HISTORY GRADE 12 - EXAMINATION GUIDELINES 2021

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HISTORY
EXAMINATION GUIDELINES
GRADE 12
2021

TABLE OF CONTENTS  PAGE 
1. INTRODUCTION 3
2. ASSESSMENT IN GRADE 12
. PRESCRIBED TOPICS 5 		 4
5
3. ASSESSING SOURCE-BASED QUESTIONS   7
4. ASSESSING ESSAY QUESTIONS  9
5. CONCLUSION  11

1. INTRODUCTION
The Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) for Engineering Graphics and Design outlines the nature and purpose of the subject Engineering Graphics and Design. This guides the philosophy underlying the teaching and assessment of the subject in Grade 12.
The purpose of these Examination Guidelines is to:

  • Provide clarity on the depth and scope of the content to be assessed in the Grade 12 National Senior Certificate (NSC) Examination in Engineering Graphics and Design.
  • Assist teachers to adequately prepare learners for the NSC examinations.

This document deals with the final Grade 12 external examinations. It does not deal in any depth with the School-based Assessment (SBA), Performance Assessment Tasks (PATs) or final external practical examinations as these are clarified in a separate PAT document which is updated annually.
These Examination Guidelines should be read in conjunction with:

  • The National Curriculum Statement (NCS) Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS): Engineering Graphics and Design
  • The National Protocol of Assessment: An addendum to the policy document, the National Senior Certificate: A qualification at Level 4 on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF), regarding the National Protocol for Assessment (Grades R–12)
  • The national policy pertaining to the programme and promotion requirements of the National Curriculum Statement, Grades R–12

2. ASSESSMENT IN GRADE 12
Assessment in the FET phase comprises of essay and source-based questions.
The structure of the examination papers is follows:

  • In the September examination (preparatory) and final external examinations, Grade 12 learners will be required to write TWO question papers of 3 hours each. Both question papers will consist of SECTION A and SECTION B.
  • SECTION A consists of THREE (3) source-based questions. Candidates will be required to answer at least ONE SOURCE-BASED question in each question paper.
  • SECTION B consists of THREE (3) essay questions. Candidates will be required to answer at least ONE ESSAY question in each question paper.
  • A candidate will be required to answer THREE questions in total as follows:
    • ONE(1) source-based question
    • ONE(1) essay question
    • The THIRD question can be either a source-based question or an essay question
      Essay and source-based questions carry 50 marks each.
  • The total mark for each question paper is 150.

The prescribed topics for 2021 to 2023 will be assessed as follows:

SECTION A: SOURCE-BASED QUESTIONS PAPER 1 (ONE question per topic will be set)   SECTION B: ESSAY QUESTIONS PAPER 1 (ONE question per topic will be set) 

1. The Cold War
Question focus: The origins of the Cold War

  • End of Second World War (introduction); why did a Cold War develop?
  • The USSR and the USA and the creation of spheres of interest (Installation of Soviet-friendly governments in satellite states; USA's policy of containment; Truman Doctrine; Marshall Plan; the Berlin Crisis 1949–1961; Opposing military alliances: NATO and the Warsaw Pact
  • Who was to blame for the Cold War?
 		 1. The Extension of the Cold War – Case Study: Vietnam

Question focus: The stages in the war:

  • 1957–1965 Struggle in Vietnam between the South Vietnamese army and communist-trained rebels (also known as the Viet Cong)
  • 1965–1969 North Vietnamese–USA struggle (include the nature of the Vietnamese war against the USA)
  • The war from a Vietnamese and USA perspective
  • The war as a global issue
  • 1969–1975 USA withdrawal from Vietnam (impact on USA political student movements)

2. Independent Africa
Question focus: Africa in the Cold War:
Case study: Angola

  • Angola: colonialism and independence
  • Outbreak of civil war in 1974 (MPLA, FNLA and UNITA)
  • Reasons for and nature of involvement in Angola (USSR, USA, Cuba, China, South Africa); impact on regional stability
  • Significance of the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale 1987 and 1988
 		 2. Independent Africa

