Paper 2 Source Questions

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Paper 2 - Source Questions
A Helpful Guide
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Paper 2 Source Questions

• Two Questions in 2 Hours
• First World War (1914-1919)
• The reasons for stalemate, 1915-17
• The changing nature of warfare
• Reasons for the defeat of Germany.
• Nazi Germany c. 1930 - 1939
• Why the Nazi party was able to gain power in
  1933
• The development of the Nazi State
• The impact of Nazi rule on the people of
  Germany.

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Paper 2 Source Questions
a) What can you learn from source x? b) Does the
evidence of source X support the evidence of
source Y? c) How useful are these sources in
helping you to understand? d) Use the sources
and your own knowledge to explain whether you
agree with the statement
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Paper 2 Question a)

• Study Source A
• What can you learn from Source A about
• What does source A tell us about
• DONT simply summarise the source, or repeat
  what it says.
• Make inferences - explain the meaning of the
  information in the source in your own words

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Question a) example source
Source A Both navies suffered heavy losses, but
the result of the battle of Jutland was to leave
command of the sea still in British hands. Sir
John Jellicoe, Commander of the British fleet,
said that weather conditions robbed the fleet of
complete victory. The German fleet retreated back
to port and is unlikely to try again to challenge
British control of the seas.
What can you learn from Source A about the
importance of the Battle of Jutland of May 1916
for the naval war?
3. Use these and perhaps the provenance to help
you offer inferences
2. Identify facts/phrases that help answer the
question
1. Key issue the IMPORTANCE of Battle of Jutland
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Question a) definition
What is an inference? This is something you can
deduce from a source, perhaps not just from the
content but also its provenance e.g. You notice
a long queue outside a bread shop. At face value
you observe that it seems as though people like
queuing. However, you might also deduce that
a)bread is very popular or b)bread is very cheap
or c) it is the only shop in the surrounding area
that sells bread. THE FIRST POINT IS A SIMPLE
OBSERVATION. THESE LAST THREE POINTS ARE
INFERENCES. Think of Sherlock Holmes - he
infers from information or clues he is presented
with. A man is tanned - therefore he has been in
sunny parts!
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Question a) model answer
Source A suggests that Jutland was important to
the naval war by being a victory for the British
fleet. Although they suffered heavy losses
command of the sea was still in British hands,
and the German fleet is unlikely to try again to
challenge British control. What the source also
suggests is that victory was not total. The
German fleet was not destroyed due to weather
conditions and was still intact. The battle was
a stalemate that favoured the British. It
suggests that the fleets would not be the most
important factor in deciding the naval war. The
fact that the source was a British paper shows
that Jutland was seen as important by the British
at least.
1. Inferences used to answer the question
2. Supporting quotes explaining the inferences
Comment based on provenance (optional?)
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Question b)

• Does the evidence of Source C support the
  evidence of Sources A and B?
• You must explain the similarities and differences
  between the content of the 3 sources
• DONT
• Discuss the nature of the source, its
  reliability its author etc.
• Use your own knowledge
• Only discuss TWO sources. You must use all 3!!

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Question b) structure

• Write a paragraph listing the similarities
  between the sources
• Write a paragraph listing the differences
  between the sources
• Conclude with an assessment of which sources
  agree the most and which disagree the most e.g.
  on balance A agrees more with C than B OR A,
  B and C all disagree

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Question c)
Utility - Usefulness of Sources 1. AMOUNT of
INFORMATION (Content) 2. RELIABILITY OF
INFORMATION (is it one sided or balanced) 3.
USEFULNESS OF INFORMATION. Reliability
(NATURE, ORIGIN PURPOSE) VITAL You must always
be positive about the sources usefulness!
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Question c)

• Utility - Usefulness of Sources
• You must consider the CONTENT of the source
• Does the content actually help you answer the
  question or is it irrelevant?
• Does it contain precise facts allowing you to
  make up your own mind? (useful)
• Does it contain opinions which are not backed up
  by fact (less useful)

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Question c)

• Utility - Usefulness of Sources
• You must consider the trustworthiness of the
  source (reliability) - Nature, Origin and
  Purpose
• Is the source one-sided, or balanced ?
• Does it give an unrealistic view of events?
• Is the source designed to mislead the
  reader/listener?
• Is it designed to inform you about what
  happened?
• Could the author have known all the facts?

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Paper 2 Question c)

• The NATURE of a source is the form in which the
  evidence is presented. Whether it is a diary,
  statistics, a poster etc.
• Is it a letter, a speech, a diary, a book, a
  cartoon, a photograph or a newspaper article etc?
  What difference do these forms of evidence make
  to assessing reliability?
• You could point out that it is an opinion in a
  political speech and is not backed up by
  statistical evidence.
• An individuals public comments may differ with
  what they think in private.

