Paper II Skills

Question type 1– Evaluating sources

Evaluating sources

Questions of this type include:

How useful / valuable is Source ____ in explaining ….

• An evaluating question will be asked about just one source.

• It’s worth five marks, therefore it is a relatively low value item.

Where do I get my marks?

• There are two marks available for origin and the purpose of the source

• Up to two marks are available for the way you interpret the source

• Up to two marks are also allocated for the relevance of the recall that you apply in the answer.

Step 1

Discuss context in which the sources were written

What is the context of our source?

Step 2

ORIGINDiscuss who made the speech, wrote the letter,

write the book• when was it made (primary or secondary)• what was its purpose

What is there about the origin and the purpose of the source that is useful? (answer the q!)

Step 3

Purpose

• Why was it produced and what were its intentions?

• Does this make it more or less useful?

Step 4

Analyse the content of the source • is it accurate,• is it biased? • Does it match your own knowledge?Here you should bring in some of your own

knowledge to support or argue against information in the source.

How does the source’s accuracy affect its usefulness?

Step 5 How should I use recall?

• Are there omissions to the content that affect its value?

• Are there relevant points which can be added that support the views held in the source?

• Your recall has to be appropriate and relevant to the subject being addressed in your answer.

Step 6

You must conclude your answer byCommenting on the usefulness.

One or two sentences can serve as a conclusion.

Avoid

• Not answering the question. Keep repeating phrases like ‘this makes it more useful because...’

• just listing information rather than trying to make discrete points in single sentences that are relevant to the question and evaluate the source.

Now give it a go...

• Read source• Highlight the key points• Identify context• Identify Primary / Secondary• Identify purpose• Identify content• Identify accuracy• Identify Bias (if any)