How do you answer the source and stimulus questions that use images and prescribed material?
Analysing prescribed sources and stimulus material: how the picture and stimulus questions work, how to identify and describe a visual source (a statue, vase, building or coin) and a literary source, and how to move from describing what is shown (AO1) to explaining its meaning (AO2).
An OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (J199) guide to the source and stimulus questions. Covers how the picture and stimulus questions work, how to identify and describe a visual source (statue, vase, building or coin) and a literary source, and how to move from describing what is shown (AO1) to explaining its meaning (AO2), a core J199 skill across all components.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
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What this dot point is asking
OCR Classical Civilisation is a source-rich subject, and every paper includes picture and stimulus questions that show you a visual source (a statue, vase, building or coin) or a literary source and ask you to use it. This dot point is about the skill: how those questions work, how to identify and describe a source, and how to move from describing what is shown (AO1) to explaining its meaning (AO2). It applies across all components: Myth and Religion, The Homeric World and Roman City Life.
The answer
How the source questions work
Describing a visual source (AO1)
Identifying a figure from its attributes
Explaining the meaning (AO2)
Examples in context
A strong source answer describes precisely, identifies with a reason, and explains the meaning, always anchored in the source.
Try this
Q1. What three steps should you follow for a visual source question? [Knowledge recall]
- Cue. Describe (what is shown), identify (what or who it is, with a reason from the source), and explain (what it means or tells us).
Q2. A coin shows a goddess holding a dove with a small winged Cupid beside her. Identify her and explain how you can tell. [Source identification]
- Cue. This is Aphrodite (Roman Venus), goddess of love: the dove is her attribute and Cupid (her son) confirms the identification, so the figure is Venus.
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 J199 2019 (style, any component)6 marksLook at the image of the temple. Describe its main architectural features and explain what they tell us about its function. [6]Show worked answer →
A typical source question (here 6 marks: AO1 and AO2). The marker rewards close engagement with the source.
AO1 (describe). Identify what is shown: for example the colonnade of columns, the cella behind them, the triangular pediment, and (if Roman) the high podium and frontal steps.
AO2 (explain). Link features to function: the cella housed the cult statue (the god's house), the altar outside was the place of sacrifice, and the scale and decoration displayed the city's piety and power.
Top marks. Accurate description tied directly to the source, plus a clear explanation of meaning, rather than ignoring the image and reciting general knowledge.
OCR J199 2021 (style, any component)4 marksLook at the image. Identify the figure shown and give one reason for your identification. [4]Show worked answer →
A short source-identification question (4 marks, AO1 and AO2). Reward a correct identification justified from the image.
Identification. Name the figure, for example a goddess with an owl, helmet and aegis is Athene (Minerva).
Reason. Justify it from a visible attribute: the owl and the aegis are the standard attributes of Athene, so the figure must be her.
Top marks. A correct identification plus a specific visual reason drawn from the source, not a guess.
Related dot points
- The 15-mark extended response: how the 'how far do you agree' essay is marked (AO1 knowledge and AO2 analysis and evaluation), how to plan a balanced two-sided argument with named evidence, and how to reach a supported judgement under timed conditions.
An OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (J199) guide to the 15-mark extended response. Covers how the essay is marked (AO1 knowledge and AO2 analysis and evaluation), how to plan a balanced two-sided argument with named evidence, and how to reach a supported judgement under timed conditions, the key essay skill across all J199 components.
- Comparing Greek and Roman evidence and revising for J199: how the Myth and Religion paper draws on both cultures, how to compare them in an answer, how the two equally weighted papers and their components fit together, and how to revise the named gods, heroes, sources and terms the exam rewards.
An OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (J199) guide to comparing Greek and Roman material and revising for the exam. Covers how Myth and Religion draws on both cultures, how to compare them in an answer, how the two equally weighted papers fit together, and how to revise the named gods, heroes, sources and terms, a core J199 skill.
- The concept of sacred space (the sanctuary and altar), the form, function and location of the Greek and Roman temple, its key architectural features (columns, cella, pediment, the orders), and the religious meaning of temples such as the Parthenon.
An OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (J199) study of temples and sacred space in Myth and Religion. Covers the sanctuary and altar, the form, function and location of the Greek and Roman temple, its architectural features (columns, cella, pediment, the Doric and Ionic orders), and the religious meaning of temples such as the Parthenon, with the source and essay skills the J199/11 paper rewards.
- Mycenaean art and material culture: the gold of the shaft graves (including the so-called Mask of Agamemnon), frescoes, decorated pottery, weapons and armour, and the tholos tombs such as the Treasury of Atreus, and what they reveal about Mycenaean wealth, beliefs and craftsmanship.
An OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (J199) study of Mycenaean art in The Homeric World. Covers the gold of the shaft graves (the Mask of Agamemnon), frescoes, decorated pottery, weapons and armour, and the tholos tombs such as the Treasury of Atreus, and what they reveal about Mycenaean wealth, beliefs and craftsmanship, with the source and essay skills the J199/21 paper rewards.
- Pompeii and Herculaneum as evidence for Roman city life: how the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79 preserved the towns, what they reveal about housing, work, leisure and daily life, and how to use such archaeological evidence with awareness of its strengths and limits.
An OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (J199) study of Pompeii and Herculaneum in Roman City Life. Covers how the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79 preserved the towns, what they reveal about housing, work, leisure and daily life, and how to use archaeological evidence with awareness of its strengths and limits, with the source and essay skills the J199/22 paper rewards.
Sources & how we know this
- OCR GCSE (9-1) Classical Civilisation J199 specification — OCR (2017)