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AQA GCSE History

Using sources: utility, provenance and inference — AQA GCSE History revision

Free revision notes, key terms, common exam traps and 5 practice questions with answers. About 7 minutes to read.

Provenance: NOP

  • Every source has a Nature (what type it is: diary, poster, speech, cartoon, government report), an Origin (who made it, when and where) and a Purpose (why it was made: to persuade, record, inform, entertain, justify).
  • Provenance does not automatically make a source unreliable. A biased propaganda poster is extremely useful for studying what a government wanted people to believe.
  • Always tie provenance to the specific enquiry: 'useful for X because...' rather than a general comment about bias.

Content and inference

  • Make supported inferences: state what the source suggests, then quote or describe the detail that shows it.
  • Use contextual knowledge to test the source — does it match what you know happened? Omissions matter as much as what is included.
  • For cartoons and photographs, read symbols, captions, size, positioning and facial expression as deliberate choices by the creator.

Key terms

Provenance
The origin, nature and purpose of a source.
Inference
A supported conclusion drawn from source detail rather than stated directly.
Utility
How useful a source is for a specific enquiry.
Contextual knowledge
Own knowledge used to test or extend a source.
Propaganda
Material designed to persuade an audience of a viewpoint.
Typicality
Whether a source represents wider opinion or only one viewpoint.

Common exam traps

  • Writing 'this source is biased so it is useless' — bias is evidence of attitudes.
  • Describing the source instead of making an inference from it.
  • Judging usefulness in general rather than for the enquiry named in the question.

Practice questions with answers

  1. 1. What does the 'P' in NOP stand for?

    • • Place
    • • Purpose
    • • Popularity
    • • Politics

    Answer: Purpose

    Nature, Origin, Purpose form provenance.

  2. 2. Explain why a propaganda poster can still be useful to a historian.

    Answer: It shows what the government wanted people to believe and the attitudes it tried to create

    Bias is itself historical evidence.

  3. 3. An inference is:

    • • A direct quotation
    • • A supported conclusion drawn from the source
    • • A description of the picture
    • • The date of the source

    Answer: A supported conclusion drawn from the source

    You must support inferences with detail.

  4. 4. Give the three elements a strong 'how useful' answer needs.

    Answer: Content, provenance and contextual knowledge, then a judgement

    Missing any one caps the mark.

  5. 5. A private diary written at the time is especially useful because:

    • • It was written for publication
    • • It records personal views without needing to persuade a public audience
    • • It is always accurate
    • • It has no purpose

    Answer: It records personal views without needing to persuade a public audience

    Private purpose reduces incentive to distort for propaganda.

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