Not only does the three case studies cover the three aspects of the topic, the main reason that they were picked for this topic is because of the fact that they are interlinked together, acting as one continuous story instead of three separate ones.

The British Empire's collapse was one of the biggest factors that led to the emergence of global superpowers in the world. In 1947, around three weeks after Britain told the Truman administration that it could no longer fund Greece and Turkey's resistance against communism, the United States announced the policy of Containment; Britain was also pushed out of India in the same year due to limited funds.

The UN's establishment directly after World War 2 marked the moment that the Allies won, yet it became mostly ineffective and frozen in time after. Despite declining from the status of being dominant world powers, Britain and France kept their vetoes in the Security Council, while their colonies became normal members. The structure of the UN remained rigid despite the drastic changes in world politics after World War 2.

The Cold War then became decided on the process of decolonisation. Former colonies held by once-great empires became battlegrounds for other superpowers — Vietnam and Korea, shifting the political balance of the world through tension.

• 1858
  The direct crown rule of India begins; British Raj established
• 1922
  The British Empire's greatest extent
• 1945
  Potsdam & Yalta conferences; UN charter signed and established
• 1947
  Britain advises against funding of Greece and Turkey; Indian Independence
• 1948
  Marshall Plan and Berlin Blockade begins; UN Declaration of Human Rights
• 1949
  NATO and Communist China are established
• 1950
  Korean War begins, UN action authorised (USSR & China absent)
• 1956
  Suez Crisis, UNEF peacekeeping force
• 1962
  Cuban Missile Crisis
• 1989
  Berlin Wall falls
• 1991
  USSR dissolved

The British Empire

The British Empire peaked in 1922, with roughly a quarter of the world's population (458 million) and land area under its control. This was through a mix of direct rule, an example being the British Raj, settler colonies, examples being Australia and Canada, or simply by having influence over the local elites. Britain's colonial actions were justified at the time through a 'mission of civilising', which claimed that the British society and way of living was good for everyone else. The Empire started off with mercantilism, and switched to free-market trade once it had the industrial lead over other countries, with global markets also favoring it.

Despite the negative outlook of the British Empire today, colonisation also carried along some benefits. Firstly, English became a widely used, common language between colonies, and later the whole world, bolstering the status of its former colonies in the modern world. Secondly, tens of thousands of kilometers of railways were built around the world in British colonies, with 65,000 kilometers of railway in India alone, also supported by telegraph lines, canals and other means of transportation. Thirdly, the Atlantic Slave Trade was restricted and slavery was abolished in the British Empire in 1807 and 1833 respectively, with the Royal Navy acting as a policing force. This was considerably earlier than other major powers at the time, which helped slavery dwindle across time around the world.

That being said, the British Empire also had many negative impacts in its colonies. Despite building ports and railways across colonies, such as India, almost all of it served production and the British State rather than the local people, therefore aiming to benefit the Empire rather than the people, leading to exploitation. Secondly, the colonial rule of Britain led to famines, genocides and massacres, such as the Bengal Famine in 1943, killing 2–3 million people, and the Amritsar Massacre of 1919, resulting in the deaths of between 300–1,000 people. Thirdly, despite being one of the first major powers to abolish it, Britain effectively established the Atlantic Slave Trade in the first place, with over 3 million enslaved Africans being transported in British merchant ships before 1807.

After the two World Wars, the Empire essentially became bankrupt, with the Suez Crisis acting as one of the finishing blows to the Empire. In 1956, when Nasser nationalised the Suez Canal, Britain, France and Israel planned to invade secretly to protect their interests. When the US government found out about this, Eisenhower threatened to crash the British economy further, with the USSR threatening them with rockets, forcing them to back down and withdraw; Anthony Eden resigned in 1957.

The Cold War

The alliance against Hitler in World War 2 was short lived after the end of the war, with the USSR wanting to spread its communist ideas further into Europe and establish a buffer zone, whereas the US supported recovery and free-markets. The Truman Doctrine of 1947 marked the beginning of the policy of containment, followed by the Marshall Plan between 1948–51, giving aid to Western European countries to aid their recovery from the war; Stalin forbade the Eastern Bloc from accepting.

The United States was built heavily on capitalism and the free market, supporting multi-party democracy and the private ownership of property and the means of production. The USSR was heavily communist, with heavy state ownership, censorship, single-party rule and a state-planned economy. One of the biggest reasons that the Cold War dragged on for so long was because it was not based on physical borders, but rather ideas and ideologies.

The most significant events of the war included the Berlin Blockade (1948–49), acting as the first major confrontation between the two sides when Stalin restricted road and railway access to West Berlin, the establishment of NATO and the Warsaw Pact in 1949 and 1955 respectively, which marked the military divide of Europe, the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, which became the closest that the two sides came to nuclear war, resolved by a secret Jupiter Missile deal. The policy of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) was also prominent, with 70,000 warheads existing between the two powers by 1986. Proxy wars between former colonies were also common, with the two most significant ones being Korea (1950–53) and Vietnam (around 1960s–1973), which are further explored in Unit 2.

The USSR was exhausted after the numerous proxy wars, most importantly Afghanistan. Through a process of modernisation under Gorbachev, the Eastern Bloc collapsed in 1989, with the USSR following shortly after in 1991.

The United Nations

The UN was officially established in October 1945, acting as a replacement to the failed League of Nations. It has five active bodies: the General Assembly, Security Council, the Secretariat, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), all with different roles and purposes. In this topic, the most significant body is the Security Council, consisting of 15 members, 5 of them being permanent and possessing a veto power: the US, USSR (now Russia), China, UK and France.

The Security Council needed the approval of both sides to act during the Cold War period, which effectively paralysed its action — the only time force was authorised was during the Korean War, where the newly formed communist government of China was absent, with the USSR protesting their absence through not attending.

It can be argued that this system is unfair, as the permanent seats were frozen based on the outcome of World War 2 in 1945, through which it can be argued that the Security Council does not represent the balance of the world today, with former British colonies, along with Africa and Latin America, lacking a say; the remnants of colonialism survives in the institution meant to replace it. It can also be argued that the veto power was fairly established however, as without the veto power there was a high chance that the major powers might have ignored the newly established UN if not for the veto powers, which would have resulted in a fate similar to the failed League of Nations, resulting in the argument that a flawed UN with superpowers is better than a fair UN without them.

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This is an absolute question, therefore the strongest answer will be a partial argument (arguing to some extent) instead of a direct agreement or disagreement.

The strongest counter-argument for this question is the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. It involved maximum tension, yet zero shots were fired, and was resolved by a secret trade. Another counter-argument is the Berlin Airlift as a response to the Berlin Blockade, which was made specifically to avoid direct confrontation and conflict between the two sides, showing how tension was managed during the Cold War. A lesser used counter-argument by students is the Suez Crisis, where superpower intervention prevented mass-scale conflict, showing how tensions involving superpowers can be managed and used for good.

An argument for the question is the multiple proxy wars, such as the Korean War and the Vietnam War. These wars, which were the result of a colonial vacuum left by Britain and France, demonstrated how ideological tensions and differences between superpowers, in this case the USSR and the US, led to direct military conflict, resulting in death and destruction.

Although superpower tension never produced direct conflict between them (policy of MAD), it almost certainly led to conflict elsewhere, therefore making it an issue of time, place and space and its effect on the tensions created by superpowers.

It would be fit to open this question by mentioning the scale of the British Empire (1922, 458 million people, quarter of world area & population).

Positive impacts include the Indian railways (65,000 kilometers), canals and ports, the English language and legal and civil codes that the British Empire provided to its colonies.

Negative impacts include the Bengal Famine and the Amritsar massacre, with around 3 million and 1,000 casualties respectively, also mentioning the pre-1807 slave trade and the railways and means of transportation benefiting the Empire rather than the people; mention how Britain's colonial legacy remains visible today through its veto power in the UN Security Council.

Make sure to end on a strong note, such as the Suez Crisis, as the moment Britain no longer was a significant, independent Empire that ruled the world.

Unit 2, in its core, is all about how conflict interacts with peace, and the vice versa. While many students may choose to use the World Wars for this unit, from my experience, the clearest and more relevant case studies come from the time of the Cold War, from the Korean and Vietnam Wars. This is because, not only do they represent superpower conflict and tension in a different country that was recently abandoned by colonial powers, linking back to Unit 1 and allowing you to use the two units to support each other, but also because at their resolution, they form two very different types of peace, with Korea having an armistice without reconciliation or a formal treaty, and Vietnam being unified by force after the fallout of one.

• 1945
  Japan surrenders; Korea divided at the 38th parallel
• 1946
  The First Indochina War starts; France eventually defeated in 1954 and Vietnam is divided along the 17th parallel
• 1950
  North Korea launches an invasion of the South; UN authorised force pushes them back and reverses the war; China is forced to intervene
• 1953
  Armistice is signed in Korea; no peace treaty
• 1964
  Gulf of Tonkin Resolution; first combat troops land in 1965
• 1968
  Tet Offensive; support for war in the US rapidly declines
• 1973
  Paris Peace Accords; US troops withdraw from Vietnam
• 1975
  Fall of Saigon; Vietnam re-unified in 1976

The Korean War

When Japan surrendered in 1945, Korea, which was a Japanese colony from 1910 onwards, was divided along the 38th parallel, later hardening into two rival states: communists under Kim Il-Sung in the north and anti-communists and capitalists under Syngman Rhee in the south.

Using Soviet supplied tanks, the North Korean government invaded South Korean territory in June 1950, which was met by a UN-authorised (with the absence of the USSR and the Chinese government) force led by General MacArthur, reversing the invasion and pushing the North Korean forces back to the Chinese border. China intervened in October, and the South Koreans were pushed back to Seoul again in 1951, with MacArthur also being sacked by Truman after threatening to use nuclear force on China. The front eventually stabilised in 1951 near to the original borders, with an armistice being signed after negotiations in 1953, although no official peace treaty was signed.

The war resulted in around 3 million casualties, mostly Korean civilians and Chinese casualties, with the border between the two countries barely moving, also marking the beginning of the militarisation of the policy of containment.

The Vietnam War

A French colony from 1887, Vietnam declared its independence from France under Ho Chi Minh in 1945, resulting in the First Indochina War from 1946–54. The French were defeated in 1954, with Vietnam being split under the Geneva Accords, along the 17th Parallel, with elections that were never held, being promised in 1956. This led to the emergence of the Domino Theory, which stated if one Southeastern Asian nation fell to communism, they would all follow shortly after, which gave the US the justification for everything after.

