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GCSE History help – help me decode the mark scheme? :)

Hi there!
I'm having trouble marking my exam paper since I don't understand what the examiner (or mark scheme people) really means.
I'd appreciate if you could explain everything in simple terms. Especially the ones in bold. Thank youuu in advance!!! Virtual cookies for all :cookie:

EDIT: I'm doing AQA. This was a mark scheme for a 12 mark question.

This is what the mark scheme says to achieve a Level 3.

Answers that explain more than one interpretation in depth.
Answers will provide some evaluation of the history on which the
interpretations are based and may assess the validity of the interpretations and
/ or explain how the interpretation came about.

And here's Level 4 as well.

Analyses how and why different interpretations have come about
An analytical answer which clearly links interpretations and/or reaches a
supported judgement about the validity of the interpretations through the use
of historical evidence and/or context.
Answers will emerge out of level 3
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by kishette
Hi there!
I'm having trouble marking my exam paper since I don't understand what the examiner (or mark scheme people) really means.
I'd appreciate if you could explain everything in simple terms. Especially the ones in bold. Thank youuu in advance!!! Virtual cookies for all :cookie:

This is what the mark scheme says to achieve a Level 3.

Answers that explain more than one interpretation in depth.
Answers will provide some evaluation of the history on which the
interpretations are based and may assess the validity of the interpretations and
/ or explain how the interpretation came about.

And here's Level 4 as well.

Analyses how and why different interpretations have come about
An analytical answer which clearly links interpretations and/or reaches a
supported judgement about the validity of the interpretations through the use
of historical evidence and/or context.
Answers will emerge out of level 3

Hey there :h:
Is this for the sources part of the exam? I don't recognise this mark scheme so I don't think I was on the same exam board as you, so take this with a pinch of salt as I'm applying my AQA techniques.

Level 3
- Explain more than one possible meaning of the source, understand that it could show more than one thing and explain these things in detail
- Discuss how reliable the source is... You can use TAP TAP for this (you don't need to talk about all aspects):
T- Type: How does the type of source affect how valid it's arguments are (e.g. if it's a comic strip it could be exaggerated for humour)
A- Author: How does the author of the source affect it? If it was written by a German about German tactics in WW2 then it is more likely to be pro German and anti British for example
P- Purpose: Why was the source made? To inform people about the event? To encourage people to have a certain viewpoint? How did this affect how valid and reliable what the source says is
T- Time: Was the source written years after the event when feuds between countries had calmed down? Would this make it more reliable? If it was written during the event would it know the full story?
A- Audience: Who is the source made for? Was it a private journal entry? Could this affect how reliable it is likely to be? If it's a public speech would it be more likely to include more bias?
P- Place: Was it written in a place involved in the event? How would this change the reliability?


Level 4
- Explain why there would be different meanings and why the author would have wanted to stress these
- Link your points (this could be through explaining phrases within a paragraph such as 'therefore' and 'this led to', or linking your overall paragraph to the next through linking the events and meanings)
- Write a conclusion about how reliable and useful the meanings of the source are, linking this to your own knowledge about the period (eg a source could say 1000 people died in x event whereas you know that only 20 people died, making it unreliable)
- Do all the things in level 3

I hope this helps :smile:
Reply 2
Original post by Gingerbread101
Hey there :h:
Is this for the sources part of the exam? I don't recognise this mark scheme so I don't think I was on the same exam board as you, so take this with a pinch of salt as I'm applying my AQA techniques.

Level 3
- Explain more than one possible meaning of the source, understand that it could show more than one thing and explain these things in detail
- Discuss how reliable the source is... You can use TAP TAP for this (you don't need to talk about all aspects):
T- Type: How does the type of source affect how valid it's arguments are (e.g. if it's a comic strip it could be exaggerated for humour)
A- Author: How does the author of the source affect it? If it was written by a German about German tactics in WW2 then it is more likely to be pro German and anti British for example
P- Purpose: Why was the source made? To inform people about the event? To encourage people to have a certain viewpoint? How did this affect how valid and reliable what the source says is
T- Time: Was the source written years after the event when feuds between countries had calmed down? Would this make it more reliable? If it was written during the event would it know the full story?
A- Audience: Who is the source made for? Was it a private journal entry? Could this affect how reliable it is likely to be? If it's a public speech would it be more likely to include more bias?
P- Place: Was it written in a place involved in the event? How would this change the reliability?


Level 4
- Explain why there would be different meanings and why the author would have wanted to stress these
- Link your points (this could be through explaining phrases within a paragraph such as 'therefore' and 'this led to', or linking your overall paragraph to the next through linking the events and meanings)
- Write a conclusion about how reliable and useful the meanings of the source are, linking this to your own knowledge about the period (eg a source could say 1000 people died in x event whereas you know that only 20 people died, making it unreliable)
- Do all the things in level 3

I hope this helps :smile:


Thank you!!!! You helped me in advance for the sources section. I can now rest in peace!!!! :crazy: I've never learned TAP TAP before just PEE (Point Evidence Explain), so this is quite helpful.

