Explain the significance of... (8 marks)
This type of question is focussed on your knowledge, understanding and analysis of historical events and specifically assesses the concept of significance. Significance looks at the importance of a key event, person/group or development at the time and importance over time. The focus of the question will arise from one of the sections of the specified content.
Example:
Explain the significance of the ‘Windrush’ and the Caribbean migrants for the development of British society in the 20th century.
Tips:
For this type of question you should discuss the key aspects of the topic that makes it significant at the time and/or later. In this case you could explain how social unrest resulted from the settlement of Caribbean migrants in Britain, and eventually led to intervention by the government to stop racial discrimination.
You should also talk about more than one feature, such as the co-operation between white British people and the Caribbean migrants, as in the Bristol Bus Boycott. Show the connections between two or more of these aspects of significance, and consider the longer-term impact of the named content. In this question you could consider the longer-term struggles against racism in Britain and the campaigns to bring the police force under the control of race relations laws.
