Transcript SETPOINT Berkshire

GCE A Level History
Revision
Russia and Its Rulers
Little Heath School
Sunday 2 June 2013
Meet the
Examiner
Top tips
10.00 – 10.30
What markers are told
• “Candidates are expected to demonstrate
understanding of the issues in each question over
a period of at least a hundred years.
• Candidates are reminded of the synoptic nature of
the Unit.
• Answers are required to demonstrate
understanding of the processes of historical
continuity, development and change across the
full breadth of the period studied”.
How to be synoptic
• Those who write synoptically include references
to various sections (or rulers) of the 100 year
period in each paragraph
• Better candidates make cross references,
comparisons and links between different periods
in each paragraph
• The highest scoring essays will make consistent
comparisons between different historical events
relevant to the themes, often on a sentence by
sentence basis.
How to achieve A*
• ‘Several candidates scored full marks on both
essays. They demonstrated a remarkable ability
to write synoptically. They produced a good
overview introduction, then cross-referenced,
thoughtfully selecting evidence to support their
argument and counter-argument before
concluding with a clear judgement based on
their prior arguments’.
Chief Examiner’s Report – January 2012
How to get stuck at C
• ‘There seems to be a reluctance or inability
amongst some candidates to structure answers
in such a way which provides direct cross
comparison of material from different historical
periods. This is a pity, because many candidates
clearly have plenty of relevant knowledge at
their disposal, and could boost their overall mark
by a whole grade by simply making more direct
cross comparisons within paragraphs’.
Chief Examiner’s Report – June 2011
How to get stuck at C
• ‘Weaker candidates, graded at C or below,
adopt a chronological approach, with synoptic
assessments being made in a more random
manner, often being left until the conclusion, or
emerging fairly infrequently in the course of the
essay’.
Chief Examiner’s Report – June 2011
How to do really badly
• ‘Answering a question that has been written or
prepared in advance rather than the EXACT
QUESTION ON THE PAPER leads to
candidates being marked down as their answers
are insufficiently focused on the key words in the
question’.
Chief Examiner’s Report – Every Year!
How to plan in the exam
• The most effective answers were usually preceded by a
brief outline or plan of the candidates' intended approach.
This practice is strongly recommended.
• Better plans indicate the key words of the question and the
direction in which the answer is to go.
• ‘Candidates who want to achieve high grades must focus
their answer on the key word or phrase in the question’.
• ‘Candidates need to spend a significant amount of time
planning their answer and thinking about the themes they
will use before they begin to write’.
Chief Examiner’s Report – June 2011
Introducing yourself
• First impressions are important!
• ‘The candidates who perform best are those
who indicate some cross comparison in their
opening paragraph as a way of establishing a
particular argument in relation to the question.
• In this opening paragraph, they establish which
themes are relevant to the question, then
structure the rest of the essay around discussion
of these themes’.
Chief Examiner’s Report – June 2011
Turning Point Essays
• In the June 2011, January 2012 & June 2012 Chief
Examiner’s reports these essays have been
identified as causing candidates problems.
• This is because ‘they simply produce a list of
possible turning points and then analyse each one
in turn, but this does not allow synthesis or
comparison between different turning points’.
• In other words although 4 or 5 possible turning
points are discussed, each has its own separate
paragraph with comparison missing until the end.
Turning Point Essays
• The Chief Examiner recommends 2 good approaches:
1. Select 4 or 5 major events and then approach the essay thematically by
analysing their impact in terms of issues such as political, social,
economic etc. In this way candidates will ensure that they compare the
events in each paragraph and can conclude that event X might be most
important in terms of political change, but event Y is more important in
terms of economic development.
• However this approach is wrong if the question specifies ‘most important
turning point in the development of Russian government’.
• ‘Development in government’ still confuses candidates, who include large
sections on the economy and economic policies. The focus must be on
governmental areas, politics, parties, one party state, structural changes,
constitutions and the like; the failure to create constitutional monarchy or
rule, the failure of representative government and representative bodies;
repressive methods, methods of control, support, the fate of opposition
etc.
