Cambridge IGCSE History Past Papers

01Common mistake

Straying from the Time Period in the Question

Students often include accurate knowledge that falls outside the dates specified in the question. Even correct facts may not gain credit if they are not relevant to the required time period.

02Common mistake

Describing Events Instead of Explaining Them

Students often spend too much time narrating what happened instead of explaining why it happened or why it mattered.

03Common mistake

Writing One-Sided Arguments

In questions asking “how far” or “to what extent”, students sometimes discuss only one side of the argument.

“how far”

04Common mistake

Failing to Answer the Command Word Directly

Students sometimes analyse a source in detail without explicitly answering whether it is useful, surprising, reliable or whatever the question actually asks.

05Common mistake

Taking Sources at Face Value

Students sometimes treat everything in a source as factual and ignore its origin, purpose and possible bias.

06Common mistake

Writing Summative Rather Than Evaluative Conclusions

Students often use the conclusion simply to repeat the points already made in the essay.

07Common mistake

Misinterpreting Cartoons by Missing the Overall Message

Students often focus on individual details in a cartoon without identifying the cartoonist’s main message or overall viewpoint.