This site has been written with the needs of Intermediate 1 and 2 history students in mind.

We’ve tailored the exercises within the site to correspond with the types of question you can expect to meet in the exam. Here’s how to get the best out of this site:

The exam questions
There are certain types of question you are sure to find in the exam. Knowing how to answer these will really help you gain the most marks you can. We’re looking at three types of question: describe, explain and evaluate.

Describe
A describe question asks you to tell what happened. To write an effective answer for this type of question you need to do the following:
· Use information from the source that’s relevant to the question.
· Expand that information to show that you understand it.
· Include other knowledge from your memory.

Explain
An explain question asks you to say why something happened. To write an effective answer for this type of question you need to do the following:

	Use information from the source that’s relevant to the question.
	Expand that information to show that you understand it.
	Include other knowledge from your memory.

Describe and Explain - how the site helps you answer these questions

	Information in the source that’s relevant to the question is highlighted. If you wrote an answer just listing this information, you wouldn’t score many marks. Simply repeating text from the source doesn’t show you understand the material.
	When you roll over (or in the html site, click on) the highlighted parts of the source, you see what’s needed to expand that information. If you added this kind of information to your answer, you would do well.
	The ‘other knowledge’ button at the bottom of the page suggests other facts you could add. You do need to include other knowledge in your answer. A good answer to the question would include all this information.

Evaluate
Evaluate questions are a bit different from describe and explain questions. To write an effective answer for this type of question you need to include the following elements:

	Origin - Say who wrote it. How did the author know?
	When was it written? Is it a Primary or a Secondary source? (remember to include the words "written at the time of…" in your answer!)
	Purpose - Why was it written?
	Content - What is the source saying? What are the main points?
	Content omission - What does the source not tell you?
	Conclusion - Write a sentence answering the question asked about the source.

Evaluate - how the site helps you answer this type of question

	The parts of the source that tell you about the origin, content and purpose are highlighted.
	Rolling over (or, in the html site, clicking) the highlighted parts of the source, you see more information about what it tells you.
	The ‘other knowledge’ button at the bottom of the page makes suggestions for things the source doesn’t tell you.
	It’s up to you to use all this information to build an answer to the question.