Question 1

The first question on your exam will tell you that a source
either supports or opposes something. All you need to do is
prove it!

This means writing a PEE paragraph:

Point: What is the message of the source that proves the

assertion in the question? (i.e. what it supports or it opposes)
You cannot simply write that it supports or opposes
something – the question already told you that – you need
to say what the message is that proves that is supports or
opposes something.

Evidence: What are two key details of the source that prove
your point?

Explanation: What happened at the time the source was

made that explains why the artist put those key details in the
source?

An example with a model answer has been provided for you.

Example

Source A: ‘The Great German Civilisation: New ‘Made in Germany’ streets for
Belgian and French villages occupied by the German Army’, a British cartoon
from 29 November 1914.

Source A opposes the German invasion of France through Belgium. How do

you know? Explain your answer using Source A and your contextual
knowledge. [4 marks]
Source A opposes the German invasion of France
through Belgium as it suggests that the invasion has led
to countless deaths of French and Belgian people and
the destruction of towns, and the Germans are directly
to blame. Evidence to prove this is the German soldiers
laying new cobbles on the ruined streets, but using
thousands of skulls as the cobbles, plus the cartoon
says ‘New ‘Made in Germany’ streets’ and the cartoon is
from Britain. From my contextual knowledge, I know that
Germany invaded France through Belgium because of
the Schlieffen Plan, and the Schlieffen Plan led to heavy
losses on both sides, which explains the skulls. As well
as this, the British had given Germany an ultimatum not
to invade through Belgium as the British had guaranteed
Belgian neutrality, but the Germans ignored the
ultimatum, which meant Britain and France were at war,
which explains why a British cartoon would oppose the
Germans.
This answer has followed the PEE structure outlined above:

Point
Source A opposes the German invasion of France through
Belgium as it suggests that the invasion has led to
countless deaths of French and Belgian people and the
destruction of towns, and the Germans are directly to
blame.

Note how the point doesn’t just say ‘Source A opposes the German
invasion of France through Belgium’, it says what the message of the
source is. The question already told me that the source opposes the
German invasion of France through Belgium, so if I just wrote that as
my point, I wouldn’t get any marks because all I’d be doing is
repeating the question back to the examiner. I’ve actually said what
the message of the source is, which opposes the German invasion of
France through Belgium.

Evidence
Evidence to prove this is the German soldiers laying new
cobbles on the ruined streets, but using thousands of
skulls as the cobbles, plus the cartoon says ‘New ‘Made in
Germany’ streets’ and the cartoon is from Britain.

Note how I’ve picked the key features – in this case including from
the title of the cartoon – that are the easiest to explain in the next
bit. I’ve only picked features that I can explain from my contextual
knowledge.
Explanation
From my contextual knowledge, I know that Germany
invaded France through Belgium because of the Schlieffen
Plan, and the Schlieffen Plan led to heavy losses on both
sides, which explains the skulls. As well as this, the British
had given Germany an ultimatum not to invade through
Belgium as the British had guaranteed Belgian neutrality,
but the Germans ignored the ultimatum, which meant
Britain and France were at war, which explains why a
British cartoon would oppose the Germans.

Note the use of the words “which explains the…” and “which explains
why…”. I’ve used my contextual knowledge to explain why the key
features I picked out of the source are there, not just randomly
written down everything I know about this topic.