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1
Paper 1
The purpose of this thread is to introduce you to Paper 1, the Source Paper. Whether you are taking Standard Level or a Higher Level examination makes no difference as, rather unusually, the sources and questions are the same for both examinations. The reason why I'm doing this is that I've came to notice there's a lot of people here in IBS which don't really understand what's required for this paper.
There are three Prescribed Subjects assessed in Paper 1:
- Peacemaking, Peacekeeping – International Relations 1918–36
- The Arab-Israeli Conflict 1945–79
- Communism in Crisis 1976–8
When answering a source paper in IB History, you are essentially comparing and contrasting sources against each other to arrive at a conclusion, which you can justify. In simple terms, you are being an historian.
Types of Sources:
When analyzing sources, the simplest means are often the best. Try using the ‘five question’ approach, also known as the ‘five Ws’:
- Who wrote the source or produced it? Origin
- When? (Origin)
- Where? (Again, origin)
- Why? (Purpose)
- For whom? Who was the intended audience of the source? (Purpose)
Over time the reasons why photographs have been taken have changed. In the 19th century they were used to record an event, or document how someone looked, almost as if the photograph was a portrait painted by an artist. In many of these photographs the subjects have been posed and, whether we realize it or not, when we know that we are being photographed we change our behaviour or our posture. If, in a photograph, everyone is looking at the camera you can be almost certain that this has been staged. You must remember that the person taking the photograph is not neutral and has a particular reason for taking it. Why is the particular photograph above being taken? What is the photographer trying to convey to the intended audience? What is surprising to IB examiners is the number of times in IB source examinations students write that what a photograph depicts is an accurate representation of the events it is recording. The context of where and when a photograph is taken must also be taken into account when analyzing it. There have always been, and always will be, countries that censor what is published in newspapers or books to rewrite history. Just take a look to the way people use photoshop to manipulate photos right now!
However, despite their obvious limitations, photographs do have tremendous value for historians in that they can document particular events better than many other sources. A picture of, for example, Hiroshima in August 1945 after the dropping of the atomic bomb on the city powerfully communicates to the world the devastation and destruction of the city.Cartoons:
One of the most common non-textual sources in IB source examinations is the cartoon. This type of source can be challenging to understand. Cartoons refer to something that was current at the time, and if you do not know the context of the cartoon and the events or people to which it refers, then you may not be able to understand its message. Cartoons tend to oversimplify the events they are describing, so may not explain the full reality of events.
Finally, of course, cartoonists use symbols to represent the characters or countries they havedrawn. For example, what does this image represent?
I think we all agree it represents the soviet union right? Another example would be the grim reaper carrying a scythe to represent death. Guys, in the examination the most probable thing is that we will face some symbols that are not really as easy as understand so yeah, basically, be ready.
Posters and Graphs:
The most important details about these sources are who made them and for what purpose , although the ‘five question’ approach can also be used. There are many different types of poster: election campaign posters, announcements of concerts or events, propaganda posters, military recruitment posters and so on. Students are sometimes surprised to see statistics and graphs in a history source examination, but it is perfectly appropriate to include this type of source, particularly when dealing with any economic theme. Maps and paintings occur very rarely in the Source Paper, but there is no reason why they could not appear. Maps, in particular, can be used to make a political point rather than simply express a geographical reality. Ask the ‘five questions’ and be careful when analyzing a map.
Textual Sources:
Textual sources are simply too numerous to list, but the most common ones used in IB History source examinations are books, letters, treaties, diaries, newspapers, magazine articles, diplomatic documents, telegrams, written records of interviews, poetry and speeches. In all cases, the introductory lines at the beginning of the source will give you all the information you need to analyze it. Use the ‘five question’ approach. Do not make comments saying that a source has been translated and therefore we do not know if the translation is accurate. Rarely is this a useful comment to make. Nor should you write that, as it is an extract from a source, we do not have access to the entire source and this is a limitation. Neither of these comments is likely to receive credit.
Types of Exam Questions :
Questions 1a and 1b:
These two parts will be worth a maximum of 5 marks together. Remember that there are 25 marks for this paper and 60 minutes to answer the questions. This means that somewhere between 10 and 12 minutes should be spent on these two parts of Question 1. These questions are intended for you to show your knowledge and understanding of the sources.
Question 2:
This question is worth 6 marks, so how much time do you think that you will have to answer it in the exam? The wording of Question 2 will be something like this:‘Compare and contrast the views expressed about… in Sources A and C.’In other words, what are the similarities and differences in the way that the sources refer to a particular event? Please note that ONLY TWO SOURCES will be used.
This question is intended for you to show your application and interpretation of the source.Question 3:
This question is worth 6 marks. ? The wording of Question 3 will be something like this: ‘With reference to their origin and purpose, what are the value and limitations of Source A and Source C for historians studying the policies of Gamal Al Nasser. This question is intended for you to show your synthesis and evaluation of the sources.
Question 4:
It is worth 8 marks. The wording of Question 4 will be something like this: ‘Using these sources and your own knowledge analyze the importance of the Italian invasion of Abyssinia for international relations between 1934 and 1936.’ This question is intended for you to show your knowledge, understanding, synthesis and evaluation of the sources. Kind of a mini essay.
This was kind of a brief summary on what you should expect and be prepared to encounter in Paper 1 guys, study study study study study. I hope it was helpful!
Bibliography:
- History for the International Baccalaureate. Paper 1. Pearson.
- Brian A. Pavlac. 2006. Sources
- http://intensecogita...e-history-notes
Edited by Procrastination, Nov 26, 2011 - 01:14.
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I just have a question about Question number 2. How many compare and contrast do you recommend to write? My teacher said 2 compare and 2 contrast is save but if we write 2 compare and then 1 contrast (or the other way around) then it's good enough, too. But my new teacher said that we have to write 6 in total to get full marks....