Turning Point Essays
• Turning point essays specifying ‘Development in
government’:
‘There was a tendency to write off the importance Nicholas II and
especially of the two Revolutions in 1917 without appreciating the
significance of the massive changes generated by events in that year.
There was a common formulaic dismissal of the February Revolution
as insignificant simply because the Provisional Government was shortlived, ignoring the significance of the end of Tsarist rule and the way
that this made October possible. Nevertheless, the best answers
tended to suggest that October 1917 had more to offer than Stalin in
terms of importance, often categorising by ideology, repression and
liberalism and forms of benevolence. A good number of candidates
presented Stalin’s government as a continuation of Lenin’s with Stalin
taking further developments already begun, so they rated Lenin as
more important’.
How to annoy the marker
• ‘Unfortunately some candidates still use
abbreviations such as Alex II, AIII, N2 or
PG; some even state at the start that this
is what they will do. This short-hand
neither looks good nor reads well’.
Chief Examiner’s Report – June 2011
The Exam
10.30 – 10.45
The Examination
Two essays
60 minutes each
Choice of 3 titles
The Specification
• 4 topic areas
• Examiner will set one essay
from 3 of the 4 topic areas in
each examination season
The Specification
1. Russian rulers: similarities and differences in the main domestic policies of
Alexander II, Alexander III, Nicholas II, the Provisional Government, Lenin, Stalin,
Khrushchev.
2. The nature of government: autocracy, dictatorship and totalitarianism;
change and continuity in central administration; methods of repression and
enforcement; the extent and impact of reform; the extent and effectiveness of
opposition both before and after 1917.
3. The impact of the dictatorial regimes on the economy and society of the
Russian Empire and the USSR: changes to living and working conditions of urban
and rural people; limitations on personal, political and religious freedom; extent of
economic and social changes.
4. The impact of war and revolution on the development of Russian
government: the effects of the Crimean War, the Japanese War, 1905 Revolution,
1917 Revolutions, World War One, World War Two, the Cold War.
Question styles
– Government before / after 1917
Aims – what did each ruler want to achieve
Methods – how did each ruler rule; their policies (reform / repression)
Outcomes – how successful was each ruler in achieving their aims
Essays asking whether one ruler was better than the rest at ‘something specific’.
– Essays comparing the nature of Russian government before and after 1917
– TURNING POINT essays especially related to turning points in how these changed the
ways in which Russia was governed
– Essays about opposition
 Which ruler / regime controlled opposition most successfully
 When and why was opposition more / less successful
– Living and working conditions – society and the economy
Peasants
Proletariat
(or BOTH together)
– Essays about whether WARS or REVOLUTIONS changed Russian government most
UNIT
F966
JAN
10.
2010
11.
Question/ Topic Area
12.
JUNE 10.
2010
11.
12.
JAN
10.
2011
11.
12.
JUNE 10.
2011
11.
12.
“The nature of Russian government was changed more by Stalin than by any other ruler.” How far do you
agree with this view of the period from 1855 to 1964?
[2]
Assess the view that all the rulers of Russia had similar aims in domestic policy in the period from 1855 to
1964.
[1]
Assess the view that the lives of the peasants in Russia did not improve in the period from 1855 to 1964. [3]
How far do you agree that the October Revolution of 1917 was the most important turning-point in the
development of Russian government in the period from 1855 to 1964?
[4}
Assess the view that Russia’s communist leaders did less than the Tsars to improve the lives of the
working class in the period from 1855 to 1964.
[3]
“Opposition to Russian governments was ineffective in the period from 1855 to 1964.” How far do you
agree with this view?
[2]
Assess the view that the 1905 Revolution changed Russian government more than other events in the
period from 1855 to 1964.
[4]
‘Communists and Tsars ruled Russia the same way.’ How far do you agree with this view of the period from
1855 to 1964?
[1]
Assess the view that economic change in Russia was more successful under Stalin than any other ruler in
the period from 1855 to 1964.
[3]
Assess the view that the condition of the peasantry in Russia was transformed in the period from 1855 to
1964.
