Paper One Markscheme

(Section 2)

These markschemes will allow you to gauge the standard of your own work.

Why not give them to your parents, or email them to your teacher or an A-level or university student friend with your answers, and ask them to mark your work.

Eventually, you should be able to work out accurately what mark your work will be worth - and this is an important step to improving your answers.

The Basic Principle:

Note that GCSE History questions are marked by judging the ‘level of response’ – more sophisticated answers score at a higher level according to a hierarchy of understanding.

Therefore:

The first thing you do when marking an answer is to work out what Level it is at.
Then - depending on the depth of explanation and amount of factual knowledge shown - allocate a score within the range of marks allocated to that Level.

When marking

1. Gauge the LEVEL.

2. Gauge the depth of explanation and amount of factual knowledge.

Note:

These are GENERAL templates. You will need to assess the depth of explanation and the amount of factual knowledge for each question:

Factual knowledge: look at the revision sheet for ideas about the kinds of facts that ought to be included.

Explanation: a good explanation is clear, refers directly to the question asked, and takes the argument right through to the question. Look out for connectives such as 'so', 'therefore', 'however', 'nevertheless' etc.. The best explanations have multiple ideas (e.g. 'This worked in two ways, firstly...')

Levels of Response

AQA markschemes have FOUR levels of response.

I have simplified things to reduce most to three levels.

Different Types of Question:

There are FOUR different kinds of question you will meet in section 1 of Paper One.

Each one is marked in a different way:

Types of Question

1. Extraction

2. Reliability

3. Description

4. Explanation/analysis.

Extraction from a Source (3 marks)

Explain what an historian might learn from Source A about....

Give one mark for ANY fact – surface or inferred – taken from the Source to a maximum of three.

DO NOT CREDIT to answers which cannot be found in the source or which give facts which, although they are taken from the source, are not about the topic specified.

Why produced (6 marks)

How useful is Source D to an historian studying...? Use Source D and your own knowledge to explain your answer.

Level 1 (score 1–2 depending on the depth of the answer and factual proof)

Simple, generic reason(s) with little or no explanation, either taken from their own knowledge or the source (e.g. ‘So people would know’, ‘100,000 men were needed’.)

Note that, to score more than half marks, candidates MUST BOTH use information from the source AND provide factual information from their own knowledge.

Level 2 (score 3–4 depending on the depth of the answer and factual proof)

EITHER

a number of valid reasons with little explanation/ inferred rather than explicit explanation.

one valid reason well-explained right through to the need to publish the source.

Level 3 (score 5–6 depending on the depth of the answer and factual proof)

At least TWO valid reasons fully developed right through to the need to publish the source. Answers should at this level be explaining clearly the importance of the message in its context.

Reliability/ Utility/

Evaluation of an interpretation

Use:

1. the provenance

2. the content

but you MUST

ANSWER THE QUESTION

Utility (8 marks)

How useful is Source D to an historian studying...? Use Source D and your own knowledge to explain your answer.

Level 1 (score 1–3 depending on the depth of the answer and factual proof)

generic statements about the source’s usefulness, either taken from their own knowledge or uncritically from the source (e.g. ‘It is useful because it tells us that…’, ‘The poster was produced by the government so it must be true…’ etc.)

Note that, to score more than half marks, candidates MUST BOTH use information from the source AND provide factual information from their own knowledge.

Level 2 (score 4–6 depending on the depth of the answer and factual proof)

EITHER

uses arguments derived from the content of the source to assess the source’s usefulness (e.g. ‘It is useful because it shows how …’ ‘It has limitations because it does not give us any insight into….’)

uses arguments derived from the provenance of the source to assess the source’s usefulness (e.g. ‘It is useful because it is a government poster so we can assume that the details it gives should be factually correct, this means….’) DO NOT CREDIT ANSWERS WHICH ASSESS THE SOURCE’S RELIABILITY RATHER THAN ITS UTILITY.

Level 3 (score 7–8 depending on the depth of the answer and factual proof)

Fully explained answers which assess the source’s usefulness using both the content and the provenance of the source. Award the highest marks to answers which understand the issue: ‘useful for what?’ – the poster gives a very reliable insight into what the government was doing/saying, but it tells us nothing about the feelings of the man-in-the-street.

Reliability/ Utility/

Evaluation of an interpretation

Use:

1. the provenance

2. the content

but you MUST

ANSWER THE QUESTION

Evaluation of an Interpretation (8 marks)

Is the view given in Source E an accurate interpretation of ...? Use Source E and your own knowledge to explain your answer.

Level 1 (score 1–2 depending on the number of facts)

Comprehension of the source, accepting the interpretation at face value (e.g. It is accurate, because it tells us clearly what happened.)

Level 2 (score 3–5 depending on the depth of the answer and factual proof)

EITHER

Explanation based on the provenance (ranging from the very simple: e.g. 'It is from a text-book intended to be used to British schools. It would have no reason to lie.' to sophisticated ideas involving the context of the creation and/or the nature & intentions of the author)

Explanation based on own knowledge (e.g. Compares factual information in the source with own knowledge.)

Level 3 (score 6–8 depending on the depth of the answer and factual proof)

Combines both of Level 3 in a convincing explanation

A Judgement

A judgement is like a conclusion, but it contains a NEW IDEA - it is not just a summary of points already made..