After the Gulf of Tonkin incident of 1964, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was passed in the Senate, giving the President, Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) the power to escalate the war without declaring war, with the first combat troops being organised at Da Nang in 1965.

The US tactics focused heavily on limiting the Vietcong's effective guerilla tactics, including Operation Rolling Thunder, with just less than a million tons of bombs being dropped on North Vietnam and the Ho Chi Minh supply trail. Agent Orange, a potent herbicide, was also sprayed heavily to remove the Vietcong's cover, which damaged the local environment. Search and Destroy missions were carried out heavily, leading to civilian casualties, such as the My Lai Massacre of 1968.

The Vietcong focused heavily on guerilla warfare, and using the environment as cover. They set up ambushes and booby traps in the jungle, and blended into the local population to provide cover. The Ho Chi Minh trail was used to supply the Viet Cong, moving through Laos and Cambodia, also supported by tunnel networks. These tactics meant that despite the superior manpower, the US forces could not engage with the enemy directly, leading to an asymmetric war.

The Tet Offensive of 1968 marked the turning point for the US. Militarily a heavy defeat for the North Vietnamese, resulting in heavy Vietcong casualties, the Offensive caused the US public to lose confidence in the US forces, and see the brutality of war firsthand through the TVs, decreasing support for the war massively. LBJ was forced to cancel his re-election campaign, and Nixon initiated the process of Vietnamisation in 1969, starting to withdraw US troops. The Paris Peace Accords were signed in 1973, causing the last of the US troops to withdraw, with the fall of Saigon and the re-unification of Vietnam coming shortly after in 1975 and 1976 respectively.

Comparing the two wars

Both wars were fought in former colonies, with the communist powers, USSR and China, supplying training, funds and weapons, and the US supplying troops directly to their respective nations, marking an era where superpower conflict and tension did not see direct superpower intervention in fighting. Korea marked a traditional war, with front lines and organised troops, whereas Vietnam was much more asymmetric, with guerilla warfare, hidden supply lines and the lack of a front line.

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There are many pieces of evidence from Units 1 and 2 that support this claim. Firstly, the policy of MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) ensured that there was no direct confrontation between the two major superpowers during the Cold War, showing how superpowers were able to read the others intentions and plans clearly when there were fewer of them, therefore linking back to how two powers with destructive weapons is better than eight. Another piece of evidence that supports this is how the Korean Armistice of 1953 has held strong without an official peace treaty for more than 70 years. This suggests that the tension and intimidation between two powers can result in a deadlock, therefore freezing conflict through coercion, enforcing the peace.

The evidence against the claim is also pretty strong. The Korean War resulted in around 3 million deaths, while the border between the two barely ended up moving. This shows how a world dominated by two superpowers initiated war instead of preventing it, due to ideological differences, showing how the tension between superpowers can escalate to wars when there are only two of them. Another strong piece of evidence against is the fact that the UN was only able to authorise force once during the Cold War, due to the tension and disagreement between the two superpowers. This shows that in a world dominated by a few superpowers, the tension between them can paralyze action and collective security, and even when it is not paralysed, manipulate it to fight on one side, like in the Korean War.

The Korean War is better fit for this question, as 'peace' in this case followed the armistice instead of war and conflict, as in the case of Vietnam through the fall of Saigon. Furthermore, anti-imperial values can also be integrated into your speech, making it stronger and stand out more.

Important knowledge that can be integrated into this text type includes the context of the war, Japanese colony from 1910–1945 which was divided along the 38th parallel after World War 2 and Japan's surrender, with a communist government in the north and a capitalist government in the south, the escalation of the war, the UN force led by MacArthur, the initial Northern push and the Southern retaliation, and China's involvement, and the peace and end of the war, mentioning the armistice of 1953 after a long deadlock and negotiations, also mentioning how an official peace treaty was never established, providing an opportunity to establish the anti-imperial values further.

This unit is all about the effect that significant individuals have on change, and the case studies focus on two people that drove change in a different manner. Jenner is the strong case for how one individual can have a significant effect on a field — his discovery of the cowpox vaccine was widely accepted, and led to the eradication of the disease by 1980. Whereas, Gandhi is the contestable example. Although he shaped the Indian Independence movement, and acted as a symbol of independence among the people, the reach of his impact is debated, as Britain was bankrupt regardless, and the Partition was not prevented, leading to conflict and death, showing how the field and space of the significant individual changes the weight, effect and reach of their actions.

• 1796
  Jenner inoculates James Phipps; publishes his findings two years later in 1798
• 1805
  Napoleon is one of the first to vaccinate his army while at war against the Coalition
• 1853
  Britain makes the smallpox vaccine compulsory
• 1893
  Gandhi arrives in South Africa, develops the satyagraha
• 1919
  Amritsar Massacre; Non-Cooperation launched a year later
• 1930
  Salt March; tens of thousands arrested
• 1942
  Quit India Movement; a hundred thousand arrested
• 1947
  Independence and Partition of India; Gandhi assassinated a year later (1948)
• 1980
  Smallpox is declared as eradicated by the World Health Organisation

Gandhi

Gandhi was born in 1869, and was a Gujarati barrister trained in London. In 1893, he arrived in South Africa, and spent 21 years there; he was famously thrown off a train for sitting in first class, marking the start of his campaign. There he developed the satyagraha, which was the non-violent mass protest that accepted and promoted suffering rather than rejecting it. After his return to India in 1915, he first tried the method on farmers at Champaran in 1917.

The Rowlatt Act of 1919 extended detention without trial to up to two years. Later on in 1919, General Dyer's troops fired on an unarmed crowd in what became to be known as the Amritsar Massacre, resulting in more than a thousand casualties by Indian estimates, pushing moderate people against British rule. The Non-Cooperation movement was started by Gandhi, and went on from 1920–22, involving boycotting British establishments, such as courts and schools, also promoting economic resistance through spinning cloth. It was called off after members of the movement killed 22 policemen in a violent clash, which went against Gandhi's principles.

The Salt March of 1930 went on from March to April, and involved protestors marching 240 miles and making salt from seawater as an act of defiance against the British dominated economy. Because of the disobedience that followed, around 70,000 protestors were arrested, which raised global attention around the world, as a dominant empire was arresting people for collecting salt.

The Quit India Movement of 1942 was a result of the involvement of India in World War 2 by the British without the consultation of local Indian management and leaders. The movement resulted in around 100,000 arrests, including the leadership. The movement was suppressed through force, which effectively proved that India was being held by force. The independence of India came just 5 years later, alongside the Partition, which he failed to prevent.

Despite the independence of India, Mahatma Gandhi's career also included failures, the biggest of them being the Partition, as mentioned before. Gandhi opposed partition, yet failed to prevent it, resulting in around 1 million deaths and another 15 million displaced; Muslim communities opposed his Hindu idiom and beliefs, whereas some Hindu groups thought he was being too soft on the Muslims, leading to his assassination in 1948 by Godse, a Hindu nationalist.

Jenner

Born 1749, Edward Jenner was a rural country doctor located in Gloucestershire. He was trained under surgeon John Hunter in London. Smallpox was a major disease in his era, killing hundreds of thousands of European peoples in the 18th century alone, and also the likes of King Louis XV of France.

Variolation was a method that aimed to prevent serious infection from smallpox by administering a mild version of it, which was introduced to Britain in the early 18th century from the Ottoman Empire. It was effective but carried a death risk of around 2% and also risked infecting others. Around the time that variolation was becoming well known around Britain, Jenner observed that milkmaids who caught cowpox never got smallpox, leading to his 1796 experiment on a boy named James Phipps.

In May 1796, Jenner inoculated an 8 year old boy by the name of James Phipps using pus from the cowpox blisters on a milkmaid. Six weeks later, when Phipps was exposed to smallpox, he didn't catch the illness. Jenner repeated this experiment 23 times before publishing his findings in 1798, coining the word 'vaccine' from the Latin word vacca, meaning cow.

At first, Jenner's findings were ridiculed and mocked, an example being Gillray's 1802 cartoon titled 'The Cow-Pock', focusing mainly on moral and religious objections of putting animal matter into the body of humans. One of the first major acknowledgements of the effect of the vaccine came when Napoleon vaccinated his whole army in 1805 and awarded Jenner with a medal, even going as far as releasing British prisoners upon his request. Britain banned variolation, and made the smallpox vaccine free and compulsory in 1840 and 1853 respectively, abandoning the government's Laissez-faire approach to health.

After the start of a global campaign in 1967, the WHO declared smallpox as eradicated in 1980, around 150 years after Jenner's death, making it the only human disease to get eliminated completely, saving an estimated 200 million lives.

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The evidence supporting this claim comes from both Jenner and Gandhi. As for Jenner, his experiment of 1796 and publishing of 1798 led to hundreds of millions of lives being saved, with smallpox officially being declared eradicated in 1980. This shows that, despite variolation being known and available by the general public, it was one man that pushed the idea forward and tested it 23 times before publishing his ideas, showing how it was one significant individual that drove change. For Gandhi, the Salt March of 1930 is a significant example. Gandhi personally invented a form of protest that transformed the British rule over India into a struggle; without the satyagraha, Britain would have been far better equipped to push back on Indians resisting violently, showing how Gandhi was one of the main driving forces behind change.

The evidence against focuses on how one significant individual is not enough to drive change the whole way. In the case of Jenner, despite his findings, it was the British Government that made the vaccine mandatory in 1853, and the WHO that eradicated the virus more than 150 years after Jenner's death, showing how while Jenner supplied the backbone for the eradication of smallpox, the real work was done by the Government and institutions. As for Gandhi, the Partition of India in 1947 serves as the perfect example. Despite Gandhi opposing it, he failed to prevent it, resulting in 1 million deaths and a further 15 million displacements, showing how despite being one of the most significant and celebrated individuals in Indian history, he still failed to control the biggest outcome of his Independence Movement, showing how in politics, one individual is never enough to fully drive change for the good.

Using Gandhi, it is best fit to choose the Salt March of 1930 as the primary example, giving the audience a key person and a movement/ideology to follow. Using the past events of India, such as the Rowlatt Act and Amritsar Massacre of 1919, to create a sense of national pride and grievance among the audience, the speech can be continued by bringing up the absurdity of the salt tax, which seems so simple to acquire yet is taxed by the governing body of their country. Rather than accepting violence, bringing in Gandhi's satyagraha, which he had tested in South Africa for 21 years, and on farmers in 1917, to rally the audience to discipline rather than violence. To end the speech purposefully and meaningfully, make a contrast to the British weapons and the Indian discipline.

