Sunset view from my place

Source Based Question for Practice

Source A

Causes of World War 2

I believe that Hitler was one of the greatest causes of World War 2. Although there are many other reasons, he was definitely one of them. Another reason was the Treaty of Versailles. This was the treaty that was signed at the end of World War 1. This treaty outlined the rules that Germany must follow because of their defeat by Britain and France. Many Germans were angered by the treaty, for most of the rules in the treaty were unfair and Germany lost a great amount of wealth.

Adapted from http://www.echeat.com/essay.php?t=32745 Adolf Hitler and World War 2

Study Source A. How far do you agree that Hitler was one of the greatest causes of World War 2? Explain your answer.

Making Judgement (how far……)

• When a question requires you to give your opinion or judgement about an issue or an assertion, you are making a judgement.
• Making judgement will require you to decide if the assertion is true.
• You need background information to the issue.
• You need to find evidence from what you have learned.
• Contextual knowledge to other reference materials is a must.
• However, it is not enough just to agree or disagree with the assertion.
• You are required to look at both sides of the issue.
• Give a balance argument and conclude with a judgement.

Sec 2PR: attempt the question and bring it during lesson on Wednesday 4 July

Tagboard

The Tagboard is set up with the sole purpose of helping pupils with genuine questions pertaining to History. Since I am going to be away, the tagboard will be useful to ask questions. And that is the reason why i spent some time setting it up.

HOWEVER, IF I GET MEANINGLESS POSTS, I WILL REMOVE THE TAGBOARD.

History Test 21 May 2007 Corrections

Kindly refer to your test papers for the sources.

1) Source Based Questions

1a. Read Source A. What information does Source A reveal about the economic conditions of Singapore in the 1930s? Explain your answer. (4m) (Inferring skills)

Level 1 Lift information from the source (1m)

Level 2 Uses information from source and make attempts to explain from evidence (2-3m)

Level 3 Makes inferences using evidence from source and provides logical explanations with reference to the key topic of the questions (3-4m)

Source A shows that there was rising unemployment. This suggests that jobs were hard to come by. This meant that the economic conditions in Singapore must have been very bad as people were finding it very difficult to get jobs.

In addition, Source A also shows that the number of immigrants have fallen from 242,000 in 1930 to 28,000 in 1933. This implies that the demand for workers have decreased drastically. This meant that the entrepot trade of Singapore must have slowed down tremendously as without the volume of goods coming in, coolies were not needed to help in loading and unloading. Hence, with less trade, Singapore must have been losing revenue and profits.

(3m for 1 point and 4m for 2 points)

1b. Study Source B. Is the source reliable as evidence to show that Singapore’s trade was greatly affected by the Great Depression? Explain your answer. (5m)

Level 1 Lifting information from source with no explanations (1m)

Level 2 Make attempts to make a judgement based on evidence and inferences (2-3m)

Level 3 Make judgement with good inference and with reference to purpose of source and contextual knowledge (4-5)

Source B is reliable in showing that Singapore’s trade was greatly affected by the Great Depression. From the source, between 1923 and 1933, trade earnings fell from $975.7 million to $512.8 million. This implies that there was a drastic decrease in trade transactions. This meant that there was less business in Singapore during this period. (inference)

Source B is reliable as evidence to show that Singapore’s trade was badly affected by the Great Depression. The source presents to us statistics and data about the profits earned through trade in early Singapore. Hence, the author has presented us with mostly unbiased information which suggests that he was merely presenting us with the actual earnings made by Singapore through trade. This meant that the source is reliable in giving us a true account of how badly Singapore’s trade has fallen between 1923 and 1933. (shows purpose)


Based on contextual knowledge, during this period, the Great Depression caused widespread unemployment and affected Singapore’ trade. Due to low demand for goods and raw materials from the east, Singapore’s entrepot trade was affected. This in turn affected many traders and businessmen as their revenue and profits depended on the import and export of goods. As a result, the total earnings from trade declined drastically. (situation)

In conclusion, based on the evidence in the source, Singapore’s trade was indeed affected by the Great Depression. The actual situation and the evidence in the source corroborate and thus, this source is reliable as evidence to show that the Great Depression affected trade.

Award 4m if answer does not include an elaboration of the actual situation to justify the reliability of source.

2) Structured Essay Question

Elaborate how the invention of steamships and the opening of the Suez Canal helped Singapore prosper in the 1800s. (6m)

Level 1 State facts relating to steamships and Suez Canal (1m)

Level 2 Explain the invention of steamships and/or Opening of Suez Canal (2-3m)

Level 3 Explain the invention of steamships and/or Opening of Suez Canal with reference to Singapore. (4-5m)

Level 4 Explain the complimentary role played by both events and how this role contributed to Singapore’s prosperity. (6m)

The invention of steamships and the opening of the Suez Canal contributed greatly to the prosperity of Singapore. The invention of the steamships brought about great improvements in sea communications. Traders need not depend on the wind conditions in order to set sail. As a result, traders could travel at any point in the year to trade. This meant that traders could trade more by going to more places independent of wind conditions. With this, more traders were able to visit Singapore to trade and traders obtained their goods faster. This improved efficiency in trading enhanced the status of Singapore as an entrepot port where traders made their profits by importing goods and re-exporting them.

In addition, the opening of the Suez Canal reduced the distance travelled between the east and the west. By way of the Cape route, the distance between London and Singapore is 19000km. Traders travelled a shorter journey by way of the Suez route which is about 12500km. This reduction in distance resulted in improved communications and time saved in travelling. With this, traders in Singapore were able to receive their goods in a shorter time which resulted in more trading transactions. Traders were thus able to make more profits and that attracted more traders to Singapore.

Traders using the Suez Canal realised that the wind conditions were not favourable as the winds only blew in a north-southerly directions. Hence, with the opening of the Suez Canal, traders now saw the need to use steamships rather than sailing vessels. Hence traders using steamships via the Suez Canal further reduced the distance between London and Singapore to just 50 days.

In addition, the Suez route linked the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Traders using this route would normally skirt the coast of India and travelled to China via the Straits of Melaka. This resulted in more traders stopping over at Singapore which acted as a port of call for rest and replenishment. With the advent of more steamships, Singapore became popular as a coal-refuelling station. This resulted in an increase of steamships visiting Singapore and more harbour facilities were needed. Jobs were thus created where more coolies were needed to help load and unload goods and where labourers were needed to expand the wharf and build more warehouses. Singapore thus benefited from the increased volume of trade. More jobs opportunities were created and Singapore’s prosperity grew.