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

5. Study all the sources. The writer of Source I believed that television played an important part in changing people’s attitudes to the Vietnam War. Use the sources, and your own knowledge, to explain whether you agree with this view. (14)

Target: Analysis of sources and recall of knowledge to evaluate an Interpretation

Level 1: Simple statements using the sources as evidence OR some knowledge, e.g. yes it did, it showed people what it was really like etc. (1-3)

Level 2: Developed statements making inferences from the sources supported by relevant own knowledge, e.g. this was the first war where television was able to show exact details of the fighting, therefore it had a direct impact, as Source D shows etc. (4-6)

Level 3: Developed statements using the nature of the sources supported by appropriately selected knowledge, e.g. yes, television played an important part in changing attitudes to the war, in the past wars had been fought ‘far away’, both in terms of distance and in terms of ‘time’, television made the war immediate as it showed the details described in Source F and publicising photographs such as Source H, but there were other important factors, such as the influence of popular music and youth culture etc. (7-11)

Level 4: Sustained argument using the sources as evidence supported by precisely selected knowledge, which critically assesses the role of television in changing public opinion in the USA, it was not just the descriptive role of television news, but also the investigative role of reporting in general which forced the authorities to reveal details of the war which they wanted to keep secret; the media also publicised protest songs by singers such as Joan Baez, The Byrds, Bob Dylan etc. (12-14)