Cambridge IGCSE History 0470/42 is the May/June 2026 Paper 4 (Alternative to Coursework), variant 2. It lasts 1 hour, is worth 40 marks and is sat by candidates whose school does not enter them for Paper 3 (Coursework). You answer one question from your depth study. Each question has two parts: a 15-mark account and a 25-mark discussion, so the second part is worth almost two-thirds of the paper. This guide covers all ten questions and explains how the two levels-based mark schemes work. The paper and its mark scheme are free on the Tutopiya Learning Portal.

For an overview of all three 0470 papers from this series, see IGCSE History 0470 May/June 2026 past papers: what came up and how it was marked.

0470/42 at a glance

Rubric: answer one question from your chosen depth study. Every question has part (a), write an account (15 marks), and part (b), discuss the importance or impact (25 marks).

Question	Depth study	(a) Account, 15 marks	(b) Discuss, 25 marks
1	A: The First World War, 1914–18	The German invasion of Belgium, 1914	Importance of the BEF in the 1914 fighting
2	A: The First World War, 1914–18	The Indian army on the Western Front	Importance of Canadian troops on the Western Front
3	B: Germany, 1918–45	Setting up the Republic, 1918–19	Impact of the War Guilt Clause (Article 231)
4	B: Germany, 1918–45	The Nazi rise to power, 1930–33	Importance of the Reichstag Fire
5	C: Russia, 1905–41	Industrial workers’ social and economic problems, 1905–14	Impact of the October Manifesto
6	C: Russia, 1905–41	The Kornilov Affair	Impact of staying in the war in 1917
7	D: The United States, 1919–41	Industrial growth in the 1920s	Impact of tariffs in the 1920s
8	D: The United States, 1919–41	The work of the AAA	Importance of Roosevelt’s first Hundred Days
9	E: The Second World War, 1939–c.1945	Germany’s defeat of France, 1940	Importance of the Battle of Britain
10	E: The Second World War, 1939–c.1945	The Battle of Midway	Impact of the US oil embargo on Japan, August 1941
	Total answered (one question)	15	25

The paper total is therefore 40.

Question-by-question walkthrough

How part (a) is marked: the account (15 marks)

Part (a) tests knowledge (AO1) on three levels.

• Level 1 (1–5): loosely relevant points that don’t connect, with some accurate knowledge.
• Level 2 (6–10): describes some relevant events, mostly accurately, with a clear structure.
• Level 3 (11–15): covers the main events, directly answers the question, is accurate throughout and is told in a logical sequence.

Examiners pick the best-fit level, then go high in the band if the answer meets it convincingly, middle if it meets it adequately and low if it only just meets it. An account is a narrative, so chronological order and staying inside the question’s dates matter.

How part (b) is marked: the discussion (25 marks)

Part (b) tests explanation (AO2) on five levels. The key word is facet: one angle on the importance or impact, such as political, economic, social or military.

• Level 1 (1–5): general knowledge of the topic with little focus.
• Level 2 (6–10): touches on facets but only by assertion; links are undeveloped or implied.
• Level 3 (11–15): explanation supports only one facet, even if others are mentioned; any judgement is unsupported.
• Level 4 (16–20): explanations support more than one facet; a judgement may be attempted but is only partly supported.
• Level 5 (21–25): well-supported explanations of more than one facet and a clear, convincing, substantiated judgement on relative importance.

So the route to the top is: pick two or three facets, explain each with specific evidence, then say which mattered most and why.

Depth study A: The First World War

Question 1

• (a) The German invasion of Belgium, 1914: the Schlieffen Plan as altered by von Moltke to avoid the Netherlands, the sweep through Belgium and the focus on Belgian railways, Belgian resistance buying time, heavy artillery against forts such as Liège, Britain entering under the Treaty of London, and the BEF’s actions at Mons (23 August) and Le Cateau (26 August). Nothing after 1914 was credited.
• (b) The importance of the BEF in 1914: facets were Allied morale (a small professional army boosting French and Belgian resolve), military importance (slowing the German advance at Mons), and strategic importance (helping defeat the Schlieffen Plan at the Marne, the move to trench warfare and the race to the sea, and saving Paris). The same 1914 limit applied.

Question 2

• (a) The Indian army on the Western Front: Indian Expeditionary Force A arriving in 1914 to support the BEF, fighting at the First Battle of Ypres and leading the attack at Neuve Chapelle in March 1915, problems with training on British equipment, many troops moving to the Middle East and Africa later in 1915, a part in the Somme, Cambrai and the advance on the Hindenburg Line, and heavy losses.
• (b) The importance of Canadian troops: military importance (large numbers from 1915, Second Ypres, the Somme, and the victory at Vimy Ridge in 1917 under Canadian commanders), strategic and tactical importance (the Hundred Days Offensive, leading the attack at Amiens and breaking the Hindenburg Line in 1918), and Allied morale.

