5. Questions about the Exams (FAQs)
- How should I divide up my time in the AS exams?
Each exam paper for History is different.
Paper 1 is the Document Paper. The time allocated is 1 hour and 15 minutes, and you will answer a 2-part question on the second option, which is American option: The History of the USA, 1820–1941. You will have no choice of questions.
The topic within this depends on the year in which you sit your exams; see the answer to Question 6 above.
It is best to spend the first 15 minutes reading the sources carefully, underling key passages, and planning your answers. This will leave around 20 minutes to write up part a) and 40 minutes for part b); these two answers are marked out of 15 and 25 respectively.
Paper 2 is the Essay Paper, for which you’ll have 1 hour 45 minutes. You will choose 2 questions from the 3 themes within the American option which are not being covered in Paper 1.
There will be two parts to each question: Part (a) requires a causal explanation (‘Explain why…’). Part (b) requires consideration of significance and weighing the relative importance of factors (‘How far do you agree?’). You must answer both parts of the question you choose.
Spend 5 minutes or so carefully planning each of your four answers, which will leave you around 12 minutes for each part a) and 30 minutes for part b).
- How should I divide up my time in the AL exams?
There are also two papers that you will take for AL.
Again, the first (Paper 3) is the Document Paper. There will be just one question on the topic you have studied. It will ask what you can learn from the single extract about the interpretation and approach of the historian who wrote it. You have 1 hour and 15 minutes, and it would be wise to spend at least 15 minutes reading and annotating the extract, and planning your answer.
Detailed guidance is on Canvas, in the document Dos and Don'ts for Paper 3.
Paper 4 is the Essay Paper on our selected depth study, European history in the interwar years, 1919-1941. You will choose 2 questions from the 3 themes we have covered, and write an essay on each.
You have 1 hour 45 minutes so should split it equally between the 2 questions you answer, making sure to plan carefully before starting to write.
- I want to defer my exams to a later date. What should I do?
If you wish to defer your exams for any reason, you should speak to your Student Progress Manager as soon as possible so that your study schedule can be adjusted.
Please note that the date of your deferral may also mean that you need to start the course, or certain modules, again if any textbooks have changed and you will also need to receive these new texts, so it is vital that you keep us informed about any plans you have to defer your exams.