The Student Room Group

A-Level History Part B

Hey,

So stuck on my part B for history,
"Assess the impact of China's development in the 20th century of interference by foreign powers"
I don't know what to write-does anyone else have this topic?

Also, I don't understand how the sources work, part A I know we need primary, but apparently for part B you don't and there's less/ no analysis of the souces?


ANY help much appreciated.
Reply 1
Original post by fuzzbucket
Hey,

So stuck on my part B for history,
"Assess the impact of China's development in the 20th century of interference by foreign powers"
I don't know what to write-does anyone else have this topic?

Also, I don't understand how the sources work, part A I know we need primary, but apparently for part B you don't and there's less/ no analysis of the souces?


ANY help much appreciated.


I don't study the same topic but I have just written by Part B so hopefully this will help at least a little bit! With Part B you need to show evidence of wider reading in your bibliography but you don't need to reference it in the essay - you don't get any credit for source analysis because that isn't the skill that they are marking you on.

The examiners are looking for an analysis of the process of change, so for your question you'd be looking at the effect that certain factors had on the development of China, when foreign powers had a big effect and when change was slower/faster.

Hope this has helped :smile:
Original post by MBK28
I don't study the same topic but I have just written by Part B so hopefully this will help at least a little bit! With Part B you need to show evidence of wider reading in your bibliography but you don't need to reference it in the essay - you don't get any credit for source analysis because that isn't the skill that they are marking you on.

The examiners are looking for an analysis of the process of change, so for your question you'd be looking at the effect that certain factors had on the development of China, when foreign powers had a big effect and when change was slower/faster.

Hope this has helped :smile:


We've been shown an essay from the exam board with comments saying sources weren't used enough - so you do need to use them a little bit. You should be reading lots of books to research part B, looking for historians views as well as general knowledge. In your essay, you just need to mention a few times that "historian X has argued that Y caused Z", with a footnote to give the book title, author publisher etc. Maybe put in the odd quote, but only quality ones which explicitly back up what you're saying.

DON'T use primary sources

DON'T analyse the sources themselves, just use their overall message

DON'T evaluate, ie don't write about the nature/origin/purpose/reliability. There are no marks for this, unlike part A

So overall, it's like an ordinary essay, writing what you know without backing everything up like part A. Focus on breadth not depth, and throw in the odd quote - to do this you must read proper historians' books (just the relevant chapters!).

Hope this helps

Quick Reply

Latest

Trending

Trending