What do the four OCR Ancient History assessment objectives reward, and which AO does each question type target?
The four assessment objectives: AO1 knowledge, AO2 analysis using second-order concepts, AO3 the use and evaluation of ancient sources, and AO4 the evaluation of modern interpretations, and how each question type in H407 targets them.
An OCR A-Level Ancient History skills guide to the four assessment objectives. Explains AO1 (knowledge), AO2 (analysis with second-order concepts), AO3 (the use and evaluation of ancient sources) and AO4 (the evaluation of modern interpretations), which AO each H407 question type targets, and how knowing the target AO shapes your answer.
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What this dot point is asking
OCR Ancient History is assessed against four assessment objectives, and knowing which one a question targets is the single most useful exam skill. This page explains AO1 (knowledge), AO2 (analysis using second-order concepts), AO3 (the use and evaluation of ancient sources) and AO4 (the evaluation of modern interpretations), and shows which question type in H407 targets each. The skill is transferable to every topic in the course.
The answer
AO1: knowledge and understanding
Strong AO1 looks like specific detail (the lex Gabinia of 67 BC, the dictatorship for life in 44 BC, Herodotus Book 7 on Thermopylae) rather than vague generalisation.
AO2: analysis with second-order concepts
AO2 is the engine of the essay: a question that says "assess the reasons" or "how far" is asking you to rank and judge, which is AO2.
AO3 and AO4: sources and interpretations
The two source-and-interpretation objectives are what make Ancient History distinctive:
- AO3 is the use and evaluation of the primary ancient sources as evidence. It is the focus of the 12-mark source-utility question and is central to the depth-study essay, which is built on the prescribed sources. The skill is to judge how useful a source is for a specific enquiry, using its content, provenance and your context, not to label it reliable or biased.
- AO4 is the evaluation of modern interpretations: weighing the differing views of modern scholars and understanding why they disagree (different evidence, methods or emphases). It appears where the specification asks you to consider historians' interpretations of a period.
Each question type targets particular AOs, so the first move in any answer is to identify the AO and match your method to it.
Examples in context
A model approach always decodes the AO first, because it determines whether you evaluate a source, weigh historians, or argue your own case.
Try this
Q1. Explain the difference between AO3 and AO4 in OCR Ancient History. [10 marks, skills style]
- What the marker wants. A clear explanation that AO3 is the use and evaluation of the primary ancient sources as evidence (judging their utility for an enquiry), while AO4 is the evaluation of the differing interpretations of modern scholars, with an example of each.
Q2. Which second-order concepts does AO2 use? [2 marks]
- Cue. Cause, consequence, change, continuity, similarity, difference and significance, the concepts that turn knowledge into an analytical argument in the essays.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of OCR exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
OCR H407 201912 marksAssess the utility of the named ancient source(s) for an enquiry of your choice. [generic AO3 source-utility question, shown at the 12-mark style]Show worked answer →
A generic AO3 source-utility question, applicable to any topic, shown at the 12-mark style.
What AO3 rewards. Evaluating the value of one to four ancient sources for a specific enquiry, using content, nature, origin and purpose, and contextual knowledge, and reaching a judgement on usefulness rather than labelling a source reliable or biased.
Method. Group or take the sources in turn, judge what each is valuable for given its provenance, test against context, and conclude on usefulness for the enquiry. The top level judges value for the question asked.
OCR H407 202120 marksExplain how knowing the target assessment objective changes the way you answer a question. [generic skills question, shown at the 20-mark cap]Show worked answer →
A generic skills question, shown at the 20-mark cap.
The point. Each question targets a particular AO, and the AO tells you what to do: an AO3 source question wants evaluation of ancient evidence; an AO4 question wants the weighing of modern historians; an AO1 and AO2 essay wants a ranked analytical argument with your own judgement.
Application. Decoding the AO stops you, for example, narrating when the question wants source evaluation, or summarising a source when it wants a judgement on its utility. The best answers match their method to the AO.
Related dot points
- AO3 source skills: evaluating ancient sources for their utility to a stated enquiry, using content, provenance (nature, origin and purpose) and contextual knowledge, and reaching a judgement on usefulness rather than labelling a source reliable or biased.
An OCR A-Level Ancient History skills guide to evaluating ancient sources for the AO3 source-utility question. Explains how to judge a source's value for a stated enquiry using content, provenance and contextual knowledge, why utility is not the same as reliability, and how to reach a judgement, with a worked example transferable to Greek and Roman topics.
- AO4 interpretation skills: analysing and evaluating the differing interpretations of modern scholars, understanding why historians disagree (evidence, method, emphasis), and weighing interpretations to reach a reasoned position.
An OCR A-Level Ancient History skills guide to analysing modern interpretations for AO4. Explains how to evaluate the differing views of modern scholars, why historians disagree (different evidence, methods and emphases), and how to weigh interpretations against the ancient evidence to reach a reasoned position, with examples from the Greek and Roman topics.
- The Greek historians: the methods, strengths and limitations of Herodotus, Thucydides and Xenophon as the prescribed sources for the Persia and Greece period study and the Sparta depth study, and how to evaluate them.
An OCR A-Level Ancient History skills guide to the Greek historians. Covers the methods, strengths and limitations of Herodotus (the Persian Wars), Thucydides (the Peloponnesian War and Sparta) and Xenophon (the Spartan constitution and the end of the war) as prescribed sources, and how to evaluate them for the Greek topics.
- The 20-mark period-study essay: decoding the command, selecting and ranking the relevant factors, organising thematically, supporting with precise ancient detail, and structuring towards a substantiated judgement for AO1 and AO2.
An OCR A-Level Ancient History technique guide to the 20-mark period-study essay. Explains how to decode the command, select and rank the relevant factors, organise thematically, support with precise ancient detail, and structure the essay towards a substantiated judgement for AO1 and AO2, with a worked example transferable to the Greek and Roman period studies.
- The 12-mark source-utility question: reading the sources against the enquiry, weighing each source's provenance, grouping and comparing where there are several, testing against context, and reaching a judgement on usefulness for AO3.
An OCR A-Level Ancient History technique guide to the 12-mark source-utility question. Explains how to read the sources against the enquiry, weigh each source's provenance, group and compare several sources, test against contextual knowledge, and reach a judgement on usefulness for AO3, with a worked example transferable to the Greek and Roman topics.
Sources & how we know this
- OCR A Level Ancient History H407 specification — OCR (2017)