This set has ten original questions, ordered from easier to harder, covering all four lessons in causation and supported explanation. Questions 1 to 3 sort triggers and conditions, 4 to 6 link evidence, 7 and 8 test motives, and 9 and 10 weigh causes.
All cases and source extracts are invented for this practice and are not real events. Write each answer on paper first, then open the explanation.
Invented case for questions 1 to 6 and 9: In the invented town of Harrowick, mill workers stopped work on 3 March 1892. The owner had posted a wage cut on 2 March. An invented ledger shows pay fell from 14 shillings to 11 shillings a week between 1885 and 1892. An invented town record shows the mill was the only large employer. An invented worker petition states: “We cannot feed our families on the pay now offered.”
Questions
1. Name the immediate trigger of the strike.
Show answer
The wage cut posted on 2 March 1892, the day before the stoppage.
2. Name two longer-term conditions.
Show answer
The fall in pay from 14 to 11 shillings over seven years, and the mill being the only large employer. Both were in place before the notice.
3. A student writes: “The strike happened because the owner posted a notice.” State what is missing.
Show answer
The answer names only the trigger. It needs a longer-term condition and a link explaining why a notice led to a strike, for example the earlier pay fall and lack of other work.
4. Is the ledger a recorded figure or a viewpoint? What can you say from it?
Show answer
It is a recorded figure. It shows pay fell by 3 shillings a week between 1885 and 1892 (14 minus 11). It does not by itself show how workers felt.
5. Is the petition a fact or a viewpoint? How should you word a point using it?
Show answer
It is one side’s viewpoint. Word it as “The petition shows that workers themselves linked pay to hardship”, not “Workers could not feed their families” as an established fact.
6. Write one claim, evidence and explanation chain for falling pay as a cause.
Show answer
Claim: falling pay was a long-term cause. Evidence: the ledger shows a fall from 14 to 11 shillings between 1885 and 1892. Explanation: this means earnings had worsened for seven years before the cut, which helps explain why a further cut led to a strike.
7. An invented letter from the owner says: “Foreign cloth is cheaper than my costs, so pay must fall.” Is this a stated or speculative motive? What is its status?
Show answer
It is a stated motive and the owner’s own viewpoint. It can be reported as what he said, but its accuracy should be checked against other evidence, such as price records.
8. A student writes: “The owner was greedy and wanted to crush the workers.” Identify the problem and rewrite it.
Show answer
No source supports the motive and it is a moral verdict. Rewrite: “The owner stated that cheaper imported cloth forced the cut. No source in the case shows any other aim.”
9. “The wage cut was the main reason for the strike.” How far do you agree? Write a short proportionate paragraph.
Show answer
“The wage cut was the trigger and set the date, but seven years of falling pay and the lack of other work explain why workers acted. These conditions lasted longer and affected every worker, so they carry more weight. This rests on the invented ledger and town record, which may be incomplete.”
Invented case for question 10: In the invented village of Fennick, a crowd blocked a bridge on 9 June 1810 after a toll rise. Tolls had risen from 1 penny to 3 pence over twelve years, and a poor harvest had hit the village that year.
10. Rank the toll rise (trigger), the twelve-year toll increase, and the poor harvest. Justify your order using necessity, reach or duration.
Show answer
One defensible order: the twelve-year toll increase first, then the poor harvest, then the trigger. The long increase affected everyone crossing and lasted years (reach and duration). The harvest added pressure for one season. The trigger set the date but, without the earlier increase, a single rise might have been accepted. A different order is acceptable if the reasoning cites evidence and a clear criterion. Note that tripling means 3 pence is three times 1 penny.
If you got these wrong
- Questions 1 to 3 wrong: go back to separating a trigger from a longer-term condition.
- Questions 4 to 6 wrong, or evidence without explanation: review connecting a reason to a documented event.
- Questions 7 and 8 wrong, or guessing at thoughts: revisit stated and speculative motives.
- Questions 9 and 10 wrong, or lists with no ranking: work through building a proportionate explanation.
How to use your results
Tally which group you missed most. Redo those questions after a day, without the explanation. If you want a teacher to read your written answers and point out the habit behind the errors, our team offers online one-to-one History tuition, planned around your own syllabus option.