1 · Historical sources and contextual evaluation
provenance · corroboration
U1-Q1 · 2 marks
What can an official announcement establish most directly?
Answer and reasoning
The public explanation offered by its issuing authority.
U1-Q2 · 4 marks
Explain the mechanism or reasoning in this original case: A private letter and a public announcement describe the same event differently. Neither is automatically truthful or useless because of its genre.
Answer and reasoning
A contemporary announcement can show the official explanation offered to an audience. A private letter can show one person's response. Neither alone establishes the event's impact on everyone; compare with independent evidence and context.
- Accurate relevant concept (1)
- Specific evidence from the case (1)
- Connected reasoning (2)
Do not write primary sources are reliable as a universal rule. / Use the actual prescribed case studies, dates and actors selected by the school; this skills lesson is not case-study coverage.
2 · Causation, change and comparative essays
causation · continuity
U2-Q1 · 2 marks
What makes a causal paragraph analytical?
Answer and reasoning
It explains how a factor produced an outcome and evaluates its importance.
U2-Q2 · 4 marks
Explain the mechanism or reasoning in this original case: A long-standing tension and an immediate incident can both contribute to change. Listing events in date order does not explain their causal importance.
Answer and reasoning
Organize a paragraph around one factor, then compare its operation in two relevant cases. Explain why the factor mattered differently. End with a qualified judgement that answers the question, rather than declaring every factor equally important.
- Accurate relevant concept (1)
- Specific evidence from the case (1)
- Connected reasoning (2)
Do not confuse a consequence with a cause or assume the earliest event was the most important. / A classroom hypothetical is not evidence for the selected historical topic; replace it with verified case detail.
3 · Inquiry, evidence and methodological reflection
historical inquiry · significance
U3-Q1 · 2 marks
Which reflection concerns historical method?
Answer and reasoning
Explain how uneven survival of records limits the groups whose experiences can be reconstructed.
U3-Q2 · 4 marks
Explain the mechanism or reasoning in this original case: How did a local institution change over a bounded decade is more researchable than why did society change. The question determines which evidence is relevant.
Answer and reasoning
Begin with a small source inventory: what exists, who produced it and which groups are absent. Revise the question if evidence cannot support it. Track citations while drafting and reflect on a real difficulty, such as unequal survival of records.
- Accurate relevant concept (1)
- Specific evidence from the case (1)
- Connected reasoning (2)
Do not replace historical reflection with a diary of your effort. / The full guide governs IA section limits and criteria; school supervision verifies sources and independent authorship.
4 · Regional arguments and historiography
historiography · chronology
U4-Q1 · 2 marks
What should follow a historian's interpretation in an essay?
Answer and reasoning
Analysis of its evidence, explanation and limitations for the question.
U4-Q2 · 4 marks
Explain the mechanism or reasoning in this original case: Two historians may give different weight to institutions and individual action. Their disagreement can sharpen your question rather than force an arbitrary choice.
Answer and reasoning
Compare each historian's evidence, scope and causal explanation. Identify what each explains well and a difficulty raised by the other. Use the comparison to refine your own judgement about the question.
- Accurate relevant concept (1)
- Specific evidence from the case (1)
- Connected reasoning (2)
Do not use a historian's name as a substitute for an argument. / The 2028 course changes regional selection and assessment; these 2017 Paper 3 requirements cannot be carried across unchanged.