Pearson Edexcel IGCSE History: Choosing and Preparing Your Depth, Investigation and Breadth Options

Pearson Edexcel International GCSE History 4HI1 is assessed by two externally assessed written papers of identical size: each lasts 1 hour 30 minutes, carries 60 marks and is worth 50%. Their internal structure differs. On Paper 1: Depth Studies, candidates answer two questions on two depth studies chosen from eight named options – among them the French Revolution, the unification of Italy, Germany under dictatorship, the USSR under dictatorship, superpower relations, US civil rights, and South Africa under apartheid. On Paper 2: Investigation and Breadth Studies, candidates answer one historical investigation chosen from five named options plus one breadth study in change chosen from eight. Both papers are available as paper-based or on-screen assessment. These notes complement the site’s guides to Paper 1 Depth Studies and Paper 2 Investigation and Breadth Studies.

Know exactly which four options you are entered for

Between the two papers a candidate is examined on two depth studies, one investigation and one breadth study – four selections drawn from three separate menus. Exam-preparation priority: write your four down and revise only those. This sounds obvious and is routinely got wrong, because textbooks and online material cover options your centre has not taught. Time spent on the Russian Revolution when your centre teaches apartheid is time entirely wasted.

Depth and breadth are opposite skills and need opposite notes

A depth study rewards dense, specific knowledge of a short period: names, dates, particular policies, particular incidents. A breadth study in change rewards the ability to see a long arc – what changed, what stayed the same, what drove each. Exam-preparation priority: make two kinds of notes. For depth, detailed chronological notes; for breadth, a timeline with turning points marked and a one-line “what changed here” against each. Revising a breadth study using depth-study methods produces a candidate who knows a great deal and cannot answer the question asked.

Ninety minutes for sixty marks, split across two questions per paper

Each paper’s 60 marks are divided between two substantial answers – roughly 45 minutes each, including planning. Exam-preparation priority: practise complete answers to a 40-minute limit. Both papers have exactly the same shape in this respect, so the pacing practice transfers between them.

The historical investigation rewards handling evidence, not narrating the topic

Paper 2’s investigation question tests the specification’s source objective, “use a range of source material to comprehend, interpret and cross-refer sources” (AO3), and its interpretations objective, “analyse and evaluate historical interpretations” (AO4), alongside knowledge. In Pearson’s sample paper that means describing two features, then judging how far one source supports another by cross-referring them, then judging how far you agree with an interpretation using the extract, the sources and your own knowledge. It does not ask how useful or reliable a source is from its provenance. Exam-preparation priority: practise, on sources you have not seen before, pairing specific points of agreement and of difference between two sources and reaching a judgement on the extent of support; and practise testing an interpretation against the sources and your own contextual knowledge.

Change questions need causes ranked, not listed

Breadth study questions in change typically ask how far something changed, or what most drove a change. Both demand a judgement between factors. Exam-preparation priority: for each breadth study, rehearse ranking three or four causes against each other and being able to justify the ranking. A list of causes with no relative weighting answers a different question from the one asked.

Worked routine: a change-and-continuity answer

The routine below is an original model written for this resource, not a reproduction of any official past paper, source booklet or mark scheme.

Step 1 - state the overall judgement in one sentence:
"Between [dates], X changed substantially in [respect], but
continuity persisted in [respect]."

Step 2 - evidence the change:
Two specific, dated pieces of evidence. Named policies, named
figures, quantities where you have them.

Step 3 - evidence the continuity:
At least one specific example of what did NOT change. This is the
half most often missing, and it is half the question.

Step 4 - weigh them:
Which mattered more, and for whom? Change for a governing elite is
not the same as change for a rural population -- saying so is a
mark-earning distinction.

Step 5 - conclude by returning to step 1:
Confirm or qualify the opening judgement, with the reason.

Step 3 is the reliable differentiator. A question about change is also a question about what stayed the same, and answers that only evidence change have addressed half of it.

Before/during exam checklist

• Before the exams: write down the four options you are actually entered for and revise only those; keep depth-study notes detailed and chronological, and breadth-study notes as a timeline of turning points; rehearse ranking causes for each breadth study; practise cross-referring unseen sources and testing interpretations against them.
• During either paper: budget about 45 minutes per answer, including planning.
• On the investigation: compare the sources point by point for agreement and difference, judge the extent of support, and test the interpretation against the sources and your own knowledge.
• On change questions: evidence both change and continuity, then weigh them, then conclude.

Self-test

1. How many options is a candidate examined on across the two papers, and from how many menus?
2. How should depth-study notes differ from breadth-study notes?
3. What half of a change question is most often missing from answers?
4. What does the investigation’s source question ask you to do with two sources?

Answers: 1. Four – two depth studies, one historical investigation and one breadth study in change – drawn from three separate lists of named options. 2. Depth notes should be dense and chronological, carrying names, dates and specific policies; breadth notes should be a long timeline with turning points marked and a one-line statement of what changed at each. 3. Continuity: specific evidence of what did not change over the period, which is half of what a change question asks. 4. Cross-refer them: identify specific points where they agree and where they differ, and explain how far one supports the other. It is not a question about which source is more useful or reliable.

Written against the Pearson Edexcel International GCSE History 4HI1 specification (official specification PDF, Issue 5, February 2026, verified 2026-08-28). Option lists are as named in that specification; confirm with your centre which options you are entered for. The change-and-continuity routine above is an original model written for this resource, not a reproduction of any official past paper or mark scheme. Always check the current specification for your examination year at qualifications.pearson.com.