How far was the position of women in British society changed by their roles during the First World War?

In order to answer this 24 mark question as precisely as possible you should read the question carefully - the trigger phrase ‘how far’ is asking you to make a judgment on how much you think women’s roles during World War One subsequently changed the position of women in British society.  You should firstly take a position on how you will answer the question and then carefully begin to plan what points you want to argue in your essay – you should take several minutes in the exam to carefully plan what you want to say in the question, what evidence you are going to use and any counter arguments that you want to address; this should be fairly detailed as it will be useful guide to when you actually come to write the essay. In your introduction, you should provide a very brief context to the historical period and then set out what your position is in relation to the question and what you are going to mention in your essay. If you want to argue that women’s position in British society was significantly changed by their roles during World War One; then you could mention that there were changed opinions of women as a result of their economic and wider contributions to the war effort which were significant in allowing women over the age 30 the right to vote in 1918. Furthermore, you could also argue that there were economical, political and social changes that happened as a result of women’s work in wartime. However, if you wish to argue that the position of women was not largely changed as a result of their work during wartime; then you could mention that women were not earning equal pay to men (except in certain circumstances) or that women remained in many traditional roles, such as nurses or stay at home mums after the war ended.

 In order to get the highest marks, you should write an essay that provides a balanced view which engages with different counter arguments; you should mention them and then explain why they are not as strong as your arguments based on the evidence that you have provided. So, for example, you could argue that women’s position after World War One had changed due to their wartime roles – but these changes were only accelerating events that were already happening in British society before the war broke out; you could mention the fact that were an increased number of girls that were receiving a secondary school or university education by this point whilst other middle class women were gaining rights in relation to property ownership and employment. In each section of your essay, try and weave primary and secondary sources of evidence as well as different historical interpretations into your arguments – these will not only strengthen your answers and overall essay; but it will also show the examiner that you are able to use evidence to present complex arguments which engages with different interpretations of historical events. Once you have set out your main arguments, your conclusion should summarise your position and ultimately justify why you have done so – it should essentially mirror what you have said in your introduction.

Answered by Darren C. History tutor

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