Explaining consequence: identifying and ranking the results of an event, including intended and unintended consequences (AO2).

What this dot point is asking

The consequence question asks you to explain the results of an event. It tests AO2, the second-order concept of consequence, supported by AO1 knowledge. The skill being marked is identifying developed results, distinguishing intended from unintended outcomes, and ranking them by importance. Examiners reward answers that trace how an event shaped what followed and judge which result mattered most, so you must analyse consequences rather than simply list them.

Developed results, not a list

As with causation, the marks lie in explanation. Take each result and show the chain from event to outcome, anchored to a fact. A list of outcomes earns little; a set of developed, evidenced consequences earns the higher bands.

Short-term, long-term, intended and unintended

Sort consequences along two lines.

• Short-term and long-term. Some results follow at once (the rioting after internment); others unfold over years (the deepening of the conflict and the path to direct rule).
• Intended and unintended. Some results were what the decision-makers wanted; many were not. Internment was meant to weaken the IRA but instead boosted its support, an unintended consequence that often proves the most historically important.

Pointing out an unintended consequence, and explaining why the intended result failed, is a reliable way to show analysis and reach the top band.

Ranking to reach a judgement

End by deciding which consequence mattered most and why. Argue a line rather than trailing off: "the most serious consequence of internment was the collapse of nationalist trust, because it turned moderate opinion towards militancy and made the conflict harder to end." A ranked judgement, supported by a reason, distinguishes a top answer from a competent one.

Examples in context

Model consequence paragraph. "The gravest consequence of internment was the loss of nationalist confidence in the state. Because suspects were detained without trial on out-of-date intelligence, often the wrong men, communities saw the policy as collective punishment. The intended result, breaking the IRA, failed; the unintended result, a surge in recruitment and a hardening of attitudes, mattered far more, helping to set the scene for Bloody Sunday and the end of Stormont." This scores highly because it ranks the consequence, distinguishes intended from unintended, and links short-term reaction to long-term effect with precise evidence.

Try this

Q1. What is a consequence? [2 marks]

• Cue. Something that happened as a result of an event, coming after it rather than before it.

Q2. What is an unintended consequence, with an example? [2 marks]

• Cue. A result the decision-makers did not want; for example, internment was meant to weaken the IRA but boosted its support.

Q3. Why must a top-band answer rank the consequences? [2 marks]

• Cue. Because the highest marks require a judgement on which result mattered most, not an equal list of outcomes.