Depth study B: Germany, 1918–45

Question 3

• (a) Setting up the Republic, 1918–19: Wilson’s demand for the Kaiser’s abdication, the Kiel mutiny and revolution of November 1918, the abdication announced on 9 November and Ebert taking over, the Ebert–Groener pact, the crushing of the Spartacist Uprising in January 1919, the January elections, Ebert’s election as President, and the new constitution, completed in August. To reach Level 3 an account had to cover both 1918 and 1919.
• (b) The impact of the War Guilt Clause: facets were political (nationalists blaming the Weimar government, which helped anti-Weimar parties), social (outrage and the stab-in-the-back myth), economic (war guilt justifying reparations and territorial losses) and military (justifying the disarmament terms and hurting national pride). Every facet had to link back to the War Guilt Clause itself, not to the Treaty of Versailles in general.

Question 4

• (a) The Nazi rise to power, 1930–33: the Depression and rising support for extremist parties, the 1930 election (107 seats), Hitler’s speeches and propaganda aimed at the middle classes, July 1932 (230 seats, the largest party) and November 1932 (196), the presidential election against Hindenburg, the SA, funding from industrialists, and Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor in January 1933. Level 3 needed some coverage of the 1930–32 elections, but material after January 1933 was optional.
• (b) The importance of the Reichstag Fire: political importance (the communists branded as enemies, the emergency decree, a stronger Nazi vote in March), social importance (fear of a communist revolution winning over the middle classes and elites), and importance for Hitler (suspending civil rights, using the SA as auxiliary police, arresting opponents, and the first step in consolidating power).

Depth study C: Russia, 1905–41

Question 5

• (a) Industrial workers’ problems, 1905–14: low wages and a high cost of living, long hours in dangerous conditions, overcrowded and unhealthy housing, disease and alcohol abuse, few political rights, and the Lena Goldfields massacre of 1912. Level 3 needed both social and economic problems.
• (b) The impact of the October Manifesto: political impact (civil rights and a Duma that won over liberals and split the Tsar’s opponents), social impact (freedom for parties and unions to organise, though some felt it did not go far enough), and impact on the Tsar (a first step to constitutional monarchy, followed by the Fundamental Laws of 1906 and a return to autocracy). The mark scheme warned against answers that only explain the impact of the Duma.

Question 6

• (a) The Kornilov Affair: relevant background was credited: the failed summer offensive, the July Days and Lenin’s flight. Then Kornilov’s appointment, his attempt to seize power, Kerensky’s appeal to the Petrograd Soviet, the arming of the Red Guard and release of Bolshevik leaders, railway workers’ strikes, Kornilov’s troops refusing to fight, and the damage to Kerensky’s government.
• (b) The impact of staying in the war in 1917: political impact (growing support for anti-war parties and the Bolsheviks, mass desertions), economic impact (food and fuel shortages, inflation, factory closures), social impact (land seizures by peasants and radicalised workers), and impact on morale (heavy casualties and war weariness).

Depth study D: The United States, 1919–41

Question 7

• (a) Industrial growth in the 1920s: electrification, natural resources, Ford’s assembly line and mass production, the knock-on effect of the car industry on rubber, glass, steel and roads, rising output and wages, hire purchase and advertising, chain stores and a growing population. Social impact was not credited.
• (b) The impact of tariffs in the 1920s: facets were domestic industry (Fordney–McCumber protecting US firms and profits), agriculture (farmers hit by foreign retaliation), foreign trade (a tariff war and falling exports leading to overproduction), confidence (rising then falling share prices up to the 1929 crash) and foreign relations (isolationism and retaliation by other countries). Material from the 1930s was not credited.

Question 8

• (a) The work of the AAA: set up in 1933 in the Hundred Days to raise farm prices by cutting production, paying farmers to leave land unused, farm incomes doubling by 1936, anger at crops and livestock being destroyed during a depression, benefits going mainly to large landowners rather than tenants and sharecroppers, and the Supreme Court ruling it unconstitutional in 1936.
• (b) The importance of the first Hundred Days: facets included confidence in the banks (the Emergency Banking Act), the stock market (the SEC, credited even though it was set up in 1934), morale (the fireside chats), the unemployed (the CCC, PWA and CWA, but not the WPA), farmers (the AAA), industry and workers (the NRA), and those in poverty (FERA relief).

Depth study E: The Second World War, 1939–c.1945

Question 9

• (a) Germany’s defeat of France, 1940: blitzkrieg through the Low Countries, the Maginot Line being bypassed through the Ardennes, Allied forces drawn into Belgium and cut off, German air superiority, the evacuation from Dunkirk, Paris falling without serious resistance, France defeated in six weeks, and the armistice of 22 June dividing France between German occupation and Vichy.
• (b) The importance of the Battle of Britain: military importance (Germany’s first major defeat in the West, the invasion prevented, Hitler turning east), strategic and technological importance (the Dowding System of radar and Fighter Command, and the foundations for later air superiority and D-Day), and social importance (British morale and the will to keep fighting).

