114 exam-style questions on Source Analysis — topic SK.Source_analysis of Skills in the IB History syllabus — with answers and explanations. Samples below; the full set is free with an account.
Determine what the 'purpose' of a historical source refers to when conducting OPCVL analysis.
Answer: Why it was made and for whom
Purpose asks why the source was made and for whom, which shapes judgements about its reliability and possible bias.
Suggest which factor most enhances the value of a government's internal, classified memorandum written at the time of a decision.
Answer: It was for internal use, revealing candid motives
A confidential internal document is not designed to persuade the public, so it often reveals genuine motives, increasing its value to a historian.
Determine the main limitation of a memoir written by a political leader many years after the events it describes.
Answer: It risks poor memory and self-justification
Retrospective memoirs risk faulty memory and self-justification, which limit reliability even though the author was a participant.
Explain what a historian is doing when they assess whether two sources support or contradict one another.
Answer: Cross-referencing (corroboration)
Comparing sources for agreement or contradiction is cross-referencing or corroboration, a core skill in weighing evidence.
Determine which question a historian asks to establish the 'value' of a source in OPCVL analysis.
Answer: In what ways is the source useful?
Value asks how a source is useful to a historian, reasoned from its origin and purpose, and is always paired with its limitations.
A historian compares two eyewitness accounts of the same battle written by soldiers on opposing sides. State what technique the historian is primarily using.
Answer: Corroboration
Checking one source against another independent source to test claims is corroboration (cross-referencing), a core method of source evaluation.
That was 6 of 114 Source Analysis questions.
Practise all 114 freeCompare and contrastAO2 · 2–6 marks
Similarities and differences, each linked to both items; an account of one after the other is not a comparison.
StateAO1 · 1–3 marks
One word or one short sentence. No explanation, no working: the mark is for the fact itself.
OutlineAO1 · 1–3 marks
A brief account or summary: the main points in two or three sentences, no evaluation.
114 Source Analysis questions — free with an account. Spaced repetition, streaks and full exam simulations included.
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