The History Exam
• Germany
• 1 hour and 15 minutes
• 4 questions
The History Exam
• This paper is about–What happened
–How it happened
–Why it happened
The History Exam
• Show what you know, not what you don’t know.
• Question 1………………4 marks
• Question 2 (a choice) ….. 9 marks
• Question 3 or 4 (choose)… 12 marks
• Question 5 or 6
(a choice)………25 marks!!!5a or 6a … 9 marks
5b or 6b … 16 marks
STEP ONE
Read all the questions
STEP TWO
Do question 5 or 6 first.
EITHER 5a and 5b
OR 6a and 6b
NOT a mixture of 5 and 6
STEP THREE
Read the question carefully.
Read the question again.
Read the question again and make sure you are clear what is being asked.
STEP FOUR
Note down your main points.
Get ideas from the facts given but mainly from your own knowledge.
STEP FIVE
PFE
Point … Facts … Explanation
STEP SIX
Start writing.
First sentence:
your main point.
Question 5a/6a
9 marks – not more than 10 minutes
You will be asked to describe something
Describe
This means the examiner is looking for a concise account that is organised.
Jot down three or four points that you want to include. Arrange them in the most logical order.
Question 5b/6b
16 marks – not more than 20 minutes
This asks for your opinion. Do you agree?
Do you agree?
You are free to agree, disagree, or partly agree and disagree.
What makes a difference is how well you back up your case.
Point – Fact - Explanation
Do you agree?
Give points for and against.
Back up your points with facts you know.
Give a conclusion explaining your point of view.
Check spelling, punctuation and grammar because they count in this question.
Now for the other questions
Go backwards through the paper.
Question 3 or 4
You choose one of these.
It may be a why? question or an in what way? question.
No more than 15 minutes on this question.
why? in what way?
Make notes of the main points you want to use.
Decide a logical order for your points.
Back up your points with factual evidence either from your knowledge or the examples they give.
Question 2
You get two topics and you can choose one.
This is an explain how? question.
Question 2
The examiner is trying to discover if you understand the key elements in the history of Germany. The more detail you give, the more marks you will get.
But spend no more than 10 minutes on this question
Question 1
Spend 5 to 10 minutes on this.
It is a What can you learn? question with one source.
Question 1
What the source tells you
What you can infer
Any relevant points about the origin of the source.
At the end
Go back through carefully, reading what you have written and making corrections.