Volume 9, Number 3, February 2014

Revision

Edexcel Unit 3 exam technique

Robin Bunce

Edexcel’s ‘From Kaiser to Führer’ is one of the most popular options at A-level. Here Robin Bunce gives an overview of the whole paper and advice on how to tackle Part (a)

Overview: the structure of the exam

Edexcel Unit 3 exam papers are divided into two sections.

Section (a)

Section (a) of the Kaiser to Führer paper will contain two questions dealing with two of the following four topics:

  • The Second Reich— society and government in Germany, c. 1900–19: economic expansion; political and social tensions; the impact of the First World War.
  • The democratic experiment, 1919–29: crises and survival, 1919–24; Stresemann and recovery; the ‘Golden Years’ of the Weimar Republic; Weimar culture.
  • The rise of the Nazis: origins to 1928; impact of the slump in town and country, 1928-33; growing support; coming to power.
  • Life in wartime Germany, 1939–45: opposition and conformity; persecution of the Jews and the development of the idea of the ‘Final Solution’; the efficiency of the war economy.

Section (b)

Section (b) of the Kaiser to FührerPaper will contain two questions, one dealing with each of the following controversies:

  • To what extent was Germany responsible for the outbreak of the First World War?
  • How (i) popular and (ii) efficient was the Nazi regime in the years 1933–39?

Tackling section (a) questions

Types of questions

Section (a) tests your ability to answer a question from your own knowledge. There are four types of question:

  • The ‘multi-factor’ question:
    ‘The impact of the Great Depression was the prime reason for the emergence ofthe Nazis as a mass movement between 1929 and 1932.’ How far do you agreewith this opinion?
  • The ‘single factor’ question:
    ‘The Weimar constitution was too democratic to ensure stable government.’How far do you agree with this opinion?
  • The ‘why’ question:
    Why did the Nazi Party become a mass movement in the years 1929 to 1932?
  • The ‘how far’ question:
    How far was the use of violence and terror the main reason for the Nazi consolidation of power in the first six months of 1933?

In practice, the different types of question look like this:

Multi-factor / Single factor
Why / Why were the Nazis able to consolidate their power so swiftly in the period January to July 1933? / Why did the German elite support Hitler’s appointment as chancellor in January 1933?
How far / How far was the establishment of the Nazi dictatorship between January and July 1933 primarily brought about through a legal revolution? / To what extent had Hitler achieved dictatorial power by July 1933?

Activity

Below is a mark scheme for Section (a) of Unit 3. In essence, your essay is judged on three thing: (i) focus, (ii) detail, and (iii) analysis.

Using the mark scheme:

  • Go through one of your recent Unit 3, section (a) essays, and work out what level it should get.
  • Make a list of three things that you should do to get a higher mark next time.

Section (a) Mark scheme

Level / Description / Marks
1 / Simplistic
Very limited focus
Very limited accurate detail
Very limited analysis / 1–6
2 / Generalised
Limited focus
Limited accurate detail
Limited analysis / 7–12
3 / Broadly analytical
Some focus
Some accurate detail
Some analysis / 13–18
4 / Clear analysis
Clear focus
Accurate detail
Analysis / 19–24
5 / Sustained analysis
Clear focus
Accurate detail
Analysis
An overall argument / 25-30

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