Pearson Edexcel A Level History (9HI0)
Complete Specification — A* Master Notes
A rule:* Every page must teach precise chronology, second-order concepts, source analysis and interpretation analysis in the way required by that paper.
Assessment Architecture
Paper 1 — Breadth Study with Interpretations
- route code 1A–1H
- breadth themes plus historical interpretations
- 2h15 in the current timetable
- AO1 + AO3
Paper 2 — Depth Study
- linked route 2A–2H
- one of two depth options for the chosen route
- source analysis plus precise depth knowledge
- AO1 + AO2
Paper 3 — Themes in Breadth with Aspects in Depth
- one permitted option from 30–39
- long-term thematic change plus selected depth aspects
- AO1
Coursework
- independently researched historical enquiry
- interpretations/historiography
- centre-assessed, Pearson-moderated
PEARSON A* QUESTION SKILLS
Paper 1 Essays
Pearson rewards:
- sustained focus;
- precise knowledge;
- second-order concept;
- whole-period coverage;
- reasoned judgement.
Second-order concepts:
- cause;
- consequence;
- change;
- continuity;
- similarity;
- difference;
- significance.
Paper 1 Interpretations
Two extracts represent different historical interpretations.
Do:
- identify each interpretation's argument;
- use contextual knowledge to test merits;
- compare explanatory power;
- reach judgement.
Do not:
- source-evaluate historian provenance like a contemporary source;
- state one is right simply because it has more detail.
Paper 2 Sources
Use:
- source content;
- provenance;
- contextual knowledge;
- cross-source comparison.
High-level:
“The source's value derives from its contemporary access to X, but the author's political purpose likely narrows its account of Y; contextual evidence from Z therefore supports only part of its claim.”
Paper 3
Breadth themes require long-term coverage. Depth aspects require precise contextual detail.
A*: link depth evidence to breadth judgement.
ROUTE A — CONQUEST, CONTROL AND RESISTANCE IN THE MEDIEVAL WORLD
Paper 1 — 1A The Crusades, c1095–1204
Breadth Themes
- crusading motivation;
- leadership;
- papacy;
- knighthood;
- crusader states;
- relations with Byzantium;
- Muslim responses;
- changing nature of crusading.
Core Turning Points
- Clermont 1095;
- capture of Jerusalem 1099;
- Second Crusade;
- Saladin/Hattin 1187;
- Third Crusade;
- Fourth Crusade/Constantinople 1204.
Interpretations Debate
Possible focus:
- religious motivation vs material interest;
- success from Muslim division vs crusader leadership.
Paper 2 — 2A.1 Anglo-Saxon England and Anglo-Norman Kingdom, c1053–1106
- Edward the Confessor;
- succession;
- 1066;
- Norman conquest;
- resistance;
- land/church;
- William I/II;
- Henry I.
Paper 2 — 2A.2 England and Angevin Empire under Henry II, 1154–89
- restoration after Stephen;
- royal justice;
- barons;
- Becket;
- Angevin lands;
- sons/rebellions;
- finance/administration.
ROUTE B — RELIGION AND THE STATE IN EARLY MODERN EUROPE
Paper 1 — 1B England, 1509–1603: Authority, Nation and Religion
Themes:
- monarchy;
- ministers;
- Church;
- Reformation;
- Parliament;
- rebellion;
- national identity;
- foreign relations.
Interpretations: Reformation, royal authority and religious change.
2B.1 Luther and German Reformation, c1515–55
- Church criticism;
- Luther;
- indulgences;
- printing;
- princes;
- Peasants' War;
- Charles V;
- Schmalkaldic conflict;
- Peace of Augsburg.
2B.2 Dutch Revolt, c1563–1609
- Habsburg rule;
- religion;
- taxation;
- noble opposition;
- Alba;
- William of Orange;
- Spanish Fury;
- Union of Utrecht;
- independence.
ROUTE C — REVOLUTIONS IN EARLY MODERN AND MODERN EUROPE
1C Britain, 1625–1701: Conflict, Revolution and Settlement
- Charles I;
- religion;
- finance;
- Civil War;
- regicide;
- republic;
- Restoration;
- exclusion;
- James II;
- Glorious Revolution;
- constitutional settlement.
Interpretations: causes/nature of political revolution.
2C.1 France in Revolution, 1774–99
- ancien régime;
- fiscal crisis;
- 1789;
- constitutional monarchy;
- republic;
- Terror;
- Thermidor;
- Directory.
2C.2 Russia in Revolution, 1894–1924
- Nicholas II;
- 1905;
- Dumas;
- WWI;
- February;
- Provisional Government;
- October;
- Civil War;
- War Communism;
- NEP;
- Lenin succession.
