What Skills Will I Need in Secondary 2 History?
What Skills Will I Need in Secondary 2 History?
Secondary 1 asked what a source says; Secondary 2 also asks why it was made. These notes check the skills you already have, add four ways to think like a historian (, significance, , and ), outline the usual Secondary 2 exam, and introduce two new exam skills: working out a source's , and telling apart from .
Toolkit Check: What You Already Have
- Evidence: history is built on evidence, not guesses, so every claim needs a source to back it up.
- Primary sources: first-hand, made at the time by people who were there.
- Secondary sources: made later, by people who studied the primary sources.
- Inference: not a guess, but a conclusion drawn from evidence plus what you already know.
- PEEL: structure each written paragraph as Point, Evidence, Elaboration, Link.
Four Ways to Think Like a Historian
- Diversity: different people can live through the same events in very different ways.
- Historical significance: an event is significant if it changed things and if people still remember it.
- Causation: what caused an event and what it led to, including unintended consequences nobody planned.
- Change and continuity: what changed, what stayed the same, and how fast things changed.
The Secondary 2 Exam
- Two sections: usually, as in Secondary 1.
- Section A: four sources and three questions. Two ask for inferences (one often about purpose); the third asks you to compare two sources.
- Section B: usually two structured questions, each in two parts: first describe, then explain. Some schools let you choose two out of three.
- Shorter answers: each is shorter than the long Secondary 1 essay, so every sentence must count. Formats vary, so check with your teacher.
New Skill 1: Purpose
- Purpose: why the source was made, and what the maker wanted people to think, feel or do.
- Three questions: who made it, who was it for, and what did they want them to do?
- Action words: start your answer with one, such as persuade, warn, encourage or criticise.
- Message vs purpose: the message is what it says; purpose goes one step further, to what it wants you to do.
New Skill 2: Describe vs Explain
- Describe: say what happened, with details.
- Explain: say why or how, and show the result. "Because" and "as a result" link a cause to its effect.
- Describe example: during the Occupation, rice, salt and sugar were rationed, and prices shot up.
- The step up: an explain answer turns that description into a reason, using PEEL (below).
What Skills Will I Need in Secondary 2 History?
Worked Example: An Explain Answer
- PPointOne reason why many families turned to the black market during the Japanese Occupation was that food was scarce.
- EEvidenceRice, salt and sugar were rationed, and prices shot up.
- EElaborationBecause the rations were too small and prices were too high, many families could not get enough food through normal means, so they had to buy what they needed elsewhere.
- LLinkHence, the scarcity of food drove many families to the black market.
In One Sentence
- Secondary 2 builds on your Secondary 1 skills with four ways of thinking like a historian and two new exam skills: working out why a source was made, and turning a description of what happened into an explanation of why or how.
Think About It
- A school poster says "Keep Our Canteen Clean!" What is its message, and what is its purpose?
- Pick a recent event in your school. How might two different people have experienced it differently?
- Turn this description into an explanation: "In 1946, the British opened People's Restaurants." What would you add?