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What does Paper 1 Q1 ask you to do?
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All Flashcards in Topic 2.3
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2.3.112 cards
What does Paper 1 Q1 ask you to do?
Explain how the CONTENT of two named sources can be used to answer the inquiry question — [6 marks].
What does Paper 1 Q2 ask you to do?
Analyse how the CONTEXT of ONE named source (its origin, purpose, time and place) shapes how a historian can use it — [6 marks].
What does Paper 1 Q3 ask you to do?
Examine how the PERSPECTIVES across ALL the sources can be used to answer the inquiry question — [12 marks], the longest and most demanding question.
Content vs context — what's the difference?
Content = WHAT the source says (the facts, claims, details inside it). Context = WHO made it, WHEN, WHERE and WHY (its origin and purpose).
Define {{origin|where a source comes from: who made it, when, where}}.
The who/when/where of a source — e.g. a memoir written by Toussaint L'Ouverture's secretary in 1802, in Saint-Domingue.
Define {{purpose|why the source was made and for what audience}}.
Why the source was created and for whom — e.g. a British colonial report written to justify continued rule to London officials.
Why does purpose matter when using a source?
A source made to persuade or justify (like a government report or propaganda leaflet) may exaggerate, omit, or frame events to suit its author's aims.
Worked example: a 1953 British settler's diary entry describing Mau Mau fighters as 'savages' — what does this content and context tell a historian?
Content: shows fear and hostility toward the uprising. Context: a settler's private diary reveals genuine colonial anxiety, but as a source from ONE side it is highly one-sided and cannot show Kikuyu motivations.
Worked example: Dessalines's 1804 Haitian Declaration of Independence — content and context?
Content: declares Haiti free and rejects French rule. Context: written by the new state's leader to legitimise independence to Haitians and the world — so it is celebratory, not a neutral account of the war's cost.
What does 'perspectives' mean in Q3?
The different viewpoints reflected across a set of sources — e.g. colonizer vs colonized, elite vs ordinary people — and where they agree, disagree, or reveal gaps.
Four-step process for planning a Q3 perspectives answer.
1) Identify each source's perspective. 2) Group sources that agree. 3) Note where they conflict or one is silent. 4) Link each perspective back to the inquiry question.
Command term 'Examine' (used in Q3) means what?
Consider an argument or concept in a way that uncovers the assumptions and interrelationships of the issue — go beyond describing to weighing perspectives.
Topic 2.3 study notes
Full notes & explanations for Paper 1 source skills
History (2028+) exam skills
Paper structures, command terms & tips
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