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History A-level source questions WTF?

How the hell do you go about answering these, I'm currently in my A2 year I'm quite good and enjoy History but one thing I cant get around is how to answer these things. In edexcel AS history I got an A in coursework and a B in the unit 2 exam then I got a bloody U (35/120) in the source paper what makes this worse is that the A2 exam is bound to be harder, I'm retaking the AS exam this January and I still dont have a clue about how to do this, which will probably result in me getting another U :p:

Reply 1

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3

ChrisF

How the hell do you go about answering these, I'm currently in my A2 year I'm quite good and enjoy History but one thing I cant get around is how to answer these things. In edexcel AS history I got an A in coursework and a B in the unit 2 exam then I got a bloody U (35/120) in the source paper what makes this worse is that the A2 exam is bound to be harder, I'm retaking the AS exam this January and I still dont have a clue about how to do this, which will probably result in me getting another U :p:

What do you normally do to answer the questions? How do you use the sources? It might be better for you to understand where you are going wrong before you learn how to answer them correctly.

Reply 2

TheThief

Hi,

If you could give an example of a source question which, if it came up in an exam, would horrify you, and then write how you would go about answering it, I will try my best to give you some advice.

Of course there are general points which may improve your source work, but from my experience they mean nothing without an actual example and practice.

I'm living proof that practice is the only way to improve with sources, I went up by 24 marks from January in June 2006 in my history source paper. :smile:

Looking forward to helping. *grins enthusiatically*

Reply 3

kitty_koo

12

I find source questions kinda hard too but when answering questions about them its useful to include how useful/reliable they are to the period they are about, ie a source about WW2 would be more reliable it was written during the war years rather than one written only 5 years ago.

Reply 4

RomanticChrissy

I am currently having the same crisis as an AS student. I had no issues writing source based questions at GCSE (mainly getting As or A*s), but for some reason, in the two essays my History A Level teacher has set so far, I have scored incredibly low. I only just made the halfway mark of 26/40 in the most recent essay.

It just seems like I'm losing my touch? I have been told that I need to analyse the sources in more depth, but I find it hard to place that within the whole essay while still making it relevant...

Any help or tips would be appreciated x

Reply 5

username202682

17

ChrisF

How the hell do you go about answering these, I'm currently in my A2 year I'm quite good and enjoy History but one thing I cant get around is how to answer these things. In edexcel AS history I got an A in coursework and a B in the unit 2 exam then I got a bloody U (35/120) in the source paper what makes this worse is that the A2 exam is bound to be harder, I'm retaking the AS exam this January and I still dont have a clue about how to do this, which will probably result in me getting another U :p:

Edexcel spec?
Question a = 20 marks = Total source based
Question b = 40 marks = Part source (40%) Part Knowledge (60%).

For this you follow the same technique as you would in the non source paper 1 but take into account the provenance of the source. Basically you are looking at how historical events are intepreted and the bias and reliability of the source.
For example, a General is more likely to be positively biased on the outcome of a war.
A reporter is writing for a mass of people
The solider is writing to himself but the reliability is likely to be different if he's writing to his family (censoring could be a factor)
Section B in particular requires you to bring majority of your own knowledge with substantial reference to the sources to back or counter your arguments. Thus the percentages are set to that.

Reply 6

Engor

Does anyone know where to get past papers questions for AS level history Edexcel? They are only available for secure download on their website. Have no idea why they do that!

Reply 7

username202682

17

This means only your teachers have access to download them off the website.
Ask a teacher/head of department to get the papers.

Reply 8

tknight7

1

Engor

Does anyone know where to get past papers questions for AS level history Edexcel? They are only available for secure download on their website. Have no idea why they do that!

http://www.freeexampapers.com/Dndex.php?d=QSBMZXZlbC9IaXN0b3J5L0VkZXhjZWw=

need to know your exam codes though

OH, and to make $$$$$

Thanks

Any other sites?

I actually just came on to ask a similar question! Apparently I'm very good at answering the source based questions, but my structure is weak.

Anyone tell me how I should start these types of essays? What the intro should include, for example.

Anyway, I've been told we should just stick to the information in the sources - NEVER bring in your own knowledge, except when talking about the origins of the source. For example an article in The Socialist, you can discuss that it has a left-wing political bias.

All I tend to do is state the facts of one source, explain how it relates to the question and then talk about the origins of the source. As I talk about different sources, I do the same, but try and link them all together. It seems to work for me, don't know if this helps!

Reply 12

xxAFFxx

15

Hi im actually in the same position as yourself.

I can't seem to understand how to grasp the source analysis and never get higher then a C.

I was wondering has anybody got an example of a realy high grade source based exam answer - just so i can compare it to what im doing now - preferrably a Phillip II source analysis answer lol

Thanks

Reply 13