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Depth Study (Paper 2)

4 dot points across 4 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How did Mao Zedong establish and maintain communist control of China between 1949 and 1976, and at what human cost?

Paper 2 Option 2H.1 Mao's China 1949 to 1976: the establishment of communist rule, the command economy and the Great Leap Forward, social change, and the Cultural Revolution.
An Edexcel A-Level History Paper 2 depth guide to Mao's China 1949 to 1976. Covers the establishment of communist rule, the Great Leap Forward and the famine, social and cultural change, the Cultural Revolution and the cult of Mao, with the AO2 primary-source skills and the historiography the depth paper rewards.
14 min answer →

How did the SED establish, maintain and ultimately lose control of the German Democratic Republic between 1949 and 1990?

Paper 2 Option 2A.1 The German Democratic Republic 1949 to 1990: the establishment and consolidation of the SED state, life in the GDR, the role of the Stasi, and the collapse of the regime.
An Edexcel A-Level History Paper 2 depth guide to the German Democratic Republic 1949 to 1990. Covers the establishment of the SED state, the 1953 uprising and the Berlin Wall, the role of the Stasi, economic and social life, and the collapse of the regime in 1989 to 1990, with the AO2 primary-source skills the depth paper rewards.
14 min answer →

How do you answer the Paper 2 Section A source question on using two sources together to investigate an enquiry?

The Paper 2 Section A source question (AO2): the 'How far could the historian make use of Sources 1 and 2 together to investigate...' stem, and how to weigh content, provenance and own knowledge across both sources to judge their combined value for the enquiry.
An Edexcel A-Level History guide to the Paper 2 Section A source question, the compulsory AO2 task worth 20 marks. Explains the 'How far could the historian make use of Sources 1 and 2 together to investigate' stem, how to read the enquiry, weigh content and provenance across both sources with own knowledge, and reach a Level 5 judgement on their combined value.
14 min answer →

How did the struggle for African American civil rights develop in the USA from emancipation in 1865 to 1992, and how much had changed?

Paper 2 Option 2G.1 The USA civil rights 1865 to 1992: the changing position of African Americans, the campaigns and federal responses, and the methods and impact of the civil rights movement.
An Edexcel A-Level History Paper 2 depth guide to civil rights in the USA from 1865 to 1992. Covers Reconstruction and Jim Crow, the role of the Supreme Court, the campaigns of Martin Luther King and others, federal civil rights legislation, and the methods and impact of the movement, with the AO2 primary-source skills the paper rewards.
14 min answer →