A useful Social Studies guide for revision purposes, made to cater to help students prepare for their exams or studies in particular.

1. Strategy and Revision Guide

2. 
Strategise

3. 
 Source-Based Questions (SBQ)
 Skills-based
 Less memorising of content
 Structured Essay Questions (SEQ)
 Content-based
 Mostly memorising of content
SBQ or SEQ

4. 
 Panic attack is a common phenomenon in
examinations.
 Panic attack can cause difficulty in retrieving most of
the content which you have remembered.
 Start off with SEQ since the content that you
memorised is at the top of your head.
Recommendation

5. 
 Time Management
 Do set aside a fixed amount of time.
 So that you have time to attempt all questions.
 Total time (1hr 45mins = 105minutes)
 Split your time.
 Give yourself 35mins for SEQ.
 Leave yourself with 70mins for SBQ.
Recommendation

6. 
 Start off with the SEQ and choose the Theme which
you are most comfortable with.
 The universal format is PEEL.
 Give as much detail as you can from the content that
you have memorised.
SEQ

7. 
 To attain a higher level of marks, you need to be able
to present and construct your explanation clearly,
supported with details.
 Use the issue in the question to guide you. This is the
part where you get to ‘show off’ your thinking skills.
 To make it easier, imagine you trying to win an
argument, so you are trying to convince others to
accept your reasons or points.
SEQ

8. 
 Locate the “Compass Question” or “Question Issue”
above the Background Information.
 Every source given is answering that particular
question.
 Read the Background Information carefully.
 The BI can be used for the Cross Refer stage.
SBQ

9. 
 Read every Source and make annotations.
 Read the ‘Compass Question’, then read the Source.
 The answer that you get is basically the ‘Inference’.
 Underline/Highlight the lines or evidences that help
you arrive at that inference.
 Move on to the questions.
SBQ

10. 
 As you read the questions;
 Circle the keyword
 Underline the issue
 If there is no issue given in the question, refer back to the
‘Compass Question’.
 Different keywords will require different types of
answering techniques.
SBQ

11. 
 ‘What’
 Basic inference question
 ISEL
 ‘Why’
 Purpose question
 PISEL
 The ‘P’ requires 3 components.
 Audience
 Action by audience
 Impact (use the Compass Question as guide)
SBQ

12. 
 Study Sources __ and __
How different / similar are they?
 Comparison question
 4 components which can be compared (any 2)
 Source Type
 Provenance
 Content (Can be both similar and different)
 Purpose
 Find one difference and one similar.
 If you are able, attempt the purpose as it’s the highest
level attainable.
SBQ

13. 
 ‘Trust’, ‘Believe’, ‘Surprise’, ‘Reliable’, ‘Believe’
 Reliability question
 3 paragraphs
 Must state the stand at the end of each paragraph
 Imporant!
 Answer using the keyword used in the question.
 Offer your inference, support with evidence, explain
in own words, link back to question issue. State your
stand.
SBQ

14. 
 Answer the question directly.
I can believe/cannot believe Source __ in saying…
(inference based on issue)
From the source, “…”
(provide the evidence from source)
This means/suggests/implies/shows…
(explain in own words)
Therefore, I can believe/cannot believe what the
source says about…
(state your stand)
Reliability – Para 1

15. 
 Cross-Reference
Similarly/However, when I cross refer to Source __ ,
I find that Source __ supports/does not support Given Source
in saying that … (issue)
(Using another source to check the reliability of the given source)
In Source __ , it is mentioned that …
(provide the evidence from Source __ )
This means/suggests/implies/shows…
(explain in own words)
Therefore, Source __ proves that Given Source is reliable in
saying that … (issue). Since Given Source is reliable/not
reliable, I can believe/cannot believe Given Source.
(state your stand)
Reliability – Para 2

16. 
 Check Bias
When I check Given Source for bias, I find that it comes from …
(look at the Provenance – where the source comes from)
Since it comes from … (the provenance)…
(develop the provenance – is it related to the issue? Does it have any
reason to take sides. If it does, then it is biased. A source is not biased
only when it is a neutral party or when it provides both good and bad
points about the issue.)
Therefore, Given Source is bias/not bias. Since it is bias/not bias,
it is not reliable/reliable. Therefore, I can believe/cannot believe
Given Source about what it says … (issue)
(state your stand)
Reliability – Para 3

17. 
 ‘Useful’
 Exactly the same way as the Reliability technique.
 Difference is in the extra line for the stand.
Utility / Usefulness

18. 
 Para 1
Therefore, Given Source is useful/not useful to show … (issue)
 Para 2
Therefore, Source __ proves that Given Source is reliable in
saying that … (issue). Since Given Source is reliable/not
reliable, it is useful/not useful in showing … (issue)
 Para 3
Therefore, Given Source is bias/not bias. Since it is bias/not
bias, it is not reliable/reliable. Therefore, Given Source is
useful/not useful in showing … (issue)
Utility / Usefulness

19. 
The End