1. Paper II Skills Question type 1– Evaluating sources

2. Evaluating sources Questions of this type include: How useful / valuable is Source ____ in explaining ….

3. An evaluating question will be asked about just one source. Its worth five marks, therefore it is a relatively low value item.

4. Where do I get my marks? There are two marks available for origin and the purpose of the source Up to two marks are available for the way you interpret the source Up to two marks are also allocated for the relevance of the recall that you apply in the answer.

5. Step 1 Discuss context in which the sources were written What is the context of our source?

6. Step 2 ORIGIN Discuss who made the speech, wrote the letter, write the book when was it made (primary or secondary) what was its purpose What is there about the origin and the purpose of the source that is useful? (answer the q!)

7. Step 3 Purpose Why was it produced and what were its intentions? Does this make it more or less useful?

8. Step 4 Analyse the content of the source is it accurate, is it biased? Does it match your own knowledge? Here you should bring in some of your own knowledge to support or argue against information in the source. How does the sources accuracy affect its usefulness?

9. Step 5 How should I use recall? Are there omissions to the content that affect its value? Are there relevant points which can be added that support the views held in the source? Your recall has to be appropriate and relevant to the subject being addressed in your answer.

10. Step 6 You must conclude your answer by Commenting on the usefulness. One or two sentences can serve as a conclusion.

11. Avoid Not answering the question. Keep repeating phrases like this makes it more useful because... just listing information rather than trying to make discrete points in single sentences that are relevant to the question and evaluate the source.

12. Now give it a go... Read source Highlight the key points Identify context Identify Primary / Secondary Identify purpose Identify content Identify accuracy Identify Bias (if any)