SOURCE EVALUATION QUESTION

The source evaluation question (6 marks)

Evaluate the usefulness of Source A as evidence of…..a maximum of 4 marks can be given for evaluative comments relating to author, type of source, purpose and timinga maximum of 2 marks can be given for evaluative comments relating to the content of the sourcea maximum of 2 marks may be given for evaluative comments relating to points of significant omission

Each of these should be in a paragraph of their ownYou should continually make judgements throughout( more useful/less useful etc– this is the only way that marks can be awarded.

author The source was produced /written by …..This makes the source more/less useful because…

type of source The source is a …..which makes it more/less useful because……

purpose The source was produced/ written to…… and this makes the source more/less useful because…….

timing The source was produced/written in and this makes it more/less useful because …

content of the source The source provides good details about …….. This makes the source more/less useful because…….

significant omission The source does not tell us about …….. and this makes the source less useful because……

The source evaluation questionauthor, type of source, purpose and timing (4 marks)

Diary/Letter (honest, less guarded opinion, one person’s view…)

Memoirs (personal, selective?) Newspaper (reflects opinions, biased?) Report (official document, well

researched, narrow view?) Speech (delivered by someone who

knows the facts? biased?)

SAMPLE QU/ANSWER Source D: from a speech by the radical, John MacLean, in May 1918    Prices rose right away from the commencement of the war while the

workers' wages were kept at the old level. Their wages were kept low. The purchasing power of the workers' wages was diminished. They were therefore robbed to that extent. At the same time the workers were asked in the name of the country to work harder. 'But,' said the employers, 'we will not give you any more money, although the money you are getting is purchasing less in the way of food, etc.' That is the position. The employers are changing their opinions now as a result of experience, but in the past they considered it in their economic interest to pay as low a wage as possible.

  Evaluate the usefulness of Source B as evidence of the effects

of the war on the Scottish economy. 6

Evaluate the usefulness of Source B as evidence of the effects of the war on the Scottish economy.

Source B is useful as evidence of the effects of the war on the Scottish economy because it is by John MacLean who was a well known socialist agitator at the time and wanted better conditions for workers. (1 mark for authorship ) The source was written in May 1918 which makes it useful as it dates from the time when the Scottish economy was booming due to the impact of the war.(1 mark for timing) It is part of a speech which was given to convince people that the workers were being treated unfairly – which may make the source biased as Maclean wanted to convince people to protest ( 1 mark for type of source/purpose)

The content of the source is also useful as evidence of the effects of the war on the economy. It tells us that “prices rose right away from the commencement of the war.” This is useful as the fact that workers had to deal with rising food prices is corroborated by other sources. (1 mark for content)

The source also tells us that despite this “Their wages were kept low and the purchasing power of the workers' wages was diminished. “ This is useful as evidence of the effects of the war on the economy because it explains that workers suffered because their wages were not increased and they could not afford the high costs of food etc. (1 mark for content)

However the source is less useful as it omits details of other effects the war had on the Scottish economy. It doesn’t explain that not all workers experienced a fall of wages. Sheep farmers for example saw their wages double during WW1due to the demand for wool for uniforms for soldiers.(1 mark for a point of significant omission)

The source also fails to mention that the war led to a massive boom in the jute industry – factory owners in Dundee benefited greatly from the desperate need for sandbags for the trenches. In addition the fact that 2/3 of the their employees were women meant that profits were even greater as they were able to pay them considerably less than men. (1 mark for a point of significant omission)

Source B: from an article in The Daily Telegraph, 1916 written by the journalist Rebecca West about the Gretna munitions workers.

The 250 girls work a twelve-hour shift before returning to the barracks where they live two miles away. The girls who take up this work sacrifice almost as much as men who enlist and have to be ready to face an emergency, for example only two days ago an explosion of air with chemicals ignited the cordite. Two huts were gutted, and one girl lost a hand. Surely, never before can women have lived lives so completely similar to that of the regular army. They face more danger every day than any soldier on home defence has seen since the beginning of the war. It is because of this army of cheerful and disciplined workers that this cordite factory has been able to increase its output since the beginning of the war by something over 1500 per cent; the country owes them a great debt.

Evaluate the usefulness of Source B as evidence of the impact of the war on society and culture. 5

Provenance paragraphThe source is useful because it was written by a journalist who had visited the Gretna Munitions Works during WW1 and was therefore able to personally witness the direct impact the war had on women living in Scotland. (Authorship)The fact that it is a contemporary source, written in 1916- at the height of WW1- and when people on the home front in Scotland were being deeply affected also adds to the usefulness of the source.(Timing)The source is also useful as it has been written with the intention of informing people about the vital work done by “munitionettes” during WW1 (Purpose) however the fact that it is a newspaper article means that it is reflecting opinion and the journalist is a women – so is possibly biased and overkeen to demonstrate the importance of women to the war effort. (Type)

POTENTIALLY WORTH 4 MARKS!

CONTENT PARAGRAPHThe content of the source is also useful as evidence of the effects of the war on Scottish society and culture. It tells us he girls work “twelve-hour shift before returning to the barracks .” This is useful as it shows that the munitionettes had an extremely long working day- a fact which is corroborated by other sources. (1 mark for content)

The source also states that there was an “explosion of air with chemicals ignited the cordite. ..and one girl lost a hand. “ This is also useful as evidence of the effects of the war on Scottish society because it accurately explains that women working in this industry faced daily dangers and risked their lives for the war effort. (1 mark for content)

Recall- what’s not in itHowever , the Source does not describe other ways in which Scottish society and culture was affected by WW1.The source would have been more useful if it had include that when conscription was introduced in 1916- many men refused and were then classed as conscientious objectors and were shunned by society.

Another thing the source doesn’t mention is ……..