This unit, as it says in the title, is all about independence and identity, and India is the perfect example where one can see the identity start to form and take its shape before the independence is actually achieved. The India that we know today had to be built and merged out of hundreds of different peoples, cultures and languages. Believe it or not, the British rule of the subcontinent actually gave them the tools for their own loss, as the Indians had a common language, the press and improved means of transportation. The movement also includes failure, in that despite a new national identity was constructed, and independence achieved, it still fractured into two different nations, resulting in millions of casualties and displacements.

• 1757
  East India Company takes control of Bengal after the Battle of Plassey
• 1857
  Indian Rebellion; EIC abolished a year later; Crown Rule begins in 1858
• 1885
  Indian National Congress founded
• 1905
  Partition of Bengal; Swadeshi boycott begins
• 1919
  Amritsar Massacre; Non-Cooperation launched a year later
• 1929
  Purna Swaraj declared; Salt March happens the next year
• 1940
  Lahore Resolution demands a separate Muslim state
• 1942
  Quit India, 100,000 protesters arrested
• 1946
  INA trials; Royal Indian Navy mutiny
• 1947
  Independence and Partition; Republic declared in 1950

British rule

The East India Company took control of Bengal at the Battle of Plassey in 1757, and began to rule much of India as a private business and colony. The 1857 rebellion, coming a century later, was triggered by the rumours of cartridges being greased with beef and pork fat and spread into a major uprising by the general public. Britain crushed the uprising using force and passed the Government of India act a year later in 1858, which put India under direct crown rule. India was reshaped into a raw cotton supplier, causing India's share of world manufacturing to fall from 25% to just 2%. The British Empire also built 65,000 kilometers of railroad to connect ports and areas of manufacturing. Famines were also common, with a major one being the Bengal Famine of 1943 that killed approximately 3 million.

The birth of nationalism

The Indian National Congress was founded in 1885 by A.O. Hume, who was a retired civil servant of the British Empire, to demand greater Indian participation. Curzon's 1905 Partition of Bengal, through the use of religious boundaries, triggered the Swadeshi Movement, where locals boycotted British goods and instead bought Indian ones, with Britain being forced into reversing the Partition in 1911. Furthermore, the Muslim League was founded in 1906, mostly as a response to the Partition, showing how Indian national identity was more than one sided.

Mass movement

In World War 1, more than 1 million Indians served across the world under the British Empire, expecting self-governance after the war had ended, resulting in around 75,000 casualties. However, they were met with the Rowlatt Act of 1919, increasing detention without trial to two years. Also in 1919, General Dyer's troops fired on an unarmed crowd, killing around 1,000 according to Indian estimates, in what became to be known as the Amritsar Massacre; Non-Cooperation followed later in 1920. In 1929, Congress declared Purna Swaraj, declaring British Rule as unconstitutional and ruinous, which was publicly accepted on January 26 1930, soon followed by Gandhi's Salt March. After India was pushed into World War 2 in 1939, the Quit India movement emerged three years later in 1942; its suppression through 100,000 arrests proved that Britain was holding onto India with force.

Divided visions

The Muslim League's disastrous 1937 provincial election campaign convinced Muslims across India that they would be a minority after independence. This led to the Lahore Resolution of 1940, where the League demanded a separate Muslim State alongside the Congress-run Indian State, arguing that the Hindus and Muslims were two different nations instead of two different communities within one.

The idea of a unified India was further shaken in 1946, where Direct Action Day in Calcutta left 4,000 dead. Subhas Chandra Bose rejected the idea of non-violence, and seceded from the Congress in 1939, forming the Indian National Army in 1942 with Japanese backing. His impact was seen in November 1945, where a Hindu, Muslim and Sikh were tried together at the INA trials at the Red Fort.

Independence and Partition

Britain exited World War 2 with more than a billion pounds of debt to India, also losing the means to rule after the INA trials and the Royal Indian Navy mutiny, showing that the Raj was no longer dependable. The handover was brought forwards by Mountbatten to August 1947, which forced Cyril Radcliffe, who had never visited India, to draw the borders in five weeks. Two days after independence, his border was published. The Partition left an estimated one million dead and 15 million displaced, with the war over Kashmir following within months. In 1950, almost 3 years after independence, India was declared a republic under a constitution drafted by a committee chaired by Ambedkar.

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This is a 'discuss' question, meaning the point of the answer should not be to argue or disagree with the statement, but rather point out different factors, and argue why they were or were not the main factor in leading to the success of the Independence Movement.

The first appropriate factor is Congress being founded in 1885 by a British Civil Servant to ask for bigger participation, to eventually demanding complete independence by 1929. This marked the movement's first achievement, which was actually inventing the thing that it claimed to represent. The national identity had to be constructed first before even considering independence, making identity one of the biggest preconditions to independence, and therefore the Congress one of the biggest factors.

The second factor was the Swadeshi Movement of 1905–06 that forced Britain to reverse the Partition of Bengal in 1911. This is significant because it acted as a proof of the Indian people being able to affect the British economy directly; once India knew that economic boycotting could pressure and move the British government, the peaceful and non-violent method of protest became the norm amongst the Indian people, with Non-Cooperation and the Salt March following after.

The third and final factor was the INA Trials and the Royal Indian Navy mutiny of 1945–46, which acted as a decisive shift. The British Raj had always been commanded by Indian soldiers commanded by British generals. This marked the moment that the Indian soldiers and sailors that had long provided stability and control over the British Raj became unreliable, therefore causing Britain to lose not the argument but the means to enforce its control over India, triggering the chain reaction all the way to the independence of India in 1947.

In this speech, it is important to emphasise that the Indian Independence movement created and restored an Indian national identity instead of simply expressing it.

Evidence fit for this text type includes how the Congress was founded in 1885 by a retired civil servant, asking for greater participation; mentioning how there wasn't a complete Indian identity yet is important. Furthermore, mentioning how the British accidentally gave the Indians the tools for their independence is crucial — a shared language, railways and ports gave them the means to communicate and build a shared identity. Throughout the peaceful protests, simple items relating to daily life were made political, as a symbol of resistance, building identity: Swadeshi Movement made shopping a method of resistance, and the khadi and spinning wheel later turned into a national uniform representing shared Indian identity, which can be mentioned at the conclusion to finish the speech expressively.

The anti-Vietnam protests is one of the most significant social movements in American history, as it united and built a broad coalition fighting under one cause, to end the War, which they believed was unjustified and cruel, and bring the American soldiers home. Even with the support from the different groups of people, the movement still took around seven years to succeed, also due to the fact that the coalition of the movement had a limit, and was never able to appeal to the white working class, the 'silent majority', making the movement a rare example in history.

Another reason that this case study was chosen for this unit is because it demonstrates and separates the bipolarity of the American public at the time, and how opinion turned against both the War and the protestors simultaneously, showing how a movement and/or social protest can lose their audience and achieve their goal at the same time.

• 1960
  Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) is established; Port Huron Statement published two years later in 1962
• 1965
  First teach-in at the University of Michigan; later spread to more than 100 campuses
• 1967
  Martin Luther King's 'Beyond Vietnam' speech; Ali refuses the draft; March on the Pentagon
• 1968
  Tet Offensive destroys public support; police violence at Chicago Democratic Convention
• 1969
  Moratorium to End the War; Nixon gives his 'silent majority' speech
• 1970
  Kent State Shooting; followed by strikes
• 1971
  Pentagon Papers published; 26th Amendment ratified
• 1973
  Paris Peace Accords; draft ends

Why opposition grew

Between 1964 and 1973, over 2 million men were conscripted for the War. Before the Pentagon changed the assignment policy, due to pressure from college students, over 20% of the casualties were black, despite being 11% of the population. The Vietnam War was the first televised war, with televised drafts, an example being the December 1969 draft, making them seemingly unavoidable. The credibility gap widened with each new event, including the Gulf of Tonkin Incident of 1964 and the Tet Offensive of 1968; the Pentagon Papers from 1971 confirmed that the US Government had knowingly misled the public.

The students

The SDS was founded in 1960, with the 1962 Port Huron Statement calling for 'participatory democracy'. Their membership exploded as the War went on, from 2,500 in 1965 to 100,000 by 1969. The first university teach-in took place in the University of Michigan, in 1965, which spread to over 100 campuses within just weeks. Draft resistance also grew common as one of the strongest acts of defiance, and over 200,000 men were accused of offences related to drafting. Although it was relatively easy to ignore student movements as the government, the coalition that the movement established made it not so simple.

The coalition

MLK Jr. gave his famous 'Beyond Vietnam' speech in April 1967, referring to the US Government as the greatest force of violence in the world, also arguing that poor black men were sent to die by the government that refused to grant them the freedoms they wanted at home; he was assassinated exactly a year later. Also in April 1967, Muhammad Ali refused to be drafted into the War, saying 'I ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong', which cost him his heavyweight title and five years in prison; his message reached Muslim, black and working-class Americans, making the issue of the Vietnam War not about fighting but rather civil rights and freedom. This message was supported by the music of the era, with Bob Dylan's 'Blowin' in the Wind' in 1962 and CCR's 'Fortunate Son' in 1969 attacking the US Government and the war draft. Vietnam veterans themselves joined the protests in 1971, which was much harder for the US Government to ignore.

Mass protest

In 1967, over 100,000 protestors assembled at the Lincoln memorial, with tens of thousands marching on the Pentagon, marking the shift into civil disobedience from peaceful demonstrations. A year later in 1968, police attacked demonstrators at the Chicago Democratic Convention, helping elect Nixon later as the Democrats were split. In 1969, the Moratorium to End the War drew over 2 million protestors nationwide, making it the largest organised anti-war protest in US history, with Nixon's 'silent majority' speech coming later on in the year, causing his approval rates to rise. In May 1970, in the Kent State protests against the attack on Cambodia, 4 unarmed protestors were killed, with 9 injured, resulting in over 4 million students across the country to strike and protest.

Outcomes

As a result of the protests, Lyndon B. Johnson did not run for re-election in 1968, with Nixon initiating the process of Vietnamisation in 1969. In 1971, under the 26th Amendment, the voting age was lowered to 18 under the 'old enough to fight, old enough to vote' campaign; the US officially pulled out their troops in 1973 after the Paris Peace Accords were signed.

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The evidence for this claim is quite strong. Firstly, King's 'Beyond Vietnam' speech and Ali's refusal to be drafted in 1967 both brought what peaceful demonstrations and student protests could not to the movement; they mixed the issues of civil rights, discrimination against Muslims and exploitation of the poor, framing the struggle against the War as one for equality, representation and morality rather than a military effort. Secondly, the Moratorium to End the War in 1969 drew over 2 million protestors nationwide, showing how when different groups are included through civil rights and athletic representation, the movement reached its peak, and eventually led to the decline in war support in the US, showing how the movement got more effective as different groups in society showed their support for it.

