The 16 Mark "Factors" Question: Migration, Empires & the People (Q4) (AQA GCSE History)
Revision Note
Written by: Zoe Wade
Reviewed by: Bridgette Barrett
Summary of Question Four
Question Four requires you to evaluate one of the seven factors in Migration, Empires and the People
There are also four available marks for Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (SPaG)
Amount of marks | 16 + 4 SPaG |
|---|---|
The time that you should spend on the question | Around 25 minutes 5 minutes to plan 20 minutes to write your answer |
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 Migration, Empires 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 economic reasons were the main factor in the development of empires
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:
SPaG mark | Reason for this mark |
|---|---|
0 |
|
1 |
|
2-3 |
|
4 |
|
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 England
Early modern England
18th and 19th century Britain
Modern Britain
Seven factors connect the time periods. For Migration, Empires and the People, these are:
War
Religion
Government
Economic resources
Science and technology
Ideas such as imperialism, social Darwinism and civilisation
The role of individuals
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
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 the 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 religion caused migration from and within Britain, 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 Walter Raleigh and Francis Drake (Early modern England), the Seven Years' War (18th and 19th century Britain) and the Angevin Empire (Medieval England)
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
Worked Example
Have economic resources been the main factor in the development of empires?
Explain your answer with reference to economic resources and other factors.
Use a range of examples from across your study of Migration, Empires and the People: c790 to the present day.
16 marks + 4 SPaG
Answer:
Economic reasons were the main factor in developing empires throughout history. This can be seen in the creation of the British Empire. Explorers as early as the 16th Century, such as Walter Raleigh and Francis Drake, brought home vast amounts of gold and unique crops, such as tobacco and potatoes. This inspired the East India Company to travel to India and nabobs such as Robert Clive who in the Treaty of Allahabad got concessions from the Mughal Emperor. Money also encouraged the Great Heathen Army to invade in 865 and establish the Danelaw across Northern England. They wanted to take Danegeld from neighbouring Saxon lords. This was the beginning of Cnut the Great’s North Sea Empire of England, Norway and Denmark. The Angevin Empire, built by Henry II was also developed for economic means with treaties and trade. Especially Flanders which he became regent of once his trading partner, Thierry of Flanders died, with Flanders later becoming his money fief. However, all these empires were also developed through a variety of factors.
One such factor was war, however, this is not the main factor. Whilst economics may have motivated them to grow, war was how they were expanded. This British Empire was developed through a series of wars. The Seven Years' War against France cost 59 million but gained most of Canada and significant land in India in the Treaty of Paris (1763). The Great Heathen Army was just that, an army and the Danes tried to conquer England three times. They succeeded twice in 1013 and 1016 to establish Cnut’s North Sea Empire. The Angevin Empire was developed through significant military campaigns in Ireland and Toulouse. However, war was not the only way that empires were expanded. The Angevin Empire was also expanded in other ways such as Henry II’s marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine, the greatest heiress of Europe. The British Empire also expanded through a variety of other methods such as the Berlin conference to divide Africa and colonisation such as Australia and America (although in both these cases, there were wars against indigenous people).
Another key factor in the motivation to develop empires is prestige and superiority. The British Empire was established as ideas of being superior to indigenous people such as the White Man’s Burden. The North Sea Empire was also about prestige as Sweyn Forkbeard wanted to avenge the St. Brice’s Day massacre on 13th November 1002 in which his sister, Gunhilde, was killed. The Angevin Empire was to spread the Angevin dynasty and as a vassal of the French King, Henry II wanted to show he was more powerful than him and create his own empire. Therefore, this shows that for some examples, prestige was a significant factor in expanding empires.
In conclusion, economic reasons are the main factor in the development of empires as they caused all the other factors. If you have wealth you have prestige and power. Whilst war was often used to develop the empire the motivation for this was economics and many other strategies were used. This can be seen after the Second World War when Britain’s economy was failing – it was too costly to maintain a large empire so the Raj was granted partition and independence in 1947. An empire cannot be maintained without wealth, therefore economic resources are the main factor in the development of empires.
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