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Paper 2 Question c)

• The ORIGIN of a source will be the person or
  organisation that produced it.
• If the person or organisation who made the source
  is named, you must make some reference to that.
• If there is a date, you must refer to it. You
  could use this information to work out whether
  the source was an eye-witness or whether they
  would have been able to know all the facts.
• Eyewitnesses can easily get things wrong, but
  someone writing later has the opportunity to
  check the facts.
• The eyewitness can give you a feeling of what it
  was like to be there

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Paper 2 Question c)

• The PURPOSE of a source is the reason why it was
  produced.
• Is the source one-sided? If so, what would the
  other side have said?
• Obviously political propaganda is produced in
  order to shape opinion, but you should be aware
  of which sources are most likely to have been
  produced for a particular purpose
• Some sources are intended to simply inform the
  reader, others are trying to make you agree with
  their opinion - be careful to pick out what is
  behind the source.

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Paper 2 Question c)
German voting patterns in General Elections
1928-1933 published by a history book in 1991
How useful is this table as evidence for how
Nazis came to power? What does the information
tell you? Is it reliable?
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Usefulness - CONTENT
German voting patterns in General Elections
1928-1933 published by a history book in 1991
Support for the Nazis increased during the 1930s
Opposition to the Nazis was divided
People were tired of non-democratic parties hence
increased vote for Communists
BUT! These figures do not really explain why
people voted for the Nazis OR what the Nazis did
to increase their support
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Usefulness - RELIABILITY
German voting patterns in General Elections
1928-1933 published by a history book in 1991
Nature Statistics table are usually reliable
unless they have been made up or exaggerated
Purpose These figures are clearly intended
to inform and be studied and are quite reliable
Origin A recent history book would mean these
figures are the best that currently exist
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How useful is this table as evidence for how
Nazis came to power?
German voting patterns in General Elections
1928-1933 published by a history book in 1991
Content good, but limited Reliability
reliable information Usefulness Quite useful
but the source doesnt explain many of the
reasons for Nazi rise to power, but shows their
vote increased in this period which is important
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Try for yourself!
Purpose Why was this poster made? Does this
make it reliable? Would it have affected peoples
views?
Content What view of the Nazis does this poster
give?
Origin Was this created by the Nazis or their
opponents? When was it made? How does this affect
reliability?
Nature how useful is a poster? Whose views does
it represent? What are its limitations?
Communist Poster Published in 1932
How useful is this poster in explaining what
people thought of the Nazis in Germany 1930-1933?
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Question c) Structure
Utility - Structuring Answers 1. Always discuss
both sources 2. Give a brief conclusion - which
source is more useful? 3. Dont just be negative
about a source, be positive - what does the
source tell you? All sources are useful for
something!! 4. Dont use own knowledge - you
dont get any marks for it!
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Question c) Structure
Utility - Structuring Answers DO - Always back up
your ideas with info. I think this source is
unreliable, as its purpose was to persuade people
that Nazi actions were justifiable. They were
written at the time and so were concerned with
hiding the extent of Nazi crimes, not with
establishing the facts. The fact that it is
published in a Nazi newspaper shows it is likely
to be on the side of the Nazi police. However, it
is useful in showing us what the Nazis wanted
people to think.
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Question c) Structure
Utility - Structuring Answers DONT - Simply make
vague statements I think this source is
unreliable as it is biased. It is one-sided. I
dont like it. So it is not useful.
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Paper 2 Question d)

• d) Use the sources and your own knowledge to
  explain whether you agree with the statement..
• You must therefore
• Use AT LEAST 4 sources in your answer (including
  source F)
• Use PRECISE own knowledge (facts, names, dates)
• Show both sides of the argument
• Give a balanced conclusion to what extent you
  agree with the statement

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Paper 2 Question d)

• Answer structure
• Write a paragraph (sources own knowledge)
  agreeing with the statement
• Write a paragraph (sources own knowledge)
  disagreeing with the statement
• Write a paragraph (own knowledge) about other
  factors or issues which are relevant and
  important
• Conclusion - to what extent is the statement
  true (and chances are it will only be to a
  limited extent). You should use a hierarchy -
  which factor was the most important?

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Paper 2 Question d)

• What is own knowledge?
• You must use this to get A/A
• By further explanation of any of the information
  given by the sources - e.g. if the source says
  Goebbels explain that he was Hitlers
  Propaganda chief!
• Anything that you can see is important to the
  question that is not mentioned in the sources