How do you answer the SQA Higher History 'how fully' and comparison source questions using context and your own knowledge?
The 'how fully does a source explain' question and the 'compare two sources' question: interpreting content, adding contextual knowledge, and identifying agreement and disagreement.
How to answer the SQA Higher History 'how fully does a source explain' question and the 'compare two sources' question. Covers selecting relevant content, adding contextual knowledge, identifying overall and detailed agreement and disagreement, and how the marks are awarded.
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What this dot point is asking
Two of the Scottish History source questions test how you handle a source against the wider picture: the "how fully does a source explain" question (usually 9 marks) and the "compare two sources" question (usually 5 marks). Both reward selecting relevant points and bringing in your own contextual knowledge, not just retelling the source.
The "how fully" question
- Interpret the source. Pick out the points it makes that are relevant to the named issue.
- Add your own knowledge. Bring in accurate, relevant points the source does not mention; these show how fully it explains the topic.
- Judge. Conclude how fully the source explains the issue, given what it covers and what it leaves out.
The "compare two sources" question
- Overall point. State whether the two sources broadly agree or disagree on the issue.
- Developed points. Take specific claims from each source and explain precisely how they match or conflict.
- Marks come from clear, developed comparisons, not from describing one source then the other.
Why context matters
Both questions reward your own knowledge. In "how fully" your recall supplies the points the source misses; in comparison your understanding lets you read the sources accurately and spot real agreement or disagreement. Build a stock of contextual facts for each topic so you can always add knowledge beyond the source.
Examples in context
A model "how fully" answer on the reasons for Scottish emigration would interpret the source and then add recall: "Source A explains emigration partly through the Highland Clearances and rural poverty, which it describes as driving families from the land (source points). It is not full, however, because it omits several important reasons: the collapse of the kelp industry, recurring slumps in shipbuilding and mining, the pull of cheap or free land and higher wages in Canada and Australia, and the assisted-passage schemes and emigration societies that organised departures (recalled knowledge). The source therefore explains the push factors fairly well but neglects the pull factors, so it gives only a partial account." Roughly half the marks come from the recalled points the source leaves out.
A model comparison might open: "Overall, Sources B and C disagree about the war's impact on Scotland: B stresses lasting damage while C emphasises social progress. In detail, Source B argues that the post-war collapse of heavy industry left mass unemployment, whereas Source C claims the war advanced women's place in work and the vote. Both, however, agree that the war reshaped Scottish politics." Each sentence makes a direct, point-by-point comparison rather than summarising one source and then the other.
Try this
Q1. In a "how fully" question, where do the marks come from? [2 marks]
- Cue. Relevant points from the source and accurate points of your own knowledge that the source omits.
Q2. What is the difference between an overall and a detailed comparison? [2 marks]
- Cue. An overall comparison states the sources' main views; a detailed comparison explains specific points where they agree or differ.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of SQA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
SQA Higher 20199 marksHow fully does Source A explain the reasons for Scottish emigration in this period?Show worked answer →
The "how fully" question is marked out of 9. SQA awards marks for relevant points selected from the source and, crucially, for accurate points of recalled knowledge the source omits, plus an overall judgement of how fully it explains the issue.
Aim to interpret several points from the source, then add at least as many accurate points of your own that it does not mention. Conclude clearly: the source explains the issue to a limited or fair extent because it covers some factors but omits others. The recall is half the skill, so build a stock of contextual facts for each topic.
SQA Higher 20215 marksCompare the views in Sources B and C about the impact of the war on Scotland.Show worked answer →
The comparison question is marked out of 5. Marks come from an overall comparison of the two sources' main views and from developed points of detailed agreement or disagreement.
Open with an overall point: do the sources broadly agree or disagree on the issue? Then take specific claims from each and explain precisely how they match or conflict ("Source B argues... whereas Source C claims..."). Avoid summarising each source in turn; the marks are for direct, point-by-point comparison.
Related dot points
- The 'evaluate the usefulness of a source' question: judging a source by its origin, purpose, content and what it omits, and structuring a full source evaluation.
How to answer the SQA Higher History 'evaluate the usefulness of a source' question. Covers origin, purpose, content and omission, how the marks are awarded, and a reliable structure for a full source evaluation in the Scottish paper.
- The extended-response essay: writing a structured introduction with a line of argument, balanced analytical paragraphs of factors, the use of evidence, and a conclusion with a supported judgement.
How to plan and write the SQA Higher History extended-response essay in the British and European or World papers. Covers the introduction and line of argument, balanced analytical paragraphs, the use of evidence, the conclusion and judgement, and how the marks are awarded.
- The death of Alexander III and the succession problem, the Great Cause and the reign of John Balliol, Edward I's intervention, the risings of Wallace and Bruce, and the recovery of Scottish independence.
An SQA Higher History answer on the Wars of Independence 1286 to 1328, covering the succession crisis after Alexander III, the Great Cause and John Balliol, Edward I's overlordship, the resistance of William Wallace and Robert Bruce, Bannockburn and the Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton.
- Immigration to Scotland, the experience of immigrants, the migration of Scots within Britain and overseas, the impact of Scots on the Empire, and the effects of migration on Scotland itself.
An SQA Higher History answer on Migration and Empire 1830 to 1939, covering immigration into Scotland by Irish, Italians, Lithuanians and Jews, the experience of these groups, Scottish emigration within Britain and overseas, the impact of Scots on the Empire, and the effects of migration on Scotland.
- Scots on the Western Front, the home front and the role of women, industry and the economy, political change including Red Clydeside, and the social and economic impact of the war on Scotland to 1928.
An SQA Higher History answer on the Impact of the Great War 1914 to 1928, covering Scots on the Western Front, the home front and women, the wartime and post-war economy, political change including Red Clydeside, and the social and economic effects of the war on Scotland.
Sources & how we know this
- SQA Higher History Course Specification — SQA (2018)