However, there is also evidence against the claim. Firstly, Nixon's 'silent majority' speech led to an increase in his approval rates drastically, which showed how despite gaining the support of different groups, the coalition never transferred into electoral power. Furthermore, it also shows that support turned against protestors and the War at the same time, demonstrating how despite pressuring the Government and the public closer to the end of the War, public pressure and electoral power are two different things, and gaining support from different groups doesn't always make them more popular electorally, which was seen in the 1972 election, where Nixon won 49 states out of 50.

It is important to consider that this is a newspaper article, and not a speech, therefore setting the appropriate register and using headlines and third party opinions in your writing is crucial for Criterion C.

It is important to support the newspaper article with strong evidence, and mention the system in place at the time: over 2 million men were drafted between 1964–73, with black Americans amounting for around a quarter of the casualties despite being only 11% of the population; it is crucial to frame and link this statistic back to the protests, as that is what the question is asking. Also mention the expansion of the SDS from 2,500 to 100,000, and the spreading of the university teach-ins to over 100 campuses from the University of Michigan in 1965. Another important event is the Kent State Shooting in response to the attack on Cambodia, and how it led to outrage in over 400 campuses, with 4 million students demonstrating in total.

However, in a newspaper article, it is important to make an argument for both sides, similar to an essay, so it would be beneficial to mention the 'silent majority', the middle-class white men that supported the war effort, and Nixon's 1969 speech and 1972 election campaign, including quotes and opinions to make the article complete.

The Industrial Revolution in Britain is best fit for this topic, as it is the original case of industrialisation, with every other country's industrialisation coming in some form of a reaction or response to it, therefore the factors of industrialisation identified here are the very factors that other countries tried so desperately to replicate.

Furthermore, this is the only example where the three components of the unit can be seen clearly: the process of industrialisation, industry in the form of the economic structure and labor as a response to the change in said structure.

• 1750
  First wave of the industrial revolution begins; lasts until 1840
• 1764
  Spinning jenny invented to spin cloth; spinning mule invented 15 years later
• 1769
  Watt patents the first steam engine; Boulton & Watt formed in 1775
• 1811
  Luddite machine breaking begins; Peterloo Massacre 8 years later in 1819
• 1830
  Liverpool–Manchester railway opens
• 1833
  Factory Act; Mines Act 9 years later in 1842
• 1838
  Chartism begins; 1842 petition carries more than 3 million signatures
• 1842
  Chadwick's sanitary report is published; Public Health Act in 1848
• ~1850
  Britain produced half the world's iron and cloth
• 1856
  Bessemer process patented
• 1875
  Bazalgette finishes London's sewers after Great Stink of 1858

Why Britain industrialised first

There were many reasons as to why Britain was the first nation to industrialise. Firstly, coal and iron ore was abundant in the British Isles, with many coal and iron fields being located close to major cities and towns. Furthermore, Britain had access to capital from the Atlantic Slave Trade, and resources such as raw cotton from various other sources. Combined with the laissez-faire government, and the navigable rivers and canals found across the country, Britain became the start of the Industrial Revolution.

Technology

There were many new inventions during this time period, the first notable one being the Spinning Jenny in 1764, followed by the Spinning Mule in 1779 and the Power Loom in 1785, making processing cotton much easier and speeding the process up massively; Arkwright's Cromford Mill became the first modern factory. Watt patented the first steam engine in 1769, and formed a partnership with Boulton in 1775; by 1800, there were an estimated number of 500 steam engines across the country. The first major railway opened in 1830, connecting the cities of Manchester and Liverpool, with 10,000 kilometers of railway being built by 1850. The Bessemer process of 1856 cut the cost of processing steel by 80%, increasing steel output massively. By around 1850, Britain was already producing about half the world's iron and cloth thanks to the development of technology and factories.

Labour

The conditions in factories were very unsafe, with up to 16-hour workdays for up to 6 days a week, with children as young as 5 working and scavenging. In mines, women and children were often the ones transporting coal, causing many children to be in dark environments for up to 12 hours a day. Under the Factory Act of 1833, under nines were banned from working in factories, with the work days of 9–13 year olds being capped at 9 hours. The Mines Act of 1842 followed, banning women and under tens from working underground. Due to these poor conditions, resistance was also present, with the Luddite machine breaking campaign of 1811–16, and the Peterloo Massacre as a response to protestors in 1819. Chartism took place between 1838–48, with an 1842 signature gaining more than 3 million signatures, causing many of their demands to be met.

Cities

Britain became the first country with more than half its population living in urban areas, with Manchester growing from 75,000 to 300,000 from 1801 to 1851 respectively, with London already being past 1 million by the turn of the 19th century. A new working class emerged from the urban middle class. Many cholera epidemics were also present in big cities in from 1830 to as late as 1866, with Chadwick's Sanitary Report of 1842 finding out that the average lifespan of a labourer in Manchester was just 17, leading Britain to abandon its Laissez-faire approach on health through the Public Health Act of 1848.

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This is a discuss question, meaning the aim is to weigh different factors using evidence and analysis instead of evaluating a certain claim.

The first appropriate factor is the abundant coal and iron fields found in Britain, and the access to capital from the slave trade. This is the biggest factor relating back to how Britain was the first to industrialise instead of a European rival, as Britain had access to vast trade networks abroad and their own fuel at home, with the Empire supplying both the funds and investment and the conditions and environments that could not be found elsewhere.

The second appropriate factor that led to industrialisation is Watt's steam engine of 1769, and the major textile inventions between 1764–1785 (Spinning jenny, Spinning mule, Power loom). This is an example of how technology is credited for much higher than its actual contribution, as patents, capital and fuel being needed to build and run them. Despite being important in the switch to the industrial economy and the emergence of factories, these inventions provided the mechanism and tool for the process instead of being its direct cause, making it less relevant compared to the other factors.

Another overlooked factor is the fact that Britain had a Laissez-faire government, and had not been invaded by an external power since 1066. This not only led to private capital being unregulated and uncontrolled, but also provided the stability needed for the country to develop and switch to the industrial economy, accelerating economic growth and industrialisation as the right conditions and space was provided by the place of the movement.

This is a commentary, and therefore it is wise to approach it as an opinion piece, and include persuasive arguments and techniques to elevate your point. A clear position for or against industrialisation is needed; just from the format of the question many will find it easy to lean anti-industrialisation, as the evidence for it is easy to use persuasively and emotionally, making your text type stronger.

That being said, there are some positive aspects that need to be mentioned. Firstly, industrialisation helped Britain's economy and economic growth massively, with around half the world's iron and cloth being produced by just a margin of its population. Steel costs were also cut under the Bessemer Process of 1856 by up to 80%, and 10,000 kilometers of railway was built by 1850, connecting major cities like Manchester and Liverpool.

The negative aspects are also very significant, however. The population of Manchester exploded from 75,000 to 300,000 in just 50 years, leading life expectancy in the city to decrease massively, with it being reported as low as 17 by Chadwick's Sanitary Report in 1842. The cholera outbreaks of the 19th century can also be linked to industrialisation, so far as so that the Government had to abandon its Laissez-faire approach on health through the 1848 Public Health Act, and sewers had to be built in London after the Great Stink of 1858. Mentioning the unsafe conditions and children working in the factories and mines is also very important to create emotional effect in the reader, making your text type strong and appropriate for the prompt.

These two case studies are perfectly fit for the unit, as they explore capital, the flow of goods and ideas, with the two case studies covering the two ends of globalisation, with the Slave Trade acting as a brutal and cruel example, where the goods were people against their will, and the First Wave as the 'globalisation' that most people will think of today.

The factor that makes these two case studies even more relevant is the fact that they are no completely separate topics, and are interlinked, with profits coming from the Triangular Trade funding the railways, factories and capital for the industrialisation of Britain, therefore allowing for the production of goods and services that made the First Wave possible in the first place, demonstrating the clear link between the two, also showing how the system that made the First World countries of today the richest while starving and systematically exploiting the Third World as we know it today.

• 1600
  East India Company founded; Britain enters global trade
• ~1660
  Triangular Trade first established between Britain, West Africa and the Americas
• 1757
  Battle of Plassey; Britain gains control of Bengal
• 1807
  Slave Trade Act passed; slavery abolished in 1833
• 1839
  Beginning of the First Opium War; Treaty of Nanking signed three years later in 1842
• 1866
  First permanent transatlantic cable
• 1869
  Opening of the Suez Canal, cutting the Bombay–London route
• 1870
  First Wave of Globalisation begins, lasting until 1914
• 1876
  Indian Famine begins; grain and food continues to be exported while people are starving
• 1903
  Residence Law passed by Argentine, allowing for the deportation of immigrants

The Atlantic Slave Trade

The Atlantic Slave Trade, as we know it today, included three different legs, with manufactured goods running from Britain to West Africa, which were then exchanged for enslaved people, and transported to the Americas, where they were exchanged for sugar, tobacco and cotton, which were returned back to Britain. Between the 16th and the 19th centuries, more than 12 million Africans were transported, with a rate of casualty of around 15%, with Liverpool handling almost 40% of the Slave Trade alone by the late 18th century, funding British industry. Accounts of the crossings differ almost completely, with Equiano, a former slave, recalling people drowning themselves to avoid the harsh conditions, whereas a ship captain mentioned that there were ventilated rooms and daily washings.

The Trade was abolished in 1807 and slavery itself in 1833, with the Royal Navy policing the Atlantic from 1808 onwards. After the abolishment of 1833, over 40% of the national budget was paid out in compensation to slave owners; the loan to do so was only paid out by British taxpayers in 2015. Slavery was practically replaced by transporting over a million Indians into other colonies, effectively preserving the practice.

The First Wave

After steamships began replacing sail, the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, and the first transatlantic cable of 1866, shortening the time it took to deliver messages drastically, the first wave of Globalisation began in 1870. World trade grew at an average of 3% per year between 1870–1914, due to falling transport costs and reductions in tariffs. Mass migrations took place between Europe and the Americas and Australia, with 60 million Europeans migrating to the latter. One of the biggest reasons that the First Wave began, however, was the fact that information could now travel faster than goods for the first time ever, making global markets and trade possible and more efficient.

