Approaching the Core Question

By

Ken Webb

World War I Questions

A key revision tip you do not need to know a lot about the war Multiple choice based on sources Two 4/5 mark questions testing your own knowledge Source analysis question on usefulness and reliability The postcard method of revision

World War I Questions 1-8 (1)

Multiple choice questions
Not easy! Read carefully/ focus/ check the source/ implied knowledge BUT: dont agonise How long? About a minute each NB: You will be asked for the best response

The four marker

Often phrased as follows: Briefly outline the impact of total war on civilians in Britain. Use Source A and Source B and your own knowledge to answer the question. Briefly outline the changing attitudes of the men at the front towards the war. Use your own knowledge and Sources A and B to answer this question. Briefly outline the development of stalemate on the Western Front by the end of 1914. Use your own knowledge and Sources A and B to answer this question.

World War I Questions 1-8 (2) The four marker

Timing: four marks, 7-8 minutes Paragraphs? No marks for structure Be certain to refer to BOTH sources
Specific reference!

Integrate your answer

Source A shows that.. This can also be seen by (your own information).. Source B shows that This is further highlighted by the fact that.

OWN information! Show the marker you understand the question How much do you write?

4 mark Question

Evidence from the source

Provide specific information to support the argument avoid waffle!

Your information

Refer directly to sources

Be specific

The five marker

Often phrased as follows: Explain the impact that conditions on the Western Front had on men who were fighting. Use Sources C and D and your own information to answer this question. Explain the variety of attitudes held by civilians in Britain and Germany. Use your own knowledge and Sources C and D to answer this question. Explain the significance of the US entry into WWI. Use your own knowledge and Sources C and D to answer this question.

World War I Questions 1-8 (3) The five marker

Timing: four marks, 8-9 minutes Paragraphs? No marks for structure However: provide an opening sentence which answers the question Be certain to refer to BOTH sources
Specific reference!

Integrate your answer

Topic sentence that gives the argument Source A shows that.. This can also be seen by (your own information).. Source B shows that This is further highlighted by the fact that.

OWN information Show the marker you understand the question How much do you write?

5 mark Question Give the argument ie answer the question No reference to sources of facts here

Opening sentence(s)

Evidence from the source

Provide specific information to support the argument avoid waffle!

Your information

Refer directly to sources Brief conclusion

Be specific

Question 9 style questions

Every question is the same: Assess how useful Sources E and F would be for a historian studying British and German propaganda in World War I. In your answer, consider the perspective provided by the TWO sources and the reliability of EACH source. How useful would Sources E and F be to an historian studying the impact of the war on womens lives and experiences in Britain. In your response, consider the perspective provided by BOTH sources and the reliability of EACH source.

Answering Question 9 of the Core

No introductory paragraph needed
If you have to, if your teacher has told you to.

Treat each source separately Analysis of each source requires a discussion of:
Nature Reliability Usefulness

No need for a conclusion

Analysing Source E What is it? - provenance

Primary or secondary

Nature of the Source

perspective author motive audience Reliability

context Timing: hindsight, Eyewitness? Style of presentation A host of other factors

Content

Usefulness

What is the source actually telling us?

Reliability (1): Motive

Simply informing? Recollecting? Trying to convince/ arguing a case? Propaganda? Transmitting key information? Justification of ones actions?

Reliability (2): Audience

For public consumption? A private communication? Official document? A secret communication? A personal document? For no-one but the writer?

Reliability (3): Sources

Who is the writer? Does he/ she matter? Authority figure? Eye-witness? A person with great access to sources? A person with limited access to sources?

Reliability (4): Timing

At the time of the event being considered significance? Shortly after? A significant time after? A memoire?

Reliability (5): Style of presentation

Consider the language:
Emotional? Detached? Manipulative?

Is it propaganda or factual? Content of the source:

Are there obvious exclusions? What is the significance of the inclusions?

Reliability (6): Context

Timing significance? Location significance? Corroborative sources
Be willing to use other knowledge here

A few points to note on using sources (1)

Just because it is a primary source, does not mean that it is reliable Just because it is a primary source, does not mean it is better than a secondary source Just because the writer is German, writing about Germany, does not mean that he or she is biased A source may be unreliable but still may be very useful

A few points to note on using sources (2)

What if it is an internet site?
What is the address? Who produced it? Why?

Internet source

Last date of access? Evidence of updating?

Then, deal with what is in the site

A few points to note on using sources (3)

What if it is a secondary source produced long after the event?
Hindsight

Emotional detachment

Secondary Source

Critical audience

Access to sources

Usefulness
The content of the source

What is the source actually telling us?

USEFULNESS

Relate it to the questions

Dip into the source and extract specific information from the source

Source A: Extract from a speech given on General Ludendorffs behalf to the Reichstag, 2 October 1918

The losses of the currently raging battle are as stated, unexpectedly great, especially of officers. This is decisiveThe enemy is in a position to make good his losses with American help. The American troops as such are not of special value, let alone superior to ours. Their importance lies in the fact that they are able to take over lengthy stretches of the front, thereby enabling the English to disengage their own battle-tried divisions and to provide almost inexhaustible reserves for themselves.

Source B: Extract from a letter sent by Sergeant Cecil Cole to his sweetheart Elsie, May 1917
Weve had another bad week, the Huns have used gas again. I dont think Charlie Braddock will last. But were all feeling much better now. You must have heard the great news, the Americans are coming into the war. Were all very excited, just think of it, millions of new Yankee troops joining us. This cant go on much longer now, not with the Americans on our side. I bet Fritz is must be thinking its all over for him. Dont worry about me, Ive kept my head down for three years, and it wont be much longer now.

Source D: Extract from A History of Germany: 1815-1985 (by W Carr, published 1987)

The gamble in the west had failed. Germany did not possess the necessary superiority in manpower to exploit the initial breakthrough (of spring 1918). The Supreme Command had chosen to keep one and a half million men in the east controlling, directly or indirectly, vast territories from the Baltic to the CrimeaMeanwhile American reinforcements arrived more quickly than Ludendorff bargained for

Punch Magazine, August 1914

The use of women

Photographs
What does it show? Where and when? Why was the picture taken? Posing? Typical of what is going on at the time?

Cartoons
Identify elements of the cartoon Assemble background facts Identifiable symbols? Any bias? Message of the cartoon? Evaluate a response:
Effective? Accurate? Degree of impact?