Edexcel AS level History: D3 and D4 thread

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How did everyone do? I thought it was okay until the end, I didn't have tine to balance it so I just did 2 paragraphs for and 1 against, have I capped my mark by not balancing it properly?

Hey know you wouldn't dont worry as long as you reached a conclusion. What questions did you do? I did 5 and 8. I literally dont even want to ask what others put I know I messed it up

Reply 21

JazGreen

Original post by Tj789

Hey know you wouldn't dont worry as long as you reached a conclusion. What questions did you do? I did 5 and 8. I literally dont even want to ask what others put I know I messed it up

Thanks, I guess I'll just hope for the best.
I did the same, I know what you mean, that second one was a nightmare for me! It was that classic case of having no idea about one so just having to go with the other, good luck with your results! xx

Reply 22

Praveen101

Original post by Tj789

Hey know you wouldn't dont worry as long as you reached a conclusion. What questions did you do? I did 5 and 8. I literally dont even want to ask what others put I know I messed it up

Same issue for for question 5 bro, i didnt study the PG so that question scrweded me, luckily i remebered some stuff about lenin and the july days and that stuff to sav me but most people didnt mention it, what did you do

Reply 23

Praveen101

I found a sort of mark scheme, they combined two questions from previous years, for the Nichloas the second part its

Ever since his accession in 1894 Nicholas had been perceived as a weakand talentless ruler, dominated by his wife Alexandra. His obstinaterefusal to modify Tsarist autocracy had contributed to the outbreak ofthe 1905 revolution, and to the weaknesses of the Duma systemestablished in 1906. His decision to appoint himself Commander-in-Chiefin 1915 meant that he became personally responsible for all thesubsequent military setbacks, and left the government of the country inthe hands of his wife and Rasputin.Other factors which led to the February/March revolution include thefailure to provide sufficient food and other supplies for the cities, andthe devastating effects of high inflation. Failures in the field affectedmorale, which rapidly collapsed in 1917. Demonstrations in Petrograd inJanuary and February 1917, especially International Women’s Day, led tothe defection of sections of the armed forces and the rapid collapse ofTsarism. Unlike 1905, traditional supporters of the Tsar, including thearmy and the Dumas, did nothing to prevent that collapse.

For the PG part

The question is focused on the period from March to November 1917 andrequires a judgement on why the Provisional Government was so short-lived.The government faced acute problems from the outset, not least the creationof dual power and the strong hold which the Petrograd Soviet developed overthe army. The government’s early reforms were aimed at creating a liberaland democratic Russia at a time when the country faced far more pressingproblems, including the supply of food and fuel for the towns, and peasantdemands for a settlement to the land problem. The failure to end the war wasa major factor contributing to the fall of the government, especially followingthe disastrous June offensive. By October military discipline had virtuallycollapsed. In April 1917 Lenin returned to Russia, refusing to work with otherparties, but instead persuading his party to mount a coup. While the JulyDays were a failure, the November rising was prepared more carefully anddirected by Trotsky. A simple outline, perhaps focused on Lenin and theBolsheviks, will be marked within Levels 1 and 2, and progression will dependon relevance and range of accurate material. Answers which begin to providean explanation of why the Provisional Government failed will access Level 3,though there may be some sections of narrative material. At Level 4 therewill be an explicit attempt to analyse a number of reasons for the fall of thegovernment, though the answer may lack balance. At Level 5 will be anattempt to evaluate the significance of

Reply 24

Jemy

Hello everyone,

After a not so pleasant start with C1, the history went somewhat smoothly. I chose the question on the weak political leadership and the FYP's for Stalin.

The first one I divided into 4 paragraphs. Two on the November and February Revolution each. Assessing in one of them the significance of weak political leadership and war and the hardships that it brought. I think overall it was okay, I just think I was not precise enough in the sense that I lacked key facts and I failed to evaluate more in depth as well as I felt it was a bit short given my usual 6 paragraphs for a third factor.

The second FYP one I divided into 6 paragraphs. Two for each FYP and one on their successes and the other one the failures. I found my essay to be repetitive at times, especially on the counter arguments side and I once again lacked key figures. I think I offered somewhat enough evaluation but my conclusion might have been poorer. The biggest mistake on this one was that I thought the question asked on how dramatically the FYP's 'transformed' Russia's industry and not 'improved': therefore, I used transformed a lot, but I think it is not a deal killer.

Overall, I think and hope it was not descriptive, both are not masterpieces I doubt I will get 26 on these LOL but I hope it is enough for a C and above. The time was just too short, I actually wanted to plan my essay, but I realized no time for that, so I just kept telling myself point, evidence, explain and relate to question the whole time. Of course the bad C1 experience was a factor too....

What do you think guys? Also how did you all do?

Reply 25

Tj789

Original post by Praveen101

For the support side I wrote about how they were incompetent in the war. I wrote that the Tsar becoming commander in cheif of the army was a mistake, and when the PG went ahead with the war they still failed. I also wrote how they were incompetent on the homefront- Tsar failed to politically met the demands of his people (I feel like that doesnt link to leadership though :frown:

) And I wrote about the Kornilov affair.

On the other side I wrote about the loss of support from the army for the Tsar, and I think I made this up- I said the army didnt support the PG as seen in the July days because didnt it contain some army troops idk. I also wrote about about the role of other individuals like Lenin and Alexander and Rasputin. For Lenin I wrote about the April Thesis.

Reply 26

Jemy

Original post by Tj789

Don't worry too much about the facts and precision on those. In this mark scheme it is important to be analytical, you can have the best facts in the world but a tiny piece of description and whoops level 3. So as long as you were analytical and used somewhat relevant information, you should be a low level 4.

Think about it this way last year the grade boundary for a C required 17 marks per essay, while a B was 19.5 marks and A was 22 marks. So even a high level 3 each will still give you a C.

Reply 27

Tj789

Original post by Jemy

Thats worried me more because I think I was descriptive, especially for the 5YP question as I was literally stating the facts erhhhhh

Reply 28

Jemy

Original post by Tj789

Thats worried me more because I think I was descriptive, especially for the 5YP question as I was literally stating the facts erhhhhh

I know how it feels man, I am resitting all of it this year. Nothing is worse than thinking you finally were analytical in the exam and thought you did a great job, just to wake up in August to find out you got a D... I know it sucks to hear it but you gotta move on and wait till August. Try your best to prepare for paper 2 next Wednesday, just let it go at least until the exams are over.

I had a similar experience today with C1 as the paper was somehow really tough, I apparently managed to score a C at least and maybe a B if lucky according to the unofficial mark scheme. But I was expecting easily an A, now I have to highly compensate on the other 5 units for that mess up today and given Edexcel's creativity this year, it might be a hard thing to accomplish.

Reply 29

Praveen101

Original post by Jemy

Bro what went wrong, im scared i did something similar, did you not write much or?

Reply 30

Jemy

Original post by Praveen101

Bro what went wrong, im scared i did something similar, did you not write much or?

I just was discriptive as hell to be honest :/ But I am fairly confident I did not redo that mistake yesterday. The wait until August sucks, they could at least allow us to take a copy of our papers.