1. The National 5 Assignment
History
2015/2016

2. During S4 you will complete an assignment in history
This is an essential part of the course – you cannot pass Nat 5 History without it
The assignment will be worth 25% of your final grade (20 marks)
It could substantially improve your final grade, based on how much work you put into it
The assignment will take the form of an essay
On the day you may use a 200 word plan to help you
The assignment will be sent to the SQA for final marking – your teacher will not be responsible for giving your mark

3. Steps for the Nat 5 Assignment
Choose your topic
Choose your essay question from the selection
Collect evidence for your essay from at least two sources – books, past papers, websites, diary entries etc
Collect information for the body of your essay – from class notes and books
Identify historiography – historians’ opinions on your topic
Start writing your essay in a structured way – your teacher will help with this
First draft to teacher
Complete resource sheet
Learn essay
Write essay under exam conditions (1 hour)

4. Weaknesses of the Weimar
Plan for the essay
Weaknesses of the Weimar
Stab in the Back
Treaty of Versailles
Problems with democracy
Spartacist Revolt
Hyperinflation
The Great Depression
Appeal of the Nazis
The Munich Putsch
Nazi Party policies
Propaganda/ Presentation of the Nazi party
Hitler’s leadership skills
Nazis compared to the Communists

5. Rise of the Nazis – choosing a question Choose three headings from added value research sheet – the three you are most interested in.
Out of these I have chosen to focus on __________ because ____________.

6. Acceptable question stems; To what extent did… How important was…
Step 1: I can choose, with minimum support, an appropriate historical question
Acceptable question stems;
To what extent did…
How important was…
How significant was…
How far can it be argued that…

7. Acceptable question ends Helped the Nazis achieve power in 1933?
Step 1: I can choose, with minimum support, an appropriate historical question
Acceptable question ends
Helped the Nazis achieve power in 1933?
Allowed the Nazis to come to power in 1933?
Facilitated the rise of the Nazi party?
Caused the Nazis to take power in 1933?

8. N5 Assignment
The Essay is worth 20 marks. Where do those marks come from?
Introduction – 2 marks
Main body of the essay – 14 marks
Conclusion – 4 marks
It makes sense to write the body of the essay first.  

9. The body of the essay This contains 5 key things;
Knowledge – how much do you know about the topic? I.e. Facts.
Analysis – can you explain why the facts you have are relevant? I.e. Explanation
Evaluation – can you decide which factors are less/ more important than others and why?
Sources (2) – can you use quotes from historians to support your argument?
Structure – can you write your essay in an organised, systematic way? i.e. clear paragraphs?

10. Knowledge – how much do you know about the topic? I.e. Facts.
Example:
Joseph Goebbels was in charge of propaganda and made many posters which showed that only Hitler could save German, like ‘One Last Hope: Hitler’.
Success Criteria: 3 facts for each factor

11. Analysis – can you explain why the facts you have are relevant. I. e
Analysis – can you explain why the facts you have are relevant? I.e. Explanation
_________ helped the Nazis gain support because…(use this structure)
Example:
The Treaty of Versailles helped the Nazis gain support because every German hated the treaty and Hitler promised to rip it up and ignore it if Germans voted for him therefore they gave Hitler their vote.
Success Criteria: 2 examples of analysis per factor

12. Balance – can you give a counter-argument i.e. a limitation
However, …
Example:
However, even though the Nazi’s policies helped them gain support in Germany they were never able to win an election and their highest percentage of the vote was 1/3, showing 2/3 of Germans still did not support the Nazis.
Success Criteria: 2 examples in whole essay

13. Sources (2) – can you use quotes from historians to support your argument?
You should quote then explain in your own words
The quote should be relevant to the paragraph!
Example:
Historian AJP Taylor said ‘only the Great Depression put the wind in the Nazi’s sails’. This means that the Great Depression greatly helped the Nazis and pushed them towards victory in elections.
Success Criteria: at least 2 sources and explanations (for any factors)

