OCR GCSE History A guide FAQ (J410)
Guide overview All 14 topics Sample questions Papers and weighting Look inside Questions and answers
OCR GCSE History A: questions and answers
Specification J410. Two sets, because students and parents ask different things.
For students
I only do five of these. Is the rest wasted?
No. Everyone sits International Relations 1918 to 1975. Then one non-British depth study of five, one British thematic study of three, and the British depth study and historic environment linked to it.
All fourteen topics are in the guide because schools choose differently. Work your five and skip the other nine.
Which parts are compulsory?
International Relations: The Changing International Order 1918 to 1975, on Paper 1. Everything else is chosen by your school.
How do I know which ones I do?
Your exam timetable and your teacher will have them. The topic list here is grouped by paper, so you can match your five against it.
What is the historic environment?
Part of Paper 3, studied alongside the British depth study. On this specification it is either Castles: Form and Function, or Urban Environments: Patterns of Migration, depending on which thematic study your school chose. Both are in the guide.
Paper 1 is 50 per cent. How should I work it?
It is half the grade and it is two topics, the compulsory period study and your depth study. Work those two first and return to them most often.
How long does one session take?
About twenty minutes for one subtopic, all three steps. Topics run from 70 to 156 questions.
Can I do it in my head instead of writing?
Write. History marks turn on specific evidence, and step 2 is where a half-remembered date or name gets replaced by the correct one. The method page sets out the evidence.
Do I still need past papers?
Yes. The method puts the evidence into memory. Past papers train the source questions and the essays under time. OCR publishes them free.
For parents
What is this, in plain terms?
A PDF of 1,449 exam-style questions covering all fourteen topics of OCR GCSE History A, with the answers printed after each topic.
My child only studies five of the fourteen.
That is correct. One topic is compulsory and the rest are chosen by the school from three sets of options. All fourteen are in the guide because schools choose differently, and the nine not taught are simply skipped.
How do I check it is the right course?
The specification code is on the exam timetable. OCR runs History A, Explaining the Modern World (J410), and History B, Schools History Project (J411). This guide is J410.
How do I know if it is being used properly?
There should be handwritten answers on paper and three passes over the same questions, and two scores per session to compare.
How much is it compared with a textbook?
£7.00 for all fourteen topics. Individual GCSE History topic guides run £6 to £10 each and you would need four or five.
How much time does it take?
Only five topics are worked, so roughly 40 subtopics at twenty minutes each is about 14 hours across two years.
What else does my child need?
Past papers, free from OCR, and their own notes for anything not yet taught.
OCR GCSE History A Active Recall Guide
1,449 questions with their answers, 119 subtopics, one file.