This set joins the four skills in evidence and source interpretation: finding explicit claims, using purpose and audience, comparing sources and stating limits. All extracts are invented for practice. Write full sentences, keep fact, viewpoint and your own inference apart, and open each answer only after you have tried.
The questions run from easy to harder. Questions 1 to 3 use Source H, questions 4 to 6 use Sources H and J, and the rest bring in a third source.
Source H (invented extract): Report by the Kuala Sungai Harbour Master, 1931. “The new lighthouse was lit on 4 May. Within a month, no ship has struck the rocks. Captains have told me they feel safer.”
Source J (invented extract): Letter from a fishing-boat owner to the district officer, 1931. “The lighthouse is a fine thing, but the light shines in my sleeping crew’s eyes and the toll for using the harbour has risen to 5 dollars. I ask that the toll be reconsidered.”
Source K (invented extract): Newspaper article, Kuala Sungai Courier, 1931. “The people of Kuala Sungai were thrilled to see the new lighthouse. Every household turned out to watch the lighting.”
Questions
1. (Easy) State one fact that Source H gives directly, including a date.
Show answer
The source states that the lighthouse was lit on 4 May (1931, from the report’s date).
2. (Easy) In Source H, “Captains have told me they feel safer.” Is this a fact about safety, or a reported viewpoint? Explain.
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A reported viewpoint. It shows that captains told the harbour master they felt safer. It does not itself measure safety. The statement that no ship has struck the rocks within a month is a separate factual claim.
3. (Easy) A student writes: “Source H proves the lighthouse prevented accidents.” Rewrite it so it fits what the source states.
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“Source H states that no ship struck the rocks in the month after the lighthouse was lit. It does not show the lighthouse was the reason, because it covers only one month and gives no earlier figures.”
4. (Medium) State the purpose and audience of Source J, and one thing this makes it good evidence of.
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Purpose: to ask for a lower toll. Audience: the district officer. It is good evidence of one boat owner’s concerns and how a harbour user spoke to officials. Because the writer wants a result, the toll complaint may be emphasised, so it is weaker evidence of how all owners felt.
5. (Medium) Do Sources H and J disagree about the lighthouse? Answer with reference to each source’s claims.
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Not directly. H reports that no ships struck the rocks and that captains feel safer. J calls the lighthouse “a fine thing” but complains about the light in the crew’s eyes and the toll. They address different aspects: safety for H, costs and comfort for J. They are not opposite verdicts on the same point.
6. (Medium) Give one reason Sources H and J might differ in focus, based on their authors’ positions.
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H is an official report by the Harbour Master, responsible for the harbour, who records the lighthouse’s effects on ships. J is by a boat owner paying the toll, who cares about costs and his crew’s comfort. Their roles give them different priorities.
7. (Harder) Source K says “Every household turned out.” Is this an explicit claim you can rely on as fact? Consider its likely purpose.
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It is an explicit claim, but “every household” is a broad statement that the newspaper may be exaggerating to convey a mood of celebration. A newspaper article intended to please readers is better evidence of how the event was presented than of exact attendance. Treat the claim with caution unless another source supports it.
8. (Harder) Compare K and J on how the town received the lighthouse. Write 3 to 4 sentences.
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K states that people were thrilled and that every household watched the lighting. J, a private owner, calls the lighthouse fine but raises two complaints. They are not necessarily in conflict: excitement at the lighting does not rule out later complaints about the toll. K is a general public report and J an individual, so the sources cannot be placed side by side as equal evidence. Together they suggest mixed reactions, though not how widespread each was.
9. (Harder) What can Source H not establish about the lighthouse’s effect on trade? Give two limits.
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It says nothing about trade or income, so it cannot show any effect on it. It also covers only the first month, so it cannot show longer-term results. A third limit is that it records one official’s account, with no merchants’ or boat owners’ evidence.
10. (Harder) Using all three sources, a student concludes: “The lighthouse made the harbour a better place for everyone.” Evaluate this conclusion.
Show answer
It goes beyond the evidence. H supports a claim about safety for one month. J reports costs and discomfort for at least one boat owner. K describes celebration at the lighting, not long-term benefit. “Better for everyone” cannot be established from three short sources. J also suggests at least one person who felt worse off in some respects. A supported conclusion would say the lighthouse may have improved safety, while at least one user faced higher costs. It would add that more evidence is needed on wider effects.
If you got these wrong
- Questions 1 to 3 (taking a claim too far, or mixing fact with reported opinion): go to identify an explicit claim.
- Questions 4, 6 and 7 (purpose, audience and perspective): go to source purpose and audience.
- Questions 5 and 8 (assuming disagreement, or two summaries instead of a comparison): go to comparing two sources.
- Questions 9 and 10 (overstating what a source can show): go to what a source cannot establish.
For the module overview and the reasoning behind this order, return to evidence and source interpretation.
After a second attempt, a teacher reading your answers can usually spot a pattern faster than you can alone. That is the kind of work we do in online one-to-one History tuition.