Winners and losers

There were many winners and losers of the First Wave and the Slave Trade, with former-colony nations such as Australia, New Zealand and the US becoming some of the richest nations in the world through the export of commodities and the receiving of migrants and capitals. On the opposite side, India's share in world trade and manufacturing fell to around 2%, as it was transformed into a raw material supplier by the British Empire, with multiple famines resulting in millions of casualties. Britain fought two wars against the Chinese and Hong Kong, forcing the Chinese market to open to external trade, ending with the Treaty of Nanking of 1842 and the acquisition of Hong Kong.

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This question and the statement specifies societies, therefore separating the societies that benefited and those that did not is important, instead of simply treating the idea of globalisation as a whole.

Evidence supporting this claim is abundant. World trade grew by around 3% every year thanks to the Suez Canal, shortening shipping routes, and the first transatlantic cable of 1866, showing how without a historical precedent, the flow of trade increased constantly, which not only benefited the governments and elites of a country, but also made goods cheaper and more affordable for merchants and consumers, benefiting society. Another piece of evidence that supports this is the fact that it allowed people to find new opportunities abroad and escape from poverty. 60 million people migrated into the Americas and Australia, showing how capital and trade moved together with labour, offering a new opportunity to them instead of poverty, while also benefiting the local industry and economy.

Evidence against this is also strong, however. Over 12 million Africans were transported from the 16th to the 19th centuries, with around 15% of them not being able to complete the journey due to alleged terrible conditions. This shows how early globalisation was not just simply the flow of information and goods, but rather extraction and exploitation of one society to form and fund others, showing how globalisation wasn't always beneficial to societies. Another example is India, where its share of world manufacturing fell to around 2% from 25%, with famine killing millions despite exports still continuing. This is one of the strongest and most effective pieces of evidence against the claim, as despite India's trade rose, its people and manufacturers got poorer and unable to afford basic necessities, showing how the flow of capital, goods and ideas is not always beneficial to certain societies.

As this is a script, it should be meant to be read aloud to an audience. Therefore, one should be comfortable to read this aloud, with direct address to the audience, and it should be clearly signposted for both sides, as that is what the prompt demands.

For the positive impact of globalisation, make sure to include the Suez Canal cutting the London–Bombay route by 40%, and the first transatlantic cable of 1866, mentioning how it was beneficial for society through the movement of information before trade, and its effect in the global economy, also mentioning the migration into Australia and America and how it provided a second opportunity to migrants, framing it as a positive effect.

However, remember to contrast the positives with the negatives. Creating emotional impact on how over 12 million Africans were unwillingly transported out of their homes, with 15% dying on the way, is one of the best ways to keep the format of a script while also using emotive language. Further supporting this with the case of India, with the multiple famines and the share of world manufacturing falling to 2%, having a serious and detrimental impact on the local people, industry and economy, ensures that your text type is balanced while keeping the form of a script that can be presented.

The two chosen case studies are two great examples of how a pioneer's significance has been affected by their environment, time and place, as stated in the Statement of Inquiry. Cook is one of the strongest cases of the time period shaping a pioneer/developer, as his famous voyage only existed due to the Royal Society's wish to observe the transit of Venus before the French. Pasteur is a counter-example, where his work, such as the Germ Theory, went deeply against the common beliefs of miasma at the time, showing how his work challenged scientific ideas at the time instead of simply expressing them.

Furthermore, the two chosen case studies, particularly Cook, provide both positive and negative impacts of pioneers and developers, with his extremely successful maritime achievements on one side, such as accurate charts and the prevention of scurvy, being met with damage to indigenous communities on the other.

• 1768
  Endeavour sets sail to observe the transit of Venus, with secret orders to find the Southern Continent (Australia)
• 1770
  Cook charts New Zealand and Australia's east coast for the first time, naming it 'New South Wales'
• 1773
  First recorded crossing of the Antarctic Circle, navigating using Kendall's K1 chronometer
• 1779
  Cook killed in a clash with the indigenous in Hawai'i
• 1788
  First Fleet lands at Botany Bay; followed by smallpox epidemic in 1789
• 1861
  Pasteur publishes his Germ Theory
• 1864
  Pasteurisation first developed; used in the wine industry
• 1865
  First antiseptic surgery introduced by Lister using Pasteur's Germ Theory
• 1881
  Anthrax vaccine publicly demonstrated
• 1885
  Pasteur treats a boy named Joseph Meister for rabies; Pasteur Institute founded 3 years later

Captain Cook

Cook was born in Yorkshire in 1728, later learning navigation on coalships, and joining the Royal Navy in 1755 as a sailor. He made himself famous and rose through the ranks through charting and surveying, famously mapping Newfoundland between 1763–67. The Royal Society commissioned the first voyage to the transit of Venus from Tahiti in 1769, allowing for the distance between the Earth and the Sun to be calculated, with sealed orders from higher up also being given to the voyage, instructing them to find Terra Australis (Australia) before their rivals, the French, did, making the voyage a collaboration of science and imperial efforts.

Cook was able to chart close to 4,000 kilometers of New Zealand's coastline by 1770, reaching Australia's then unseen east coast later on in the year. Over 30,000 species of plants were collected by Joseph Banks during the voyage, with over 1,000 of them being new to Europeans. On his second voyage, he crossed the Antarctic Circle in 1773, disproving the 'southern continent' using Kendall's K1 chronometer to solve the long-present longitude problem while voyaging. On his first voyage, Cook lost none of his men to scurvy, using strict hygienic protocols and foods rich in Vitamin C, such as sauerkraut and other fresh provisions.

However, Cook's voyages also had a negative impact, particularly to the indigenous. He labelled Australia as terra nullius, suggesting it belonged to no-one, despite the Aboriginals living there for tens of thousands of years prior to Europeans' arrival. Furthermore, the First Fleet founded a penal colony at Sydney Cove in 1788 after his death, with the smallpox epidemic of 1789 leading to population collapse among the Aboriginals and other native populations around Hawai'i and New Zealand.

Louis Pasteur

Pasteur, born 1822, was a French chemist who, in 1856, discovered that fermentation was caused by living microorganisms, which had never been previously observed, rather than a chemical reaction, which previously was the accepted reason, with his swan-neck flask experiments between 1859–61 disproving spontaneous generation, the widespread idea that living organisms could spontaneously generate from non-living matter. Contrasting the miasma theory, he argued that it was microorganisms that caused decay and disease, and pioneered the process of pasteurisation in 1864, which involved heating up liquids to temperatures over 50 degrees Celsius, which helped the beer and wine industry in France massively; he later helped save the silk and textile industry through identifying the Pébrine Parasite between 1865–70.

Pasteur found out by accident in 1879 that weakened chicken cholera samples provided immunity, which established attenuation as the basis of modern vaccines. In 1881, he vaccinated 25 sheep with the anthrax vaccine and left 25 unvaccinated; when the sheep were all exposed to the virus the vaccinated sheep survived while almost all the unvaccinated sheep died. His 1885 treatment and vaccination of Joseph Meister for rabies was the first recorded treatment to succeed, with Lister taking inspiration from his Germ Theory to develop antiseptic vaccines, which were adopted from 1865 onwards. However, many of his live trials were later dubbed unethical, and it was found out that in his 1881 anthrax trial, he misrepresented his results through the use of one of his rival's attenuation methods.

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This is a discuss question, therefore it is important to weigh the separate factors using analysis and evidence rather than evaluating the claim.

The first relevant piece of evidence is the fact that Cook's First Voyage only sailed because the Royal Society wanted to navigate the transit of Venus, and the Royal Navy wanted to find Terra Australis before France. This shows that if the time period was ignored, there wouldn't be a voyage at all, due to the lack of funding and reason, showing how the time period and the Enlightenment supplied the question and the reason, while the Royal Navy supplied his ships and funding, therefore rendering and attributing Cook's achievements to the time period.

A relevant piece of counter-evidence against the claim, however, comes from Pasteur, and his Germ Theory published in 1861, contrasting and defying completely the widely accepted theory of miasma at the time. This suggests and demonstrates how an innovator can define and express himself against the time period and common beliefs, with Pasteur's significance coming from how he challenged medical and scientific ideas at the time rather than simply developing on them, linking back to the statement.

Similar to Unit 7, this is a script, and therefore is meant to be spoken aloud and presented to an audience, therefore it is vital to format and structure it like so, while giving the three separate parts of the prompt, time, place and space, their own sections.

For time, make sure to mention the years 1768–69, which sat at a precise intersection, as the Royal Society wanted to navigate the transit of Venus and the longitude problem had been solved by the new invention of the advanced chronometer, providing the specific conditions required for Cook to set sail.

As for place, Cook's home country, Britain's colonial and naval rivalry with France had just begun to take place, with tension beginning to rise, with the Pacific being largely unexplored by European powers. Combining this with Cook's past experience with shallow coal ships provides the perfect environment and conditions for his voyage.

Lastly, for the space, the ships that Cook sailed in for numerous years, acted as a confined environment that pushed Cook to develop his navigational skills and face life or death problems head on, which accelerated his innovations, such as the limiting of scurvy amongst his crew through hygiene and food, while also pushing him to improve his navigation and mapping as he went on, pushing him further and accelerating his developments and discoveries.

This unit includes two main components: intellectual movements and ideological movements, and the two case studies cover both, with Humanism being the intellectual and Communism being the ideological movement, giving two distinct examples rather than a single blurred one; the distinction between the two is very significant, with an intellectual movement changing how people think and live, and what they ask, whereas an ideological movement provides a plan for government and societal action.

Despite the differences in their nature, they have one big similarity, being that they were both spread by writing rather than fighting or by force, with Gutenberg's printing press transforming humanism into a widespread idea, and mass printing of the 19th century making communism relevant in society, yet despite this similarity, the fate and trajectory of the two are immensely different; humanism grew at a rapid rate over many centuries to the point where we don't even notice it in society today, whereas communism overthrew and established many governments quickly, yet almost losing it all in the span of just less than a century.

