Syllabus Edition
First teaching 2016
Last exams 2025
The 16 Mark "Explain the Importance of " Question (Edexcel GCSE History)
Revision Note
Written by: Zoe Wade
Reviewed by: Bridgette Barrett
Summary of Question 3
Question 3 requires you to identify and explain the importance of a key event on a given theme, such as Cold War tensions
You will have three questions of which you will choose two to answer. Each question is worth 8 marks
This question will require you to use second-order concepts in your answer
Amount of marks | 16 (2 x 8 marks) |
|---|---|
The time that you should spend on the question | No more than 25 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 Superpower Relations:
Year of Exam | Question Topic |
|---|---|
Option one: The USA's development of the atomic bomb for relations between the Superpowers in the years 1945-49 Option two: The Bay of Pigs incident for relations between the USA and the Soviet Union Option three: The Brezhnev Doctrine for the Soviet Union's control of Czechoslovakia | |
Option one: The Potsdam Conference for early Cold War tension Option two: The refugee problem in Berlin for increasing tensions between East and West in the years 1958-61 Option three: The 'Second Cold War' for relations between the Superpowers | |
Option one: NATO (1949) for the development of the Cold War Option two: The summit meetings of 1959-61 for relations between East and West Option three: The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (1979) for Superpower relations | |
Option one: The Berlin Crisis (1948-49) for the development of the Cold War Option two: The Prague Spring for relations between East and West Option three: Détente for relations between the Superpowers in the 1970s | |
Option one: The Marshall Plan (1947) for relations between East and West Option two: The arms race in the years 1949-58 for the development of the Cold War Option three: The Carter Doctrine (1980) for relations between the USA and the USSR | |
2023 | Option one: The formation of the Warsaw Pact (1955) for Superpower relations Option two: Soviet relations with Cuba for tension between East and West in the 1960s Option three: The USA’s Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI) for US-Soviet relations |
How to explain importance
Importance is a key second-order concept in history
Second-order concepts allow you to:
Understand history
Have a complex explanation
Importance 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
Impacted key themes of the time period such as Cold War tensions and US-Soviet relations
Had important long-term impacts that can be seen today
To understand importance, try visualising the events and people of a period as a set of falling dominoes
An important event, development or person is a domino which changes the direction of all of the dominos that come after it
Historical importance 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
An important 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 unimportant 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 importance of" question
When answering an "Explain the importance of" question, you need to read the question carefully
There are three options for the question. You must only select two of the options
If you only answer one of the questions, you will only be able to achieve a maximum of 8 marks
If you answer all of the questions, you will not have enough time or space to complete the questions to the best of your ability
To help you select your two options, consider:
Which of the three events that you have the best knowledge about
If you can explain why the event is important for the given theme in the question
The theme in the question will usually be either:
Cold War tensions
For this theme, you will need to explain how the given event either heightened or worsened hostilities between East and West
US-Soviet relations
For this theme, you will need to explain how the given event either brought the USA and the USSR closer together or created anger between them
If you do not explain the importance of the event to the key theme in the question, you will be limited to 2 marks per option that you answer
"Explain the importance of" question structure
Your answer should consist of:
Specific relevant knowledge
Complex explanations showing:
How the event impacted the key theme in the question
How important the event was in the development of the Cold War
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 event mentioned in the question
Show knowledge to demonstrate importance
E- Explain the question
Focus on the key demands of the questions
Include a complex explanation showing your understanding of importance
To achieve full marks for one option, you should aim to write two paragraphs
4 marks for each question are awarded for knowledge (K)
4 marks for each question are awarded for your analysis of second-order concepts consequences and significance (SOC)
You must ensure that you write a response to two of the options in the correct place on the exam paper
The answer space is divided into two sections. You must indicate, with a cross in the box, which option you have chosen to answer in the first section.
You must repeat this process for your second option in the second answer section for this question
Worked example of the "Explain the importance of" question
Worked Example
Explain two of the following:
The importance of the Yalta Conference (February 1945) for relations between East and West. (8)
The importance of the Soviet takeover of Eastern Europe for the development of the Cold War. (8)
The importance of SALT 2 for relations between the USA and the Soviet Union in the 1970s. (8)
(Total for Question 3 = 16 marks)
Answer
Indicate your FIRST choice on this page.
Indicate which question you are answering by marking a cross in the box. If you change your mind, put a line through the box and then indicate your new question with a cross.
The Soviet takeover of Eastern Europe was important for the development of the Cold War because it showed the spread of communism across Europe (SOC). Stalin wanted to keep control of the countries that the Red Army had liberated during the Second Cold War. He wanted these countries in Eastern Europe to act as a ‘buffer zone’ between the East and West. However, Stalin's methods to create the satellite states were seen as aggressive. For example, during the 1947 elections in Poland, a campaign of violence and intimidation led to the creation of a fully communist government (K). This led to the development of the Cold War because Truman saw the creation of satellite states as a deliberate attempt to spread communism (SOC). The lack of free elections also broke the agreement made at the Yalta Conference (1945). This made the USA feel that they had to increase their involvement in Europe to stop the spread of communism. This resulted in the Truman Doctrine (1947) and the Marshall Plan (1948).
Another reason why the Soviet takeover of Eastern Europe was important for developing the Cold War was that it worsened US-Soviet relations (SOC). From 1940 to 1948. the Soviet Union has created an 'Eastern Bloc' of communist countries from East Germany to Bulgaria. This had formed a political divide across Europe (K). This developed the Cold War because it looked to the USA as the Soviet Union had created an armed border between the Soviet Union and the West. This inspired Churchill's 'Iron Curtain' speech in 1946. This called the Soviet Union a threat to freedom and peace. The speech led to even greater tensions between the USA and the Soviet Union, leading to a build-up of military forces by both sides (SOC).
Indicate your SECOND choice on this page.
Indicate which question you are answering by marking a cross in the box. If you change your mind, put a line through the box and then indicate your new question with a cross.
SALT 2 was important for US-Soviet relations in the 1970s because it eased the arms race between the two countries (SOC). In 1974, negotiations began for SALT 2, to build upon the success of SALT 1. The treaty was not completed until 1979. SALT 2 agreed to ban the further development of new nuclear technology such as MIRVs and to have equal limits for strategic bombers and missile launchers (K). This helped to improve US-Soviet relations because it showed a continued commitment by both sides to limit their nuclear technology (SOC). This reduced the military threat posed by the USA and the Soviet Union, leading to more opportunities to pursue a better diplomatic relationship. Therefore, SALT 2 continued the progress in the limitation of nuclear weapons between the USA and the Soviet Union.
However, it could be argued that SALT 2 had a limited impact on US-Soviet relations because of other world issues (SOC). By 1979, US-Soviet relations had worsened. Democrats and Republicans did not want to pass SALT 2. The US politicians believed SALT 2 gave the Soviet Union too much power. In addition, the actions of the Soviet Union became more aggressive. In December 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan (K). This meant that SALT 2 never received ratification from the US Senate. As a result, the treaty was never upheld by either the USA or the Soviet Union. This means that it had limited importance on their relations. The progress made in their relationship during the period of détente had been destroyed before SALT 2 could make a difference. Therefore, if the USA and the Soviet Union had agreed on SALT 2 earlier, it would have had a bigger impact on their relationship (SOC).
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