Paper 1 source skills (Conquest)
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What kind of exam is Paper 1?
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What kind of exam is Paper 1?
A source exam. You get four sources on one case study (Conquest and its impact) and answer four set questions that test source skill, not recall.
What do the marks 3-2-4-6-9 stand for in Paper 1?
The five parts in order: Q1(a) comprehension 3, Q1(b) message 2, Q2 OPVL 4, Q3 compare and contrast 6, Q4 judgement 9 — totalling 24 marks.
What does OPVL stand for?
Origin, Purpose, Value, Limitations — the four-step method for the 4-mark value-and-limitations question.
What is provenance in a source?
The small attribution line giving the author, date and type of source. It is free information and does half the OPVL work for you.
Which Paper 1 question rewards your own knowledge of the conquest?
Only Q4, the 9-mark judgement. Q1–Q3 are answered purely from the sources in front of you.
How do you answer Q1(a), the 3-mark comprehension?
State three separate points the source actually makes — each distinct point earns 1 mark. Stay inside the source; add no outside knowledge.
What does Q3, compare and contrast, need that students often miss?
Both similarities AND differences, linked source to source — not two separate paragraphs that each discuss only one source.
Why is a biased source (e.g. a conquistador's boastful letter) still useful?
Bias limits it on facts but makes it valuable evidence of attitudes — here, how Cortés wanted the king to see the conquest.
OPVL example: a 1520 letter from Cortés to the King — one value and one limitation?
Value: first-hand insight into Spanish motives and how the conquest was reported to the crown. Limitation: written to win rewards, so it exaggerates his role and hides his Tlaxcalan allies and disease.
For a Q4 asking if Spanish weapons won the conquest, what own-knowledge facts add balance?
Tlaxcalan and other native allies, smallpox devastating Tenochtitlan before 1521, and Pizarro exploiting the Inca civil war between Atahualpa and Huáscar at Cajamarca in 1532.
How do the source-handling questions (Q1–Q3) differ from the judgement (Q4)?
Q1–Q3 stay inside the sources and reward technique (15 marks). Q4 uses sources AND your own knowledge, rewards both sides plus a verdict (9 marks).
What are the three things a top-band 9-mark answer must contain?
Both sides argued from the sources, your own facts the sources omit, and an explicit verdict — never sitting on the fence.
Topic 2.3 study notes
Full notes & explanations for Paper 1 source skills (Conquest)
History exam skills
Paper structures, command terms & tips
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