The 8 Mark "Which Interpretation is More Convincing" Question: America 1840-1895 (Q3) (AQA GCSE History)
Revision Note
Written by: Natasha Smith
Reviewed by: Bridgette Barrett
Summary of Question Three
Question Three requires you to evaluate which interpretation is more convincing about the issue outlined
The interpretations used in Question Three will be the same interpretations used in Questions One and Two
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 American history:
Year of Exam | Question Topic |
|---|---|
2018 | |
2019 | |
2020 | |
2021 | |
2022 | |
Sample 1 | Conflict between North and South in the American Civil War |
Sample 2 | Attack on the Indian camp at Sand Creek |
How to Analyse an Interpretation
For the example question above, you will use the same two interpretations as you did in Questions One and Two. These are found in the 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
When analysing an interpretation you should:
Read the interpretations carefully
If you have time, read the interpretations 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 issue outlined in the question
For example, if a question is asking you about the reactions to Reconstruction and the interpretation includes reactions towards Western expansion, you disregard the information about Western expansion
Why are Some Interpretations More Convincing?
Interpretations are used in history to explain the past by looking at history from different points of view
However, some interpretations are more convincing than others
More convincing interpretations could have one of the following:
More accurate knowledge
A greater understanding of the historical period
A more typical experience from the historical period
A more accepted point of view
The easiest way to decide if an interpretation is more convincing is by using your own knowledge
For the example question, you could use Lincoln's reluctance to intervene in the issue of slavery as a reason why Interpretation B is more convincing for the reasons for the American Civil War
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:
Explaining that both interpretations are more convincing
Failing to decide which interpretation is more convincing
Using language in their answer which is not decisive e.g. “kind of” or “maybe”
Contradicting your judgments
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 which interpretation is more convincing
Have a substantiated judgement
Be supported with specific knowledge
Relevant to the interpretations and the question
Although you need to decide if one interpretation is more convincing, it does not mean that one interpretation will be right and the other will be wrong
Your judgement does not need to include limitations and you can receive full marks without referring to them
Students responses are stronger when they are decisive and clear about which interpretation is more convincing
If you include a limitation you will be credited but you must make sure the limitation is:
Supported by knowledge
Focused on the question
Relevant to your answer
“How Convincing is the Interpretation” Structure
Your answer should consist of:
Specific relevant knowledge
Both interpretations A and B
The wider context of the time
Your answer could be written in PEE paragraphs
P- Make a point about the question
Make it clear which interpretation you are going to discuss
Identify if you find the interpretation more 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 more or less 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 once for each interpretation
Worked Example of a “Which Interpretation is More Convincing” Question
Worked Example
Which interpretation gives the more convincing opinion about the conflict between North and South in the American Civil War?
Explain your answer based on your contextual knowledge and what it says in Interpretation A and B.
[8 marks]
Interpretation A: Thomas Johnson, from his book, Twenty-Eight Years a Slave, published in 1909. Johnson was born a slave in 1836 in Virginia where he was bought and sold several times. After the Civil War, he was freed and moved north, where he became a church minister and eventually a missionary in Africa. “In 1860, there was great excitement over the election of Mr Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States. The slaves prayed to God for his success. We knew that he was in sympathy with the abolition of slavery. The election was the signal for a great conflict in which the question was: Shall there be slavery or no slavery in the United States? The South said: Yes, there shall be slavery.” |
Interpretation B: Jefferson Davis, from his book, The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government written in 1881. Davis was the son of a plantation owner who, in 1845, entered Congress for the state of Mississippi. When Mississippi and six other states left the Union and set up their own Confederate government in 1861, Davis was elected as its President. “The Confederates fought for the defence of a fundamental right to withdraw from a Union which they had, as independent communities, voluntarily entered. On reading what has recently been written, people might be led to the conclusion that the war was caused by efforts on the one side to extend and keep human slavery, and on the other to resist it and establish human liberty. The Southern States and Southern people have been represented as ‘defenders’ of slavery, and the Northern as the champions of universal freedom This is a falsehood.” |
Answer:
Interpretation A is less convincing than interpretation B. Interpretation A states that Lincoln was in favour of the abolition of slavery and implied that Lincoln would end slavery. However, this interpretation is less convincing because Lincoln’s position on slavery was not clear-cut and secession caused conflict between the North and South, not the abolition of slavery. This interpretation is less convincing than B because Lincoln stated that the war was to preserve the Union and slaves were given freedom during the war in 1862 when Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
Interpretation B is more convincing than A. Interpretation B states that it was the ‘confederates … defence of a fundamental right to withdraw from a Union’ that started the American Civil War. One of the reasons why they wanted to secede from the Union was due to the ongoing political issues which the North and the South could not agree upon because of their differences such as The Compromise of 1850. Furthermore, this interpretation was more convincing because when Lincoln was running for President, he claimed that he would not intervene with slavery where it already existed therefore Davis would argue that the conflict between the North and the South was not about slavery.
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