Paper One Markscheme (Section 2)
These markschemes will allow you to gauge the standard of your own work. Why not give them to your parents, or email them to your teacher or an A-level or university student friend with your answers, and ask them to mark your work. Eventually, you should be able to work out accurately what mark your work will be worth - and this is an important step to improving your answers.
The Basic Principle: Note that GCSE History questions are marked by judging the ‘level of response’ – more sophisticated answers score at a higher level according to a hierarchy of understanding. Therefore: The first thing you do when marking an answer is to work out what Level it is at. Then - depending on the depth of explanation and amount of factual knowledge shown - allocate a score within the range of marks allocated to that Level.	When marking 1. Gauge the LEVEL. 2. Gauge the depth of explanation and amount of factual knowledge.
Note: These are GENERAL templates. You will need to assess the depth of explanation and the amount of factual knowledge for each question: Factual knowledge: look at the revision sheet for ideas about the kinds of facts that ought to be included. Explanation: a good explanation is clear, refers directly to the question asked, and takes the argument right through to the question. Look out for connectives such as 'so', 'therefore', 'however', 'nevertheless' etc.. The best explanations have multiple ideas (e.g. 'This worked in two ways, firstly...')	Levels of Response AQA markschemes have FOUR levels of response. I have simplified things to reduce most to three levels.
Different Types of Question: There are FOUR different kinds of question you will meet in section 1 of Paper One. Each one is marked in a different way:	Types of Question 1. Extraction 2. Reliability 3. Description 4. Explanation/analysis.
Extraction from a Source (3 marks) Explain what an historian might learn from Source A about.... Give one mark for ANY fact – surface or inferred – taken from the Source to a maximum of three. DO NOT CREDIT to answers which cannot be found in the source or which give facts which, although they are taken from the source, are not about the topic specified.
Why produced (6 marks) How useful is Source D to an historian studying...? Use Source D and your own knowledge to explain your answer. Level 1 (score 1–2 depending on the depth of the answer and factual proof) Simple, generic reason(s) with little or no explanation, either taken from their own knowledge or the source (e.g. ‘So people would know’, ‘100,000 men were needed’.) Note that, to score more than half marks, candidates MUST BOTH use information from the source AND provide factual information from their own knowledge. Level 2 (score 3–4 depending on the depth of the answer and factual proof) EITHER a number of valid reasons with little explanation/ inferred rather than explicit explanation. OR one valid reason well-explained right through to the need to publish the source. Level 3 (score 5–6 depending on the depth of the answer and factual proof) At least TWO valid reasons fully developed right through to the need to publish the source. Answers should at this level be explaining clearly the importance of the message in its context.	Reliability/ Utility/ Evaluation of an interpretation Use: 1. the provenance 2. the content but you MUST ANSWER THE QUESTION
Utility (8 marks) How useful is Source D to an historian studying...? Use Source D and your own knowledge to explain your answer. Level 1 (score 1–3 depending on the depth of the answer and factual proof) generic statements about the source’s usefulness, either taken from their own knowledge or uncritically from the source (e.g. ‘It is useful because it tells us that…’, ‘The poster was produced by the government so it must be true…’ etc.) Note that, to score more than half marks, candidates MUST BOTH use information from the source AND provide factual information from their own knowledge. Level 2 (score 4–6 depending on the depth of the answer and factual proof) EITHER uses arguments derived from the content of the source to assess the source’s usefulness (e.g. ‘It is useful because it shows how …’ ‘It has limitations because it does not give us any insight into….’) OR uses arguments derived from the provenance of the source to assess the source’s usefulness (e.g. ‘It is useful because it is a government poster so we can assume that the details it gives should be factually correct, this means….’) DO NOT CREDIT ANSWERS WHICH ASSESS THE SOURCE’S RELIABILITY RATHER THAN ITS UTILITY. Level 3 (score 7–8 depending on the depth of the answer and factual proof) Fully explained answers which assess the source’s usefulness using both the content and the provenance of the source. Award the highest marks to answers which understand the issue: ‘useful for what?’ – the poster gives a very reliable insight into what the government was doing/saying, but it tells us nothing about the feelings of the man-in-the-street.	Reliability/ Utility/ Evaluation of an interpretation Use: 1. the provenance 2. the content but you MUST ANSWER THE QUESTION
Evaluation of an Interpretation (8 marks) Is the view given in Source E an accurate interpretation of ...? Use Source E and your own knowledge to explain your answer. Level 1 (score 1–2 depending on the number of facts) Comprehension of the source, accepting the interpretation at face value (e.g. It is accurate, because it tells us clearly what happened.) Level 2 (score 3–5 depending on the depth of the answer and factual proof) EITHER Explanation based on the provenance (ranging from the very simple: e.g. 'It is from a text-book intended to be used to British schools. It would have no reason to lie.' to sophisticated ideas involving the context of the creation and/or the nature & intentions of the author) OR Explanation based on own knowledge (e.g. Compares factual information in the source with own knowledge.) Level 3 (score 6–8 depending on the depth of the answer and factual proof) Combines both of Level 3 in a convincing explanation	A Judgement A judgement is like a conclusion, but it contains a NEW IDEA - it is not just a summary of points already made..