OCR AS History B - Using Historical Evidence

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I did the impact of war on british society and politics :smile:

yes, you have to use your own knowledge - you should use it to analyse the sources. E.g. For mine I could analyse a source from a consciencious objecter by using my own knowledge of how many objectors there were and their experiences to judge typicality and come to a judgement about the usefulness of a source and how much weight to give to it. Try to include a bit of your own knowledge in every source when analysing it :smile:

Ugh, it's so hard. I don't have enough of my "own knowledge" to analyse the sources that well, only give vague descriptions of the period in general. Also, we've not even been taught how to analyse sources! I've got a VERY busy easter holiday, trying to prepare for eight AS exams :-/

Did you carry on with history at A2? The A2 year looks easier.

Reply 21

snikutsmullac

I'm doing it the way I originally said I was going to, and ignoring my teacher. The OCR examiners themselves said this was a better way to do it; I've been looking at examiner reports.

Reply 22

Nash96

Original post by snikutsmullac

Just try to use as much as you can, cross reference and constantly criticise anything you see :smile:

and I did, it's easier in that there is less to remember, but the standard you have to write as is much higher!

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Reply 23

snikutsmullac

Original post by Nash96

Just try to use as much as you can, cross reference and constantly criticise anything you see :smile:

and I did, it's easier in that there is less to remember, but the standard you have to write as is much higher!

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Hey, I know it's been a while since I've posted on here but I was wondering if you could help me. I have made a generic template for an introduction to answer part a in this exam and wanted to see what you thought:

Sources ____ through to _____ as a set provide evidence to evaluate change and continuity in _____ across the period being studied. Individually, sources _____ support the interpretation and sources _____ corroborate with my wider knowledge and highlight that the interpretation is only partially true and should be amended. Whilst sources _____ show that the interpretation is representative of some years throughout the period, such as _____, it is generally unsuitable to describe the period as a whole; for example sources _____ suggest _____.

Reply 24

Civil Dispute

You shouldn't make your alternative interpretation explicit until the conclusion as examiner reports have expressed that they dislike students going down a tangent they can't escape from, since you change your mind as you progress through the essay.

The intro should explain what the interpretation means, followed by how a group of sources imply an alternative interpretation.

Next paragraph should be for the sources which agree with the original interpretation. Briefly say what a source as a whole shows, and then, using your own knowledge to reinforce inferences from the source, say why it would appear to agree with the original interpretation, but in actual fact doesn't. Challenge how typical the source is of the era.

Third paragraph is reserved for those which disagree. Again, explain briefly what the source is showing and then explain that it shows something else (using your own historical knowledge). After doing so, we go on to say that collectively, this group of sources requires us to fashion a new interpretation.

Final paragraph is the conclusion. Introduce your alternative interpretation and reach a sound ending.

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Reply 25

snikutsmullac

Original post by Civil Dispute

Thanks for this. It's a really good plan. I did not intend to write the amendment until the end of the essay, but just wanted to point out in the introduction that the interpretation will be amended to give an outline for where my argument is heading.

Reply 26

r.rhiann

Hello!
Is anyone selling/ know where I can buy an OCR History B AS textbook (for the Black Death)? I know it isn't on the syllabus anymore but wanted to use the sources for another essay and can't find it anywhere! :/