But this is not for the sources exam. It's Paper 2, Section B of AQA. I'm studying Hitler's Germany and it was off the Additional Specimen Paper.

A dreaded 12 marker :bawling:
Basically, this was the question.

"The most important reason why Hitler was able to become Chancellor of Germany in January 1933 was because of the effects of the Wall Street Crash''.
How far do you agree with this interpretation? Explain your answer.

Thanks again for your help :biggrin: As promised, please accept my virtual cookie. :cookie:
Original post by kishette
Thank you!!!! You helped me in advance for the sources section. I can now rest in peace!!!! :crazy: I've never learned TAP TAP before just PEE (Point Evidence Explain), so this is quite helpful.

But this is not for the sources exam. It's Paper 2, Section B of AQA. I'm studying Hitler's Germany and it was off the Additional Specimen Paper.

A dreaded 12 marker :bawling:
Basically, this was the question.

"The most important reason why Hitler was able to become Chancellor of Germany in January 1933 was because of the effects of the Wall Street Crash''.
How far do you agree with this interpretation? Explain your answer.

Thanks again for your help :biggrin: As promised, please accept my virtual cookie. :cookie:

Oh! That is the same one I did, which means you shouldn't really use TAP TAP for it... I presumed as it was talking about interpretations it was referring to sources, but it means interpretations of the reasons for the thing mentioned in the question.

For that section, you need to think of all of the different things that led to Hitler becoming Chancellor of Germany. I have a feeling I did exactly the same section :biggrin: You need to do one paragraph on how the Wall Street Crash led to Hitler becoming Chancellor (for which PEE is perfect), then paragraphs for the reasons which could disagree. You then need a conclusion which evaluated which of the reasons was the most important, and then therefore to what extent you agree the Wall Street Crash was the most important :smile:
Original post by kishette

A dreaded 12 marker :bawling:
Basically, this was the question.

"The most important reason why Hitler was able to become Chancellor of Germany in January 1933 was because of the effects of the Wall Street Crash''.
How far do you agree with this interpretation? Explain your answer.

Thanks again for your help :biggrin: As promised, please accept my virtual cookie. :cookie:

I just checked my old folder, and it is the same :smile:
The factors you would do paragraphs on would be:
- Wall Street Crash
- Nazi message and methods of spreading it (use of propaganda)
- Failure of Democracy
- Hindenburg's decision that he could control Hitler
Reply 5
Original post by Gingerbread101
I just checked my old folder, and it is the same :smile:
The factors you would do paragraphs on would be:
- Wall Street Crash
- Nazi message and methods of spreading it (use of propaganda)
- Failure of Democracy
- Hindenburg's decision that he could control Hitler


Thank you so much for your help :biggrin:
One last question though....What exactly does it mean by validity of the interpretation in Level 4? I'm presuming it is to what extent it helped Hitler become Chancellor but I'm not too sure .:frown:
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by kishette
Thank you so much for your help :biggrin:
One last question though....What exactly does it mean by validity of the interpretation in Level 4? I'm presuming it is to what extent it helped Hitler become Chancellor but I'm not too sure .:frown:

I'm not quite sure, I would stick to doing a short analysis on the extent of the effect it had and whether it was very important or not... I never did anything about the validity or something like that and got A*
Original post by kishette
Hi there!
I'm having trouble marking my exam paper since I don't understand what the examiner (or mark scheme people) really means.
I'd appreciate if you could explain everything in simple terms. Especially the ones in bold. Thank youuu in advance!!! Virtual cookies for all :cookie:

This is what the mark scheme says to achieve a Level 3.

Answers that explain more than one interpretation in depth.
Answers will provide some evaluation of the history on which the
interpretations are based and may assess the validity of the interpretations and
/ or explain how the interpretation came about.

And here's Level 4 as well.

Analyses how and why different interpretations have come about
An analytical answer which clearly links interpretations and/or reaches a
supported judgement about the validity of the interpretations through the use
of historical evidence and/or context.
Answers will emerge out of level 3


What exam board are you doing?
Reply 8
Original post by zebby1999
What exam board are you doing?


AQA
This was for Hitler's Germany 1929-1945
Original post by kishette
AQA
This was for Hitler's Germany 1929-1945


Sorry mate, I'm only familiar with my own board which is OCR
Original post by kishette
Thank you so much for your help :biggrin:
One last question though....What exactly does it mean by validity of the interpretation in Level 4? I'm presuming it is to what extent it helped Hitler become Chancellor but I'm not too sure .:frown:

This was the Question wasn't it?

‘The most important reason why Hitler was able to become Chancellor of Germany in January 1933 was because of the effects of the Wall Street Crash.’

You need to validate this statement. Basically just say how much you agree or disagree. You're best mentioning it and the end of each paragraph and feature you opinion in your conclusion.

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