If you're taking a course in GCSE History then you'll know just how hard it is to understand exactly what the

examiner or teacher is asking you to do. But hopefully this guide will explain what the questions themselves actually mean, and will help you answer them more thoroughly, and achieve the grade you deserve!

Contents at a Glance
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Describing: Explaining: Why/What - Source Questions How - Source Questions Why - Source Questions What - Source Questions

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Describing: What were the causes of...?/ In what ways were the...?
Okay, so this is the easiest of the bunch. A simple 4 mark question. All the examiner wants is facts. No opinions, no inferences nothing. Just four simple, relevant facts for the A grade... or three for the B... two for C...etc.

Simple!

Explaining: How did.../ Why...

This type of question is also rather simple. Just give two or three reasons with some clear and factual evidence. Don't write an essay for an explanation question, they're normally worth only six marks, this means NO CONCLUSION.

Why/What - Source Questions What is the message...?

You will get source questions. So prepare yourself and follow this simple guide when presented with the question What is the message of this source? Ok, so all the examiner really wants is to know if you know about one-sidedness (biased) and whether or not you can see if a source was made for a particular reason. For the answer, simply give BOTH sides of the argument, prove your own knowledge with dates and trivia and come to a clear conclusion. Remember, a conclusion is your OWN opinion.

How - Source Questions How far.../ How important...?

Here, the examineer wants you to write a non-biased answer and come to a conclusion. In this question, there is often hidden information, paticularly where the ones-sidedness occurs. So watch out, this is one of the most trickiest questions of the bunch!

Why - Source Questions Why do these sources disagree...?

The examiner wants to know that you know the facts. You need to know why they differ, not necessarily how. As always, incorporate your own knowledge into the question to recieve all the marks up for grabs!

What - Source Questions What can this source tell us...?

In this question the examiner wants you to write a lot about a little! Just look at the source and try to figure out what the hidden meanings are. Be wary of one-sidedness and as always - include your own knowledge!

Do you agree with this statement...? Nothing to do with sources! Yay!

Okay, so this is it! This type of question is often your final 12 mark question, and if you havent got a cramp in your arm by now, you're doing it wrong! Ironically, this one of the simplest questions. You just need to be careful. Ensure your answers cover both sides of the argument and that you refer to some of the sources. A good A* answer will include your own knowledge aswell.

How far does Source... Agree with Source... Alright... alright... one more source
question...
This question is probably the most complicated in the entire exam. How far does one source prove another source is wrong. You will always be asked to prove another source wrong, not right. For this question, include your own knowledge and evaluate both the sources considering the author of the source - could it be one-sided.

Tips! Things that apply to all the questions:

Source Questions:

  

Purpose - Why was the source written? Propaganda? Author - Was the author under pressure? Being forced? Content - What is actually in the source? Don't overlook it!

All Questions:

  

Time yourself - Work out how many minutes to spend on each question. Knowledge - ALWAYS use your own knowledge! If all else fails - fill the page with as much as you can. You don't lose marks for wrong answers, so get as much down as you can.

History
Biased sources In your exam you will need to show that you can evaluate sources for their usefulness. This exercise will look specifically at sources that are biased or influenced in some way.

Exam question
Look at this typical exam question about sources. Question How useful is Source A for finding out about farming in the USSR in the 1930s? Source A

Soviet government photograph of 1933 showing tractors on a collective farm Start by looking closely at the photograph. Write down as many details about it, however small or obvious, you can always eliminate them later. Also the subject of the source might appear to be obvious, but don't be content with just a glance. Can you say three things about the photograph? You could say: 1. There are eight tractors. 2. They are all working together at ploughing a field or cutting corn. 3. They have been photographed from above so we can see the pattern they make. 4. They look quite old: from the 1930s? Are there any other points you could make? Remember that your answer must relate directly to the question given on the exam paper, in this case, how useful is the photograph.

The photograph and its usefulness

What are your first thoughts about how useful it is? Is it:
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useful because this photo is from a farm in the USSR?

useless because it was never like this in the USSR - tractors were never this common? Examiner's view Both these statements are true and worth making. However, a source is never completely useful or totally useless.

The caption and its reliability

Now look at the caption, or the attribution as it is sometimes called: Soviet government photograph of 1933 showing tractors on a collective farm. Examiners take great care over the captions. Every word has been included for a purpose. Use them in your answer if you can. The caption may tell you about the reliability of the source. Is it what it appears to be? Who made it? Was the person who made it present at these events? Why was it made? When? In this case, how does the caption affect the reliability of the photograph? Is it: 1. reliable, because it is from the right period? 2. reliable, because the camera always tells the truth? 3. unreliable, because it is a government photograph? Examiner's view 1. The date is right, but that does not make it reliable, it just begins to make it useful. 2. Remember that photographs can be 'set up' to show things that never really happened. The photograph itself can be altered after printing. 3. This is an important point. The Soviet government may have had all sorts of reasons for putting out this photo as propaganda [Propaganda: A type of advertising for an idea or cause, produced by supporters or opponents of that idea or cause. It is usually produced to influence how the people of a nation think. ] and therefore it may not be very reliable. Remember that the question does not ask you about reliability, it asks you about usefulness.

How useful is the source?

Having established that the source is not very reliable, how useful is it? Is it: 1. Useless because it is unreliable? It is Soviet government information and probably biased. 2. Useful because it tells us what propaganda the Soviet government in the 1930s was putting out? Examiner's view 1. It is certainly biased information and would not be an accurate record of what was happening on the collective farms, but that does not mean it can be rejected as useless. 2. The photo may not be reliable as factual evidence of farming practices, but it is very useful as evidence of Soviet propaganda.

How useful is the source as propaganda?