• 1345
  Cicero's writings rediscovered by Petrarch, launching hunt for classical manuscripts
• ~1440
  Gutenberg invents the first printing press; 20 million books printed by the turn of the century
• 1453
  Greek scholars forced to migrate into Italy after fall of Constantinople
• 1511
  Erasmus publishes In Praise of Folly; Luther's 95 Theses come 6 years later in 1517
• 1543
  Vesalius and Copernicus publish in the same year
• 1848
  Communist Manifesto published
• 1867
  Das Kapital published; based on Manchester factory conditions
• 1917
  The October Revolution ends nearly 3 centuries of Romanov rule over Russia
• 1928
  Stalin's Five Year Plan begins; millions killed by famines
• 1985
  A third of the world's population under communist rule; USSR dissolves in 1991

Humanism

An intellectual movement is a revolution in the shared way of thinking possessed in society, reshaping how the world around it is perceived and understood and changing the manner of thinking and questioning of the common people rather than the government. Humanism began in the 14th century, in the early Renaissance, in Italian city states, shifting attention away from theology and into human achievements, classical texts and literature and a more individualistic life, under the slogan ad fontes. Petrarch is often credited as the father of humanism, as he was the first to discover Cicero's writings in 1345 and made significant innovations in history, poetry and literature. Florence was the centre of Renaissance humanism, funded by the Medici family, and boosted by a wave of Greek scholars migrating from Constantinople in 1453 after its conquest.

Gutenberg's invention of the printing press around 1440 completely transformed European literature, and made the transmission of ideas much easier and faster, with around 20 million books being printed by the turn of the century in 1500. Artists started to focus more on human anatomy and science, with prominent artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo emerging in the 15–16th centuries. Vesalius' De Humani Corporis Fabrica in 1543 corrected 200 of Galen's errors through the dissection of the human body, further explored in Unit 10, Health and Medicine.

When applied to the Catholic Church, the Humanist method of ad fontes, going back to the original sources, was dangerous, as it led to corruption and mistakes being exposed in the Catholic dogma and clergy. Erasmus famously mocked the corruption inside the Church in 1511 in In Praise of Folly, eventually leading Luther to apply the same logic to his 95 Theses of 1517, which were spread rapidly through Europe and ended up dividing the Catholic Church, demonstrating how effective intellectual movements can really be.

Communism

An ideology is a set of beliefs and actions about how a government and society should be organised and governed, focusing more on actions rather than a way of thinking. In their works, Marx and Engels argued that history was based largely on class struggle, eventually predicting a proletariat revolution that would overthrow the bourgeoisie, also advocating for collective ownership of land and the means of production. Engels worked in his father's factory in Manchester, creating works about the Working Class, whereas Marx wrote Das Kapital in the British Museum based on Manchester's factory reports, with the Communist Manifesto being written in 1848.

When Bolsheviks led the October Revolution of 1917 in Russia, and seized power after the Tsar abdicated, the first communist state was established in 1922 after the Russian Civil War resolved; Stalin's Five Year Plan of 1928–33, which forced collectivisation, industrialised the USSR and caused literacy rates to rise to 90% in a short amount of time, however the cost was also catastrophic, as 5 to 7 million people were killed including famines and the Ukrainian Holodomor (1932–33), with Mao Zedong's Communist Revolution in China also leading to between 15–45 million casualties through the Great Leap Forward (1958–62). By 1985, roughly a third of the world's population was living under communism, which declined rapidly shortly after with the dissolution of the USSR 6 years later in 1991.

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The evidence supporting the claim is very strong. Firstly, Erasmus' works of 1511 and Luther's 95 Theses of 1517 split the Catholic Church permanently. This shows that the Church, an institution that had stood strong for around 1,500 years, was split by ideas and change and criticism in the way of thinking instead of an army, reflecting on how despite the temporary power that an army possesses, real change lies in ideas and a change in the way of thinking, which allowed Protestantism to survive 5 centuries to this day. A second piece of evidence supporting this is the fact that by 1985, almost a third of the World's population lived under communism. This shows how, despite Marx never holding office or a position of power, and never commanding troops, the ideas in his book, which was written from the British Museum, transcended the influence that physical force brings, making it one of the strongest pieces of evidence supporting the statement.

However, there is also considerable evidence against the statement. The strongest piece of evidence supporting this is the October Revolution of 1917 and the subsequent Russian Civil War, and the Ukrainian Holodomor of 1932–33 and Mao's Great Leap Forward of 1958–62, killing between 5–7 million and 15–45 million respectively. This shows how despite the ideology providing the framework and the set of ideas to run society and the government, it was armies and violence that delivered it around the world and put it into effect, which undermines significantly the separation between violence and the movement itself, and suggests that changes in ideas and frameworks are often delivered and put into action by armies and physical force.

Since this question is very loose, and does not require any specific events/movements from history, it is important that you establish context through your writing to make it clear to the examiner which movement you are referring to. A scenario fit for this prompt would be to speak in front of a crowd of German townspeople in around 1520 in favour of humanist Reformers.

Make sure to weave the background of the movement through your persuasive writing, such as Erasmus' In Praise of Folly of 1511 and Luther's 95 Theses of 1517. Make sure to include the background of humanism as well, by possibly mentioning significant individuals such as Petrarch, Vesalius or da Vinci. Mention the printing press through the affordability of books, and potentially use the statistic of 20 million books printed by the turn of the century in 1500, and urge the townspeople to read scripture and literature themselves instead of being manipulated and commanded by the corrupt Church. Most importantly, acknowledging that there will be change, and that the Church will most likely split, would make the speech more persuasive and emotional, although make sure to mention that this is a risk that you are willing to take for a better and fairer society.

This unit requires you to be able to answer questions like whether scientific developments have always brought change, and therefore, to answer the question in depth and properly, one would need centuries of knowledge to show how the impact of medicine transformed, which is exactly what this case study provides. The Four Humours Theory was an excellent example of this, as it was widely accepted as the new magnum opus of medicine when it was first developed, yet ended up killing people for as long as two millennia due to wrong treatments.

Despite seeming overwhelming at first, the length of the case study is an advantage rather than a problem, as it allows you to not only describe or identify a point in time relevant to an event, but also to explain the lengthy history and context behind it, which is what will get you high marks.

• ~400 BC
  Hippocrates argues that disease has natural causes; develops the Theory of Four Humours
• ~170 AD
  Galen starts dissecting animals in Rome; his work remains the medical standard for more than a millennia
• ~900
  Smallpox distinguished from measles by Al-Razi; Ibn-Sina's Canon of Medicine written a century later in 1025
• 1347
  Black Death begins and kills up to half of Europe's population
• 1377
  First quarantine for arriving ships introduced in Ragusa
• 1537
  Paré comes up with a healing ointment while on the battlefield, replacing cauterisation
• 1543
  Vesalius publishes De Humani Corporis Fabrica, correcting over 200 errors of Galen
• 1628
  Harvey first describes the circulation of blood around the body

The ancients

Hippocrates, born in around 460 BC, is argued to be the father of modern medicine for arguing that disease had natural causes, making medicine observable and systematically treatable for the first time in history. His Four Humours Theory argued that sickness in the human body came from the imbalance of four different bodily fluids, being blood, phlegm, black bile and yellow bile, revolutionising medicine at the time despite the theory being incorrect. Galen came around 500 years later, born in 129 AD, and wrote hundreds of books and manuscripts extending Hippocrates' works, also developing the Theory of Opposites, which was the treatment focused on restoring balance to the Four Humours, which included treatments such as purging and bloodletting. Galen also made many incorrect observations, as dissection of the human body was banned at the time, forcing him to dissect pigs and apes instead.

Islamic medicine

As for Islamic Medicine, Baghdad's House of Wisdom helped to preserve classical works from the Greeks and therefore allowed them to survive. Al-Razi was notably the first person to distinguish smallpox from measles at around 900 AD, with Ibn-Sina's Canon of Medicine being written in 1025, which was used as a framework to European medicine for centuries.

Medieval Europe

In the Medieval Times, the Catholic Church controlled learning and medical treatment, therefore causing medicine to be text-based rather than experimentation and field-based, slowing medical progress significantly. Hospitals were often run by monasteries, functioning more as places of residence and hospice, offering food and warmth rather than scientific treatment. Physicians were practically unaffordable for the general public, therefore many people relied on barber surgeons for processes such as bloodletting and purging, apothecaries for herbal remedies and wise women for childbirth.

The Black Death

The Bubonic Plague (Black Death) reached Europe in 1347, and killed an estimated 30–50% of the population by 1351. It helped restructure the European economy, as labour became scarce, with peasants being able to demand higher wages. Explanations for the plague often included miasma, bad air, and divine punishment, with some targeted communities even being massacred for allegedly causing the disease; treatments included burning herbs to avoid miasma, self-flagellation and increased personal and mass hygiene.

The Renaissance — and what didn't change

The Renaissance acted as a breakthrough for the medicine that we know and recognise today. Andreas Vesalius published De Humani Corporis Fabrica in 1543, using human dissections rather than pigs or apes, therefore allowing him to correct over 200 of Galen's errors, including the single boned jaw. William Harvey published his findings about the circulatory system in 1628, proving that blood circulated in the body around a closed system, pumped by the heart, rather than the liver constantly producing it. Paré, a French war surgeon, ran out of oil in 1537, and improvised a healing ointment for battle wounds, made out of egg yolks, rose oil and turpentine, therefore causing the soldiers to recover better. He also re-introduced ligatures for amputations later on. Yet, despite these advancements, treatments themselves did not change much until much later, with George Washington practically being bled to death by his own doctors in 1799 through bloodletting, showing how understanding didn't necessarily change the approach to medicine.

Interactive deck — tap a card to flip it; on a keyboard, use the arrow keys and space.

Similar to Unit 1, this is an absolute question, therefore instead of a yes or no answer, a partial argument will always be the strongest.

Evidence supporting the claim is abundant. Firstly, Hippocrates argued that disease was caused by natural causes in around 450 BC. This was the foundational innovation of modern medicine, as it transformed medicine from divine punishment to a treatable matter that could be investigated, which influenced and acted as a scaffold to every later advance mentioned, showing an example of how scientific innovation has brought positive change. A second example is how Paré replaced cauterisation with an ointment in 1537, also introducing ligatures for amputation. This is also one of the strongest pieces of evidence for this claim, as the improvement improved the war conditions of the soldiers drastically and immediately, as patients stop dying because of the treatment, making the innovation actually significant in the survival rate rather than just ideas.

However, there is also evidence against the claim. The biggest and strongest example is how the Theory of Four Humours dominated medicine in Europe for more than two millennia, and therefore causing harmful procedures such as bloodletting and purging being used as treatments. Combined with Galen's errors later on, showing how scientific innovations are not always correct, and can bring about harm due to their unquestioned authority.

The format of this text type is different, as it asks the student to explain rather than simply create a speech or an article, therefore the register and format of the text type should be informational, as if you are answering a question.

