Source evaluation question

1. Source evaluation question

2. The source evaluation question(6 marks) Evaluate the usefulness of Source A as evidence of….. • a maximum of 4 marks can be given for evaluative comments relating to author, type of source, purpose and timing • a maximum of 2 marks can be given for evaluative comments relating to the content of the source • a maximum of 2 marks may be given for evaluative comments relating to points of significant omission • Each of these should be in a paragraph of their own • You should continually make judgements throughout( more useful/less useful etc– this is the only way that marks can be awarded.

3. The source evaluation questionauthor, type of source, purpose and timing (4 marks) • Diary/Letter(honest, less guarded opinion, one person’s view…) • Memoirs (personal, selective?) • Newspaper (reflects opinions, biased?) • Report(official document, well researched, narrow view?) • Speech(delivered by someone who knows the facts? biased?)

4. POSSIBLE EVALUATIVE COMMENTS ABOUT AUTHORSHIP 1. If the source is an individuals personal account- ie diary, memoirs.. Useful because the author is an eyewitness/ has personalexperience of…X(Link to Qu)./ experienced X (Link to Qu)first hand and will therefore be well informed about X(link to Qu) because…. 2. If the source is from an important person connected with X eg, a politician.. Useful as he was a contemporary commentator/eyewitness. As a politician he would have expertise on local and Scottish issues.BUT could also be less useful if he has a political agenda and is biased.

5. POSSIBLE EVALUATIVE COMMENTS ABOUT AUTHORSHIP cont 3. If the source is from a magazine or newspaper article: Useful as the editor provides a well-informed description of the attractions of emigration 4. If the source is written by a historian Useful because it has been written by a historian who will have researched (X-link to Qu) carefully by consulting a range of sources.

6. POSSIBLE EVALUATIVE COMMENTS ABOUT TIMING 1. If it is a contemporary/primary source- look carefully at the date and be as specific as you can about events at that time – more than just using the words of the question if possible. The source was written in X. This makes it useful because it is a contemporary source written at the time when it was easier and cheaper for ordinary Scots to emigrate due to transport innovations (specific link …. Look at what the source is about) 2. If the person has been there at the time but writes it many years later(eg memoirs/autobiography) The source has been written as part of the person’s memoirs this may make it less useful many years have passed since the event and things could have been exaggerated/forgotten or left out.

7. POSSIBLE EVALUATIVE COMMENTS ABOUT TIMING 3.If it a secondary source: The source has been written in X - many years after the time when (X link to qu).It is therefore useful because it has been written with the benefit of hindsight.

8. POSSIBLE EVALUATIVE COMMENTS ABOUT PURPOSE 1. If it has been produced to persuade people to emigrate / think in a certain way.(eg, advert in newspaper magazine/poster etc) The purpose of the source is to encourage emigration to….eg Canada. This is useful as an example of how publications were used to inform, promote and recruit emigrants. OR Less useful as it is a biased/one sided view focusing only on the benefits of emigration 2. If it is an article in a newspaper It is useful because it has been written with the intention of informing people about ….(x )however the fact that it is a newspaper article means that it is reflecting opinion which may make it less useful.

9. POSSIBLE EVALUATIVE COMMENTS ABOUT PURPOSE cont 2. If it is a diary: The source is useful because it is an extract from a diary entry which is likely to be an honest and accurate account of that person’s experience as it is not meant to be read by anyone else BUT it could be argued it is less useful because it is only one person’s account. 3. If it is someone’s memoirs/autobiography: The source is useful because it is a personal account of someone’s actual experience of (X Link to Qu)therefore it is likely to be accurate. However, it could be argued that it may be less useful as it may be biased as the author could be writing it purely to sell copies and make money.

10. Sample Answer: Evaluate the usefulness of Source A as evidence of the reasons for Scottish emigration between 1830 and 1939 (6 marks) Source A: from the Aberdeen Herald, 4 December 1852. The farm workers were honest, plain, hard-working men, who looked forward to the day when they or their sons would be able to get larger and larger farms as their honest savings increased. These men, in many cases, have been obliged, along with their families, to leave for our towns in order to get employment, or have emigrated to countries where their skill and hard work will be more highly appreciated. A farm servant, who may have saved fifty or sixty pounds, can not even get a small farm upon which he might invest his small sum of money. His only refuge is a foreign land; and thus it is that our very best agricultural labourers are driven from this country by the foolishness of “penny wise and pound foolish” landowners … It is clear that the cold and damp bothy will not persuade our young ploughmen to remain at home and give up their chance of comfort, if not wealth, in America or Australia.

11. The content of the source is useful as evidence of reasons for Scottish emigration between 1830 and 1939. The source states that “These men, in many cases, have been obliged, along with their families, to leave for our towns in order to get employment, emigrated to countries where their skill and hard work will be more highly appreciated. ” this is useful because it explains that many farmers had no choice but to move from the countryside to the towns and later to emigrate abroad to find employment. It also tells us that “our very best agricultural labourers are driven from this country by the foolishness of “penny wise and pound foolish” landowners … “ This is useful because it illustrates that the agricultural workers with skills to sell were driven abroad by the penny-pinching attitude of the landowners. Both of these points are accurate and corroborated by other sources.(2 mark for content)

12. However, Source A is not useful as evidence of reasons for Scottish emigration because it fails to mention the land grants provided by the foreign countries like Canada to encourage Scots to settle in the more remote areas of the country. Finally, the source is not useful as evidence of reasons for Scottish emigration because it fails to mention why Scots left from other areas of Scotland apart from Aberdeenshire, e.g. Glaswegians left because of the overcrowding and the slums caused by mass migration into Glasgow. ( 2 marks for points of significant omission )

13. The source is useful because it was written by a journalist for the Aberdeen Herald who was an eyewitness to the working conditions of the farmers in Aberdeen who were forced to emigrate abroad.(Authorship- 1 mark) The fact that it is a contemporary source, written in 1852- at the height of Scottish emigration to countries within the Empire also adds to the usefulness of the source. (Timing- 1 mark) The source is also useful as it has been written with the intention of informing people about the push and pull factors connected with farmers reasons for leaving Aberdeenshire. However the fact that it is a newspaper article means that it is reflecting opinion which may make it less useful. (Purpose/Type- 1 mark)