History

1. 1.

   Entirely fictional reform episode and interpretations for skills practice. In the invented state of Vale, a 1920 housing law followed years of campaigning, a costly strike and a new governing coalition. The coalition had promised reform before the strike. Invented interpretation A: 'The strike forced the law.' Invented interpretation B: 'The coalition made the law possible.' Neither interpretation is attributed to a real historian; no claims about a real 1920 law are intended. Distinguish a longer-term cause and a short-term pressure in the fictional episode.

   [2 marks] · no calculator

   Answer explanation

   Draft walkthroughs are based on marking guidance, not independently verified derivations.

   1. Time scale helps classify causes but does not rank their importance. A long campaign may shape the agenda while a strike changes urgency.
   2. Award each point once. Accept other well-supported interpretations addressing the task.

   Marking points

   • Years of campaigning provided a longer-term source of reform demands.
   • The costly strike supplied a more immediate pressure on decision-makers.

   Examiner tip: Short-term does not mean unimportant.

2. 2.

   Entirely fictional reform episode and interpretations for skills practice. In the invented state of Vale, a 1920 housing law followed years of campaigning, a costly strike and a new governing coalition. The coalition had promised reform before the strike. Invented interpretation A: 'The strike forced the law.' Invented interpretation B: 'The coalition made the law possible.' Neither interpretation is attributed to a real historian; no claims about a real 1920 law are intended. Explain the main difference between interpretations A and B.

   [2 marks] · no calculator

   Answer explanation

   Draft walkthroughs are based on marking guidance, not independently verified derivations.

   1. The interpretations ask different causal questions: what compelled action and what enabled legislation. They need not deny every role for the other factor.
   2. Award each point once. Accept other well-supported interpretations addressing the task.

   Marking points

   • A assigns decisive pressure to the strike.
   • B emphasises political capacity or opportunity supplied by the coalition.

   Examiner tip: A difference in causal emphasis is not necessarily a factual contradiction.

3. 3.

   Entirely fictional reform episode and interpretations for skills practice. In the invented state of Vale, a 1920 housing law followed years of campaigning, a costly strike and a new governing coalition. The coalition had promised reform before the strike. Invented interpretation A: 'The strike forced the law.' Invented interpretation B: 'The coalition made the law possible.' Neither interpretation is attributed to a real historian; no claims about a real 1920 law are intended. Explain how the coalition's earlier promise affects interpretation A.

   [3 marks] · no calculator

   Answer explanation

   Draft walkthroughs are based on marking guidance, not independently verified derivations.

   1. Separate prior intent from implementation. A says the strike forced the law, not that it originated the idea. The promise alone neither confirms nor refutes that claim; drafts and decision records could show whether strike pressure converted a commitment into legislation.
   2. Award each point once. Accept other well-supported interpretations addressing the task.

   Marking points

   • The promise shows reform was on the agenda before the strike.
   • The earlier promise establishes prior intent, but does not show that implementation was assured without pressure.
   • The strike could still have compelled implementation, accelerated passage or changed the promised legislation.

   Examiner tip: A promise to act is not proof that the same law would have passed anyway.

4. 4.

   Entirely fictional reform episode and interpretations for skills practice. In the invented state of Vale, a 1920 housing law followed years of campaigning, a costly strike and a new governing coalition. The coalition had promised reform before the strike. Invented interpretation A: 'The strike forced the law.' Invented interpretation B: 'The coalition made the law possible.' Neither interpretation is attributed to a real historian; no claims about a real 1920 law are intended. Explain what evidence would test the counterfactual 'without the strike, the law would still have passed'.

   [3 marks] · no calculator

   Answer explanation

   Draft walkthroughs are based on marking guidance, not independently verified derivations.

   1. Use traces of the prior path and documented changes after the strike. The aim is to judge plausibility, not to claim certainty about an unrealised alternative history.
   2. Award each point once. Accept other well-supported interpretations addressing the task.

   Marking points

   • Pre-strike drafts or timetables can show how far legislation had progressed.
   • Decision records can reveal whether the strike changed votes, urgency or terms.
   • Recognises a counterfactual cannot be directly observed and requires cautious inference.

   Examiner tip: An unobserved alternative is an inference, not another historical event.

5. 5.

   Entirely fictional reform episode and interpretations for skills practice. In the invented state of Vale, a 1920 housing law followed years of campaigning, a costly strike and a new governing coalition. The coalition had promised reform before the strike. Invented interpretation A: 'The strike forced the law.' Invented interpretation B: 'The coalition made the law possible.' Neither interpretation is attributed to a real historian; no claims about a real 1920 law are intended. Assess whether A and B can be combined into a stronger explanation.

   [4 marks] · no calculator

   Answer explanation

   Draft walkthroughs are based on marking guidance, not independently verified derivations.

   1. An integrated account distinguishes agenda-setting, capacity and pressure. Combining causes is stronger only if it explains how they interacted, not if it merely lists all factors to avoid choosing.
   2. Award each point once. Accept other well-supported interpretations addressing the task.

   Marking points

   • The coalition may supply institutional means for passing a law.
   • The strike may supply urgency or political cost of delay.
   • Campaigning can connect public demands to both pressure and coalition policy.
   • Constructs a supported interaction while noting evidence is needed to establish relative weights.

   Examiner tip: Use 'because' or 'enabled' to show a mechanism between factors.

6. 6.

   Entirely fictional reform episode and interpretations for skills practice. In the invented state of Vale, a 1920 housing law followed years of campaigning, a costly strike and a new governing coalition. The coalition had promised reform before the strike. Invented interpretation A: 'The strike forced the law.' Invented interpretation B: 'The coalition made the law possible.' Neither interpretation is attributed to a real historian; no claims about a real 1920 law are intended. Assess how you would judge the housing law's historical significance without assuming passage meant success.

   [4 marks] · no calculator

   Answer explanation

   Draft walkthroughs are based on marking guidance, not independently verified derivations.

   1. A law can matter because it transforms institutions, fails conspicuously or changes later debate. Significance requires evidence of reach and consequences; it is not simply a favourable moral verdict.
   2. Award each point once. Accept other well-supported interpretations addressing the task.

   Marking points

   • Examines actual implementation and extent of people affected.
   • Considers duration and depth of changes in housing or state responsibility.
   • Compares intended benefits with unequal outcomes or unintended consequences.
   • Defines and applies significance criteria while distinguishing importance from approval.

   Examiner tip: Do not confuse historically important with beneficial to everyone.

Original, unofficial practice questions from SubjectScout — not official past-paper questions.