14. Evaluation – can you discuss the importance of factors in relation to the question?
Simple 1m – The Great Depression was the most important reason for the Nazis coming to power.
Better 2m– The Great Depression was the most important reason for the Nazis coming to power because the Nazis needed the unemployment and misery created by the Depression to gain votes as they got their highest votes of 13.7m in 1932 during the depression.
Best 3m-The Great Depression was the most important reason for the Nazis coming to power because the Nazis needed the mass unemployment and misery created by the Depression to gain votes as they got their highest votes of 13.7m in 1932 during the depression, whereas during the other economic crisis of hyperinflation of 1923/24 their vote rose too, but only to 1.9 m in 1924.
Success Criteria: an example of better or best evaluation

15. N5 Assignment Checklist
5 factors (sheets of paper/ paragraphs)
3 facts on each
2 examples of analysis/ explanations on each
Balance on two factors ‘however..’
2 sources quoted & explained
Evaluation

16. Topic sentences/ signposting
Para 1 The first important factor in the Rise of the Nazis was … Subsequent paragraphs Another important factor was… Order; Knowledge – Analysis/ Explanation – Balance (if you have it) – a Source (if you have it) – Evaluation (if you have it)

17. The Introduction – worth 2 marks
You must place the issue in it’s historical context
You also must list the factors that you will discuss in the essay and say which is the most important
This is worth 2 marks
We will write our intros in two parts

18. Context
This involves giving 3 sentences of what was going on before the changes you will discuss – i.e. the rise of the Nazis
You should start with ‘Before the rise of the Nazis…’ and give a bit of background
Use the word bank below to incorporate some key events
WWI Weimar Republic Democracy Unpopular Stab in the Back
Crises Political Parties Hitler Change Unhappy Weak Confusing Nazis

19. Example of context
Before the Rise of the Nazis, there was a lot of change going on in Germany. Germany lost the war in 1918, the Kaiser abdicated and he was replaced with a new democratic government called the Weimar government. Many people were unhappy with this government as they felt democracy was weak and confusing and the Nazis started to become more popular.

20. Factors – Copy and complete
There were many important reasons for the Rise of the Nazis. Although [the issue from your question] was a key factor, there were also other important reasons such as [list the other four factors you will be including.] Context + Factors = full introduction

21. Example of factors
There were many important reasons for the Rise of the Nazis. Although propaganda was a key factor, there were also other important reasons such as the Treaty of Versailles, Hyperinflation, The Nazi’s policies and Hitler’s leadership. The most important factor was _____ because…

22. The Conclusion - worth 4 marks
you must come to a conclusion which answers the question
Then, you must support this conclusion with evidence.

23. Part 1 – coming to a conclusion
In conclusion, there were many important reasons why the Nazis came to power. Many factors such as… (list your factors without the most important) played an important role in the Nazis rise to power. However, ________ was the most important factor in the Nazis rise to power.

24. Conclusion Part 1 example
In conclusion, there were many important reasons why the Nazis came to power. Many factors such as the treaty of Versailles, Hyperinflation, the Nazi’s policies and propaganda played an important role in the Nazis rise to power. However, The Great Depression was the most important factor in the Nazis rise to power.

25. Part 2 – supporting with evidence
_______ was the most important reason for the Nazi rise to power because… (here you need to add a piece of evidence which shows why this factor is the most important.) _______ is more important than the other factors because…(here you need to explain what makes this factor more important than the others.), making _______ the main factor in the Rise of the Nazis.

26. Conclusion Part 2 example
The Great Depression was the most important reason for the Nazi rise to power because this economic chaos in Germany causing over 6million people to become unemployed and desperate and these people voted for the Nazis in hope of a job. The Great Depression is more important than the other factors because the Weimar government managed to recover from every other crisis like hyperinflation but not from the Great Depression and also the Nazis needed unemployment and misery before people would be willing to listen to their policies and propaganda, making the Great Depression the main factor in the Rise of the Nazis.