Syllabus Edition

First teaching 2016

Last exams 2025

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The 2 Mark "Describe One Feature" Question (Edexcel GCSE History)

Revision Note

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Summary of Question 1

  • Question 1 requires you to identify and describe a feature of an event, person or development in the historic environment: The British sector of the Western Front

  • This question has changed format since 2024

    • Previously, you were asked to explain two features of one event

    • Now, you have to explain one feature of two given events, separated into Question 1 (a) and Question 1 (b)

Amount of marks 

4 (2x2 marks)

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:

Torn exam paper asking to describe one feature of new wound treatment techniques on the Western Front and one feature of a Casualty Clearing Station.
An example of Question 1 in Paper 1
  • In previous years, this question has focused on the following topics in Medicine in Britain:

Year of Exam 

Question Topic 

2018

Blood transfusions

2019

Ill health among soldiers that arose from the trench environment

2020

The use of the Thomas splint

2021

The dressing stations where injured soldiers might be taken to receive treatment

2022

The underground hospital of Arras (no longer assessed by Edexcel)

2023

The problems involved in transporting wounded soldiers away from the battleground

"Describe one feature" question structure

  • Your answer should consist of: 

    • A description of a key feature of the event, person or development

    • Specific and relevant knowledge

  • Your answers could  be written in ID format:

    • I - Identify a key feature which is relevant to the question

    • D - Describe the key feature using a specific piece of knowledge

  • To achieve full marks, you need to answer both Questions 1 (a) and 1 (b). The questions are on two different events

    • Each "Describe one feature" question is worth 2 marks

      • 1 mark for stating your key feature (1) 

      • 1 mark for knowledge about the feature (1) 

    • For answering both parts of Question One, 4 marks are available

Worked example of a "Describe one feature" question

Worked Example

1 (a) Describe one feature of a Casualty Clearing Station.

(2)

Answer

One feature of a Casualty Clearing Station is the process of triage (1). The medical staff would organise injured soldiers into those that could be treated in the CCS, those who needed to be transported to Base Hospitals and those who were too injured for treatment (1).

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Zoe Wade

Author: Zoe Wade

Expertise: History

Zoe has worked in education for 10 years as a teaching assistant and a teacher. This has given her an in-depth perspective on how to support all learners to achieve to the best of their ability. She has been the Lead of Key Stage 4 History, showing her expertise in the Edexcel GCSE syllabus and how best to revise. Ever since she was a child, Zoe has been passionate about history. She believes now, more than ever, the study of history is vital to explaining the ever-changing world around us. Zoe’s focus is to create accessible content that breaks down key historical concepts and themes to achieve GCSE success.

Bridgette Barrett

Author: Bridgette Barrett

Expertise: Geography Lead

After graduating with a degree in Geography, Bridgette completed a PGCE over 25 years ago. She later gained an MA Learning, Technology and Education from the University of Nottingham focussing on online learning. At a time when the study of geography has never been more important, Bridgette is passionate about creating content which supports students in achieving their potential in geography and builds their confidence.