Question focus: How was independence realised in Africa in the 1960s and 1970s?
Case study: The Congo

  • What were the ideas that influenced the Congo?
  • Political (type of leader, legacies of colonialism, type of government, political stability and instability)
  • Economic (type of economy)
  • Social and cultural successes/challenges that the Congo faced (benefits of independence, education, Africanisation)

3. Civil society protests from the 1950s to the 1970s
Question focus: The US Civil Rights Movement

  • Reasons and origins of Civil Rights Movement in the USA
  • Role, impact and influence of Martin Luther King Jr; the influence of passive resistance (Gandhi) on Martin Luther King Jr
  • Forms of protest through civil disobedience: Montgomery Bus Boycott; Sit-ins; Freedom Riders; campaigns and marches including Birmingham Campaign, the march to Lincoln Memorial, Freedom Summer and the Selma-Montgomery marches
  • School desegregation: case study Little Rock Arkansas (as part of forms of protests OR as a case study)
  • Short-term and long-term gains
 		 3. Civil society protests from the 1950s to the 1970s

Question focus: The Black Power Movement

  • Reasons for the Black Power Movement
  • Formation of the Black Panther Party
  • Roles of Malcolm X, Stokely Carmichael, Huey Newton and other African American activists
  • Short-term and long-term gains
PAPER 2 (ONE question per topic will be set)  PAPER 2 (ONE question per topic will be set) 

1. Civil Resistance, 1970s to 1980s:

  • South Africa
    Question focus: The crisis of apartheid in the 1980s
  • Government attempts to reform apartheid (the 1982 Urban Bantu Authorities Act; the tri-cameral system)
  • Internal resistance to reforms
  • Growing power of the Trade Union Movement from 1973
  • Response to Botha's 'reforms' – new methods of mobilisation (labour's 'rolling mass action', roles of civics, UDF, Mass Democratic Movement and End Conscription Campaign and Black Sash)
 		  1. Civil Resistance, 1970s to 1980s:

South Africa
Question focus: The challenge of Black Consciousness to the apartheid state

  • The nature and aims of Black Consciousness
  • The role of Bantu Stephen Biko
  • Black Consciousness Movement (BCM)
  • The challenge posed by the ideas of Black Consciousness to the state
  • The 1976 Soweto uprising – briefly, relating to the influence of the BCM on the students
  • The legacy of Black Consciousness on South African politics

2. The coming of democracy to South Africa and coming to terms with the past
Question focus: The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)

  • Reasons for the TRC: Establishment and formations of sub-committees
  • Various forms of justice (retributive and restorative)
  • The debates concerning the TRC
    • Positive aspects of the TRC
    • Amnesty provisions and problems with amnesty
    • Focus on gross human rights violations of the 1980s
    • Reparations
  • Responses of political parties to the TRC and the final report of the TRC
  • Focus on various case studies, victims and perpetrators
 2. The coming of democracy to South Africa and coming to terms with the past

Question focus: Negotiated settlement
and the Government of National Unity

  • Beginning of negotiations 1989–1991
  • Breakdown of negotiations
  • Multi-party negotiation process resumes
  • Ongoing violence: attempts to derail negotiations
  • Final road to democracy in 1994
    (27 April 1994 election; the Government of National Unity [GNU])

3. The end of the Cold War and a new order 1989 to the present
Question focus: A new world order

  • What is globalisation?
  • Balance of power and impact on Africa
  • Dominance of global capitalism
  • Emerging economies and different forms of capitalism: BRICS
  • Responses to globalisation

3. The end of the Cold War and a new world order
Question focus: The impact of Gorbachev's reforms on the Soviet Union and South Africa

  • Gorbachev's reforms in the Soviet Union
  • Eastern Europe (overview or in broad outline): (events in Poland; significance of these events on the Soviet Union's influence in Eastern Europe; Germany;
    the fall of the Berlin Wall)
  • The disintegration of the Soviet Union
  • Turning point in South Africa (the collapse of the Soviet Union and its impact on South Africa)

 

3. ASSESSING SOURCE-BASED QUESTIONS
In the assessing of learners' ability to work with historical sources, the cognitive levels, the associated historical skills and the weighting of questions across grades must be taken into account. An elaboration is contained in the following table.