ROUTE D — CHALLENGES TO THE AUTHORITY OF THE STATE
1D Britain, c1785–c1870: Democracy, Protest and Reform
Themes:
- parliamentary reform;
- industrialisation;
- protest;
- trade unions;
- poverty;
- state response.
Interpretations include abolition of slave trade.
A*: judge pressure from below against elite calculation and economic/religious change.
2D.1 Unification of Italy, c1830–70
- restored states;
- Mazzini;
- 1848;
- Piedmont;
- Cavour;
- France;
- Garibaldi;
- 1861;
- Venetia/Rome.
2D.2 Unification of Germany, c1840–71
- nationalism;
- Zollverein;
- 1848;
- Prussia/Austria;
- Bismarck;
- Danish/Austro-Prussian/Franco-Prussian wars;
- empire.
ROUTE E — COMMUNIST STATES IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
1E Russia, 1917–91: From Lenin to Yeltsin
Themes:
- political authority;
- economy;
- society;
- control;
- opposition;
- nationalities;
- superpower status.
Periods:
- Lenin;
- Stalin;
- Khrushchev;
- Brezhnev;
- Gorbachev;
- collapse/Yeltsin transition.
Interpretations: nature of Stalinism or collapse/reform debates depending prescribed focus.
2E.1 Mao's China, 1949–76
- consolidation;
- land reform;
- First Five-Year Plan;
- Hundred Flowers;
- Great Leap;
- famine;
- Cultural Revolution;
- foreign policy;
- Mao's death.
2E.2 German Democratic Republic, 1949–90
- SED;
- Soviet influence;
- economic planning;
- 1953 uprising;
- Berlin Wall;
- Stasi;
- social policy;
- détente;
- 1989 collapse.
ROUTE F — SEARCHING FOR RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
1F In Search of the American Dream: USA, c1917–96
Themes:
- political environment;
- civil rights;
- society/culture;
- economy;
- quality of life.
Periods:
- 1920s;
- Depression/New Deal;
- wartime;
- civil rights era;
- Great Society;
- conservative turn;
- Reagan/Clinton-era change.
2F.1 India, c1914–48: Road to Independence
- British rule;
- WWI;
- Gandhi;
- Amritsar;
- non-cooperation;
- civil disobedience;
- Congress/Muslim League;
- WWII;
- partition;
- independence.
2F.2 South Africa, 1948–94
- apartheid legislation;
- ANC;
- Sharpeville;
- Mandela;
- armed struggle;
- Black Consciousness;
- sanctions;
- reform;
- negotiations;
- 1994 election.
ROUTE G — NATIONALISM, DICTATORSHIP AND DEMOCRACY IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY EUROPE
1G Germany and West Germany, 1918–89
Themes:
- political change;
- opposition;
- economy;
- society;
- living standards;
- foreign context.
Periods:
- Weimar;
- Nazi regime;
- occupation;
- FRG.
Interpretations: Weimar collapse, Nazi rule or post-war transformation.
2G.1 Rise and Fall of Fascism in Italy, c1911–46
- liberal Italy;
- war;
- post-war crisis;
- Mussolini rise;
- dictatorship;
- economy/society;
- Church;
- foreign policy;
- war/collapse.
2G.2 Spain, 1930–78
- monarchy's fall;
- Second Republic;
- polarisation;
- Civil War;
- Franco dictatorship;
- economy;
- opposition;
- transition to democracy.
ROUTE H — DEMOCRACIES IN CHANGE: BRITAIN AND USA
1H Britain Transformed, 1918–97
Themes:
- political consensus/change;
- economy;
- society;
- welfare;
- living standards;
- culture.
Periods:
- interwar;
- WWII;
- Attlee;
- consensus;
- 1960s;
- 1970s crisis;
- Thatcher/Major.
Interpretations: e.g. Thatcher governments and transformation.
2H.1 USA, c1920–55: Boom, Bust and Recovery
- 1920s economy;
- Republican politics;
- race/immigration;
- Depression;
- Roosevelt/New Deal;
- WWII;
- Truman/Eisenhower beginnings.
2H.2 USA, 1955–92: Conformity and Challenge
- civil rights;
- Kennedy/Johnson;
- Vietnam;
- protest;
- Nixon;
- Watergate;
- Carter;
- Reagan;
- culture/economy.
PAPER 3 OPTIONS
Pearson Paper 3 combines a broad theme with selected depth studies.
30 Lancastrians, Yorkists and Henry VII, 1399–1509
- Lancastrian monarchy;
- Henry VI;
- Wars of Roses;
- Yorkist kings;
- Richard III;
- Henry VII. Theme: monarchy, nobility and political stability.
