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ScotlandHistoryQuick questions
Exam skills: source handling and writing
Quick questions on Describe questions: recall and developed points - SQA National 5 History
5short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is read the marks before you write?Show answer
The mark allocation is the most useful clue in the question. SQA marks Describe questions point by point, awarding one mark per accurate, developed point, so count the points you make against the tariff. A 4 mark question wants four points; a 5 mark question wants five. This stops you under-answering, which leaves marks unclaimed, and over-answering, which wastes time you need for the longer source questions later in the section.
What is develop each point?Show answer
A point scores only when it is developed, meaning it carries specific detail rather than a vague generalisation. "Conditions were bad" is not a point; "many families lived in crowded, single-room housing with no clean running water" is, because it adds concrete detail the marker can credit. Naming a person, a date, a place or a precise action is the surest way to develop a point. Aim for one developed sentence per mark.
What is q1?Show answer
A Describe question is worth 5 marks. How many separate points should you aim to make, and how should each be written? [2 marks]
What is q2?Show answer
Rewrite the bare point "the town grew" as a developed point that would earn a mark. [1 mark]
What is q3?Show answer
Why does explaining causes earn no marks in a Describe question? [2 marks]
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