Using the example of Vesalius and his De Humani Corporis Fabrica of 1543: time had a significant impact on the innovation, as it was during the time of ad fontes, returning to the sources (further mentioned in Unit 9), therefore allowing Vesalius to challenge Galen's work and previously accepted medical theories. As for place, Vesalius was working in a university that permitted medical dissections, also being located close to a printing station. If he had been located in a different city, then none of his work would have been possible, as his dissections would not have been permitted, emphasising the importance of place on an innovation. Lastly, in the case of space, Vesalius was located in a university hall with students that were willingly open to challenging previous medical ideas, therefore supporting his works and correcting errors, while also helping him with dissections, once more demonstrating the massive impact that time, place and space can have on the development of a scientific innovation.

This unit, in particular, demands how external factors such as innovations changed various aspects of daily life; Industrial Britain provides excellent examples on how significant inventions, innovations and changes in industry have affected the latter. Furthermore, possibly the largest change to individual life comes during this period, with factory and labour changing where you belonged and lived, leading to the emergence of a working class.

As for the standards of living, the case study provides relevant and genuine evidence linking back to how standards of living have changed over time due to developments in society, with it also being supported by Unit 6, therefore helping you explain not only the changes to daily and individual life but also the circumstances and causes behind them.

• ~1750
  Families work in the cottage industry, and support themselves through their work
• 1771
  Work is separated from home for the first time through the Cromford Mill
• ~1830
  Cellar dwellings start; 40,000 start living in Liverpool cellars
• 1833
  Factory Act starts removing children from the workplace; followed by the Mines Act of 1842
• 1842
  Poor living conditions of industrial areas exposed in Chadwick's Sanitary Report
• 1844
  Co-operative movement founded by the Rochdale Pioneers
• 1847
  Ten Hours Act; Saturday's half day starts from the 1850s
• 1870
  Education Acts make schooling compulsory; made free in 1891
• 1871
  Bank Holidays Act creates paid days off
• 1875
  Public Health Act and Sale of Food and Drugs Act start to regulate food and housing sales

From cottage to factory

Before the start of industrialisation, most families worked under the cottage economy as a household, working around environmental conditions and daylight and earning through their sales. This was changed by the Cromford Mill in 1771, where work moved into a building not owned by the workers, with families earning a wage and working with a schedule for one of the first times. However, families often needed multiple wages to survive, which came from the father, who was working, and the mother and children's chores such as sewing; women's income legally belonged to their husbands until 1882, and domestic service was the biggest female occupation by the late 19th century.

The home

Due to a lack of space, most families had to live in a single room in back-to-back terraces that shared walls, therefore only having a single window and 1 toilet for the family to share. By the 1840s, around 40,000 people were living in Liverpool cellars, which often ended up flowing with sewage, with back to backs being banned in most cities in 1875 under the Public Health Act. Water was sourced from a shared pipe, which was on for around 1 hour every day, therefore requiring every drop to be collected and stored, which was one of the biggest reasons women handled housework. Cheap lighting and gas, which only reached working-class homes in the late 19th century, allowed the evening to be transformed into time for reading, chores and family time.

Childhood

Children became contributors to the family and local economy by as young as 5 years old, often working as scavengers and trappers in factories and mines. Under 9s were banned from factories and mines under the Factories Act of 1833 and Mines Act of 1842 respectively; during the 19th century, an estimate of 1 in 7 children died before their first birthday. Compulsory school attendance until the age of 10 was made official in 1880, with free schooling being accessible from 1891, which transformed children from a source of income into being a cost and burden themselves, leading to declining birth rates.

Food and leisure

As for food, many families relied on bread, potatoes and tea, with meat and most animal products being a luxury until the wage rises beginning in 1850. As cool storage wasn't available, families were forced to buy their necessities daily, which depended on the shop. Dangerous chemicals were often present in food, such as alum in bread and lead in mustard, which was restricted through the Sale of Food and Drugs Act of 1875. Individual leisure was rebuilt gradually through the Ten Hours Act of 1847, the Saturday half day and the Bank Holidays Act of 1871 after being practically destroyed through the switch from the cottage economy into industry.

The standard of living debate

Many positive and negative changes to life in Industrial Britain are argued today by historians, including the doubling of wages between 1850 and 1900, cheaper clothing, schools and a bigger variety of food, which is contrasted by overcrowding, frequent outbreaks of cholera, and Chadwick's Sanitary Report of 1842, which found that the average lifespan in Manchester was just 17. However, one of the biggest negative effects of industrialisation in Britain was the loss of individualism and individual freedom, which was gradually replaced through the work schedule and factories, affecting the quality of life much more directly compared to its cost.

Interactive deck — tap a card to flip it; on a keyboard, use the arrow keys and space.

This is a discuss question, therefore make sure to split the evidence into categories, and signpost them clearly, instead of weighing the argument with evidence. Make sure to include at least two different aspects, as that is what the question asks for.

The first innovation to mention, and arguably the most crucial and foundational one, is the Cromford Mill in 1771, which was the first to move work out of home and the cottage industry into the factory and scheduled work days. This was the foundational change behind the development of the working class, a foundation that every other change practically followed, as once earning shifted from at-home to elsewhere, the household became a place where you simply returned to after work instead of a productive unit, creating the modern distinction between work and private life and having a drastic impact on individual life.

A second innovation/development is the Education Acts of 1880 and 1891, making education and schooling compulsory. This is another major and arguably permanent aspect, as it helped transform the status of children from workers and a source of income into a burden for the family, due to schooling costs. This changed the economics of families completely, as children cost money rather than earning it, leading to declining birth rates, demonstrating how an innovation reshaped families directly.

This is a diary entry, therefore meaning it needs to be much more personal and direct compared to a speech or newspaper article; it is important to format it as a first person account of events rather than an informative piece.

The strongest time period and occupation for this task would be a cotton mill worker in Manchester in 1840, and would include a move from a rural area into an urban area. Give her a name and an identity, which is clearly stated in the answer, such as an age, around thirty, and a profession, as a power loom weaver. Arguably the most important part of the diary entry is to point out the change in her daily life and profession, from working in the household before, being paid by the individual output, and work being defined by daylight and environment rather than a set schedule. After her move to the city, make sure to mention the 14-hour workday, seeing children working as scavengers (until the 1833 Factory Act), and staying in a single-room back-to-back with her husband and children, with a shared bathroom and water pipe. To score high Criterion A marks, include specific knowledge such as consuming bread and tea rather than meat, products such as mustard including harmful ingredients, such as lead, and Sunday being the only day off, while keeping the structure and format as a personal diary entry rather than an informative piece.

This unit has three clear elements: social, cultural and artistic; the 1960s is a very rare example where all three elements of the unit developed at once, and were deeply interlinked in the forms of law, music and art. However, this case study also shows that these developments are not always beneficial to society, as seen in the example of the Detroit Riots, showing how progress and development that is too fast for its time can have a negative impact on the society it takes place in.

Furthermore, 1960s America also acts as an example of how counterculture, particularly from the youth, came before law; most of the Civil Rights Movement and the rise of black artists came when the South was still legally segregated, demonstrating how social, cultural and artistic developments preceded societal change rather than simply expressing it.

• 1954
  Brown v Board of Education; Montgomery Bus Boycott begins a year later
• 1960
  Greensboro sit-ins begin; contraceptive pill approved by FDA
• 1963
  Friedan's The Feminine Mystique; March on Washington
• 1964
  Beatles perform in New York; Civil Rights Act is signed
• 1965
  Voting Rights Act is signed; Watts riots kill 34
• 1967
  Detroit riots kill 43
• 1968
  Martin Luther King (MLK) is assassinated, triggering riots
• 1969
  Woodstock festival draws around 400,000 participants

A youth-driven decade

The Baby Boom, beginning in 1946, led to the birth of roughly 75 million Americans, resulting in over 40% of the population to be under twenty by the mid 1960s. Affluence after World War 2 gave teenagers a source of income, creating a 'youth market' for the first time. By 1960, over 90% of households had access to a television at home, which had increased tenfold from 1950, therefore making protests and movements more visible to the public eye, resulting in the 1960s being a decade of the developments of the general public rather than simply the elites.

Civil rights

Brown v. Board of Education resulted in segregated schools being unconstitutional in 1954, with the Montgomery Bus Boycott starting a year later in 1955 and lasting until 1956, which made MLK famous at just 26 years of age. The Greensboro sit-ins of 1960 spread to over 50 cities within the span of just months, escalating to direct action. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 officially banned segregation in public places and employment, with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 banning literacy tests, resulting in black registration to rise massively into 59%.

Feminism

The contraceptive pill (birth control) was first approved by the FDA in 1960, which allowed women to have direct control over reproduction, and transformed the roles of women in society directly, from housewives and reproduction into humans with employment and careers. Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique of 1963 mentioned the dissatisfaction that middle-class housewives felt with their lives in the form of 'the problem with no name', selling millions of copies. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 outlawed employment discrimination by gender, also indirectly leading to the Civil Rights Act a year later, with the National Organisation for Women being founded in 1966 to enforce these new laws.

Culture

Bob Dylan was one of the first to bring politics into mass-media music with 'Blowin' in the Wind' in 1962, later becoming one of the biggest icons of youth counterculture, along with Elvis Presley and his unorthodox and taboo style, and presenting his arguments through music. The Beatles arrived in New York in 1964, with their show getting 73 million live viewers on the Ed Sullivan Show. Despite the South still being legally segregated, many black artists came on the rise in 1959–60, with Berry Gordy being a famous example. Andy Warhol's pop art mixed the consumerism and mass culture of America with traditional gallery art, both criticising and promoting them at the same time, while Mary Quant's mini-skirt of 1964 made a massive statement of identity, linking back to Second Wave Feminism.

Backlash

Despite the positive changes in society, the social, cultural and artistic changes received heavy backlash from conservatives across the country. Legal changes were not automatically applied nor enforced everywhere, and the Watts and Detroit riots killed 34 and 43 respectively. A 1969 report by the Kerner Commission even concluded that America was heading to a divided and unequal society, reflecting on how the changes of the 1960s did not address wealth inequality. Jimi Hendrix, one of the icons of the Woodstock Festival, was killed a year later in 1970, reflecting on how counterculture was not always beneficial. The divorce rate in the US doubled from 1960 to 1980, with Nixon's 'Silent Majority' speech coming in 1969, further explored in Unit 5, demonstrating how backlash could be mobilised.

Interactive deck — tap a card to flip it; on a keyboard, use the arrow keys and space.

This is an absolute question, 'only', therefore it should be approached with partial agreement rather than a straight yes or no, as there will always be counter-evidence present.

