstrate significance
E- Explain the question
Focus on the key demands of the questions
Include a complex explanation showing your understanding of significance
To achieve full marks, you need to repeat this twice
Worked Example of a “Explain the Significance” Question
Worked Example
Explain the significance of the work of James Simpson
[8 marks]
Answer:
James Simpson was significant because he began the development of anaesthetics. Before Simpson, surgeons gave the patients no pain relief or ether, a flammable and dangerous chemical. Simpson’s discovery of chloroform as an anaesthetic in 1847 was the most long-lasting and effective anaesthetic of the time. Chloroform still had negative side effects. It encouraged other scientists and doctors to develop more efficient and less damaging forms of anaesthetics. Therefore, chloroform helped to develop the modern anaesthetics that we have today.
James Simpson was also significant because important people embraced his discoveries. Simpson initially struggled to persuade patients and doctors to use chloroform because of their religious beliefs or safety concerns. However, in 1853, Queen Victoria used chloroform to give birth to her eighth child, Prince Leopold. This significantly reduced opposition from religious leaders and influential surgeons. Many people in England looked up to and trusted the Queen’s decision-making as head of the government. As a result, more people used chloroform and accepted anaesthetics as an important part of medicine.
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