[3]
‘The communist rulers were effective autocrats; the Tsars were not.’ How far do you agree with this view
of Russian government in the period from 1855 to 1964?
[2]
‘‘All Russia’s rulers tried to modernise Russia.’ How far do you agree with this view of the period from 1855
to 1964?
[1]
See also past questions from previous very
similar specification (ended in 1956 not 1964)
UNIT
F966
JAN 2012
JUNE 2012
JAN 2013
Question/ Topic Area
10. ‘Lenin was more successful in dealing with opposition than any other ruler of
Russia in the period from 1855 to 1964.' How far do you agree with this view?
[2]
11. ‘The development of Russian government was influenced more by war than
any other factor.’ How far do you agree with this view of the period from 1855 to
1964?
[4]
12. How far does a study of living and working conditions in the period 1855 to
1964 suggest that the Russian peoples lost more than they gained after
1917?
[3]
10. How far do you agree that Stalin’s rise to power was the most important
turning-point in the development of Russian government in the period from
1855 to 1964?
[2]
11. ‘The rulers of Russia were reluctant reformers.' How far do you agree with this
view of Russia in the period from 1855 to 1964?
[1}
12. ‘The peoples of Russia were consistently repressed by their rulers.’ How far
do you agree with this view of the period from 1855 to 1964?
{3]
10. ‘Wars had more impact than revolutions on the development of Russian
government.' How far do you agree with this view of the period from 1855 to
1964?
[4]
11. Assess the view that Russia’s communist leaders did less than the Tsars to
improve the lives of the peasants in the period from 1855 to 1964.
[3]
12. ‘The aims of all the Russian rulers were the same.’ How far do you agree with
this view of the period from 1855 to 1964?
[1]
See also past questions from previous very
similar specification (ended in 1956 not 1964)
OFQUAL RULING
• Ofqual have recently told the Exam
Boards that no question can be repeated
in the life of a specification;
• Therefore however similar the questions
you see on the paper this June may
appear to those from a previous paper,
there will be important differences.
Question Planning
11.00 – 12.00
Three questions to plan
10.30 – 11.00
• How far do you agree that the 1905 Revolution was the most
important turning-point in the development of Russian government
in the period from 1855 to 1964?
11.00 – 11.30
• Assess the view that Stalin dealt with opponents more effectively
than any other Russian ruler in the period from 1855 to 1964.
11.30 – 12.00
• Assess the view that opponents of the rulers of Russia were
consistently ineffective in the period from 1855 to 1964.
Question
Key Words and Phrases in the question
Key issues to be discussed
Point
Introduction
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Conclusion
Line of Argument
Ideas and line of argument.
(How does this tie to the key words in the title)
Content
(Which different periods to compare)
How far do you agree that
the 1905 Revolution was the
most important turningpoint in the development of
Russian government in the
period from 1855 to 1964?
First thoughts
• Key Words
• Key Theme to focus on
• My argument and counter-argument
• My probable overall judgement
Five Paragraphs
• What can I focus each paragraph on to enable
me to then write synoptically, crossreferencing and comparing several turning
points in each paragraph (if not sentence by
sentence)?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
P1
P2
P3
P4
P5
Assess the view that Stalin
dealt with opponents more
effectively
than any other Russian ruler
in the period from 1855 to
1964.
First thoughts
• Key Words
• Key Theme to focus on
• My argument and counter-argument
• My probable overall judgement
Five Paragraphs
• What can I focus each paragraph on to enable
me to then write synoptically, crossreferencing and comparing several rulers in
each paragraph (if not sentence by sentence)?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
P1
P2
P3
P4
P5
Assess the view that
opponents of the rulers of
Russia were consistently
ineffective in the period from
1855 to 1964.
First thoughts
• Key Words
• Key Theme to focus on
• My argument and counter-argument
• My probable overall judgement
Five Paragraphs
• What can I focus each paragraph on to enable
me to then write synoptically, crossreferencing and comparing several opponents
(opposition groups) / rulers in each paragraph
(if not sentence by sentence)?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
P1
P2
P3
P4
P5