Evidence supporting the statement is strong. Firstly, the contraceptive pill, approved in 1960, followed by the Equal Pay Act of 1963, allowed women more control over their reproductive and employment status. The benefit associated with this is that instead of simply transferring choice from one group to another, it expanded it, with women gaining control over their employment and reproduction without a certain group losing their freedom, marking this as a benefit. A second piece of evidence that supports this is the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Through the banning of a literacy test, black registration in Mississippi was extended to 59%, along with making segregation unconstitutional in public places and employment. This is a very clear case of how millions were granted citizenship and their right to vote through a social movement rather than direct government pressure, marking a benefit for society.

However, the strongest counter-evidence for this statement is the Watts and Detroit riots of 1965 and 1967, killing 34 and 43 respectively. This is the clearest example against the claim, as it shows not only how the social movement of Civil Rights did not address wealth inequality, employment or healthcare, but also how raising expectations and bringing about change in a rapid manner can infuriate the public and lead to anger and dissatisfaction, as seen in this case, showing how a social movement was not beneficial to society.

The answer should be formatted in the form of an official social media reply, therefore meaning it should engage the argument rather than simply ignoring or dismissing it, while also being straightforward and concise enough to read on social media.

There are many good arguments and pieces of evidence against and for the claim. Firstly, the core counter-argument is that cultural exchange doesn't always have to be imperialism or conquest. A prominent example of this from 1960s America is the Beatles travelling to New York in 1964 and performing on the Ed Sullivan Show, which gained over 70 million viewers, showing how British music interacted with American music and teenagers to produce a cultural exchange instead of simply colonising it. Another example is the emergence of black artists in 1959–60, when the South was still legally segregated, acting as an example of how social and cultural exchange acted independently to law, indirectly resulting in later changes in law and the unconstitutionalisation of segregation in 1964. Despite Black American music having its roots planted deeply in slavery, which is an example of how global interactions can result in cultural colonialism and oppression, it is a strong example of how cultural exchange combines and brings people together rather than replacing them, later bringing forth meaningful change indirectly.

The MYP History course includes four different criterions, which can be simplified into the following:

• Criterion A
  Knowledge
• Criterion B
  Research skills & developing investigations
• Criterion C
  Communication
• Criterion D
  Analysis

The course is assessed in four distinct categories and types of questions, totaling 80 marks across the four criterions:

• The Essay
  8 marks each for Criterions A, C and D, totaling to 24 marks
• The Text Type
  12 marks for Criterion C and 6 marks for Criterion A, totaling to 18 marks
• Historical Investigation
  ranging from anywhere between 12–26 marks, only assessing Criterion B
• Source Analysis
  ranging from anywhere between 12–26 marks, only assessing Criterion D

The allocated marks of the historical analysis and source analysis sections can change from exam to exam, with some exams being source analysis heavy, and some being investigation heavy, and some being balanced, while the format of the essay and text type stay the same, therefore making it important to revise for all 4 sections equally instead of neglecting one to focus on the others more.

From my own experience, the most important skill required for scoring high marks on the essay is not only being able to memorise knowledge, but also being able to effectively interweave it into your essay without breaking its format, while also supporting it with analysis. While that may seem like a lot, it only gets easier with practice, to a point where you will begin to write in the desired format naturally. Many students neglect Criterion C to put as much knowledge and analysis into the essay as possible, which causes them to score marks much lower than students who use much less knowledge and analysis while following an appropriate essay format.

Your teachers will most likely not answer questions like 'How many pieces of knowledge do I need to know for each topic?' or 'How much analysis do I need to include?' From my experience, memorising 10 specific and relevant pieces of evidence for each of the 12 topics is more than enough, with knowledge from other units also being able to support linked units, while making sure to support each piece of evidence with 1 or 2 extended sentences of relevant and in-depth analysis. Rather than using the in-depth knowledge section, which was made for students who don't have much knowledge on the topic in the first place, consider using the built-in flashcards to learn and memorise these pieces of knowledge for the essay and text type.

In your introduction, make sure to start off with your agreement with the statement, or if it isn't suitable for the question, mention the factors/aspects you will consider: 'This essay agrees to a large/some extent that ...' Then, mention the specific case study/studies you will be using for the analysis paragraphs; 'This essay will consider ..., and argue that it led to ...' Lastly, finish the introduction off with 1–2 sentences of brief context about the said case study/studies; '... was formed/established/happened in ..., and led to ...'

The following is an example introduction responding to the question: '“Tensions involving superpowers have always resulted in conflict.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?':

Your main body paragraphs are where you should include the knowledge and analysis, acting as the main part of your essay, and should be structured in the form of '... established/took place in ..., resulting in ...; ... followed. This suggests/demonstrates ..., and how ... has led/not led to ...', which should then be repeated for each piece of evidence you want to include while keeping the format and language of an essay. Furthermore, in your analysis, make sure to use the specific vocabulary of the question, and link it back to the statement and/or question as much as possible, which is required for high Criterion C and D marks. The following is an example main body paragraph, responding to the same question as the example above:

Finally, you should end your essay with a well-structured conclusion. To conclude an essay properly, you should first repeat your agreement with the statement, or the points that you have considered, also including a small piece of justification for it at the end of the sentence. Then, you should expand on this justification, ideally by making links back to the case studies, and mentioning your overall idea relating to the essay question. However, it is important to not stray too far from your introduction in your conclusion, as it can cost you Criterion C marks. Below is an example conclusion responding to the same question above:

Unlike the essay, the text type can follow a range of different formats and structures based on what is asked/mentioned in the question. Examples of previously mentioned formats in exams include: letters, commentaries, scripts, speeches, online chats, biographies and more, therefore it is crucial that you are adaptable, and can interpret persuasive and literary techniques from your English lessons (Criterion C), while also including relevant knowledge to the topic without breaking the format (Criterion A).

You should start your text type by indirectly establishing the context of your case study and time period, to make it clear to the examiner. A trap that many students end up falling for is not making it clear to the examiner what time period or case study you are talking about in your answer, which affects your Criterion C marks. Furthermore, try to create an effective introduction to your text type by including techniques such as repetition, single-line paragraphs and metaphors when appropriate.

The main-body paragraphs are when you need to include the knowledge, yet make sure the format and structure of the text type is not compromised. In many of the required formats, using emotive language, if appropriate, is crucial, to make a strong point and immerse yourself in the given scenario, which is important for Criterion C.

The ending of the text type is just as important as the main body paragraphs, as they control what the examiner and reader remembers from your piece of writing. Therefore, instead of including knowledge or analysis, prioritise using persuasive and literary techniques, and ending on a strong note, possibly on a cliffhanger that makes the reader and audience think.

The following extract is from an example answer responding to the prompt: 'Imagine that you are a politician living during a time of industrialization in a country of your choice and that you are campaigning for the next election. Write a commentary for a political magazine to explain your point of view regarding the positive and negative aspects of industrialization.'

While it may look hard and intimidate students at first, once you know the right formats and structures to answer the questions, and practice them, Criterion B becomes one of the easier parts of the exam, from my experience at least. While there are some tricky parts to it, most of your Criterion B marks will actually come from understanding and breaking down the Statement of Inquiry, and forming a strong research question, with everything else building on that basis.

For the research question, ensure that it is formatted as a 'To what extent' question, and is directly linked to the concepts of the SOI through specific case studies. An example is the following research question written about the SOI: 'Individuals and groups express their ideas and identities through social, cultural and artistic developments.'

One of the trickiest questions that students end up tripping up the most, including myself sometimes, is the 'Justify the relevance of your research question to the Statement of Inquiry' question, which comes up in every exam. To answer this question, you must follow a strict format, and structure your answer accordingly. Start your answer with the sentence: 'My research question is relevant to the Statement of Inquiry, as it explores ..., which is a ..., and the effect it had on ...'; ensure that you are linking your research question back to the specific vocabulary found in the SOI. Then continue with 'To investigate this, I will use ... (specific historical artifact/product), which will help me to investigate how ... empowered/supported/expressed (look at the specific vocabulary in the SOI) ... This will then allow me to investigate how ... has impacted/affected (look at SOI again) ..., and how ..., therefore linking the research question back to the statement of inquiry.' Lastly, end your answer with 'The Statement of Inquiry is still relevant today, as ... continue to ..., having an impact on how ... (SOI specific verb).' The following extract is an example answer using the Statement of Inquiry: 'Time, place, and space shape how medical innovations develop and spread.' and the Research Question: 'To what extent did the development of the printing press in the Renaissance by Gutenberg increase the speed of medical developments in Europe?'

The official NLCS guideline on how to format your answer to different questions is attached below:

Similar to Criterion B, developing a historical investigation, source analysis requires you to learn specific question formats and how to structure your answer to them. An important tip to consider in source analysis is to constantly make links between your answer and the original source, which will strengthen your answer while giving evidence from the source, ensuring that you score high marks. However, two important concepts that you need to master alongside the answer formats are the concepts of origin, purpose and content and time, place and space.

Origin, purpose and content are often seen in every source analysis section, and form the backbone of the whole section. Origin refers to the time and circumstances that the source was created in. An example would be 'This source was created in (country), in (year), at the time of (event)'. Values of the origin can stem from the source being created at the time of the event, therefore being a primary source, whereas limitations can stem from the creator of the source not having hindsight. Purpose refers to why the source was actually created. The two most common examples of the purpose are to inform and to entertain. Values of the purpose stem from the source being created to inform and represent certain events, whereas the limitations of the purpose often stem from the source being created to entertain rather than to inform, and therefore being satire. Lastly, content refers to the actual information/matter that is found on the source itself. An example would be 'The source shows ... and analyses the effect of ... on ...' Values of the content often stem from the fact that it is relevant to the topic, whereas limitations often come from it being limited in the sense that it does not analyse the mentioned topic in depth.

Another concept, that can even be seen in other parts of the exam, is time, place and space, which is all about how the environment of an event/person affects their outcome/consequence/work. Time refers to the time of the event/person, and how the time allowed for the outcome/consequence to happen. An example of this would be '... took place in ..., where ... was on the rise, and therefore funded ...' Place refers, in most cases, to the country or region where the event/person took place/lived, and how the conditions of that specific place allowed for the outcome to happen. An example would be '(Place) was developing in ..., and therefore started to ..., opening the way for ...' Lastly, space, which is what students end up struggling with the most, refers to the actual, physical space of the event/place, and how it affected the development/outcome of said event/person. A specific example would be how Paré was forced to develop the soothing ointment that helped his soldiers after running out of cauterisation oil in a siege, further explored in Unit 10, showing how the physical space of a person helped him develop a new invention out of necessity and requirement.

The official NLCS guideline on formatting and answering specific source analysis questions is attached below: