Covers all three AS options (European, American, International) plus A Level depth-study and interpretations skills. Use the topics that match your school's chosen option; AS content is assumed knowledge for Papers 3 and 4.
| Topic | Sub-Topic | Confidence (1–5) | Last Reviewed | Next Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AS1. AS Option: Modern Europe, 1750–1921 | France 1774–1814: Ancien Régime, 1789 Revolution, Napoleon | |||
| 1. AS Option: Modern Europe, 1750–1921 | Industrial Revolution in Britain, 1750–1850 | |||
| 1. AS Option: Modern Europe, 1750–1921 | Liberalism and nationalism in Germany, 1815–71 | |||
| 1. AS Option: Modern Europe, 1750–1921 | The Russian Revolution, 1894–1921 | |||
| AS2. AS Option: The History of the USA, 1820–1941 | Origins of the Civil War, 1820–61 | |||
| 2. AS Option: The History of the USA, 1820–1941 | Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861–77 | |||
| 2. AS Option: The History of the USA, 1820–1941 | The Gilded Age and Progressive Era, 1870s–1920 | |||
| 2. AS Option: The History of the USA, 1820–1941 | The Great Crash, Great Depression and New Deal, 1920–41 | |||
| AS3. AS Option: International History, 1870–1945 | Empire and emergence of world powers, 1870–1919 | |||
| 3. AS Option: International History, 1870–1945 | International relations and the League of Nations, 1919–39 | |||
| 3. AS Option: International History, 1870–1945 | Causes and course of the Second World War | |||
| 3. AS Option: International History, 1870–1945 | Origins of the Cold War / post-war settlement | |||
| AS4. AS Skills (Papers 1 & 2) | Paper 1 essay technique: argument, evidence, judgement | |||
| 4. AS Skills (Papers 1 & 2) | Paper 2 source analysis: provenance, content, comparison | |||
| 4. AS Skills (Papers 1 & 2) | Causation, consequence, continuity, change, significance (AO2) | |||
| 4. AS Skills (Papers 1 & 2) | Recall and selection of historical knowledge (AO1) | |||
| 4. AS Skills (Papers 1 & 2) | Time management for 50-mark papers | |||
| ↓ A Level content begins. Papers 3 & 4 build on AS Level material. AS content is assumed knowledge. | ||||
| A Level5. A Level Paper 3: Interpretations question | Reading and evaluating extended historical writing | |||
| 5. A Level Paper 3: Interpretations question | Identifying historians' arguments and interpretations | |||
| 5. A Level Paper 3: Interpretations question | Assessing strengths and weaknesses of interpretations (AO4) | |||
| 5. A Level Paper 3: Interpretations question | Constructing a substantiated judgement on a historical issue | |||
| A Level6. A Level Paper 4: Depth study options | Selecting and applying detailed knowledge of a depth study | |||
| 6. A Level Paper 4: Depth study options | Causation and consequence in a chosen depth period | |||
| 6. A Level Paper 4: Depth study options | Comparing differing perspectives and historiography | |||
| 6. A Level Paper 4: Depth study options | Essay structure: thesis, evidence, sustained argument | |||
| A Level7. Historical skills (across A Level) | Evaluating source utility and reliability | |||
| 7. Historical skills (across A Level) | Analysing differing historical interpretations | |||
| 7. Historical skills (across A Level) | Building a sustained, evaluative argument | |||
| 7. Historical skills (across A Level) | Integrating historiography meaningfully (not name-dropping) | |||
| 7. Historical skills (across A Level) | Revision strategies: timeline, key concepts, cause/effect maps | |||
Use with our Past Paper Finder for Cambridge A Level History 9489 past papers. Check with your teacher which option (European, American or International) your school is studying.
Quick answers about this free revision checklist, how to use it for exam prep, and how it relates to the official syllabus.
This revision checklist mirrors the official Cambridge A Level History 9489 syllabus for the 2026 examination series. Every topic and sub-topic on the page is taken from the published syllabus document, so working through the list in order gives you full coverage of what your exam can assess. It is aligned to the AS & A Level tier expectations. For the authoritative version, always cross-check with the latest syllabus PDF on your exam board's website before your final revision push.
The number of top-level topic groups varies by subject, but you can see the exact count on this page — each major heading in the checklist corresponds to one syllabus topic group, and each row below it is a syllabus-level sub-topic. Use the confidence column (1–5) to flag which sub-topics need more work, and re-score yourself weekly to track real progress instead of guessing.
12–16 weeks of focused revision, working through one topic group per week with weekly past-paper practice, is a realistic target for most A Level students. Use this checklist to plan your weeks: filter by topics you have rated 1–3 and spend your first revision block there. Subjects with heavy practical or extended-writing components (e.g. sciences, English) need more past-paper time in the final block than the topic-by-topic phase.
Revise in roughly the order the syllabus lists the topics — exam boards build later topics on earlier ones, so taking them in syllabus order avoids gaps. Once you have rated every topic, switch to weakest-first: filter the checklist by confidence ≤ 2 and prioritise those topics in your next study block. This is more effective than re-revising topics you already score 4–5 on.
You can find past papers and mark schemes via Tutopiya's Past Paper Finder and on your exam board's official site. Once you have rated each sub-topic on this checklist, attempt past-paper questions on your weakest topics first — practising under timed conditions is the single best predictor of exam performance, more so than re-reading notes.
Use the Download CSV or Print PDF button at the bottom of the checklist. CSV opens in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets so you can sort by confidence and re-arrange revision order. The PDF is print-ready for offline use. A free Tutopiya account is required for download — this also unlocks the matching topic resources, notes and worked examples on the Learning Portal.
Yes, the checklist itself is free — you can view, score and re-score every topic on this page without an account. The CSV / PDF downloads and access to matching Tutopiya Learning Portal resources require a free account. There is no payment required at any point; teachers and parents can also use this checklist freely with their students.
Yes. The topics and sub-topics on this page are drawn from the current 2026 Cambridge A Level History 9489 specification published by Cambridge. Exam boards occasionally tweak weighting or assessment structure mid-cycle, so do a quick sanity-check against the official syllabus PDF when you start your revision and again 4 weeks before the exam.