The 8 Mark "How Convincing is the Interpretation About" Question: Norman England (Q1) (AQA GCSE History)
Revision Note
Written by: Zoe Wade
Reviewed by: Bridgette Barrett
Summary of Question One
Question One requires you to evaluate how convincing an interpretation is about the issue outlined in the question
Amount of marks | 8 |
|---|---|
The time that you should spend on the question | No more than 10 minutes |
An example of the type of question you may encounter can be seen below:
In previous years, this question has focused on the following topics in Norman history:
Year | Question Topic |
|---|---|
2022 | |
2021 | |
2020 | |
2019 | |
2018 | |
Sample 1 | |
Sample 2 |
How to Analyse an Interpretation
When analysing an interpretation you should:
Read the interpretation carefully
If you have the time, read the interpretation more than once
Focus on just the content of the interpretation
If you refer to the provenance, you will receive no marks for the comments made
Whilst reading the interpretation, underline or highlight relevant pieces of text
Annotate the interpretation by attaching your knowledge to the content of the interpretation
When analysing an interpretation, many students forget to focus on the given issue in the question
For example, if a question is asking you about the Battle of Hastings and the interpretation mentions the submission of the earls, you disregard the information about the submission of the earls
AWAITING IMAGE
An image showing how to annotate historical interpretations for the Norman England, c1066–c1100 course
How is an Interpretation Convincing?
Interpretations are used in history to explain the past by looking at history from different points of view
Interpretations are convincing because they:
Have accurate knowledge
Have an understanding of the historical period
Show a typical experience or point of view from the historical period
The easiest way to decide if an interpretation is convincing is by using your own knowledge
For the example question, you could use the Harrying of the North as a reason why the interpretation is convincing
Judging Interpretations
The “How Convincing” question requires you to make a judgement
The common mistakes that students make when making a judgement are:
Not giving a clear judgement. Students do this by:
Failing to decide why the interpretation is convincing
Using language in their answer which is not decisive e.g. “kind of” or “maybe”
Contradicting your judgements
Students sometimes haven’t planned their answers properly. They start to write their answer with one judgement and then change their opinion halfway through
Doing this means that there is not a sustained judgement and you can not access Level 4 (6-8 marks)
Good judgements will:
Explain why the interpretation is convincing
Have a substantiated judgement
Be supported with specific knowledge
Be relevant to the interpretations and the question
Although you need to explain how convincing the interpretation is, this does not mean that the interpretation will not be convincing
Your judgement does not need to include limitations and you can receive full marks without one
Student's responses are stronger when they are decisive and clear about how convincing the interpretation is
However, if you include a limitation you will be credited, you must make sure the limitation is:
Supported by knowledge
Focused on the question
Relevant to your answer
“How Convincing is the Interpretation” Structure
For the example question above, you will be given an interpretation in an insert
An insert is an additional booklet to your answer paper. It provides key sources or interpretations needed to answer specific questions in the exam
Your answer should consist of:
Specific relevant knowledge
Content from the interpretation
The wider context of the time
Your answer could be written in PEE paragraphs
P- Make a point about the question
Identify why the interpretation is convincing
E- Use information from the interpretation and knowledge to support the point you have made
Your knowledge should be specific
Focus on the content from the interpretation
E- Explain why you find the interpretation convincing
Focus on the given issue in the question
For top marks, you need to show your understanding of the wider context of the time
To achieve full marks, you need to repeat this twice
Worked Example of a “How Convincing is the Interpretation” Question
Worked Example
How convincing is Interpretation A about the way in which William dealt with rebellions?
[8 marks]
Interpretation A: Adapted from a history textbook by Toby Purser, 2004. Purser is a specialist in Norman history. "William put the rebellions down with great brutality; any pretence he had to being the legitimate heir of Edward the Confessor ended during this period. To underpin his occupation he built hundreds of castles across the kingdom, garrisoned by armed mounted troops." |
Answer:
Interpretation A is very convincing because it shows how William responded harshly to rebellions. The interpretation says "William put the rebellions down with great brutality." This is very convincing because William heavily punished the North for their uprisings by enacting the Harrying of the North in 1069-1070. This resulted in widespread famine and large areas of Yorkshire becoming wasteland. Therefore, the interpretation is convincing because William undertook genocide to punish the people of the North for their disloyalty. It is a brutal method that not all monarchs of the period would have done.
Interpretation A is very convincing because it shows that William brutally dealt with rebellions because he was not a legitimate monarch. The interpretation states "any pretence he had to being the legitimate heir of Edward the Confessor ended during this period". This is convincing because there was a lot of controversy about who was Edward the Confessor’s heir. Edward had no children. However, multiple men claimed the English throne after Edward’s death in 1066. William stated that Edward had promised him the throne. Therefore, this interpretation is convincing as it shows that many rebellions occurred due to distrust of William’s legitimacy. Edwin and Morcar’s rebellion in 1068 and Edgar Aethling’s in 1069 are examples of rebellions that wanted to overthrow William as King of England.
Overall, the interpretation is very convincing because the interpretation states that William was brutal in his reaction to rebellions. The interpretation argues that this was necessary as the Anglo-Saxons did not see him as the legitimate King of England.
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