GCSE HISTORY

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GCSE HISTORY

• EXAM
• BUSTING

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Questions that ask you toTEST THE RELIABILITY OF
SOURCES

• Tip - Always start with the NATURE of the source.
  Some types of source (eg diaries) are often more
  reliable than others (eg an advertisement). Then
  look at the ORIGIN of the source. Who wrote it
  and when? Finally decide the PURPOSE of the
  source. Why was it produced? Who was the
  intended audience?
• Tip - Remember that there is no such thing as a
  completely reliable source or a completely
  unreliable source. The examiner is asking you to
  show that you can be aware of the pitfalls of
  using source material.

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Questions that ask you to TEST THE RELIABILITY
OF SOURCES
SOURCE A You gentlemen of England can have little
idea from reading the newspapers of the horror
and misery in a military hospital of operating on
those exhausted, dying men. A London hospital is
a garden of flowers compared to it. Let no lady
come here who is not used to exhaustion and
shortages. Even the nuns working here complain
about the conditions. The poor fellows who are
brought here have not had a clean shirt or been
washed for months but we have not a basin, nor a
towel, nor a bit of soap nor a broom.
From a letter written by Nightingale to a London
surgeon in 1854, describing conditions at the
hospital in Scutari.
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Questions that ask you to TEST THE RELIABILITY
OF SOURCES
SOURCE B A late 19th century painting of the ward
at the hospital at Scutari showing the
improvements made by Nightingale and her nurses.

• Do these two sources provide reliable evidence of
  how Florence Nightingale improved conditions at
  the hospital at Scutari? Explain your answer. (8
  marks)

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Questions that ask you to UNDERSTAND SOURCES IN
CONTEXT
Do these two sources provide reliable evidence of
how Florence Nightingale improved conditions at
the hospital at Scutari? Explain your answer. (8
marks)
Level 1 Comments on sources, taking them at
face value OR says they are reliable because they
are from the time. (1-3 marks) Level 2 Uses own
knowledge to evaluate the source. (4-6
marks) Level 3 Evaluates sources using nature,
origin, purpose and own knowledge. (7-8 marks)
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Questions that ask you to TEST THE RELIABILITY
OF SOURCES
An 1809 drawing showing an operation to remove a
womans ovaries. The patient is strapped to the
table and sang hymns to take her mind off the
pain.

• How reliable is this source as evidence of how
  operations were performed in the early 19th
  century? (8 marks)

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Questions that ask you to TEST THE RELIABILITY
OF SOURCES
Do these two sources provide reliable evidence of
how Florence Nightingale improved conditions at
the hospital at Scutari? Explain your answer. (8
marks)
Level 1 Comments on sources, taking them at
face value OR says they are reliable because they
are from the time. (1-3 marks) Level 2 Uses own
knowledge to evaluate the source. (4-6
marks) Level 3 Evaluates sources using nature,
origin, purpose and own knowledge. (7-8 marks)
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Questions that ask you to TEST THE RELIABILITY
OF SOURCES
A drawing made in the 1860s showing homesteaders
gathering pumpkins and maize.

• Is this source reliable evidence of why
  homesteaders were able to make a success of their
  farms despite all the problems?. (8 marks)