COGNITIVE LEVELS   HISTORICAL SKILLS   WEIGHTING OF QUESTIONS  TYPICAL QUESTIONS 
LEVEL 1
  • Extract evidence from sources
  • Selection and organisation of relevant information from sources
  • Define historical concepts/terms
 

 30%
(15)
  •  What information in the source tells you about ...?
  • Quote TWO reasons from the source ...
  • What do you understand by the term ...?
LEVEL 2 
  • Interpretation of evidence from sources
  • Explain information gathered from sources
  • Analyse evidence from sources

40%
(20) 
  • What message does the cartoonist convey regarding ...?
  • Explain in your own words ...
  • Why do you think ...?
LEVEL 3 
  •  Interpret and evaluate evidence from sources
  • Engage with sources to determine the usefulness, reliability, bias and limitations
  • Compare and contrast interpretations and perspectives presented in sources and draw independent conclusions
  30%
(15)
  • Explain to what extent the evidence in Source 1A ...
  • Compare the evidence in Sources 2A and 2B and explain how you would account for the differences ...
  • Comment on the usefulness/limitations/ reliability of the information in Sources 3C and 3D ...


In the assessment of source-based questions, the following must be taken into account with regard to the cognitive levels and the wording of typical questions:

  • All Level 1 type questions require learners to extract information from sources and define historical concepts. These questions will carry a maximum of 2 marks. Question verbs that will be used to phrase these source-based questions include, among others, list, quote, identify, name. Typical questions may be phrased for example: What information in the source tells you about ...? Quote FOUR reasons why ... What do you understand by the term ...?
  • All Level 2 questions require learners to interpret, analyse and engage with evidence from the sources. These questions will carry a maximum of between 4 to 6 marks. Question verbs that may be used to phrase these source-based questions include amongst others: explain, comment, describe and organise information logically from the sources. Typical questions may be phrased, for example: What message does the cartoonist convey about ...? Explain in your own words ... Why do you think ...?
  • All Level 3 questions require learners to explain, for example, the different perspectives in sources (compare/contrast), draw conclusions about the reliability and usefulness of sources, etc. These questions will carry a maximum of between 4 to 8 marks and may be assessed using an analytical/holistic rubric. Question verbs that will be used to phrase these source-based questions include, among others: compare or contrast, evaluate, assess, explain to what extent you would agree/disagree, comment on the reliability of the evidence in a source, explain the usefulness, comment on the consequences, explain the limitations, justify, etc. Typical questions may be phrased for example: Explain to what extent ... Compare the evidence in both Sources 1A and 1B and explain how you would account for the differences ... Comment on whether ...
  • Paragraph questions will carry about eight (8) marks and will be assessed using an analytical/ holistic rubric. Questions will be phrased where learners will be required to answer questions at Level 3 skills (compare/contrast; bias; usefulness; reliability). For example, explain the role, impact, causes, effects or significance of a specific historical event that is related to the respective key question. Typical questions may be phrased for example:
    • Using the information from the relevant sources and your own knowledge, write a paragraph explaining the impact/significance of ...
    • Explain why a historian would consider the information in both Sources 1A and 1B useful when studying the consequences of ...
    • In what ways is the cartoonist's view (Source 2C) supported by the evidence presented in the other two sources ...
    • Compare the evidence in Sources 3A and 3B and explain how the information in both sources differ regarding the ...
    • Explain why a historian might question the reliability of the evidence in Source 3C ...
    • Comment on the limitations of Source 3D for a historian studying …

