Get some
general revision advice to begin with. I wrote this
'top 10 tips' for IB
students a few years ago and much of what I say applies to you.
Similarly the great John D Clare wrote
these detailed guidelines for his English GCSE historians.
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In Year 6 the exam is three periods long, in Year
7 it is four periods The exam is divided into two sections. In
the first section you will be expected to analyse 5 sources, in
the second section you will write an essay. |
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The sources
In Year 6 Xmas 2012 the topic for the source
analysis is the causes of the First World War.
The paper will be four or five questions just as you
have been taught to
prepare.
The first questions check your comprehension
of key terms and your ability to understand and interpret the
sources.
In the next question you will be expected to
compare and contrast two or three of the sources. This means you should
identify similarities and differences between the sources, where
they agree and disagree or where one source provides no evidence
in support of another.
Next you will be expected to evaluate
the usefulness of two of the sources. You do not need to
compare the sources. Usefulness means, how useful the
source is as evidence about a particular event in the
past. You should identify both strengths and weaknesses
of the source. For example, how relevant is the source?
Does the source contain a lot of useful information or
information that helps us understand the past event?
Does the source provide reliable information about the
past? Can it be trusted to tell the truth? The
three Rs model should
remind you of the sort of things you need to consider.
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The usefulness of sources
This
section
of the website provides a detailed examination of the
usefulness of the most popular types of source found in
examination. . |
Finally, you will asked to use all the sources
and your own knowledge to answer an essay style question about
World War 1. Your job is to use the sources - making sure to
refer to them in your answer - and use your own knowledge to
support your answer. This is an opportunity to show what you
know in addition to the information contained in the five
sources.
The essays
You will write one essay from a choice of
three
The topics are:
1. Imperialism
2. The nature of the First World War: expectations and reality.
3. Russia 1900-1917
My top 5 tips on
how to write an essay.
The knowledge
Test your factual knowledge in this quiz that
covers all the work covered in the first term. |
