Cambridge O Level History (2147): syllabus, papers and marking

Paper 1 is three structured essays and Paper 2 is a source question. Each part is marked at the level it reaches, with the missing step to the next level named beside the mark.

Syllabus for examination in 2027 and 2028 (same two-paper format as 2024–2026 and 2029–2030) · June and November series · grades A*–E

History 2147: where the marks go

O Level History 2147 is two written papers on nineteenth- and twentieth-century world history. Paper 1 (60 marks, 2 hours) asks three structured essays, one of which comes from the depth studies. Each essay is split into a short describe part, a middle explain part and a final part that asks for a judgement; in the published specimen paper these carry 4, 6 and 10 marks. Paper 2 (40 marks, 1 hour 45 minutes) is a single source question with five parts, on a prescribed topic that changes every series.

Most marks are lost not on what a student knows but on what the answer does with it: a description given where an explanation was asked for, a judgement that is a story, sources summarised one after the other. We write original structured essays and source sets for the core options and the five depth studies, and mark each part at the level it reaches, naming what would have moved it up a level. The marking rubric for the levels-based parts is still being built, so the page is listed as opening soon.

How we mark a real script

Paper structure and what we mark

Syllabus outline

1. Core content, Option A: the nineteenth century, 1848–1914 (the 1848 revolutions, Italy, Germany, the American Civil War, overseas empires, the causes of the First World War)
2. Core content, Option B: international relations since 1919 (the Treaty of Versailles, the League of Nations, Hitler’s foreign policy, the origins of the Cold War, containment of communism, the USSR and Eastern Europe)
3. Depth study A: the First World War, 1914–18
4. Depth study B: Germany, 1918–45
5. Depth study C: Russia, 1905–41
6. Depth study D: the United States, 1919–41
7. Depth study E: the Second World War in Europe and the Asia-Pacific, 1939–c.1945
8. Paper 2 prescribed topics: one per option for each series, listed in the syllabus

How each paper is marked here

• Part (a) and (b) answers are marked against the specific facts and reasons the question can be answered with; each lost mark names the missing fact or the reason that was asserted but not supported.
• Part (c) and the source questions are marked in levels. The level reached is shown with its descriptor, along with the single change that would have lifted the answer to the next one.
• Paper 2 sets are built to the prescribed topic for the series and use original source material and wording, never extracts from a past paper.

Where History 2147 candidates lose marks

1. The judgement part answered as a story — The last part of each essay asks how far, how successful or how fair. A tidy chronology of events scores low. The levels reward a stated line of argument, at least two factors weighed against each other, and a conclusion that follows from the weighing.
2. One reason, written at length — The middle part wants several reasons that are each supported with a fact. A student who writes a full paragraph on one cause and never names a second has capped the answer, however good the paragraph is.
3. Describe parts without precise detail — A four-mark describe part is a recall task. Dates, names, places and figures earn the marks; “there was a lot of unrest” earns none. Students who write generally often score two of four.
4. Sources taken one at a time — On the comparison question, summarising Source A and then Source B shows understanding of each but not of how they relate. The marks go to answers that set a point from one against a point from the other and say whether they agree.
5. Judging a source by its label alone — Naming who wrote it and when, and saying “so it is biased”, is not evaluation. The mark is for using what the source actually says, its purpose and the student’s own knowledge of the time to decide how far it can be trusted.

Sample papers, mark schemes and marked reports for 2147

See a real handwritten script marked by eight examiners at admitportfolio.com/examiners.

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