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.