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QLDModern HistoryQuick questions
Unit 2: Movements in the modern world
Quick questions on Causation and change in historical inquiry: QCE Modern History Unit 2 Year 11
11short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is change?Show answer
What was new or different after the event?
What is continuity?Show answer
What persisted or was unchanged despite the event?
What is thesis?Show answer
A specific arguable claim about the historical question.
What is body paragraphs?Show answer
Each addresses one cause or one aspect. - Topic sentence: the cause and its significance. - Evidence: specific events, sources.
What is counter-argument?Show answer
What evidence might be cited against the claim? How does the argument address it?
What is conclusion?Show answer
Reassert the thesis. Argue the relative weight of causes.
What is single-cause explanation?Show answer
"WWI was caused by the assassination." Too simple. The assassination triggered war but did not cause it singly.
What is post hoc fallacy?Show answer
Mistaking sequence for causation. Just because X preceded Y does not mean X caused Y.
What is counterfactual neglect?Show answer
Strong analysis considers what would have happened without a particular cause. This is contested method; some historians embrace it, others reject it.
What is anachronistic causation?Show answer
Reading later concerns back into earlier events. The Cold War did not cause WWII because the Cold War came after.
What is determinism?Show answer
Treating structural causes as inevitable. Historical change is always partly contingent on human decisions.