Peace and War c.1943 - 1991 Exam Technique
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Peace and War c.1943 - 1991 Exam Technique
There are a eight rules that apply to every single exam answer.
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Answer the actual question.
This may sound obvious, but if you don’t do this, you can’t get good marks.
Stop and think before you start writing an answer.
Planning exactly what you are writing about will help you to get the best marks.
Always use the words of the question at the beginning and in your answer.
This will help you to focus an actually answering the set question.
Frequently check that you are still answering the set question how it actually asks you to.
Timing. Divide the minutes available by the total marks to find out how much time to spend on each answer.
Planning. This is essential for the 16 mark answer, as it involves writing an essay.
Answer the right number of questions.
In this exam, you have to answer three of the six sections. They are
Section 4: How did the Cold war develop? 1943-56
Section 5: Three Cold War crises: Berlin, Cuba and Czechoslovakia c.1957-69
Section 6: Why did the Cold War end? The invasion of Afghanistan (1979) to the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Each section contains three questions, as listed below. Click the hyperlinks to access example answers.
Question A is compulsory. It carries 2 marks.
Describe one cause of the building of the Berlin Wall.
Question B has two parts, of which you chose one to answer. It carries 6 marks.
Briefly explain the key features of the Berlin Blockade.
Question C is compulsory. It carries 12 marks.
Explain why relations between the USA and the Soviet Union were changed by the elections
of Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev.
Prepare thoroughly by following a planned programme of revision. What Should I Revise?
Intro
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Peace and War c.1943 - 1991 Exam Technique
What should I revise?
Question A is a key features question. It carries 2 marks.
Question B is a key features question. It carries 6 marks.
Possible key features topics: the Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam Conferences, Soviet control of eastern Europe after 1945,
Cominform and Comecon, The Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, Bizonia, The Berlin Blockade and Airlift,
NATO, the Warsaw Pact, the Hungarian Rising, the Berlin Crisis of 1961, the Cuban Missiles Crisis, the Prague Spring,
SALT I, SALT II, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, SDI, INF, the collapse of Soviet control of eastern Europe,
the end of the Cold War, the collapse of the Soviet Union
Tip: Questions A and B are testing that you have studied the whole syllabus, so they could be on almost anything from the syllabus
that you have studied. Be prepared to be able to explain about three aspects, or key features of any of these topics.
Question C is a causation and change question. It carries 12 marks.
Possible causation and change topics: how relations were changed by the Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam Conferences, the Soviet Control
of eastern Europe, the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall , Bizonia, the Berlin Blockade, Khrushchev and de-Stalinisation and the
Hungarian Rising, the problem of Berlin and the building of the Berlin Wall, the arms race 1943-1961, Cuba 1959-1962,
Dubcek and the Prague Spring, détente in the 1970s, SALT I and SALT II, Afghanistan and the collapse of détente, the elections of
Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, SDI and the INF treaty, the end of the Cold War.
Tip: when you are revising for this question remember that the examiners will be looking for you to
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explain causes and changes,
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explain how causes led to change and
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prioritise factors, making a case for one cause of change being more important than the others.
Intro
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Peace and War c.1943 - 1991 Exam Technique
Question C
Explain why relations between the USA and the Soviet Union were changed by the
elections of Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev. 12 marks
In this question the examiner will be assessing:
Recall of knowledge (can you the remember relevant facts?)
Causation (can you explain how the facts are linked together?)
Level One (1-3 marks) Simple or generalised statements of causation.
(The student makes statements which lack any supporting contextual knowledge or makes unsupported generalisations.)
Example Answer
Things got worse when Ronald Reagan was elected President.
Mikhail Gorbachev wanted to end the Cold War.
Reagan and Gorbachev managed to end the Cold War.
One simple statement, 1 mark.
Two simple statements, 2 marks.
Three simple statements, 3 marks.
Top Tip
See how this level 1 answer gives a three correct changes, but because it does not explain
them, it will be marked as level 1. No matter how many of these “simple or generalised
statements” you make, you will still only earn 1 mark for each one, up to a total of three marks.
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Peace and War c.1943 - 1991 Exam Technique
Question C
Explain why relations between the USA and the Soviet Union were changed by the
elections of Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev. 12 marks
In this question the examiner will be assessing:
Recall of knowledge (can you the remember relevant facts?)
Causation (can you explain how the facts are linked together?)
Level Two (4-9 marks) Explains why causes led to changes.
(The student supports statements with relevant contextual knowledge to show how the event led to the stated outcome.)
Example Answer
When he was first elected, Ronald Reagan was very anti-communist. He increased defence
spending and set out to confront communism because the USA was experiencing a lack of
confidence and to negotiate from a position of strength.
4-5 marks for one developed statement.
Mikhail Gorbachev wanted to end the Cold War because its huge cost was causing the Soviet
economy to collapse. He wanted access to American technology and offered to end the Cold War.
6-7 marks for two developed statements.
When Reagan and Gorbachev met at the Geneva Summit in November 1985, they got on very
well and agreed that they wanted to reduce the number of weapons, so that by 1987 many
missiles, like Cruise, had been removed.
8-9 marks for three developed statements.
Top Tip
This level 2 answer gives a three changes and explains them in a way that shows how the
events caused changes. You need to do this three times to get the maximum 9 marks.
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Peace and War c.1943 - 1991 Exam Technique
Question C
Explain why relations between the USA and the Soviet Union were changed by the elections of Ronald Reagan and Mikhail
Gorbachev. 12 marks
Level Three (10-12 marks) Explains how factors are interlinked or prioritises factors.
(The student supports statements with relevant contextual knowledge to show how the event led to the stated outcome.)
Example Answer
When Ronald Reagan was elected relations between the USA and the Soviet Union were already at a low ebb because of the Soviet
invasion of Afghanistan. Ronald Reagan was very anti-communist. He increased defence spending and set out to confront
communism because the USA was experiencing a lack of confidence and to negotiate from a position of strength. This made
relations worse, especially as he developed the Stealth Bomber, Trident submarine missiles and deployed Cruise Missiles in Europe
to counter the Soviet SS20 missiles. The announcement of the SDI, or “Star Wars” programme was a development that the Soviet
economy could not match.
Mikhail Gorbachev inherited severe economic problems and a falling standard of living inside the Soviet Union. The cost of
funding the Cold war was more than the Soviet economy could support. He wanted to end the Cold War because its huge cost was
causing the Soviet economy to collapse. He wanted access to American technology and offered to end the Cold War. By offering to
end the Cold War, Gorbachev put the pressure on the USA to respond.
Ronald Reagan also had good reasons to want to negotiate. The American economy was also suffering from the huge amounts of
money that were being spent on the Cold War. Money could be freed up for social reform and tax cuts. When Reagan and
Gorbachev met at the Geneva Summit in November 1985, they got on very well and this resulted in huge changes in relations
between the Soviet Union and the United States. Both of them agreed that they wanted to reduce the number of weapons, so that
by 1987 many missiles, like Cruise, had been removed.
10-11 marks for linking OR prioritising factors.
11-12 marks for linking AND prioritising factors.
Top Tip
The paragraphs in this answer are in the same order as the previous level 2 example. See how they now explain
how relations were changed by the developments. By linking the changes together and prioritising them, the full
12 marks will be earned. Planning is essential to do well.
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