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History
A-Level History is the disciplined study of the past through substantiated argument. It is not the memorising of a story but the analysis and evaluation of change and continuity, causation, consequence and significance; the weighing of contemporary primary sources for their value in context; and the critical examination of how and why historians have interpreted the past differently. Set against the Department for Education GCE AS and A level subject content and delivered here through the AQA 7042 specification, the course is built from a breadth study of change across roughly a century or more (Component 1, with historical interpretations), a depth study of a shorter period examined through primary sources (Component 2), and an independently researched Historical Investigation (Component 3, the non-exam assessment). Throughout, the same analytical discipline is at work: every question, whether an essay, a source question or an interpretations question, is answered with a clear line of argument that reaches a substantiated judgement.
0/73 Texts16 Chapters~269 min total
DfE GCE History subject content - second-order conceptsAQA 7042 Component 1DfE GCE History subject content - change/continuityDfE GCE History subject content - similarity/differenceAQA 7042 Component 1 breadth essay (AO1)DfE GCE History subject content+69 moreFoundationStandardAdvanced
Table of contents · 16 ChaptersT·16
- Analysing change and continuity over time
- Causation, consequence and historical significance
- Analysis and evaluation of primary sources
- Historical interpretations and historians' debates
- Component 1: Breadth study (Period studies)
- 1C The Tudors: England, 1485-1603
- 1H Tsarist and Communist Russia, 1855-1964
- 1K The making of a Superpower: USA, 1865-1975
- 1L The quest for political stability: Germany, 1871-1991
- Component 2: Depth study (Thematic studies with sources)
- 2E The English Revolution, 1625-1660
- 2N Revolution and dictatorship: Russia, 1917-1953
- 2O Democracy and Nazism: Germany, 1918-1945
- 2Q The American Dream: reality and illusion, 1945-1980
- 2R The Cold War, c1945-1991
- Component 3: Historical investigation (Non-exam assessment)
- Component 1 - Breadth study with historical interpretations (AQA 7042/1)
- 2 hours 30 minutes, 80 marks, 40% of the A-Level. Assesses AO1 and AO3. Section A is one compulsory question on historical interpretations, presenting three extracts from the work of historians and worth 30 marks (AO3): students analyse and evaluate the differing interpretations in relation to the historical context. Sections B and C are essays, two chosen from three, worth 25 marks each (AO1): each requires a sustained, analytical argument about change, continuity, causation or significance across the breadth period, reaching a substantiated judgement. Options include 1C The Tudors, 1H Tsarist and Communist Russia, 1K The USA and 1L Germany.
- Component 2 - Depth study with primary sources (AQA 7042/2)
- 2 hours 30 minutes, 80 marks, 40% of the A-Level. Assesses AO1 and AO2. Section A is one compulsory question on primary sources, presenting three contemporary sources and worth 30 marks (AO2): students assess the value of the sources for a specified enquiry with reference to their content, provenance and historical context. Sections B and C are essays, two chosen from three, worth 25 marks each (AO1). Options include 2E The English Revolution, 2N Russia 1917-1953, 2O Democracy and Nazism in Germany, 2Q The American Dream and 2R The Cold War.
- Component 3 - Historical Investigation (Non-exam assessment)
- 40 marks, 20% of the A-Level, internally assessed and externally moderated. A personal study of a question set in the context of approximately 100 years, on a topic not covered by the taught components. The single essay of 3,500-4,500 words must demonstrate all three assessment objectives: AO1 (analytical argument, 20 marks), AO2 (evaluation of primary sources, 10 marks) and AO3 (evaluation of differing historical interpretations, 10 marks). Students frame their own enquiry question and reach a substantiated, independent judgement supported by their own research.
- Assessment objectives and grading
- Three assessment objectives are weighted across the qualification: AO1 (60%) - analyse and evaluate the past through a substantiated argument, deploying knowledge to explore the second-order concepts of cause, consequence, change, continuity, similarity, difference and significance; AO2 (20%) - analyse and evaluate primary source material within its historical context, judging its value for an enquiry; AO3 (20%) - analyse and evaluate differing historical interpretations. The full A-Level is linear, with both examined components sat at the end of the course alongside the coursework, and is graded A*-E (U below E).