That's wrong, whilst reference to pre 1917 might be nice in an introduction it was cretainly not necessary. The key words being "in the period you have studied" which dictates 1917-1945 or in Trotsky's case 1917-1940.
2004 wasn't NEP and war comm, it was the impact of GPW and also the power struggle/modernisation.
2004 – a. Evaluate the impact of Lenin’s death in 1924 on party leadership and the debate over modernization within the Bolshevik Party.
b. Assess the impact of the Great Patriotic War on...