The 16 Mark "Factors" Question: Health & the People (Q4) (AQA GCSE History)

Summary of Question Four

• Question Four requires you to evaluate one of the seven factors in Health and the People

• There are also four available marks for Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (SPaG)

• 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:

Making Judgements in History

• The 16-mark question is reliant on your ability to weigh all the evidence and state your opinion. Students often find this part the hardest to do 

• Common mistakes with judgements include:

  • Not giving a clear judgement. This includes making judgement statements such as:

    • "I kind of agree that..."

    • "I don't agree or disagree..."

  • Contradicting your judgements

    • Students sometimes haven't planned their answers properly. They begin their answer with one judgement and then change their opinion halfway through

    • Doing this means that there is not a substantiated judgement. This type of answer cannot access Level 4 (13-16 marks)

• Good judgements will:

  • Either agree or disagree with the statement

    • There is no "right" or "wrong" answer in history

  • If you are unsure of your opinion, pick the side of the argument that you have better or more evidence to support

    • For the example question, there is more evidence that science was the main factor in developing the treatment of disease in Britain

  • Use words like "partially" and "fully" to explain the extent of their opinion on the question

  • Consider the other side of the argument

    • Even if you fully agree with the statement, you still need to present some evidence from the opposite opinion. A great way to introduce this is to write "Some historians think that..."

What Makes a Great Conclusion in GCSE History? 

• Conclusions are usually where most of your judgement marks will be awarded

• Students often rush their conclusions so they are not as developed as they could be

• All great conclusions have these three elements:

  • Judgement – Start with your opinion. Try to include the words from the question. Consider second-order concepts like short- and long-term consequences, change and continuity and significance

  • Counter – Give an example from the other side of the argument to show your awareness of this

  • Support – Explain why, after considering all the evidence, you have reached your judgement. Use your best piece of evidence to show your opinion

How to get Full SPaG Marks

• In Paper 2A, students have access to an additional four marks for answering Question 4

• This is awarded for SPaG (Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar)

• SPaG marks are allocated in the following categories:

• You can boost your SPaG marks by:

  • Ensuring key terms mentioned in the question are spelt correctly in your answer

  • Making sure that you use paragraphs in your answer

  • Allowing yourself an appropriate amount of time to re-read your answer to check for mistakes

  • Reading the answer in your head as if you were speaking it. Where you would take a breath, make sure there is a comma or full stop

How to Answer a “Factors” Question

• The thematic study is divided into four different time periods

  • Medieval 

  • Renaissance 

  • 19th century 

  • 20th century to the present day

• Seven factors connect the time periods. For Health and the People, these are:

  • War

  • Superstition and religion

  • Chance

  • Government

  • Communication

  • Science and technology

  • The role of the individual in encouraging or inhibiting change

• When answering a "Factors" question you need to: 

  • Read the question carefully

    • Make sure that you fully understand which factor the question is asking you about

    • For the example question. the factor identified is chance

  • Annotate the question to find the key demands of the question 

  • Plan your answer. This will help you to: 

    • Decide which factor you will support

    • Have a logical and concise argument 

    • Have a substantiated judgement 

    • Achieve higher levels

      • Examiners argue those who plan their answers, achieve higher marks

  • Your plan should include:

    • What key knowledge you wish to use

    • An outline of your argument

  • To achieve Levels 3 and 4 (9-16 marks), you must discuss the stated factor in the question 

    • If the question was on how war developed surgery, you must discuss this factor in one of your paragraphs 

• The question states that you need to “use a range of examples from across your study”

  • You should aim to use three examples across three time periods throughout your answer to cover this aspect of the question

    • For the example question, the answer covers Alexander Fleming (20th century), Louis Pasteur (19th century) and Ambroise Paré (Renaissance)

How to Structure a “Factors” Question

• Your answer should consist of: 

  • Specific knowledge 

  • Relevant evidence 

  • Substantiated judgement 

  • A conclusion 

• If you want to include an introduction you can, but it is not necessary 

• Your answers could be written in PEEL paragraphs: 

  • P - Make a point about the question

    • This should include your judgement 

  • E - Use evidence that supports the point that you have made

    • Evidence needs to be relevant and specific 

  • E - Explain why this evidence supports your point

  • L - Link your explanation back to the question by stating how it is more or less important than the other factors

• You should aim to have three well-explained paragraphs and a conclusion

Worked Example of the “Factors” Question