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Mr H · Site Admin Joined: 07 Jan 2007 Posts: 459

The following is some advice from a VERY able student on the Students' History Forum about the Paper 2 questions:

Part A: Make sure you don't waste your time on this - it's only worth 4 marks. Make 2 or 3 obvious points which you can draw from the statement (but don't copy out what has been said) and then make 1 or 2 'inferences' which is where you can see that the source 'implies' something but does not actually say it. E.g. If I said "I like vanilla ice cream but all other flavours make me sick" then you could say "We can infer from the source that Ben did not buy chocolate ice cream recently as it "makes [him] sick".

Part B: Firstly start with a small one sentence introduction, something like "Both Sources A and B support Source C to an extent". Then say a few ways in which Source A agrees, supports or corroborates(really good exam word which the examiners will love you for saying) source C, then give a few ways in which Source A does not agree with, support, back up or corroborate source C. Then start a new paragraph and do the same for Source B. Then have a final paragraph with a conclusion or judgement (you must to this to do well in the question) in which you say the following: "In conclusion, both sources A and B agree with source C..." but then you should say which source agrees more (or the extent of agreement of the two sources): "however, Source A has a stronger corroboration with source C than source B does as it says X whereas Source B only says Y."
Oh yeah, always use lots of quotes. That's important.

Part C: Split this up into 3 paragraphs. Firstly, deal with the first source mentioned. Describe what you can learn from the source, in terms of content. This can be a bit tricky but just draw as much from it as you can, no matter how small. Then look at NOP - Nature (What kind of source is it? A first person witness? A picture?), Origin (When was it made?) and Purpose (Why was it made?). These factors can add to the usefulness of the Source (KEY WORD!!! I CANNOT STRESS THAT ENOUGH) or make it less useful. You can find a lot of the NOP information in the provenance (saying "looking at the provenance, I can see..." will make the examiner a happy bunny). Example: "Looking at the provenance, I can see that the Source was written 5 million years after the even happened. This means it is not entirely useful as it was not written at the time (by the way, this is called a 'Secondary Source' and first-hand acounts are 'primary sources' but don't worry too much about that), and so facts can be distorted or disputed over the years. However, it is an extract from a school textbook and so the facts are likely to be accurate". Then do all of this for the second source in a new paragraph. Then make a very important conclusion as a new paragraph where you assess which sources are more useful - I always like to end like this "In conclusion, both sources are useful to an extent, but they are most useful when used in conjunction with each other as they back each other up/show contrasting views. However/also, the second source is a picture/photograph/cartoon/painting(it usually is) and this immediately makes it less useful because X." Other things you should mention: Always look for a subjective source (and use that word too for more examiner happiness!). For example, if you see a poster made by the government, it is usually propaganda and therefore subjective which makes it less useful. Try to not use the word 'bias' or 'biased' as all sources are biased! If you see statistics - say that it only shows one section (mention other information which could be shown) and also mention if figures are only an estimation. If the source is written by a politician see if it says which political party he belongs to and comment on that in necessary. Oh yes and make sure you answer the question in a relevant manner - if the question says how useful are these sources in learning about how tall people were in 1976, don't talk about how heavy people were in 1976 (unless you're mentioning it as a negative point of the source, in which case FOR THE LOVE OF GETTING THE GRADE YOU WANT TO GET, DO IT!).

Part D: This is where the real marks are worth - leave yourself about 15 minutes (or more if you're a slow writer) to do this question. Firstly, have a brief introduction saying if you agree with the statement and why. It's usually a good idea to state that you agree with it to an extent but that there are other factors involved, such as X,Y and Z. Lead with the sources, and show all the sources which firstly disagree with the statement. Then add a bit of your own knowledge and add to this factor. Then show any sources that directly indicate that that was not the reason for whatever. Then say "However, Source X states an alternative reason for whatever." Then add a bit of your own knowledge on that. Then keep doing new paragraphs for each new reason which the sources give. Make sure you use the last source as it won't have been used yet and it's there for a reason. If there's any other factors you then know that the sources don't mention - EXCELLENT! Say: "However - there are other reasons, such as X, Y, and Z." Then make a conclusion and say I agree that the statement is ONE of the causes/factors/reasons, but there are other reasons, such as XYZ mentioned in the Sources and also ABC (your own knowledge). If you want to go for top marks you could also mention usefulness of sources (like you did in part C) and then say that such and such a factor is not as important as the sources which give that factor as a reason are not as reliable/useful.

Some other general tips/hints: Don't waste any time, if you do everything properly you'll be strapped for time so use every millisecond wisely. Use connectives (whereas, however, moreover, conversely, nonetheless) to link paragraphs, to make sure your work flows better. Also paragraph properly. Time management is important, make sure you allocate the right amount of time according to how many marks the question is worth. Don't ever say you completely agree or disagree with whatever, always consider both sides and use a counter-argument wherever possible. And quote loads.

Phew! I hope all of that helps. I might put it into easier to read blocks later. Do all of that and you'll be the best historian in the country!

http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/studentforum/