The principle aims of this book are to:

• provide the essential factual detail needed to understand the topic
• provide some experience in dealing with sources 
• provide references to major modern written and visual sources
• provide an introduction to the essence of historiographical debate
• provide ideas for approaching the types of questions that can be expected when examined on World War I

World War I is a topic 5 in 'The Shaping of the Modern World' section in the Year 11 section of The Modern History syllabus. The syllabus divides the topic into three sections:

• the historical context
• the nature of World War I
• the nature and legacy of World War I and its influence on modernity

These broad headings have been used to structure the book and have been broken down into sections to make the topic more accessible to students. An additional section has been included on approaching questions that could be set on the topic.