Having established that it is not very reliable as factual evidence, how useful is it as propaganda? Which do you think is the best answer of these? 1. This evidence is useful for telling us what the Soviet government wanted people to think about what was happening on the farms. Farming was going well; it was mechanised, with lots of tractors. 2. Soviet agriculture was improving under Stalin's collectivisation plans. They wanted people to think this in order to persuade them to join the collectives, which many peasants opposed. Examiner's view 1. This answer does not get at the purpose of the propaganda, which was to persuade the peasants to co-operate in collectivisation. 2. This is a good answer because it gives the reason for the publication of Soviet government propaganda. You can see that you have to get past the unreliability of the source and also use your own knowledge of the situation to set the biased evidence in context and so establish its precise usefulness.

Exam tips
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A source is never completely useless or completely useful. Biased, unreliable sources can still be useful. Think about what the source might be useful for. You may need to add in your own knowledge to make complete sense of the source.

History
On the day of the exam This exercise will help you answer questions in an examination as well as possible.

Exam skills
If you worked through the Revision and Test Bites, you will have spotted lots of advice about how to answer questions. Can you remember what was said? Doing well in examinations is not just about learning the subject, it's also about making sure that you understand the questions and write good answers. So what should you do if you are going to do as well as possible in an examination? Here are some tips: Timing
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Make sure that you arrive in good time for the examination. Get everything that you need ready in advance. There's nothing worse than having to rush. Check the starting time and how long the exam will last. Do not get taken by surprise. You can get this information from your teacher at school. Make sure you know how many questions you have to answer and how long you can afford to spend on each. Make sure that your watch is working. Put it on your desk where you can see it, rather than wearing it on your wrist where you will have to stop and look at it. Equipment

Always have at least two pens and make sure that they are working. They must be blue or black - but check this with your teacher first. If you like to draw diagrams, have a pencil handy and sharpen it. Make sure that you have everything else that you need. A picture of your pet or something that makes you laugh will help you feel positive in your exam. Question choice

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Make sure that you understand where you have a choice of questions. You usually do on history papers. Check back through some Revision Bites to see some example questions if you are not sure what they will be like.

Always read the question carefully and spot the key words, why, change, etc. Usually the two papers will have different types of questions. One will be knowledge and understanding, the other will be on evidence. Make sure you know which is which.

Plan your answer before you start writing. It helps just to jot down a list of points and then cross them off when you write your answer. This is really important in order to make sure you do not forget to include all your points.

Make sure that you are answering the question which is on the paper and not the question which you hoped would be on the paper! This is the commonest mistake made in examinations. It counts for half the marks lost by candidates in examinations.

If the question is made up of sub-questions, read through all of them first. This will help you to decide if you can answer the question. It will also help you to work out how long to spend on each question. Sometimes one sub-question will lead on to another. Try to make sure that you do not put the two answers together. Check the number of marks for each sub-question. The more marks available, the longer the answer should be normally. Spelling, Punctuation, Grammar (SPG)

SPG stands for Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar. How neat your handwriting is does not count but it helps if you try to keep it in order. There are an extra five marks available for correct SPG. To get five marks you will need to spell accurately and express yourself clearly. You will need to use correct historical terms. Here are a couple of examples:

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The Prime Minister of Germany is called the Chancellor. The Rhineland was 'demilitarised'. When talking about after 1924 Russia should be called the Soviet Union. Make sure that you use capital letters for all names of people, countries, cities, towns etc. Copy words carefully from the question paper, particularly names like Czechoslovakia. Put full stops after every sentence and make sure that each sentence makes sense. Check through your answers if you have time. Clarity

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Remember that your answers will be marked by someone who does not know you. The examiner will not be able to understand your answer if you do not explain things properly. Make your answers as clear as possible. Do not try to be funny. The examiner will have four hundred scripts to mark. Try to make sure that yours is easy to mark. Do exactly what the questions ask you to do.

History
Sources in context This exercise will help you with questions which ask you to look at a source in context. You need to understand how a question is phrased to answer it well in your exam.

A typical question
Typical exam questions about source material might be:
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Use the source and your own knowledge to explain what Source A tells you about...? How does Source B help you understand...? Use the source and your own knowledge in your answer. Read the source below and the exam question that goes with it. Last summer in the hot weather, when the smell was sickening and the flies were thick, there were a hundred people a day coming to the dump. A widow who used to do housework and laundry, but now had no work at all, fed herself and her 14 year old son on garbage. Question Use the source and your own knowledge to describe the effects of the Great Depression on the people of the USA.

Sample answers
Now read these two answers to this question - which do you think is better? Answer 1 In the Depression some people were so poor that they had to live on the rubbish dumps. People who had no work got food for their families from the dump. Answer 2 The depression meant factories closed down and lots of people were put out of work (12 million by 1932). Some left their homes and lived in Hoovervilles. Farmers left their land and moved west to try to find work in California. Examiner's view Did you prefer answer 2? It certainly has more facts about the Depression. But read it again. Does it refer to the source at all? No it doesn't; it seems to have been written without reading it. It would get more marks than answer 1 but not top marks. Answer 1 used information from the source in another way but does not use further knowledge of the Great Depression to improve the answer. Read the question again. Question Use the source and your own knowledge to describe the effects of the Great Depression on the people of the USA. You are being asked to bring two things together- what the source says and what you know. Look at this answer below, which combines the two requirements. Answer Some people in the USA were hit so hard by the Depression that they went and lived off the rubbish dumps. With no dole or social security they had to do this or starve. There were 12 million

unemployed by 1932. This was because demand for goods had fallen so much that factories had closed.

Exam tips
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Remember to use both the source and your own knowledge. Try writing about the source first. Then add in what you can remember about the historical background which would help you understand the source better.