9489_m24_er — 2024 March History 9489 Examiner Report · Cambridge CAIE AS & A Level

Ellipsis-spliced quotations that destroy the original meaning

“Using truncated quotes should be discouraged.”— Paper 1, March 2023

How to fix: When quoting from a source, write out the relevant phrase in full. Do not use ellipses (...) to splice together parts of different sentences — this often creates a quotation that says something the source never intended. If a quote is too long, paraphrase the context and quote only the key phrase in full.

Describing HOW events happened instead of explaining WHY

“Candidates sometimes confuse description and explanation. All part (a) questions begin with 'explain' which means give reasons why.”— Paper 2, March 2023

How to fix: Every Paper 2 part (a) asks 'explain WHY'. Your answer must give REASONS, not a narrative of events. Structure each paragraph as: Reason → Evidence → Link back to causation. For example, do not describe the steps of German unification — explain WHY unification happened (economic factors, political leadership, military victories, etc.).

Summarising the extract instead of analysing the historian's interpretation

“The question asks what you can learn about the historian's interpretation. It does not ask what the extract says.”— Paper 3, March 2023

How to fix: Paper 3 requires you to identify the historian's ARGUMENT, not retell their content. Ask yourself: What is the historian's thesis? What school of thought does this represent? What evidence do they prioritise and what do they ignore? Your answer should analyse WHY the historian holds this view, not WHAT facts they mention.