Learn Mojo's guide to upper sec History Elective/Social Studies source based question (SBQ) skills Part 1 |
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(This post by Miss Karen Goh first appeared here on Domain of Singapore Tutoring Experts on 23 September 2014.) |
 What you will learn today 1. What are inferences? 2 .How do you make excellent inferences? 3. What are sources and in what forms do they appear? 4. How do you write a high level answer in the exam? 1. What are inferences? Inferences are educated guesses or conclusions you make about something or someone, based on the clues available in your sources of information. For example, you don’t know these two boys and you stumble upon a photo of them on the internet, on a website collecting memories of old Singapore. What can you conclude about the boys? Hint: Look at the clues below.  Yep, you might have concluded that these boys are Star Wars fans. The picture doesn’t carry any big flashing text that says ‘These boys are Star Wars fans.’ You concluded this (guessed) from the clues you see in the photo—both are grinning and standing proudly in front of a collection of Star Wars figurines, and both wear Star Wars T-shirts. Now how did those clues lead you to that inference? Because you already know that only people who really love the movie would go to the extent of collecting that many toys and T-shirts, since they cost a small fortune in those days. (I think they would have cosplayed if they could.) 2 .How do you make excellent inferences? Many students have no idea why they consistently score L1/1m for inference SBQs. They think they would never crack the code. Actually, you could. You should in fact aim for (almost) full marks, since it usually requires less writing than the other SBQs! Remember these 4 rules: (a) Know the topic well. This means you need to know who the heroes and villains are, as well as a timeline of events. You don’t know what our man Hitler looks like and when he was Chancellor, you’re in deep trouble! (b) Take note of the issue in question, if any. (c) Take note of clues you see/read in the source. (d) Always use your own words when writing the inference. The only time you copy or describe the source is when you’re giving supporting evidence. Copying from source = L1/1m Remember: If in doubt, always go back to the question and the source! 3. What are sources and in what forms do they appear? Sources are simply information about a certain topic you want to explore. Think of them as clues to answering a question or solving a mystery. For example, if you want to find out which mobile phone model you should buy, you may go onto the internet and search for the latest Iphone and Samsung phone reviews. The Youtube videos and written review articles you read are therefore sources of information for you. Sources may appear in various forms: • Written (journal entries, news articles, letters, etc), • Pictorial (political cartoons, paintings, pictures), • Oral (interviews, songs, folktales), • Artefacts (everyday objects) made by people. It turns into evidence when you use that information to support your answer to the question. It’s the proof you give when someone asks, “How do you know that?” 4. How do you write a high level answer in the exam? Before you dive into writing answer, you need to recognize that Inference SBQs, like ice-cream, come in a few flavours: (a) Basic: • “What does this source tell you about…” (b) Tone/opinion: • “Is the author of Source X a supporter of…” • “What do you think is the nationality of the artist?” (c) Message/Purpose: • “Why did the author of Source X write this article?” • “What is the message of Source X?” • "Why did the President have to make this speech?”  Before writing your answer, you MUST do these 3-steps. STEP 1: Read the question and underline the issue. STEP 2: Underline/highlight the source clues related to the issue. STEP 3: Beside underlined clues, draw arrows out and jot down your inference. (Just write key phrases, no need complete sentences.) (Note: The above 3 steps apply to all SBQs.) Let’s see the 3 steps in action! STEP 1: Read the question and underline the issue. (a) Basic: a. “What does this source tell you about Stalin’s rule?” b. “What does Source A tell you about people’s lives in Nazi Germany?” (b) Tone/opinion: a. “Is the author of Source X a supporter of Hitler?” b. “What do you think is the nationality of the artist?” (c) Message/Purpose: a. “ Why did the author of Source X write this article?” b. “What is the message of Source X?” c. " Why did the President have to make this speech?”  STEP 2: Underline/highlight the source clues related to the issue. STEP 3: Beside underlined clues, draw arrows out and jot down your inference. (Just write key phrases, no need complete sentences.)  Once you have done Step 3, go ahead and write out your answer. To continue to part 2, visit HERE. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ About The Author Karen Goh spent her early student life at Dunman High School and Hwa Chong Junior College. Like many of the students she has taught, she was a Pure Science student in secondary school. A love for reading and history led her to the Arts stream in Hwa Chong JC, and to major in English Language and Political Science in NUS. She also has a Post-Graduate Diploma in Education from NIE. She was with MOE from January 2005 to December 2012, teaching secondary school students of all abilities History and Social Studies. Majority of her graduating students scored distinctions. She started Learnmojo as a way for to share all that she knows about scoring in History and Social Studies, gleaned from her years of teaching experience. She believes that the Do It Yourself (DIY) method should be a first resort before parents rush out to hire tutors. The DIY method = students doing consistent practices and getting feedback from their school teacher. She shares free advice and tips to parents and students on her email list, so hop on over to www.learnmojo.com to sign up. For students who find it a challenge to adopt the DIY method, she does offer paid online coaching in Lower Secondary History and Upper Secondary History Elective and Social Studies. These students need someone other than their school teacher to Feel free to email karen@learnmojo.com if you have a burning question about History and Social Studies. |
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