Paper 1

For Paper 1 you need to answer four source-based questions on one prescribed subject, which at Kolding Gymnasium is The Move to Global War using Japanese expansion in Asia 1931-41 and Italian and German expansion 1933-40 as the examples.

This exam counts for 20 per cent of your overall marks at HL, or 30 per cent of your overall marks at SL.

You must answer questions 9a+b, 10, 11 and 12 in the exam booklet.

The four questions on Paper 1 assess different skills and knowledge. You must answer all four questions and have one hour to do so.

® Question 9 (a+b): direct questions:

Question 9 (a+b) is worth 5 marks and has two parts, both of which test your reading comprehension abilities on two different sources. One part is worth 3 marks and the other 2 and this will be clearly indicated on the examination. If a questions is worth 2 marks, try to have at least two specific points to your answer. If a questions is worth 3 marks, have at least three points.

Basically you have to tell the examiner what the sources say. Each of the questions will ask only about one source.

You need to answer both parts of the question by reviewing the source material and paraphrasing information from the sources. You will often see questions that ask you to convey the message or meaning of a source. This is asking you to explain what the source is saying!

In order to best answer the question, you first have to determine what the questions is asking you about the source and what type of source it is. The vast majority of sources are fragments of speeches, quotes from various historians or historical figures, or any type of written source. However, questions may also be asked about visual sources, such as photographs, charts, maps, cartoons and diagrams.

After starting your answer, understand that you should paraphrase what the original source stated. This means you should explain what the source says, but in your own words. Sometimes this is impossible because the words used in the source may be so specific that there is no other way to restate them. If this occurs, make sure you put quotation marks around the phrases which you are copying from the source.

Answering questions 9a and 9b should take five minutes or less of the actual examination time.

® Question 10: value and limitations of a source:

Question 10 is worth 4 marks and requires you to evaluate a source using the source’s origin, purpose, and the content you are presented with.

-          The origin of a source is the author, the type of publication, the year it was published, and sometimes the country it originates from.

-          The purpose of the source explains what the author was trying to do, such as explaining the impact of an event or conveying a certain type of information. The purpose of a source is usually indicated by the source’s title, the type of source, the writer or speaker, if it is a speech, or the location of the source, such as in a newspaper, an academic book or a journal.

-          The content of the source can indicate many things, such as the point of view of the author, evidence of some historical event or its interpretation or, in the case of a cartoon or other visual source, the audience that the creator wished to reach. Use the content to help explain the value and limitations of the source for historians, but do so with care. Use words like “possibly” and “perhaps” if you are not completely sure about your hypothesis.

It is important to remember that you are to use the origins, purpose and content to determine the value and limitations of the named source for historians studying something in particular.

The values and limitations will vary according to each source.

The value flows naturally from the origins, purpose and content. A value could be that the author of the source witnessed the event or is an acknowledged scholar.

The limitation of a source is determined in much the same way that you determined the source’s value. An example of a limitation could be that an author was involved in events and therefore may be less objective. You should try to explain at least two values and two limitations per source, although this may not always be possible.

Do not state that primary sources have more value than secondary sources; this is not necessarily true.

Answering question 10 should take approximately ten minutes of your examination time.

® Question 11: compare and contrast:

Question 11 is worth 6 marks, and asks you to compare and contrast two sources in terms of what information they convey to historians studying some aspect of the prescribed subject.

Comparing mean that you explain the similarities between the sources, while contrasting explains how they are different. You should aim to have about three similarities and three differences.

Usually the similarities and differences are fairly clear and the question can be easily answered in a few minutes.

When you start your answer, be sure to write a first paragraph that explains how the sources compare, or are similar, on whatever is being asked in the question. Your second paragraph should be on how they contrast or how they are different. You should not treat each source separately, but integrate them in the same sentences as much as possible. Using quotes from the sources to strengthen your answer is an excellent idea and will help you obtain more marks, but do keep in mind that a good historian also knows when to paraphrase and summarize!

Answering question 11 should take approximately fifteen minutes of your examination time.

® Question 12: essay integrating your own knowledge and your sources:

Question 12 is worth 9 marks and requires you to write what you know while integrating the sources provided. Remember to use both sources and own knowledge. The sources are there to support your own knowledge. Therefore, it is important that you prepare yourself for this type of questions by knowing and understanding the history of Japanese, Italian and German foreign diplomacy in the 1930s that is presented in this prescribed subject.

When you write your essay, make sure you follow an outline and use all the sources. You need to start with a good introduction to focus your essay and define anything that might be open to interpretation. Your introduction should conclude with a definite answer to the question. This should further serve to focus your essay. Usually you can introduce one or more of your sources in the introduction to support what you are going to cover. All sources must be used at least once, but use them multiple times if they will help your essay. Remember: the sources should support your essay. Finally, under no circumstances are you to just list the five sources and a couple of bullet points beneath each in a sort of preamble to a real essay. Sources need to be integrated and quoted to support your essay. Your concluding paragraph should clearly answer the essay question, summarizing your main arguments, and your conclusion should then include a summary of your main points.

You should spend 30-35 minutes answering this questions, using the first five to eight minutes of this time to summarize the sources and outline your response.

Examination advice and examples in Move to Global War:

How you will be assessed, p. 3-6.

Paper 1 Question 9, p. 46-47.

Paper 1 Question 10, p. 48-52.

Paper 1 Question 11, p. 136-138.

Paper 1 Question 12, p. 183-187.

Cartoons, graphs charts and tables, p. 88-95.