Explain two of the following: the importance of… (16 marks)
This type of question requires you to consider the concepts of significance and causation, whilst demonstrating you have suitable knowledge of the period.
Example:
Explain two of the following:
the importance of Reagan’s ‘evil empire’ speech for the development of a ‘second Cold War’
the importance of the agreements made at the Geneva Summit (1985) and Reykjavik meeting (1986) for the relationship between the USA and USSR
the importance of free elections in Eastern European countries in 1989 and 1990 for the end of the Cold War
To answer this question you need to clearly link the event in the bullet point to the events coming after it – use the wording of the question exactly. Phrases like ‘led to’ and ‘as a result of this’ will be helpful here. It will probably be best to divide this answer into two parts – deal with what happened first, and then talk about what it led to.
You MUST write about the importance of an event. Without this, you will severely limit the number of marks you can get for this question.