1. GCSE HISTORY (OCR MODERN WORLD: SPEC B)
PAPER TWO: British Depth Study
Although Paper Two is your source paper, you will have to answer a variety of source questions on both exam papers. You need the same skills for both. There is no way of knowing exactly which types of questions will come up but there are lots of usual suspects. This is a brief guide on how to approach these questions.
What is the message of the source?
You need to include three sections:
Start by answering the question - The message of the source is…. [Make sure you give the actual message and don’t just describe what you can see.]
I can tell this because… [How does the content of the source support this? Give 3 or 4 points.]
At the time… (contextual knowledge) [What was going on at the time? What do you know about this event that helps to explain its message?]
Why was this poster published?
This is extremely similar to the ‘What is the message of the source?’ question. You think about it in the same way but there is more of a focus on contextual knowledge.
You need to include three sections :
Start by answering the question – This source was published to… (What was the maker of this source trying to achieve when they created it? What did they want people to think / do when they saw it? You will probably include the message as part of this, but don’t just give the message or describe what you can see.)
At the time… (contextual knowledge) [What was going on at the time – why was it published at this specific time? how does it fit in with what you know? How can you use detailed own knowledge to expand your answer?]
I can tell this because… [How does the content of the source support this? Give 3 or 4 points.]
How far does this source prove / explain?
I know you know that one source can never really prove anything! Unfortunately, it wants to do more than this!
Like any other ‘How far’ question, your answer always needs two sides – in this case strengths and weaknesses.
You need to think about what it is saying and how it matches up with your own detailed knowledge of the topic.
You then use your detailed own knowledge to support the strengths of the source and point out the weaknesses.
You should also point out any important points that the source doesn’t make – looking at ‘NOPR’ might there be a reason for this?
Lastly, on Paper 2, if you can use any of the other sources on the paper to help with your answer (again – does it match up, or is it disagreeing?) you can get extra marks for ‘cross referencing’ in this way.

2. How useful is this source…?
The are a few questions that are similar to this one, and if in doubt, the below is usually a good way to approach a question if you are not sure how to answer it.
Like a ‘How far’ question, your answer always needs two sides – in this case strengths and weaknesses.
You need to think about what it is saying and how it matches up with your own detailed knowledge of the topic.
You then use your detailed own knowledge to support the strengths of the source and point out the weaknesses.
You should also point out any important points that the source doesn’t make – looking at ‘NOP’ might there be a reason for this?
Also with NOPR – does anything you can spot about who wrote it / the type of source / etc. make you think it is more / less useful?
Lastly, on Paper 2, if you can use any of the other sources on the paper to help with your answer (again – does it match up, or is it disagreeing?) you can get extra marks for ‘cross referencing’ in this way.
Are you surprised…?
Always say why you are AND why you aren’t surprised - you should never be very surprised!
Again, think about this type of question like a ‘How far question.’
Just like before, you need to think about what it is saying and how it matches up with your own detailed knowledge of the topic.
You then use your detailed own knowledge to say why you are / are not surprised.
As part of this you should be looking at ‘NOPR’ - might there be a reason for what the source is saying / not saying?
You also need to come to a judgement at the end about how surprised you are.
Lastly, remember that if you can use any of the other sources on the paper to help with your answer (again – does it match up, or is it disagreeing?) you can get extra marks for ‘cross referencing’ in this way.
Questions which ask you to compare two sources.
There are lots of different ways they could phrase these questions – don’t be put off by this – follow the same steps.
You need to make sure that you are commenting on both sources. If they are pictorial sources this means describing what you can see. If they are written sources you must always use quotations.
Just like before, you need to think about what each one is saying and how they support / contradict each other and your own detailed knowledge of the topic.
You then use these observations and apply them to the question that is being asked.
Again, as part of this you should be looking at ‘NOPR’ - might there be a reason for what each source is saying / not saying?
You also need to come to a judgement at the end in answer to the question.
Lastly, remember that if you can use any of the other sources on the paper to help with your answer (again – does it match up, or is it disagreeing?) you can get extra marks for ‘cross referencing’ in this way.

