J14P11 MSQn7(c) ‘The Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan were to blame for the Cold War.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.

Level 0 No evidence submitted or response does not address the question [0] 

Level 1 General answer lacking specific contextual knowledge [1] e.g. ‘There was a lack of trust.’ 

Level 2 Identifies AND/OR describes reasons [2] 
(One mark for each point) 
e.g. 
‘The Marshall Plan aroused suspicion amongst the Soviets.’ 
‘The USA had the atomic bomb.’ 
‘Truman was against communism.’ 
‘Stalin’s actions over Berlin increased tension.’ 
‘The Soviets wanted to spread communism.’ 
‘Eastern Europe was communist controlled.’ 

Level 3 Explanation of agreement OR disagreement [3–5] 
e.g. 
‘The USA interpreted the Soviet takeover of Eastern Europe as the start of spreading communism around the world and responded with the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan, which was to help the vulnerable European economy suffering from the after effects of war. The USSR saw this as a threat to their security.’ 
OR 
e.g. 
‘The Soviets introduced a blockade of Berlin but the West defeated this by flying in supplies resulting in Stalin backing down. Stalin responded by turning their zone into the GDR. Germany was divided even more firmly and relations between East and West worsened.’ 

Level 4 Explanation of agreement AND disagreement [5–7] 
Both sides of level 3. 

Level 5 Explains with evaluation of ‘how far’ [8]