1. 20th Century Depth Studies Section A
GCSE History
20th Century Depth Studies
Section A

2. There are three parts to each question
An ‘Explain how’ question (6 marks)
A ‘Usefulness’ question (10 marks)
An ‘Inference Question’ (4 marks)

3. How to answer an ‘Inference ‘ question
What does Source A suggest about…? (4 marks)
Find at least TWO facts in the source.
Draw an inference …. What does the author of the source want you to think about the event, or to believe about the event?
What is going on under the surface?

4. What does Source A suggest about American attitudes towards immigrants
What does Source A suggest about American attitudes towards immigrants? (4 marks)
Source A Immigration and the quota system of 1921
“The quota system was set up in It was a victory for the ‘WASPs’. They had little respect for the southern and eastern Europeans who were most of the immigrants between 1900 and 1920”.

5. How marks are awarded
Level 1 Answer that takes information from the source (1-2)
e.g. there was a quota system; this was a victory for the WASPs who didn’t like southern and eastern Europeans.
Level 2 Answer shows understanding and is able to make inference(s) from source (3-4)
e.g. many Americans were racist and wanted to control which European races came to the USA;
American attitudes had become less tolerant following the influx of southern and eastern European immigrants before, during and immediately after the First World War.

6. What does the source tell us…?
Mark Scheme
Marks
Writes nothing of relevance
Level 1
Identifies 1 or 2 facts
1-2
Level 2
Identifies 1 or 2 inferences
3-4

7. How to answer an ‘Explain how’ question
For a WHY question give reasons.
For a HOW question give ways.
For a CONSEQUENCES question give results
You must give at least TWO reasons.
You must explain how one thing led to another.

8. An ‘Explain how’ question
Mark Scheme
Marks
Writes nothing of relevance
Level 1
General comments or simple statements.
1-2
Level 2
Simple explanation – gives one reason supported by facts
Or Offers a number of reasons but limited explanation or facts.
3-4
Level 3
Developed explanation
Explains two or more reasons in detail.
5-6

9. Examples of ‘Explain how’ questions.
Why was Henry Ford successful?
Why was there a ‘Red Scare’ in the 1920s?
Why did the US government impose Prohibition in 1919?
Why were the 1920s called the ‘Roaring Twenties’?
Why did Wall Street ‘crash’ in 1929?

10. Explain the consequences of Prohibition for the USA in the 1920s
Explain the consequences of Prohibition for the USA in the 1920s. (6 marks)
Level 1: Simple descriptive comment and/or indentifies one consequence (1-2)
e.g. many people were arrested.
Level 2: EITHER Identifies several consequences (3-4)
e.g. the creation of speakeasies; moonshine; raids on illegal drinking clubs;
arrests; the development of ‘gangsterism’; the impact on daily lives. OR
Explains one consequence
e.g. detailed explanation of gangsters such as Al Capone and Bugs Malone.

11. Level 3 Explains two or more consequences
e.g. two or more from the list above.

12. How to answer a ‘Usefulness’ question
Deal with the CONTENT
What is the message of the source?
How is the information useful?
Deal with the PROVENANCE
Who wrote it?, When? And Why?
What was the purpose and motive of the author? What are they trying to achieve?
How do these factors make the source useful, or less useful.

13. How useful is the source..?
Mark Scheme
Marks
Writes nothing of relevance
Level 1
Basic or limited information
1-2
Level 2
Simple comment
Sees how the content is relevant
Source is useful because of origin, context or purpose
3-5
Level 3
Developed explanation
Explains how the content illustrates important aspects of topic.
Or explains how origin, context, purpose of source make it useful.
6-8
Level 4
Explanation of usefulness using both content and provenance
9-10

14. (c) How useful is Source B to an historian studying attitudes towards the stock market in the USA in the 1920s? Use Source B and your knowledge to explain your answer (10 marks)
Source B The importance in people’s lives of the American stock market
This cartoon comes from the New York Magazine in It shows a man in hospital about to have an operation but still worrying about his investments.

15. USE THE WRITING FRAME TO HELP YOU TO COMPLETE THIS QUESTION

16. Level 1: EITHER
Accepts the content of the source at face value
e.g. the source shows a man in hospital being interested in the stock market. OR
Generalised or learned response which could apply to any source
e.g. it is a cartoon; cartoons always exaggerate, so it is of limited use.
1-2

17. Level 2: EITHER
Simple comments on the usefulness or the limitations of the source based on information in the source and/or own knowledge
e.g. the source is useful for showing how the stock market was important to many Americans, even when they were ill and about to have an operation.
OR Simple comments on the usefulness or the limitations of the source in terms of provenance or reliability or bias.
e.g. the source is of limited use, because it is a biased cartoon which ridicules the excessive interest in the stock market in the USA.

18. Level 3: EITHER
Developed explanation about the utility/limitations of the source using the source and own knowledge
e.g. the source is useful for showing how some American newspapers assumed that their readers were familiar with stock market activities as indeed they were in many sections of society during the boom of the 1920s, with many people tempted to invest their money, even mortgaging their homes.
OR Developed explanation about the utility/limitations of the source focusing on the provenance of the source in relation to the content and/or own knowledge.
e.g. the source is useful for showing how some Americans were prepared to ridicule the American preoccupation with the stock market, and suggest that there might be other priorities in life such as health. By 1927 there were significant criticisms of the stock market developing.
6-8

19. Level 4: Both strands above, one at Level 3, the other at Level 2 (9 marks)
Both strands above at Level 3 (10 marks)