O-Level History 2027: SEC Source-Based Questions, Essays and Level-Marked Model Answers

The periods each paper covers, 1870s to 1991

Only starred units can be set as the case study.

In Section A, the first four sub-questions test named sources and the fifth uses several sources to judge an issue. Our explainer on how the SEC replaces the O-Level covers G1, G2 and G3, and the SEC syllabus codes guide lists old and new codes.

The six source question types

SEAB lists the skills it tests, such as inference, comparison, detecting bias and judging usefulness. Schools usually teach them as six question types.

Our Social Studies source-based guide covers inference, comparison and surprise questions. This guide works on reliability, utility and the hypothesis.

Two invented sources to practise on

Source A. A radio broadcast from Pyongyang, North Korea, on 25 June 1950 (invented).

Early this morning the puppet army of the Syngman Rhee clique attacked across the 38th parallel near Haeju. The People's Army has thrown back the invaders and is advancing to punish them. The Korean people have long wished for one united homeland. The traitor Rhee, a servant of the American imperialists, has blocked this wish. Now he has started a war. The government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea calls on every patriot in the South to rise up and help the People's Army liberate the whole country.

Source B. From the memoirs of an American officer who advised the South Korean army in 1950, published in 1971 (invented).

When the shelling began before dawn on 25 June, our South Korean units near the parallel were caught half asleep. Many officers were in Seoul on weekend passes. The North came in columns, led by Soviet-built tanks our allies could not stop. No army about to attack sends its officers home for the weekend. Looking back, I am also sure that Kim Il-sung would never have moved without a nod from Moscow. Our own government made his choice easier. Washington had pulled its last combat troops out a year earlier and, in public, seemed to say that Korea lay outside the line it would defend.

A reliability question, marked level by level

Practice question: How reliable is Source A as evidence of how the Korean War began? Explain your answer.

Level 1. "Source A is not reliable because it is from North Korea, so it is biased." This names a side but not what the bias does to the claim.

Level 2. "Source A is not reliable. It says South Korea attacked first, but Source B says South Korean units were 'caught half asleep'. An attacking army would not be surprised, so Source A is untrue." This cross-references but never asks why Source A says it.

Level 3. "Source A is not reliable as evidence of who started the war, though it is reliable evidence of how North Korea wanted the war to be seen. It is a government broadcast made on the day of the attack, by the side with most reason to look like the victim. Its purpose was to present the advance as self-defence and make Southerners 'rise up', which explains words such as 'puppet army'. Source B, from an adviser with the South Korean army, describes the North coming 'in columns' led by tanks, which points to a planned offensive. My own knowledge supports Source B. Soviet records opened after the Cold War show Stalin approved Kim Il-sung's plan to attack in April 1950. There had been border clashes, some started by the South, but a tank-led advance on the first morning shows a prepared invasion."

Provenance and cross-referencing

Provenance is the caption above each source. Before reading the text, your child should ask three questions.

• Who made it, and what did they see or gain? The adviser saw the first morning. The radio station had a war to justify.
• When? On the day means first claims. Twenty-one years later, as with Source B, means hindsight.
• Why, and for whom? A broadcast to Southerners wants action. A memoir wants its version accepted.

Cross-referencing checks one specific claim against another source, then against what your child knows. Provenance tells your child why a source might mislead. Cross-referencing tells them whether it did.

A utility question with a model answer

Practice question: How useful is Source B as evidence about why North Korea attacked in June 1950?

Model answer. "Source B is useful, more for how the attack happened than for why. The writer saw the first morning himself, so his account of unready units and tank columns is first-hand evidence that the North planned its attack. His explanation of why is weaker. He is 'sure' Kim needed 'a nod from Moscow', but an adviser in Seoul could not know what the Kremlin decided, and he wrote in 1971 with hindsight. This is opinion, but it can be checked. Soviet records released in the 1990s show Stalin approved the attack in April 1950. He also blames his own government for withdrawing troops in 1949 and seeming to leave Korea outside its defence line, which matches Acheson's speech of January 1950. A writer criticising his own side has little reason to invent this. Source B is therefore useful about two causes, Soviet backing and American signals, once the Moscow claim is confirmed."

Planning the hypothesis question

Practice question: "The Korean War broke out mainly because of Kim Il-sung's ambitions." How far do the sources support this view?

One essay plan and a model paragraph

Practice question: "The Great Depression was the main reason Hitler came to power in 1933." How far do you agree? (10 marks)

Model paragraph 1. "The Great Depression was an important reason for Hitler's rise because it turned the Nazis from a fringe group into Germany's largest party. Unemployment passed 6 million by 1932, and voters lost faith in parties that seemed unable to help. The Nazis offered jobs, order and someone to blame. As a result their Reichstag seats rose from 12 in 1928 to 107 in 1930 and 230 in July 1932. However, votes alone did not make Hitler chancellor, because the party was already losing support by November 1932."

It explains cause and effect with figures and links to the next factor. Essays that narrate without weighing factors tend to stay in the middle levels.

How G2 History and Combined Humanities differ

For the Social Studies and Geography pairing, see our Geography tuition page.

If your child's answers look like this