Pass Check: GCSE History Skills
Master GCSE History exam technique: reading sources for provenance, applying command words correctly and building supported judgements.
Provenance
Information about where a source comes from, including its nature, origin and purpose, used to judge its value.
Primary source
A source produced at the time of the event being studied, e.g. a letter, photograph or official record from that period.
Secondary source
A source produced after the event, often by a historian, using evidence and hindsight to interpret what happened.
Interpretation
A historian's view of the past, shaped by the evidence they chose, their purpose and the time in which they were writing.
Utility
How useful a source is for a specific enquiry, judged by its content, provenance and what it does not show.
Reliability
How trustworthy a source is, based on whether its content is accurate and free from distortion.
Significance
The importance of an event or person, judged by its impact at the time, over time, and on people's lives.
Consequence
A result or effect that followed from an event or decision, whether short-term or long-term.
Continuity
The extent to which something stayed the same across a period, contrasted with change.
Bias
A one-sided viewpoint in a source or interpretation, often caused by the author's purpose or position.
Quick check
Mixed quiz
1. What does 'nature' mean when analysing a source's provenance?
2. Source C (a 1945 newspaper editorial, before the general election): "Only Labour can rebuild Britain and give working people the homes and healthcare they deserve." For which enquiry would Source C have the least utility?
3. Which of these best describes how to judge which cause was 'most important' in a 12-mark answer?
4. Source G (a 1980s textbook extract summarising the causes of the Cold War): why might its later date of publication be both a strength and a limitation?
5. A model answer fragment reads: "Source A is useful because it shows soldiers had poor conditions in the trenches." What is missing from this fragment to reach a higher level of analysis?
6. Model answer fragment: "The assassination of Franz Ferdinand caused the First World War." What is the main weakness of this fragment as an exam answer to 'Explain why the First World War began'?
7. Source A (a 1939 government leaflet to parents): "Send your children to the countryside now, for their safety." Which combination of factors should you use to judge how useful Source A is?
8. What does the command word 'describe' ask you to do?