Question 10

• (a) The Battle of Midway, June 1942: Yamamoto’s plan to destroy the US Pacific Fleet and take Midway, American codebreakers allowing Nimitz to set an ambush, the failed first US counter-strike, the dive-bombers catching Japanese carriers with full decks, and Japan losing four carriers, many aircraft and experienced pilots against one US carrier, shifting the naval balance in the Pacific.
• (b) The impact of the August 1941 oil embargo: economic impact (most of Japan’s oil had come from the USA, so shortages and limited reserves pushed it towards oil-rich lands), diplomatic impact (neither side backing down over China, and rising tension leading to the Pearl Harbor plan), and military impact (the need to seize the Dutch East Indies and neutralise US, British and Dutch forces, leading to the attack on Pearl Harbor).

Where the marks are on 0470/42

Part	Assessment objective	Marks	What earns the top band
(a) Write an account	AO1: recall, select and organise knowledge	15	Main events, directly addressing the question, accurate and in sequence
(b) Discuss importance or impact	AO2: historical explanation	25	Well-supported explanation of more than one facet and a substantiated judgement
Total		40

• Part (b) is 62.5% of the paper. Even a perfect account can’t make up for a one-facet discussion, which caps at 15.
• Judgement is worth the step from 20 to 21. Level 4 answers may attempt one; Level 5 answers make it clear and back it up.
• Question-specific notes change the levels. Five part (a) questions set a condition for Level 3 or excluded material (1, 3, 4, 5 and 7), and four part (b) questions set date limits or focus rules (1, 3, 5 and 7).

How to self-mark 0470/42 with the mark scheme

1. Read the question’s note first. Several questions have a line such as “do not credit beyond 1914” or “must cover 1918 and 1919 for L3”. Apply it before anything else.
2. For part (a), check coverage against the list. Tick the mark scheme’s suggested points you included. Then ask whether your account has the main events, answers the question directly and runs in order. That decides whether you are in Level 2 or 3.
3. Place your mark within the band. Convincingly meets the level: top of the band. Adequately: middle. Only just: bottom.
4. For part (b), list your facets. Write the facet name next to each paragraph (political, economic and so on). Count how many are actually explained with evidence, not just asserted. One explained facet: Level 3. Two or more: Level 4.
5. Test your conclusion. Does it say which facet was most important and why? If it does, and it’s backed by your earlier explanations, you’re in Level 5.
6. Compare with the facets in the mark scheme. If you missed a whole facet, such as economic impact, add it to your revision notes for that topic.

Sit 0470/42 as a timed mock

You have 60 minutes for one 40-mark question. Spend time in proportion to the marks.

Block	Marks	Time
Choose your question and plan part (a) as a timeline	–	3 minutes
Write part (a), the account	15	18 minutes
Plan part (b): two or three facets and your judgement	–	5 minutes
Write part (b), the discussion	25	30 minutes
Check dates and that the conclusion makes a judgement	–	4 minutes

Write your part (b) judgement in the plan before you start, so every paragraph builds towards it.

Other May/June 2026 0470 papers

• 0470 Paper 12 (Structured Questions)
• 0470 Paper 22 (Document Questions)

Practise and download

• Download 0470/42 and its mark scheme on the Learning Portal →
• All 0470 May/June 2026 papers: overview and marking patterns
• Try a free IGCSE History quiz

Need help with a 0470 topic? Book a free trial lesson with an IGCSE History tutor →

Frequently asked questions

How many questions do you answer on 0470 Paper 42 May/June 2026? +

One. There are two questions for each of the five depth studies, ten in all, and you answer one question from the depth study you studied. Each has a 15-mark part (a) and a 25-mark part (b), so the paper is out of 40 and lasts 1 hour.

How is the 25-mark 'discuss' question on 0470/42 marked? +

With five levels. Explaining only one facet keeps you in Level 3 (11 to 15 marks). Explanations supporting more than one facet reach Level 4 (16 to 20). The top band, 21 to 25, also needs a clear, substantiated judgement on relative importance.

How is the 15-mark 'write an account' question on 0470/42 marked? +

With three levels. The top band, 11 to 15 marks, needs an account that covers the main events, directly addresses the question, is consistently accurate and is in a logical order. Some questions add a requirement, such as covering both 1918 and 1919 in Question 3(a).

What came up in the Germany depth study on 0470/42 in 2026? +

Question 3 asked for an account of how the Republic was set up in 1918 to 1919 and a discussion of the impact of the War Guilt Clause. Question 4 asked for an account of the Nazi rise to power from 1930 to 1933 and a discussion of the importance of the Reichstag Fire.

What is a 'facet' in the 0470 Paper 4 mark scheme? +

A different angle on importance or impact, such as political, social, economic or military. For the Battle of Britain, for example, the mark scheme suggests military, strategic and technological, and social importance. Explaining more than one facet is the step from Level 3 to Level 4.

Where can I download 0470/42 May/June 2026 and its mark scheme? +

Both are free to download and print on the Tutopiya Learning Portal, on the Cambridge IGCSE History 0470 past papers page.

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