Examiner’s Specific Advice

This question is testing several skills and also your knowledge of the topic. Because the question is about a major theme, you are expected to know the main details, in this case the responsibility for the October Revolution. You are also being required to provide a historical explanation and make a substantiated judgement.

As always with an essay-type question, relevance is the key – your answer can be reasonably concise as long as you address the precise question. Relevance is more important than elegance of style – do not over worry about presenting your work with neat introductions and conclusions, especially if you are writing under examination conditions.

The key thing is not to narrate and describe, but keep the precise question in mind: to what extent was weakness in the Provisional Government responsible for its overthrow? Clearly your answer should evaluate the extent to which the Provisional Government was responsible for its own overthrow. However, in assessing ‘How far?’ you will probably want to evaluate any other factors which contributed to the Revolution, for example Lenin’s role, before reaching a final judgement.

Most importantly, whatever the approach, do make a judgement and back it up with evidence, either with a concluding paragraph or throughout the essay.

You might find it advisable for an essay-type answer of this sort to have a plan, since you will probably be writing several paragraphs.

Exemplar Question

2 (04) How far was the lack of effective government responsible for the outcome of the October/November Revolution? 
[24 marks]

Plan

• Introduction – context of Revolution in October/November
• Main developments since the spring
• Strengths and weaknesses of the PG
• Other factors: the War; the Bolsheviks; economic problems
• Conclusion

View Exemplar Answer 1

View Exemplar Answer 2