To plan a depth-study response, read the question for its command word and dates, choose a small number of points, pair each with evidence, and decide the order before you write. The plan keeps you inside the window and on the question.
This is the last lesson in the First World War depth-study pathway. It combines the skills from L01, L02 and L03, and connects to writing and answer development.
Why does the syllabus version matter?
Your school’s chosen depth study and the syllabus version for your exam year decide what the question can ask.
Before you plan, confirm both. Check the content overview on the Cambridge IGCSE History page and ask your teacher to confirm the option. Do not assume that a topic you read about is examined in your year.
The five-line plan
- Command word and focus: what exactly are you being asked to do?
- Window: the dates the question sets.
- Points: three or four, each a short claim.
- Evidence: a dated fact or attributed source for each point.
- Order and judgement: the order you will write, and a one-line answer to the question.
Worked example
Practice question (invented): “Explain why conditions at the front were hard for British soldiers between 1914 and 1916.”
1. Command and focus: “Explain why” asks for causes of hard conditions, not a description.
2. Window: 1914 to 1916.
3. Points:
- Weather and ground: wet, cold, flooded trenches.
- Supply and equipment: shortages in some periods.
- Constant danger: shellfire and the risk of attack.
4. Evidence: Source A in our practice set (invented) gives flooding detail. Source C (invented, modern textbook summary) says conditions differed by sector. For danger, use the dated fact that the Somme offensive began on 1 July 1916.
5. Order and judgement: begin with weather, since the evidence is clearest, then supply, then danger. Finish with a judgement: conditions were hard for linked reasons, though experiences differed by place and time.
Notice how the plan excludes events after 1916. The armistice of 11 November 1918 is outside the window.
The mistake to watch for
Mistaken approach: writing out everything you know about the war in date order.
This fills the page but answers a different question: “tell the story”. The correction is to rank your points by how directly they answer “why”. If a point does not connect to the command word, cut it.
Check yourself
1. For the question “How far do you agree that conditions improved between 1914 and 1916?”, what is the command word, and what does it expect you to give?
Show answer
“How far do you agree” expects a judgement supported by evidence on both sides, followed by a reasoned conclusion.
2. A plan includes the armistice of 1918 for a 1914 to 1916 question. What should you do?
Show answer
Remove it, because it falls outside the window. If it matters, mention it only as later background and label it as such.
3. Write a one-line judgement for the worked example question.
Show answer
“Conditions were hard mainly because of weather, supply and danger together, although the evidence suggests experiences varied between sectors.”
Where this leads next
Use the integrated practice set to rehearse the whole route. If you are still deciding how History fits your timetable, see our online one-to-one History tuition, where a teacher can map your syllabus version and build plans with you.