How to Answer History Question

Source-Based Skills

There are 4 types of skills that can be tested in the Source-Based section of your history examination.

1. Inference skill

2. Comparison skill

3. Reliability skill

4. Usefulness skill

1. Inference

When you are tested on the inference skill, the inference question in your exam paper may look like this:

• What can you infer from Source A about the immigrants who came to Singapore?

• What is the message of the cartoon?

• What does Source B tell you about the impact of World War I on Singapore?

- This type of question requires you to infer, that is, to draw out information that is not clearly stated in the source. This means you need to read in between the lines and USE YOUR OWN WORDS to interpret the source.

- You are then to use the evidence from the source to support your inference. This evidence will provide the basis or explanation for the inferences that you make.

Important steps in making inferences

a. Read the source

b. Ask yourself the following questions:

o What is the information provided in the source?

o What can I infer based on the information provided?

c. Write your inferences. Make sure you come up with at least two inferences.

d. Support your inferences with evidences from the source.

Inference Practice

Source A

There are a number of thirteenth and fourteenth century records which do mention Temasek directly. The Vietnamese annals* of 1330, for example, indicate that Malay envoys* were dispatched by a kingdom by the name of Sach-ma-tich (Temasek) to the Vietnamese court, and were received by a prince who spoke the native language of the Malays. In addition, the Yuan Dynasty records mention that a mission was sent to Long Ya Men in A.D. 1330 to obtain tamed elephants for the Mongol court.

*Envoys are people sent on a mission to another country to represent the interests of someone else

What does Source A tell you about Singapore in the 14th century?

- ASK THE TWO IMPORTANT QUESTIONS!

- MAKE AT LEAST 2 INFERENCES!

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