The 8 Mark "How Convincing is the Interpretation About" Question: Norman England (Q1) (AQA GCSE History)

Summary of Question One

• Question One requires you to evaluate how convincing an interpretation is about the issue outlined in the question

• 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:

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