british society c.1931- 1951 exam technique 1 understanding the page layout example question....

British Society c.1931- 1951 Exam Technique

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Understanding the Page Layout

Example Question.

Assessment Criteria: this is what is beingtested in the question.

Example Answer: the

blue text gives examplesof different levels ofan answer.

The black italicised text shows the Edexcel mark

scheme used for the level.

The Top Tip gives pointers This button returns

Navigation Buttons on improving your answers. to the question menu.


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There are a seven rules that apply to every single exam answer.

1. Answer the actual question.This may sound obvious, but if you don’t do this, you can’t get good marks.

2. Stop and think before you start writing an answer. Planning exactly what you are writing about will help you to get the best marks.

3. Always use the words of the question at the beginning and in your answer.This will help you to focus an actually answering the set question.

4. Frequently check that you are still answering the set question how it actually asks you to.

5. Timing. Divide the minutes available by the total marks to find out how much time to spend on each answer.

6. Planning. This is essential for your answers to questions 3, 4 and 5, as they involve writing an essay.

7. Answer the right number of questions. In this exam, all of the questions are compulsory.Question 1 carries 6 marks. What can you learn from Source A about life in Britain in 1942 ? Question 2 carries 8 marks. Why was this newspaper article published? Question 3 carries 10 marks. Do sources A and B support the evidence of Source C about the impact of the welfare state? Question 4 carries 10 marks. How reliable are sources D and E as evidence of people’s experience of the welfare state? Question 5 carries 16 marks. “The introduction of the welfare state was a change that was welcomed by everyone.”

How far do the sources in the paper support this statement? Inrto


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Click the links to access the example answersQuestion 1Study Source A. What can you learn from Source A about life in Britain in 1942 ? 6 marks

Question 2 8 marksStudy Source B and use your own knowledge.Why was this newspaper article published? Use details from the source and your own knowledge to explain your answer.Question 3 10 marksStudy Sources A, B and C.Do Sources A and B support the evidence of Source C about the impact of the welfare state? Explain your answer using the sources.Question 4 10 marksStudy Sources D and E and use your own knowledge.How reliable are sources D and E as evidence of people’s experience of the welfare state? Explain your answer, using Sources D and E and your own knowledge.

Question 5 16 marksStudy all the sources (A to F) and use your own knowledge.“The introduction of the welfare state was a change that was welcomed by everyone.” How far do the sources in the paper support this statement? Use details from the sources and your own knowledge to explain your answer.

What should I revise?Examination Hints and Techniques

IntroPrint the Sources


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What should I revise?

Question 1 Is a source comprehension and inference and inference support question. Tip: No factual revision is required, but review the example answer and make sure that you understand about inferences and how to support conclusions.

Question 2 Is a source comprehension and interpretation, message and purpose question. This requires that you are able to read and understand Source B, identify and explain its message and then use this to explain why it was produced. To do this you need to think about who produced it and to use your own knowledge of what was happening at the time that it was produced (contextual knowledge). Tip: This question is testing that you have studied the whole syllabus, so it could be on almost anything. Carefully study the example answer to understand how.

Question 3 are comprehension, interpretation, and cross-referencing and recall of knowledge question. This requires you to compare three sources, namely A, B and C. You will be expected to read and interpret the meaning of the sources and to compare them for points of similarity and difference. For the top marks you will be expected to support what you say with evidence drawn from the sources as well as your own contextual knowledge and to consider the degree to which they support each other.Tip: Carefully study the example answer to understand how to answer these questions. It is very important that you focus on what the questions asks you to write about, in this case: “ To what extent do these sources agree about the impact of the welfare state?”

Question 4 requires the evaluation of sources for utility and recall of knowledge question. This requires you to make a supported judgement about the usefulness of two sources in order to answer a particular historical enquiry. For the higher marks you will have to discuss the nature (what the source is about and the type of source), the origin of the source (who produced it) and the purpose of the source (why it was produced). Tip: Make sure that you focus on answering the actual question. Study the top level of the example answer comments on “How reliable are sources D and E as evidence of people’s experience of the welfare state?” Study the example answers to understand how to do this.

Question 5 assesses your ability to explore the evidence for and against an hypothesis (an unproven statement contained in the question), using all of the sources skills assessed in questions 3 and 4. It also expects recall of knowledge. The question also assesses your quality of written communication. To gain the best marks you will have to provide a balanced answer that uses an introduction and paragraphs to examine the evidence for and against the hypothesis that forms a part of the question. In the case of the example answer: “The introduction of the welfare state was a change that was welcomed by everyone.” Tip: You are advised to plan carefully for this answer for at least 5 minutes, before spending 20 minutes writing the answer. Study the example answer to understand how to do this. Revise topics that lend themselves to different interpretations: what was the worst effect of the Depression, was everyone badly affected by the Depression, what was the worst effect of World War 2, what was the most important result of the war,did everyone welcome the Welfare State? Men

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Question 3 Study Sources A, B and C.To what extent do these sources agree about the impact of the welfare state? Explain your answer using the sources. 10 marks

Targets: Source comprehension and interpretation, cross-referenceExample answer

The sources all say that the welfare state was a good thing and that it was one of the great days in British history. One of them says that people will have to pay for it.

Level One (1-3 marks) Generalised yes and/or no answers without support from the sources. Award top of level to answers which offer undeveloped yes and no points.

In this question the examiner will be assessing:Source comprehension (can you understand what the source is about?)Source interpretation (do you understand what the source really means?)Source cross referencing (can you compare sources for similarity and difference?)

Top TipNotice how this level 1 answer provides statements that both agree with the statement in the question. Because they donot provide direct support by using details from the sources, they would be marked as level 1. Compare this with Level 2on the next slide. Men

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The sources all agree that the welfare state had an important impact. Source C states it “… was one of the great days in British history …” because it conquered all of the “five giant” evils that afflicted British society. Source C appears to agree and lists the way in which the state will provide care from the cradle to the grave, with “… free doctoring, dentistry and medicine …”. However, parts of Source B are critical, because it says “You begin paying next Friday.”

Level Two (4-7 marks) Answers with support from the sources. To gain marks above 6 answers must identify details which agree and disagree.


Top TipSee how this level 2 answer provides support for its statements by using evidence from the sources. For the top of thelevel, it provides details that both agree and disagree. Compare this with the level 3 answer on the next slide.

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All sources demonstrate the benefits of the welfare state. In Source A, William Beveridge, as architect of the welfare state implies that it must conquer the “giant evils”. Source C provides the objective view of an historian, clearly stating its great impact. Although Source B supports the evidence of Sources A and C by detailing the many benefits, it is critical because it says that the state will “take over” peoples freedom of choice. This is because, as a newspaper it offers opinion as well as news. The Daily Mail was opposed to the extension of state power, so does not support the evidence of Source A and B. Level Three (8-10 marks) Answers which, in addition, consider the degree to which support is provided. This level also includes evaluation of sources for reliability / typicality etc.


Top TipNotice how this level 3 answer comments on the nature of the sources (the information they contain), their origin and purpose (who produced them and why) and for level 3, their reliability for answering the actual question

british society c.1931- 1951 exam technique 1 understanding the page layout example question....

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