31 Rebellion and Disorder under Tudors, 1485–1603
Compare rebellions by:
- causation;
- leadership;
- support;
- geography;
- threat;
- government response.
32 Golden Age of Spain, 1474–1598
- monarchy;
- religion;
- empire;
- economy;
- society;
- culture. Theme: extent and limits of Spanish "golden age".
33 Witch Craze in Britain, Europe and North America, c1580–c1750
Themes:
- beliefs;
- law;
- gender;
- religious change;
- state/local dynamics;
- decline. A*: avoid one-cause explanation.
34.1 Industrialisation and Social Change in Britain, 1759–1928
- economy;
- urbanisation;
- class;
- living standards;
- labour;
- state. Theme: industrialisation's uneven social impact.
34.2 Poverty, Public Health and State in Britain, c1780–1939
- poor law;
- urban health;
- sanitation;
- welfare;
- state intervention. Theme: laissez-faire to collectivism, but gradual/uneven.
35.1 Britain: Losing and Gaining an Empire, 1763–1914
- American loss;
- India;
- settler empire;
- Africa;
- motives;
- governance;
- resistance.
35.2 British Experience of Warfare, c1790–1918
- Napoleonic;
- Crimea;
- imperial wars;
- Boer War;
- WWI. Compare: army, technology, society, state capacity.
36.1 Protest, Agitation and Parliamentary Reform, c1780–1928
- radicalism;
- 1832;
- Chartism;
- unions;
- suffrage;
- democracy. Theme: popular pressure vs elite reform.
36.2 Ireland and Union, c1774–1923
- union;
- nationalism;
- famine;
- land;
- Home Rule;
- Easter Rising;
- war/partition.
37.1 Changing Nature of Warfare, 1859–1991
Compare:
- technology;
- mobilisation;
- command;
- industrial capacity;
- civilians;
- nuclear weapons;
- limited/total war.
37.2 Germany, 1871–1990
- empire;
- Weimar;
- Nazi;
- division;
- FRG/GDR;
- reunification. Theme: unity, division, political system and identity.
38.1 Making of Modern Russia, 1855–1991
- tsarism;
- revolution;
- communism;
- economy;
- society;
- control;
- collapse. Theme: continuity/change in Russian state power.
38.2 Making of Modern China, 1860–1997
- Qing crisis;
- revolution;
- nationalism;
- Mao;
- Deng;
- economy/society. Theme: state-building and modernisation.
39.1 Civil Rights and Race Relations USA, 1850–2009
- slavery/emancipation;
- Reconstruction;
- Jim Crow;
- migration;
- civil rights movement;
- federal action;
- post-1960s race relations.
39.2 Mass Media and Social Change in Britain, 1882–2004
- press;
- cinema;
- radio;
- television;
- popular culture;
- political communication;
- digital beginnings. Theme: media as driver/reflection of social change.
PAPER 1 INTERPRETATION METHOD
Pearson expects use of extracts as interpretations.
Use:
- precise argument;
- supporting evidence;
- contextual challenge;
- comparative explanatory power.
Do not spend time on historian provenance unless extract itself makes a methodological issue relevant.
A* sentence:
“Extract 1 is more convincing on the immediate political significance of X because…, yet Extract 2 better explains the longer-term social consequences because…”
PAPER 2 SOURCE METHOD
- read exact enquiry;
- identify source claim;
- contextualise date;
- assess provenance/purpose;
- use own knowledge;
- compare sources;
- judge evidential value.
Avoid:
“It is primary so reliable.”
Primary sources can be valuable precisely because they reveal partial contemporary perspectives.
PAPER 3 THEMATIC METHOD
High-level thematic structure:
- criterion 1 across whole period;
- criterion 2 across whole period;
- criterion 3 across whole period.
Do not structure solely ruler-by-ruler.
A*: identify:
- turning points;
- reversals;
- continuities;
- acceleration.
COURSEWORK A* FRAMEWORK
A strong enquiry has:
- a debate, not a descriptive title;
- clear chronology;
- sufficient primary evidence;
- competing historians;
- independently sustained judgement.
Historian Use
Not:
“Historian X says…”
Better:
“X's structural interpretation is persuasive for the pre-1914 period because…, but becomes less convincing after… where Y's leadership-centred argument better explains…”
Bibliography
Separate:
- primary;
- secondary;
- online/archives where required.
PEARSON COMMON LOST MARKS
- Paper 1 essay lacks whole-period coverage;
- interpretations copied rather than evaluated;
- contextual knowledge dumped without testing extract;
- Paper 2 source provenance evaluated generically;
- Paper 3 becomes narrative;
- change/continuity question has no criterion for extent;
- significance judged only by immediate result;
- precise dates/names absent;
- conclusion introduces new evidence;
- coursework historians merely quoted.