Thinking Skills Paper 2 q. 1

1. ThinkingSkillsPaper 2 q. 1 Nov. 2012-23 (‘AntonAschenbach’)

2. (a) 3 marksSource B contains information about allegations of official corruption. How significant is this information in relation to the reasons for the arrest of Anton Aschenbach? • Quite significant / Very significant • No reference to the Aschenbach case itself, so itdoes not provide anydirect evidence of wrong-doing by Aschenbach or by the authorities (government and police) • Nonetheless, it is background informationwhich offers a plausible contextfor the arrest: it indicates that corruption is rife, and suggests that bribery may be the only way to effectively do business. If so, Aschenbach would have had the motive to pay bribes like, apparently, everybody else. This would give the authorities the opportunity(or, you might say, the excuse) to arrest him. • It comes from an apparently neutral(and probably respected) source, so it should be taken seriously

3. (b) 3 marks(must consider both sides for full marks)How reliable is the information in Source C in relation to the reasons for the arrest of Anton Aschenbach? • By itself, somewhat unreliable (even though it may provide a useful lead) / Partly reliable • Strongly biasedsource • Vested interestto present a view of state impoverishment – implicitly, through economic mismanagement – and of corruption in the current government (in order to discredit the government and presumably return to power themselves) • That the opposition party is in exile reduces their ability to see; though this may be compensated for by having contacts within the country, as they claim to have • And again it is only background information, with no direct referenceto the Aschenbach case • However, the suggestion of corruption does broadly corroboratethe evidence of Source B • Also it suggests a specific plausible motivefor the arrest of Aschenbach: to get funds for the state through payment of a massive bribe (“voluntary additional taxes”) under the threat of legal action

4. (c) 3 marks(must consider both sides for full marks)How useful is the information in Source D in relation to the reasons for the arrest of Anton Aschenbach? • Partly useful • It does refer specificallyto the Aschenbach case, and offers an alternative plausible motivefor his arrest (an alternative to the one suggested in Source C) • The ‘special correspondent’ being in Ruritania should give fairly good ability to see • Also the information in this source is consistent with information in Source B about nepotism • However, it is based entirely on rumours, which must make it unreliable • Also we do not know if the source is neutral or biased (“special correspondent” could mean anything!) • For these reasons, overall this evidence is rather unreliable, but would be worth investigation – so it could eventually prove useful

5. (d) 6 marksWhy do you think Anton Aschenbach has been arrested? Write a short, reasoned argument to support your conclusion, with critical reference to the evidence provided and with consideration of any plausible alternative scenarios. • Two possible conclusions are equally acceptable: • Aschenbach paid bribes – fake crackdown to elicit big bribe to the government • Aschenbach paid bribes – fake crackdown to remove business & political opponent • Two other conclusions are at least plausible: • Aschenbach paid bribes – genuine crackdown (though very improbable) • Aschenbach innocent (fairly improbable) – wrongly arrested for any of the previous reasons • In any case, Source B is probably most important – neutrality, seriousness, establishes context • Sources C & D both offer interesting leads but need independent corroboration • Plausible alternative: any of the list above • Further investigation: the claims in Sources C and/or D