PAPER TWO
HOW TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS!
Paper 2:
• Worth 30% of total GCSE
Topics:
1. Public Health in Britain 1800 – 1914
Layout:
All sources:
• 8-mark source
• 8-mark source
• 9-mark source
• 9-mark source
• 16-mark own knowledge and source
WHY WAS THIS SOURCE PUBLISHED? (8 or 9)
Key things to consider:
-
What has happened before and up to this date?
Does anything happen in this year that makes this relevant or interesting?
Does anything happen as a result of this?
Does anything NOT happen as a result of this?
Who is this source published by/who is its audience – does this help to understand its purpose?
Possible sentence/paragraph structure:
This source was published in… because that was when… (own knowledge to support)
This source is showing ... They are complaining/arguing/asserting (etc) that…
At/around this time…. (own knowledge to support)
The purpose of this cartoon, therefore, was to…. and was published at this time…..
HOWEVER/SHORTLY AFTER…. (own knowledge to support)
HOW USEFUL IS THIS SOURCE? (8 or 9)
Things to consider:
“THE 3 T’s”
-
What does is tell you? (or what does it NOT)
Is it typical of the time? (look at date)
Can you trust it? (who is it written by?
Remember: say why it IS useful and why it ISN’T useful.
Possible sentence and paragraph structure:
 This source is… it was published around the time that… (own knowledge to support)
 This source is useful because it tells me ... This is typical of the time because…. (own knowledge to
support) This source is reliable (trust) because….. As such, it is clearly useful in learning about….
 HOWEVER, the source could also be considered to not be useful because… (own knowledge to support).
 consider: TELL, TYPICAL, TRUST.
 Overall, I think this source is useful/not useful because….
WHY DO THESE SOURCES DISAGREE/AGREE? or HOW FAR DO THEY AGREE/DISAGREE? or
HOW FAR DO THEY SAY DIFFERENT/SIMILAR THINGS? (8 or 9)
Key things to consider:
-
This is an iceberg question: above the water it mentions: why they say different/similar things or
agree/disagree - but below you need to consider the other side too!
You need to pick out at least ways they are similar/AGREE and 2 ways they are different/DISAGREE.
Remember to refer directly to the sources.
You also need to include a couple of direct quotations from the sources to support your answer.
Possible sentence and paragraph structure:
 Sources b and c actually agree in some areas because… (topic, purpose, message, audience etc). This
was…(own knowledge to support.) This is shown in source x where it says “quote” and in source y
where it says “quote”…. (be sure to elaborate here)
 These sources disagree so much because of their [attitudes/reactions/feelings towards –the topic
discussed-] … This was…(own knowledge to support) These attitudes are evident in source x where it
says “quote” and in source y where it says “quote”…. (be sure to elaborate here. e.g. these attitudes
represent the two major parties at odds with each other. One wanted…. as in source x…. And the other wanted…
as in source y.)
 Overall, the sources fundamentally/mostly/only slightly disagree because…
HOW TYPICAL OF THE TIME? // ARE YOU SURPRISED? (8 or 9)
Key things to consider:
Typical means “the norm”, the most common.
“P.P.B”
-
What POINT was it trying to make?
When was it PUBLISHED? - what was going on around that time that is relevant to the source and
might explain why the source was published then- is it typical?
BALANCE your answer - in what ways might historians think it is typical. In what ways is it not?
Possible sentence and paragraph structure:
 In some ways the conditions shown in this source were typical, and I am not surprised… This is because
at the time of its being published… (own knowledge to support its typicality) The source explains that…
 On the other hand it is not totally typical, because I am surprised to see that it… [discusses/misses
out/ignores/blames]… (own knowledge to support). At this time… (own knowledge to argue against its
typicality)
16 MARKER! For example: How far do the sources agree with the interpretation?
Key things to consider:
-
This is the final question on the exam. It will always include a statement and ask how far the
sources on the paper agree with it.
You are expected to use AS MANY relevant sources as possible to back up your argument.
BALANCE your argument before coming to a JUDGEMENT.
Contains 3 marks for SPaG, so try to use historical language.
BME IS IMPORTANT: for each side of your argument you must use sources (backed up with your own
knowledge) from the Beginning, Middle, and End of the period.
-
What is each source discussing? Do they source agree/disagree with the statement? Where is it in
the time period? What own knowledge do you have that can help?
Use this information to write a BALANCED argument, using as many (preferably all) of the sources.
Possible sentence and paragraph structure:
 Brief introduction: what is the statement talking about? Does your own knowledge support it? Overall
do the source support it?
 AGREE: I do agree with this statement to some extent.
 Beginning: Source x shows that at the beginning/in the middle of the nineteenth century they
believed…
 Middle: A few years later, as shown in source y, they thought similarly…
 End: By the end of the period, these views were firmly entrenched, as shown in….




DISAGREE: However, I do not agree completely with this statement because…
Beginning: Source x shows that at the beginning/in the middle of the nineteenth century
Middle: A few years later, as shown in source y, they disagreed even more…
End: Eventually, some people disagreed so much…
 Overall I….