SECTION 1 – DOCUMENT-BASED QUESTION
Higher and Ordinary Level (100 marks)
You will be questioned on one of the following three case studies:
1. The Programme for Economic Expansion, 1958 - 1963
2. The Impact of the EEC on Irish Fisheries
3. The Impact of RTE, 1962 – 1972
• You must answer four questions on the documents.
• Only one case study will appear on the paper, so you do not have any choice.
Question 1 - Comprehension (HL 20 marks. OL 40 marks) • This question is designed to show you understand the document. • There are generally four short questions – (5 marks
each HL). • Your answers should be taken from the document. • Do not add any extra information. • A one or two sentence answer is generally enough. • Don’t waste time repeating the question as part of your answer, simply give enough information to answer the question asked.
Question 2 - Comparison (20 marks) • Comparison questions are in two parts, A and B.
• You are required to note similarities and differences
in two or more documents. • You must refer to both documents – if you only refer to one, you can only get a maximum of 5 marks per question.
• Give as much detail as possible to maximise your marks. • Support your answers by quoting from the texts.
Question 3 – Criticism (20 marks) • Criticism questions generally require you to identify bias, propaganda, reliability, usefulness of
documents, strengths and weaknesses, etc.
• Write a paragraph making relevant points for each
part of the question. • Make as many points as you can to gain maximum marks.
• Support your answer by reference to the texts.
• Check whether you are being asked about the specific document you have been given, or about documents, cartoons, speeches or articles in general and answer accordingly.
Question 4 – Contextualisation (mini essay) (HL 40 marks. OL 20 marks)
• Tests your overall knowledge of the episode being
examined.
• Try to write two A4 pages for HL, one page for OL,
giving as much relevant detail as possible. • Link your paragraphs to the questions asked.
• Don’t get carried away and spend too much time on
this question as it is only worth 40 marks (for HL) in comparison to 100 marks for the longer essays.
π SOURCES
Sources are divided into two categories – primary and secondary.
Primary
• A primary source comes from the time being studied.
• It was created by someone involved in the specific
event.
• It can be written either at the time or at a later
date
• Primary sources provide direct evidence of the past
Secondary
• A secondary source is based on other sources • Secondary sources provide indirect evidence of the
past. Be aware that both primary and secondary sources are extremely useful to historians. Just because a source is primary does not make it more useful, more reliable or necessarily better than a secondary source. Terms you should understand for document-based questions 1. Propaganda – spreading information to convince people of a particular point of view
What to look for:
• Use of persuasive, emotive language, rhetoric and
powerful imagery.
• Information that is biased and exaggerated.
• Reference to God, Caesar, etc.
• Propagandists only give the other point of view in a negative light, if at all, and often leave out or omit important information.
• They are often unbalanced in reporting, can be selective, use misinformation, make misleading claims, etc. 2. Effectiveness of documents
Look at how the source is written/drawn – which one is more likely to grab attention/provoke reaction?
Features of an effective document:
• Use of heightened, colourful language/rhetoric.
• Use of repetition, similes/metaphors.
• Author often evokes God etc.
• Selective use of information.
• Passionate delivery – charismatic speaker.
• Use of personal pronouns – ‘I’ ‘we’ – draws reader in.
Less effective documents
➤ Long tracts of text – can be difficult to understand
➤ Use of academic, complicated language puts the reader off.
➤ May have to read more than once to get the point.
➤ Takes more time to read.
➤ Less effective to a general audience.
3. Reliability of sources
1. Reliability depends on what you are trying to find out. 2. Always check what type of source it is. What can this
tell you about its reliability?
3. Check to see who wrote it? When? Why?
4. If it is an edited extract, it is unreliable, at least to a certain extent, as we don’t know what has been left out.
5. Would it have been in the author’s interest to lie? 6. Was it written in retrospect? Could the author’s memory be faulty – could he/she change facts to enhance his/her own role or make others look bad? 7. Is it biased?
8. Keep in mind that even unreliable sources are valuable to historians; they can still give very useful information.
TIP
Just because a source is primary, it does not follow that it is reliable. People in the past were just as capable of lying, exaggerating, being selective, etc., as they are today!
4. Bias (Note: there is no such word as biast!)
When looking for bias, ask yourself: 1. Is the author objective – can he/she be?
2. If it is a newspaper report – do you know anything about its views, e.g. Freeman’s Journal – nationalist paper – how can this help to interpret reports etc.?
Be sure you know the difference between objective and subjective sources
Objective – presenting information in a way that does not favour one side over another. (Think of an object or a thing. It has no feelings, so cannot have an opinion)
Subjective – presenting information that favours one side over the other 3. Is the information exaggerated?
4. Whose point of view is represented?
5. Is the writer giving balanced information and equal
space to both points of view?
6. Does it appear that the writer is being selective?