IGCSE HISTORY PAPER 2 Eddis Tutorial Services, LLC
IGCSE History examination tips for Paper 2: Prescribed Topic
This guide is specifically focused on strategies to think about when answering the questions for the
prescribed topic on Paper 2 on the 2016 exam. If you know your material, and you know how to
tackle the specific prompt words in the questions, history will be made with excellent results .
However, it is all up to you. A guide on examination tips is no good as pages of words – so read,
absorb, and perform.
Paper 2 (Source-based paper on a prescribed topic):
For the May/June 2016 exam session, the prescribed topic for the 20th century option is ‘Why did
events in the Gulf matter, c. 1970 – 2000?’
There will be six questions to answer, based on a variety of source material, and on the candidate’s
own knowledge (as necessary). As there are no past papers, I think it is really valuable that you
prepare for this exam by doing the following:
 Revise Chapter 7 from the CIE endorsed text book, that is,
Cantrell, J. et al (2013) 20th Century History for Cambridge IGCSE Oxford University
Press [ISBN 9780199136360]
 Download the specimen paper AND the mark scheme at the CIE website:
http://www.cie.org.uk/programmes-and-qualifications/cambridge-igcse-history-0470/pastpapers/
 Practice on the specimen paper, and pay careful attention to the mark scheme.
To practice for Paper 2, even though the specimen paper is not on the topic, you need to remember
that you are showcasing your content knowledge, but probably more importantly, your skills at
answering source-based questions. SO, think about the skills you are using in the practice as these
skills will be needed for the prescribed topic on the Gulf in May 2016. Practice your timing in
answering the questions, and your ability to read and interpret sources. You will also need to be able
to answer questions that ask ‘How far’ or ‘To what extent’. The successful candidate will address all
aspects of the questions asked and reach the highest level of marks. Ready? Here is a suggested
approach:
1. Look at the structure of Paper 2. It will have the following elements:
 An overarching question at the beginning: this can be developed by the examiners from
the syllabus content, or it could closely mirror the questions of focus in the syllabus. If one
of the following syllabus questions came up, would you be able to answer it?
 Why did events in the Gulf matter, c. 1970 – 2000?
 Why was Saddam Hussein able to come to power in Iraq?
 What was the nature of Saddam Hussein’s rule in Iraq?
 Why was there a revolution in Iran in 1979?
 What were the causes and consequences of the Iran-Iraq War, 1980 -88?
 Why did the First gulf War take place?
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
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
Background information. This might be very useful to put your knowledge into context,
so underline the important information, and annotate anything that sparks in your mind as
important. If you are told not to write on the paper, write notes on scrap paper or in your
answer booklet, clearly labelled as NOTES or PLANNING. Make sure to put one line or
one cross through your notes when you have finished as the examiner wants to go straight to
your answers, not your planning.
A variety of sources. These can be political cartoons, media articles (newspaper reports,
etc.), information from books (history books, biographies etc.), speeches or diary entries
(first-hand sources), pictures and posters, information from historians or scholars in the
field, and so on. Make sure you know how to ‘read’ and ‘interpret’ sources. For example,
political cartoons usually use satire to present current events, and symbols or caricatures to
create a stronger message. Speeches from individuals, or posters may have an agenda, or try
to persuade the audience in some way, so look for this. Information from historians or
scholars may be presented from different perspectives (or cultures): this makes it easier to
compare and contrast provenance and the message.
Questions on the sources. The source questions will be carefully written to test your ability
to look at individual sources, compare and contrast sources, use your knowledge (but only
when asked), consider the impact of provenance, and so on. All the sources will need to be
considered for the final question; some of the sources will support the final question, some
may have no relevance to the final question, and some sources may refute the final question.
2. Practice answering Paper 2 (either as a timed paper, or just note how long each section takes
you, hone your source-based answering skills, and then do a timed paper). First of all, you
need to carefully READ ALL the material in the source-based paper BEFORE writing your
answers. Spend 10-15 minutes reading, and underline key words, or write down important
facts so you won’t forget anything.
Then, you can answer the questions in the following time constraints:
[7] marks – 12-14 minutes
[8] marks – 14-16 minutes
[12] marks – 22-24 minutes
Hopefully you will have about 5 minutes at the end to look over your answers, and include
anything you may have forgotten. If you want to take more time on the 12 mark question,
adjust your timing to suit you. One of my students came up with a formula for how much
time to spend on each question, and it worked well for him in the practice paper.
