How to write A2 Edexcel History Sources Coursework on own independent study??

Hi
I've just done the first draft of my coursework where you have to find your own sources and use your own knowledge to construct an argument.

I am doing:

Did the equal rights legislation passed in 1964 make a difference to the lives of Black Americans in the period 1964-98?

I am just unsure as to how to use the sources; Do you use them as a set like AS sources unit or differently??

I've integrated my own knowledge in with the sources but haven't used them explicitly as a set. Is that right or wrong??

If anyone could help me that would be great

Thanks

I've done the A2 Edexcel coursework because I was entered for January. I ended up with full marks, 80/80 which I am really chuffed about! We did something different though, the topic was Britain's Empire and its African colonies and we chose our own questions and sources.

With the sources question it's a bit different to AS in the sense that not much of your own knowledge is actually needed and they care less about it. Definitely do include your own knowledge to support your argument and state facts where relevant as it demonstrates that you know what you're talking about. So I'd say what you're doing at the moment is correct, just don't overdo it.

What they're mainly looking for though, is how you can take a source and really pick it apart by analyzing it in great depth. For example comparing it to other sources to add weight to your argument is a really good way to do this. Also really look at who is talking, where they were at the time of the event and why they'd be saying what they are saying and in what manner. For example I found peoples' jobs were useful as it can explain the way they saw and talked about the event.

Evaluation of the sources is also key to this question so make sure your essay is balanced but also has a strong argument leaning either way. I was told for a high grade it's important that your own voice and opinion comes through to show that you've really engaged with what you've been asked and you fully understand it.

I hope that's maybe helped a bit and that I haven't just confused you! Good luck with your essay!

I'm also doing this coursework. Can you tell me what kind of paragraph structure you used to write it? That would be really helpful.

I certainly have some ideas - based on the people I teach essay writing to. Have you got a clear argument and counter-argument?

I've done the A2 Edexcel coursework because I was entered for January. I ended up with full marks, 80/80 which I am really chuffed about! We did something different though, the topic was Britain's Empire and its African colonies and we chose our own questions and sources.

With the sources question it's a bit different to AS in the sense that not much of your own knowledge is actually needed and they care less about it. Definitely do include your own knowledge to support your argument and state facts where relevant as it
demonstrates that you know what you're talking about. So I'd say what you're doing at the moment is correct, just don't overdo it.

What they're mainly looking for though, is how you can take a source and really pick it apart by analyzing it in great depth. For example comparing it to other sources to add weight to your argument is a really good way to do this. Also really look at who is talking, where they were at the time of the event and why they'd be saying what they are saying and in what manner. For example I found peoples' jobs were useful as it can explain the way they saw and talked about the event.

Evaluation of the sources is also key to this question so make sure your essay is balanced but also has a strong argument leaning either way. I was told for a high grade it's important that your own voice and opinion comes through to show that you've really engaged with what you've been asked and you fully understand it.

I hope that's maybe helped a bit and that I haven't just confused you! Good luck with your essay!

I've done the A2 Edexcel coursework because I was entered for January. I ended up with full marks, 80/80 which I am really chuffed about! We did something different though, the topic was Britain's Empire and its African colonies and we chose our own questions and sources.

With the sources question it's a bit different to AS in the sense that not much of your own knowledge is actually needed and they care less about it. Definitely do include your own knowledge to support your argument and state facts where relevant as it demonstrates that you know what you're talking about. So I'd say what you're doing at the moment is correct, just don't overdo it.

What they're mainly looking for though, is how you can take a source and really pick it apart by analyzing it in great depth. For example comparing it to other sources to add weight to your argument is a really good way to do this. Also really look at who is talking, where they were at the time of the event and why they'd be saying what they are saying and in what manner. For example I found peoples' jobs were useful as it can explain the way they saw and talked about the event.

Evaluation of the sources is also key to this question so make sure your essay is balanced but also has a strong argument leaning either way. I was told for a high grade it's important that your own voice and opinion comes through to show that you've really engaged with what you've been asked and you fully understand it.

I hope that's maybe helped a bit and that I haven't just confused you! Good luck with your essay!

I'm just starting my A2 History coursework on the Arab-Israeli conflict and I am stressing out! We haven't yet been told how we're supposed to approach writing it, nor how to incorporate the sources (as I'd read that it's not the same as doing it at AS exam level). Does anybody know how we should begin and what to do with our sources? Thanks in advance!

I am doing the exact same topic for coursework and I too am completely clueless on how to approach writing it!!

Hi! I ended up getting 96% in my coursework (yay!) after weeks of unending stress, so I know how you feel!

I found it helped to create a mindmap for each of the two questions so that the points you want to make are clearly mapped out. For sources, I found some really great ones in books such as 'The Arab-Israeli Conflict' by Kirsten E Schulze and 'The Origins and Evolution of the Arab-Zionist Conflict' by Michael J Cohen; I believe you can find both of these online for free through Google Books, too. You could also try searching the key terms of your question on Goodreads.com/quotes to see if that conjures up anything useful! As well as quotes, I ended up using several photograph sources (three in all) and a statistics table which really helped illustrate my points. Using photos also lets you explore whether they were staged and, if so, biased, so you can really go to town on whether it can be considered as a trustworthy source or not. I put all of these into an Appendix (it wasn't necessary at our college to do so, but I found it helped me as I could save words by writing '[see Appendix 3]' or something like that! I also recorded the full quotations here, too.)

Don't forget that for Part A, you should be looking mainly at primary/contemporary sources from the time period to fully assess the short-term significance of your chosen event/individual, and for Part B, looking mainly at the differing views of historians to determine your own stance on the subject matter.

I hope this helped, and good luck!

I'm currently doing an A2 coursework on RUSSIA, and I know for a fact my teacher has no clue what we are actually meant to be doing to prepare and succeed for it!! If anyone could offer some help, my classmates and I will be ever so grateful!

Many Thanks
Savita PAul