How to answer unit 1 questions

4 Mark Questions - Describe

This will ask you to describe an event or issue. Don't worry too much about technique here - just allow your self 6 minutes to show how much you know about something.
  1. You should look to describe two or three different aspects about the event or issue in detail. 
  2. You could go broader by putting them into the wider historical context.
6 Mark Questions - interpretations

This question will ask you if you agree with how a source has interpreted a historical event. This is a source question so you should automatically be thinking about CPR (Content, Purpose, Reliability)


Content
Test what is inside the box (analysis)
1.       What can you deduce or infer from the source? Refer to evidence in the source to support
           this.
2.       Can you develop the message of the source with your knowledge? Try to explain why opinion 
           exists.
3.       Can you challenge this with your own knowledge? Explain that the opinion could be wrong,
           unfair or too limited.

Note – You will only have time to do 2 or 3 in your exam, not both.

Purpose
Test what is outside the box (evaluation)

1.       Motive - Explain why the author has created this opinion. What might they be hoping to achieve? You may consider extra information about the author, country of origin or extra knowledge about the date to achieve this. Try to assess why they have created this view at this time.
2.       AudienceWho was intended to see this source? This will link to the motive. What impact did the author want to have on the audience?
3.       Purposesteps 2 and 3 should allow you to make an overall assessment on the purpose of this source. THE PURPOSE SHOULD BE USED TO SUPPORT YOUR JUDGEMENT ON THE RELIABILITY OF THE SOURCE.
 
Reliability
Test what is outside the box (evaluation)
1.       Are there other aspects of the provenance which you can use to assess its reliability?
2.       Consider the nature of the source – diary, newspaper, photograph, autobiography etc.
3.       Are there any other comments about date, author, origin which you cannot relate to purpose

Note – Only write about this if you feel that you cannot develop the purpose.
Final Judgement
1.       Strongly agree = content matches knowledge and evaluation is reliable.
2.       Strongly disagree = Content does not match your knowledge and the evaluation is unreliable.
3.       Partial agreement = will need to reflect how accurate the source is and how reliable the
        provenance is.

10 Mark Questions - Significance 

Here you will be asked to assess the impact that two different events had on a particular historical issue. You should deal with both bullet points separately. Below are two different approaches tpo answering the question:


C-A Grade  (DI)

1st bullet point

Define – develop 2 sentences to describe the bullet point.

Impact on the issue – Look back at the key issue in the question: be clear on what you need to focus on. Explain how this bullet point had an impact on the key issue. Did it help to cause it?, Did it make it worse?, Did it make it better?, Did it lead to other things?

2nd Bullet point

Define - develop 2 sentences to describe the bullet point.

Impact  – Look back at the key issue in the question: be clear on what you need to focus on. Explain how this bullet point had an impact on the key issue. Did it help to cause it?, Did it make it worse?, Did it make it better?, Did it lead to other things?

Conclusion

Most Significant – which bullet point was the most important? Explain why you think this.

A* Grade (DIS)

1st Bullet Point

Define – Show the examiner that you know about this bullet point. Develop the most crucial details only. This should only be a sentence or two at most. It should not be the focus of your essay.

Impact on the issue - Look back at the key issue in the question: be clear on what you need to focus on. Explain how this bullet point had an impact on the key issue. Did it help to cause it?, Did it make it worse?, Did it make it better?, Did it lead to other things?

Significance of the impact – Try to measure how important this bullet point was. You may even develop arguments against it being significant to help you make a measured judgement.

2nd Bullet Point

Define - Show the examiner that you know about this bullet point. Develop the most crucial details only . This should only be a sentence or two at most. It should not be the focus of your essay.

Impact on the issue - Look back at the key issue in the question: be clear on what you need to focus on. Explain how this bullet point had an impact on the key issue. Did it help to cause it?, Did it make it worse?, Did it make it better?, Did it lead to other things?

Significance of the impact - Try to measure how important this bullet point was. You may even develop arguments against it being significant to help you make a measured judgement.

Conclusion

Judgement – You may show an inter-relation between the choices, but the most significant bullet point is identified and your judgement is substantiated. You should be thinking about whether your choice is a cause or a consequence.





Techniques for assessing historical significance:

Some historians have argued that you should consider the following in order to asses how significant (important) historical events were. You may consider some, but necessarily all f these in order to assess how important events were:

1. People at the time thought that it was important 
2. It affected a lot of people 
3. It led to other important events 
4. It still affects attitudes and beliefs today 
5. It affected people for a long time 
6. It affected people deeply




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