4.ASSESSING ESSAY QUESTIONS
In the writing of essays, learners must be able to structure their argument in a logical and coherent manner. They need to select, organise and connect the relevant information so that they are able to present a reasonable sequence of facts or an effective argument to answer the question posed. It is essential that an essay has an introduction, a coherent and balanced body of evidence and a conclusion. In responding to essay questions learners should be able to:

  • Plan and structure an essay
  • Demonstrate a thorough knowledge and understanding of the topic
  • Select and use relevant information from their own knowledge to answer the question
  • Develop and sustain a relevant line of argument
  • Write logically and coherently

Typical questions may be phrased using the following descriptors, e.g. 'Critically discuss', 'Explain to what extent …', 'Comment on…', 'Evaluate …', 'Assess …'.
Keep the PEEL structure in mind when assessing an essay.

P  Point: The candidate introduces the essay by taking a line of argument/ making a major point.
Each paragraph should include a point that sustains the major point (line of argument) that was made in the introduction. 
E Explanation: The candidate should explain in more detail what the main point is about and how it relates to the question posed (line of argument).
E Example: The candidates should answer the question by selecting content that is relevant to the line of argument. Relevant examples should be given to sustain the line of argument
L Link: Candidates should ensure that the line of argument is sustained throughout the essay and is written coherently.


GLOBAL ASSESSMENT OF ESSAYS: TOTAL MARKS: 50

PRESENTATION

right
CONTENT 

down

 LEVEL 7
Very well planned and structured Good synthesis of information. Developed an original, well balanced and independent line of argument with the use of evidence, sustained and defended the argument throughout.
Independent conclusion is drawn from evidence to support the line of argument. 		 LEVEL 6
Very well planned and structured essay. Developed a relevant line of argument.
used to defend the argument 
Attempts to draw an independent conclusion from the evidence to support the line of argument.		 LEVEL 5
Well planned and structured essay.
Attempts to develop a clear argument. Conclusion drawn from the evidence to support the line of argument. 		 LEVEL 4
Planned and constructed an argument. Evidence is used to some extent to support the line of argument
Conclusions reached based on evidence. 		 LEVEL 3
Shows some evidence of a planned and constructed argument. Attempts to sustain a line of argument.
Conclusions not clearly supported by evidence. 		 LEVEL 2
Attempts to structure an answer.
Largely descriptive, or some attempt at developing a line of argument. No attempt to draw a conclusion 		 LEVEL 1
Little or no attempt to structure the essay. 
LEVEL 7
Question has been fully answered. Content selection fully relevant to line of argument. 		  47-50  43-46          
LEVEL 6
Question has been answered.
Content selection relevant to the line of argument. 		  43-46  40-42  38-39        
LEVEL 5
Question answered to a great extent. Content adequately covered and relevant. 		  38-39  39-37  34-35  30-33  28-29    
LEVEL 4
Question is recognisable in answer.
Some omissions or irrelevant content selection.		      30-33  28-29  26-27    
LEVEL 3
Content selection does relate to the question, but does not answer it, or does not always relate to the question.
Omissions in coverage. 		        26-27  24-25  20-23  
LEVEL 2
Question inadequately addressed.
Sparse content. 		          20-23  18-19  17-17
LEVEL 1
Question inadequately addressed or not at all.
Inadequate or irrelevant content.		            14-17  0-13

* Guidelines for allocating a mark for Level 1

  • Question not addressed at all/totally irrelevant content; no attempt to structure essay = 0
  • Question includes basic and generally irrelevant information; no attempt to structure the essay = 1–6
  • Question inadequately addressed and vague; no attempt to structure the essay = 7–13

5. CONCLUSION
This Examination Guidelines document is meant to articulate the assessment aspirations contained in the CAPS document. It is therefore not a substitute for the CAPS document which educators should teach to.
Qualitative curriculum coverage as enunciated in the CAPS cannot be overemphasised.

Last modified on Thursday, 24 June 2021 09:06
Published in Examination Guidelines 2021 Grade 12

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