3. General Source Tips NOPR
First of all DON’T FAFF AROUND! You just don’t have time! Make sure that the first sentence of your work answers the exact question that has been asked.
Also it sounds obvious but READ THE QUESTION CAREFULLY. Do exactly what is asked. To make sure that your answer is relevant it’s a good idea to keep referring back to the question.
Look at the exact date of the source first and the NOP– what was going on at that time? Always think - why has the source been made?
You must always use precise details from the source to answer the question (i.e. a quotation or reference to a specific bit of the picture.)
Similarly you must always use your detailed knowledge of what was going on at the time to answer the question.
With most source questions you must look at both sides of the argument before coming to a full and clear conclusion.
On Paper 2 you can use any of the other sources on the paper to help with your answer (even if the question doesn’t say you can. The easiest way to do this is to make any links you have spotted (does it match up, or is it disagreeing?) This ‘cross referencing’ is a good way to get marks if your own knowledge is a bit lacking on that particular topic.
NOPR
Nature: This is the type of evidence.
Is it a letter, a speech, a diary, a book, a cartoon, a photograph…?  
What difference does the form of evidence make?
For example, in which form of evidence are people most likely to write what they really believe? What purposes might the other forms have?
Does it include statistics? Or is it mostly opinion?
Origin: Where did the source come from?
Is there the name of an individual or an organisation? What do you know about them?
Was the source produced by someone who was there at the time? What might their motive have been?
Was it produced later? What difference does it make if they weren’t there at the time?
Purpose: Did the person who produced the source have a reason for doing so?
For example, advertisements are usually intended to persuade people to buy something.
Speeches are usually made because the speaker wants people to do something.
Cartoons are usually intended to make fun of people.
Is the source one-sided? If so, what would the ‘other side’ have said?
One-sided sources are not useless – they help us to understand people’s views.
Reliability: Is there any reason to distrust it?

4. Soldier’s accounts, interviews, etc. First-hand experience
 Type of Source
Useful?
 Not useful?
Soldier’s accounts, interviews, etc.
First-hand experience
How good are our memories? Are they reliable? What happens as time goes by? Can you generalise from one account? Do we choose to forget some things or to exaggerate?
Memoirs
Provides information about an event.
Usually written after the event. Motive for writing? May defend the author’s decisions? May exaggerate role?
Newspapers
Contemporary accounts of important events.
They take sides. Sometimes leave out important facts. No direct censorship in WWI but likely to be patriotic. Do not always tell the truth. May exaggerate. Try to influence what people think.
Novels/ poems
Novels and poems are well researched by writers.
Did the writer witness the events? Are they trying to be factual or adding things to make the story more interesting? What were the reasons for writing: to entertain, to put over a message or a point of view, to educate people?
Photos, sound and film
Show or allow you to see/hear what an event was like.
Why was it taken? How much does it show? Can you generalise from it? Does it tell the truth or is it somebody’s point of view?
Government and Official statistics
Officially collected by government.
How were they collected? Are they accurate? Are they trying to prove something? What do they hide?
Politicians’ speeches
Provides information about what they thought.
Purpose? Who is being addressed and why?
Propaganda and posters
Gives government and other groups point of view.
Purpose? How is the point made visually? Who was it designed to appeal to?
Cartoons 
Shows contemporary humour/opinion.
What is the point being made? Who drew it and why?
Diaries 
Gives a contemporary and first hand account.
Why did the person keep a diary? Did they mean it to be read? Are details left out? What do we learn about the diarist from what he has written?
Letters
Basic information
Why written? To whom?
Biographies
Primary information about key events
Why was it written? Did the biographer know the person? Have they told the whole story? Did the writer have access to all the sources they needed?
Art
Provides somebody’s opinion.
Why was it painted? We are seeing somebody’s view of what happened. Is a message being put across?

5. UNDERSTANDING CARTOONS
Working out what a cartoon is saying can be hard.
When you look at a cartoon and interpret it, you need to use three tools at once:
Seeing and understanding the different things in the cartoon…
Thinking about the cartoonist and his motives - what is he trying to say?
Linking this to your knowledge about the events in that period….
First: Think about the events in that period
Look at the date. Think what was happening at that time. Who was involved?
Second: See the different things in the cartoon
At first, just make a list of things you see. List the things that are in the cartoon, what they are doing, and how they are presented. When I do this with pupils, they always choose one or two things – and MISS lots, even big things! Often, in a cartoon, everything (even little things) has a meaning. So study the details and jot them down (but don’t start to try yet to say what they mean).
Third: Think about the cartoonist, and his motives
Look at WHO drew the cartoon, and where he came from. What would he have thought about the topic he was drawing about? What would he have been wanting to say?
Fourth: Go back to the cartoon
Look at your list of things you saw. Can you see what/who they stand for – what they are ‘saying’ – what they mean? When you have thought about all the elements, think: ‘What is the overall message of the cartoon?’
Last: Go back to the events
Now you have thought about the cartoon and its meaning, think: ‘What does all this help you to understand about the time, and how people thought and felt?’