3. Learn how to respond to the questions. Look at the patterns of the specimen paper:
Study sources A and B. How far do these sources disagree? Explain your answer
using details of the sources.
[Here you are expected to identify elements from the source that show agreement and
disagreement, and then decide ‘how far’ the sources disagree. So, you have to answer the
question specifically, by stating whether the sources have a similar message or a different
message. You are not expected to include your own knowledge, or put the sources into
historical context, as you are asked to base your answer on the sources (and your
interpretation of the sources based on your knowledge of sources’ messages). Provenance
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may be important in your answer, albeit covered briefly, to justify your answer to the
question.]
Study source C. Are you surprised by this source? Explain your answer using details
of the source and your own knowledge.
[For this style of question, the examiners will expect to see your understanding of the
content; your contextual knowledge about the historical event in the source; and your ability
to evaluate provenance in terms of reliability or bias. Remember that unreliable or biased
sources can still have value, as they could point to the author’s agenda, for example. So,
don’t discard a source if it is biased. Make sure you answer the question, that you are
surprised or not, with a justified answer based on the source and your knowledge.]
Study source D. What is the message of this source? Explain your answer using
details of the source and your own knowledge.
[This type of question will be geared towards a cartoon, poster or picture. So, the examiner
expects you to be able to pick out details (content) and then decode the message that the
author is presenting. The message could be overt, like a political cartoonist lampooning
world leaders (David Low’s utter dislike for Hitler is so apparent in his cartoons), covert (like
a poster that is taken at face value as giving one message, but is actually propaganda or
delivering another message), or open to interpretation (history affects people differently).
What is important is that you go beyond description (but make sure to describe before you
interpret the message) and identify what you feel the message is. Justify your answer using
details from the source, provenance and your own knowledge]
Study sources E and F. Does source F make you surprised by source E? Explain
your answer using details of the source and your own knowledge.
[This is similar to the Source C example given above, but it has the added layer of comparing
and contrasting the sources. So you will be putting more content into this answer before
comparing and contrasting the two sources, and then answering the question specifically.]
Study ALL sources. How far do these sources provide convincing evidence that …
Use all sources to explain your answer.
[I usually sketch a grid, with two or three columns. The columns are labelled +ve, neutral,
and –ve (though the headings may change slightly, according to the question). Then I ask the
students to put the sources into the columns as they relate to answering the overarching
question.
If you have annotated your sources in the first ten minutes of the exam, (looking at the
overarching question and thinking where the source would be in the grid), then you can
quickly add the sources to the grid. Don’t forget provenance, or your own knowledge, as this
may affect the specific prompt of providing ‘convincing evidence’ as you consider reliability
and bias.
The examiners are also looking for a very tight response to the question by your reference to
all the sources. Referencing the sources can be through short quotes, paraphrasing with
reference to the source letter, or via provenance. For example, I might say something like…
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Sources A, B and F would seem to provide convincing evidence that Saddam was
regarded as a father figure to his country, and did much to improve conditions for
many Iraqis. However, as Source F is a propaganda poster, produced at a time when
Saddam was trying to quell uneasiness over his treatment towards his opponents, so
this source reveals Saddam’s agenda rather than the truth. (This is just an example).
Don’t forget that the examiner is also looking for a balanced response that address more
than one perspective, and that you cannot gain top marks if you don’t state a specific
response to the ‘how far’ element of the question. Of course, your ‘how far’ response must
be based on the source-specific content and evaluation within your essay answer.
4. Do not copy sections of the question paper to put in your answer. Short quotes are okay, as
long as you put the quoted words into the context of your explanation for why they are
relevant.
5. Keep levelling up. Your answers are marked in levels, and it is worth looking over a mark
scheme, from the lowest level, to see how to gain more marks in answering the questions.
PLEASE REMEMBER: These examination tips are suggestions that I have given my
students (including my own children) and should not be taken as the only way to approach
Paper 2. You may well find a better method, so please use it, and let me know, too! The best
way to be prepared for any examination is to be prepared. Good luck!
Very useful resources:
Mr Allsop’s History podcasts, available at:
http://www.mrallsophistory.com/revision/
(Go to the resource on how to answer Paper 2)
Curriculum Global:
http://curriculumglobal.blogspot.com/2014/03/cambridge-igcse-history-paper-2-tips.html
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