How to use a source successfully at GCSE

How to use a source successfully at GCSE By Mr RJ Huggins 2006

How Do You Answer a Source Based Question? Comment Context Judgement The Keys to Success = C 3 J or CCCJ

Comment ¨ An initial reaction to the question? ¨ Do you agree or disagree? ¨ Let the examiner know that you have understood the question by echoing the question. ¨ The message in the cartoon is ….

Content ¨ What does the source tell you that will help you answer the question? ¨ What facts can you get from the source? ¨ What can you see in the cartoon, picture or diagram? ¨ The source shows … ¨ The source tells us … ¨ From the source I can deduct ….

Context ¨ Origin – When was it made and by whom? ¨ Nature – What type of source is it? ¨ Purpose – Who was the intended audience? ¨ Knowledge – Does the information in the source agree with your knowledge of events?

Judgement ¨ Does the source agree or disagree with the question? ¨ Does the information in the source agree or disagree with the other sources? ¨ What do you think? ¨ Having weighed up the evidence …. . ¨ To conclude ….

Origin: Where Did the Source Come From? ¨ What do you know about the person or organisation? ¨ Was the source produced by someone who was there at the time, or was it produced later? ¨ For example, eyewitnesses can easily get things wrong, but someone writing later has the opportunity to check the facts.

Nature: This Is the Form of the Source ¨ Is it a letter, a speech, a diary, a book, a cartoon, a photograph or a newspaper article etc? ¨ 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?

Purpose: Why Was the Source Made? ¨ 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 or biased? If so, what would the ‘other side’ have said? ¨ One-sided or biased sources help us to understand people’s views

Three Questions: Nature Purpose Historical Sources Origin

Useful Questions to Ask of a Source: ¨ Who made the source and why? ¨ When was the source made and did the person see the events at first hand? ¨ Is the person who made the source biased? ¨ Is the information reliable or correct when compared to your knowledge of events? ¨ How useful is the source to an historian trying to find out about a particular topic? ¨ What ideas, facts or concepts does the source not tell you about the topic you are studying?

Useful Phrases for writing about a historical source ¨ In source A, we can clearly see …… which agrees or ¨ ¨ ¨ disagrees with my knowledge. This is backed up by source B because … When comparing source A with source B, a historian can learn …. about …. A historian has to be careful when using source A, because …. Source B is useful for finding out about …. but does not give any facts / information on …. Although this source is biased it is still useful for showing a historian … Although this source is not reliable for finding out about …. it is still reliable for ….

Source Checklist ¨ Date – When was it made. ¨ Author – Where they there? ¨ Material – Content of the source. ¨ Motive – Is the author biased? ¨ Intended audience – Personal or private ¨ Type of source or tone – Diary, newspaper?