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 relations with the Indigenous peoples
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 from the American West:
Year of Exam | Question Topic |
|---|---|
Option one: The Indigenous peoples' (Plains Indians) beliefs about land and nature for relations between Plains Indians and settlers Option two: The Timber Culture Act (1873) for the settlement of the Plains Option three: The Johnson County War (1892) for relations between homesteaders and cattlemen | |
Option one: Changes in ranching for the cowboys’ way of life Option two: The Exoduster movement (1879) for the growth of settlement Option three: The extermination of the buffalo for the Indigenous peoples' (Plains Indians) way of life | |
Option one: The Indian Appropriations Act (1851) for the Indigenous peoples' (Plains Indians) way of life Option two: The Oregon Trail for early migration to the West Option three: The Civil War for settlement in the West | |
Option one: The expansion of the railroads for settlement in the West Option two: Gold prospecting for conflict with the Indigenous peoples (Plains Indians) Option three: New farming technology for farming in the West | |
Option one: The Gold Rush (1849) for migration to the West Option two: The US federal government for dealing with law and order Option three: Red Cloud’s War (1866–68) for relations between the Indigenous peoples (Plains Indians) and the US government | |
2023 | Option one: Horses for the Indigenous peoples' (Plains Indians) way of life Option two: John Iliff for ranching on the Plains Option three: The Battle of the Little Big Horn (1876) for US government policy towards the Indigenous peoples (Plains Indians) |
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 relations with Indigenous peoples and law and order
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
Examples of the types of themes this question could ask about are:
Relations between different groups in the American West
A few examples of this theme are: the US government and the Indigenous peoples; cattle ranchers and homesteaders; white settlers and Chinese migrants
Migration
For this theme, you will need to explain how the given event increased or decreased migration to the West
Settlement
For this theme, you will need to explain how the given event increased or decreased the settlement of the American West by migrants
Ways of life
For this theme, you will need to explain how the given event affected how the specified group lived and worked. Types of groups that have been previously selected include the Indigenous peoples and cowboys
Key developments in the American West
A few examples of this theme are: the cattle industry; the railroads; homesteading; law and order
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 American West
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 President Grant’s ‘Peace Policy’ (1868) for changes in the way of life of the Indigenous peoples (Plains Indians) (8)
The importance of the Goodnight-Loving Trail for the development of the cattle industry in the 1860s (8)
The importance of sheriffs and marshals for law and order after 1876 (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.
President Grant’s ‘Peace Policy’ was important for changes in the way of life of the Indigenous peoples because it reduced corruption in reservations (SOC). The Peace Policy replaced corrupt reservation agents with religious men (Quakers) with strong reputations for fairness and justice (K). This was important for changes in the way of life of Indigenous peoples because corrupt reservation agents had caused hardship in reservation life. Agents and local traders had cheated the Dakota Sioux for a long time before Little Crow’s War. As a result, the Indigenous peoples were treated more fairly in reservations, slightly improving their standards of living (SOC).
The Peace Policy also changed the Indigenous peoples' way of life because it encouraged them to assimilate into white American society (SOC). For example, Indigenous children were sent off the reservation to go to school where they were taught about white culture and not allowed to continue their traditional way of life (K). This was important because it made it harder for young people in the tribe to learn the traditional skills of their tribe. The schools also encouraged them to become Christian, so they would be considered more civilised by white settlers. This led to a complete loss of some Indigenous tribe's language and traditions (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.
The Goodnight-Loving Trail helped to develop the cattle industry because it showed the benefits of trading directly with Indigenous tribes (SOC). In 1866, Goodnight and Loving created the trail so that they could reach the Navajo's reservation. When they got there with 2,000 cattle, they sold the cattle for four times more than they could have sold them in Texas for (K). This developed the cattle industry because it opened up more markets for cattle ranchers to sell their cattle too (SOC). If cattle ranchers could develop positive relations with an Indigenous tribe, they could make a significant amount of profit and ensure that there was always a demand for their cattle.
The Goodnight-Loving Trail also helped develop the cattle industry because it supported the development of Wyoming (SOC). The Goodnight-Loving Trail ended at Cheyenne in Wyoming. The success of Goodnight and Loving's use of the trail encouraged other cattle drivers to use the trail. As a result, Cheyenne grew and Wyoming, in general, developed a successful cattle industry (K). This helped the cattle industry because it created more hubs from where cattle could be transported across America, especially to the North where cattle were worth more money. This encouraged more people to become cattle ranchers or cowboys, growing the cattle industry in the 1860s and 1870s (SOC).
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