In any subject you are studying, be it history, literature, geography, physics or mathematics, there is always a common number of ways, patterns or styles in which questions can be asked.
Keeping this in mind, there are four steps you must use to master the application of any subject. For each chapter of every subject;
Step 1: Identify All Common Possible Question Types
The fi rst step would be to go through all the different sources of questions such as past year questions, textbook questions, past test papers and class assignments. From there, record in a notebook, the different types of questions that are normally asked. You will discover that there is always a fi xed pattern of question types. For example, in History, the common types of questions would include the following:
Samples of Secondary School History Common Patterns of Questions
1. Essay-type questions
a. ‘How far do you agree that…?’
e.g. How far do you agree that Hitler maintained himself in power after 1933 solely because he crushed any opposition?
e.g. ‘A superb leader’. How far do you agree with this summary of Mao ZeDong?
e.g. Do you agree that ‘the Allies produced a constitution in Japan that everyone would be happy with?’
b. ‘Do you think that…?’
e.g. Do you think that Japan would have surrendered if the atomic bomb had not been dropped?
THERE IS ALWAYS A COMMON NUMBER OF WAYS, PATTERNS AND STYLES IN WHICH
QUESTIONS ARE ASKED IN THE EXAM
c. ‘Is it fair…?’
e.g. Is it fair to call the Nazi state a totalitarian one? Explain your answer.
d. ‘Describe and give examples’
e.g. Describe and give examples of the methods used by the Nazis to maintain political control.
e. ‘Why…’
e.g. Why was reform needed in the Soviet Union after 1985?
e.g. Why did relations between the Japanese and Americans deteriorate in the 1930s?
e.g. Why did Mao introduce the Great Leap Forward?
f. ‘What…’
e.g. What policies did Gorbachev use to reform the Soviet Union?
e.g. What arrangements were made for the government of Japan after World War II?
e.g. What problems did Mao face in trying to implement his policies in China?
2. Source-Based Questions
a. ‘Why do you think he said this?’ or ‘What do you think he meant…?’
e.g. Why do you think Winston Churchill said what he said in his speech in Jan 1946 to the American people?
e.g. What do you think the Soviets meant when they said that the crisis in Berlin was ‘planned in Washington’?
b. ‘How similar are these two sources…?’
e.g. How similar are these two sources in what they say about Lenin? Explain your answer.
e.g. How similar are these two sources as evidence about the treaty of Versailles?
c. ‘How does the author/speaker feel about…?’
e.g. How does the speaker of the source feel about the treaty of Versailles? Explain your answer.
e.g. Who does the author of this extract blame for the supposed injustice of the treaty of Versailles?
e.g. What does this source tell you about Japan’s attitude towards China in 1931?
d. ‘How useful is this source as evidence/proof about…’
e.g. How useful is this source as evidence about events in the Soviet Union at that time?
e.g. Does this source prove that the United Nations was a success? Give reasons.
e.g. How far does this source show that militarism was on the rise in Japan in the 1930s?
e. ‘What is the opinion of the author about…’
e.g. What is the opinion of the author about Gorbachev’s failure?
f. The source is a cartoon
e.g. What point is the cartoonist making?
e.g. What can a historian learn from this source?
g. ‘This source suggests….do you agree?’
e.g. This source suggests that economic factors was solely responsible for the fall of the Soviet Union. Do you agree?
So, as you can see, if you go through all the sample examination questions, they always fall into these common groups or question types.
Step 2: Identify the Thinking Skills Tested
You will fi nd that for each type of question such as ‘How useful is this source as evidence that…’ or ‘How far do you agree that…’, specifi c thinking skills are being tested. So, for each type of question, identify which thinking skill they are testing you on.
For example, for all question type ‘how far do you agree that…’, they are testing you on the following thinking skills:
a. The ability to select relevant information to show data where this is true and where this is not.
b. The ability to present two points of view.
c. The ability to make your own judgement based on evidence presented.
Step 3: Learn the Strategy to get Full Marks for Each Question Type
Each type or category of question requires a particular strategy in order for you to get full marks. So the next step is to learn what kind of answers you must give in order to receive full marks. You can learn this from your teacher or through studying sample questions and answers.
Example: The strategy to get full marks for source based questions of the type ‘Why do you think…?’
Let’s look at the strategy or the type of answers you must give in order to get full marks for ‘why do you think…?’ questions. An example of this could be ‘Why do you think Churchill said the things he said in his speech?’ from the source below.
From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an Iron Curtain has descended across the continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of central and eastern Europe. All these famous cities and the populations around them lie in the Soviet sphere of infl uence and are all subject, in one way or another, to a very high and increasing measure of control from Moscow. The growth of communist parties in these countries poses a growing challenge to Christian civilisation.
– Winston Churchill addressing the Americans in January 1946.
In order to get full marks, you must give three parts in your answer:
1. Give your answer to the question
2. Use details in the source to support your answer
3. Use historical knowledge outside of the source to further support the answer.
Most students fail to get top marks because they give only one or two parts.
They may just give a general answer such as, ‘Churchill said those things in his speech because he doesn’t like Communists’.
However, you can see that to get top marks, you must also support your answer with details from the source (i.e. because he thought there was a growing challenge to Christian civilisation and that the famous cities are subject to a lot of control from Moscow). In addition, you must also use historical knowledge outside of the source to further support your answer (i.e. because Churchill was talking to Americans which hated Communists…
because Churchill was British and did not trust Stalin…)
In summary, note down all the common types of questions for each subject.
For each type of question, learn what thinking skills they are testing you on and what level of answers (strategies) is required to get full marks. Finally, practise a few examples of each type of question.