The External Resources Exam

1. AS 91231
Resource Interpretation

2. Achievement Criteria
Achievement Achievement with
Merit
Achievement with
Excellence
• Examine sources of
an historical event
that is of significance
to New Zealanders.
• Examine in-depth
sources of an
historical event that
is of significance to
New Zealanders.
• Comprehensively
examine sources of an
historical event that is
of significance to New
Zealanders.

3. The Standard
• Analyse and evaluate evidence in historical
sources.
• You should expect 4 - 5 resources.
• You MUST
• highlight or
• Underline and
• Annotate the information.
• Ask questions about the Sources (Excellence)
• Write a SUMMARY Report of your findings.
• Essay
OR
• Paragraphs (Preferably)

4. Markers Comment
• While the summary report should contain the substantive portion of the
candidate response, markers should consider all of the evidence provided with
the candidate response when awarding a grade, including highlighting,
underlining, annotations, and notes.
• Excessive highlighting should not be mistaken for perceptive selection of
evidence.
• The schedule below provides possible responses at each grade level for the
individual questions within the sources of Part A.
• The summary report in Part B should be an amalgamation of these responses,
with the marker making an overall holistic judgment, also using any candidate
notes, highlighting etc on the sources as an aid to this process.
• Markers can be guided in their grade allocation by using the Grade Score Marking
(GSM) process for each question, but should also note that the Achievement
Standard does not require demonstration of competency in all of the skills in the
exam paper.

5. Explanatory Notes #1
• Comprehensively examine sources involves
using one or more historical skill(s) to show
perceptive understanding of sources.
• Showing perceptive understanding involves
‘reading between the lines’ to draw
conclusions that go beyond the immediately
obvious, and/or to raise relevant questions
(where appropriate) that demonstrate a high
degree of engagement with the source.
• It could involve selecting and explaining
evidence with an awareness of the
limitations of either the evidence or the basis
for making assumptions about it.

6. Explanatory Notes #2
• Historical skills include:
– Close reading
– Comprehension
– Extracting meaning.
• Historical skills can identify concepts such as:
– Perspectives
– Reliability or bias
– Continuity and change
– Intent and motivation
– Cause and effect.
– Specific and general

7. Historical Relationships
• A resource may present alternative views ideas about a topic, an idea, person or
event, you will need to consider these relationships in your answer.
1. Cause and effect.
– What was the cause and the short/long term effects
1. Past and present.
– How it was seen/viewed at the time and how it is seen/viewed in the present day.
1. The specific and general.
– What could be considered specific view of a particular person, idea or event as opposed to the
general view. (at the time or in the present)
1. Continuity and Change.
– What has remained the same since then or changed over time (often a viewpoint)
1. Intent or Motivation
– What did the Author intend for the source to achieve
1. Reliability
– How reliable is this piece of evidence? How useful is it to a Historian?
1. Bias
– An opinion/statement without any rational evidence to back it up.

8. Valid Judgements
– You will need to make judgements based on what is in front of you.
– This may be based on the type of resource, personal views, historical or
government reports.
– distinguishing fact from opinion.
• Newspapers ie beware Editorials and letters
• Letters home – beware of hyperbole
• Diary entries or journals
• Official Reports
– recognising specific points of view, bias and propaganda.
• Newspapers with an agenda – some are conservative some are liberal
• Letters are written by individuals whose viewpoint is limited by their experience.
• Diaries are written by individuals whose viewpoint is limited by their experience.
– being aware of the limitations of a single piece of evidence.
• Point of view or agendas held or bias
• Limited information, point of view
– considering the reliability, validity and usefulness of evidence.
• Compared to other possible sources
• Viewpoint or agendas.
• The actual source of the Information
• What is NOT in the resource, what is missing and why is it not there?

9. Topic: Reverend Waddell and Sweating
On 30th
September 1888 the Reverend Rutherford Waddell delivered a sermon to the St.
Andrew's congregation of central Dunedin on the 'sin of cheapness'. It was to prove the most
influential sermon in New Zealand history. ....he urged his congregation not to commit the 'sin
of cheapness'. Constant seeking of bargains [by consumers] only forced down wages, causing
misery to working people.
Dunedin was fast becoming like London where middlemen [Factory Owners] 'sweated' labour
to enhance their profits. Women were the most common victims of this iniquitous practice;
Waddell cited the case of a widow who was paid 2 pennies for finishing a pair of trousers.
These disclosures shocked his congregation, some of whom wrote to the Otago Daily Times.
Their letters caught the attention of the paper's managing director, George Fenwick, who sent
reporters out to investigate the operation of the factory system in Dunedin. This inquiry
revealed many abuses and a full-scale scandal broke in the early part of 1889.
Milestones: Turning Points in New Zealand History
Tom Brooking – Prof of History Otago University

10. Distinguishing fact from opinion:
THE REV. MR WADDELL AND SOCIALISM. TO THE EDITOR.
Sir, —Upon the whole I agree with ‘Civis' estimate of Mr Waddell ‘s lecture, but
as your correspondent ‘Sigma’ has suggested that your report of Mr Waddell's
lecture which appeared on the 26th. ult. was incorrect, permit me to say that I
have made inquiry of a gentleman who was present when the lecture was
given, and he informed me that your resume was fairly correct, and that if the
lecturer's opinions differed from the opinions of the Socialists under review, it
was in the main impossible to tell which was the lecturer's and which the
Socialists. I may add that the gentleman I refer to is friendly to Mr Waddell, and
not at all likely to judge him harshly. -l am, etc.
August 6. J. Wood.
Otago Daily Times , 7 August 1888, Page 4
Who are these people?

11. Recognising specific points of view, bias and propaganda.
Sweating: Work or Slavery?
• Journalists discovered that the worst abuses were being perpetrated on women
working in the textile industry and boys involved in shoe making and printing. High
levels of male unemployment forced more women out to work; by 1890 3000
women were employed in Dunedin. Because women earned much less than men,
they helped employers reduce costs. Most worked long hours for low rates of pay
in dirty, noisy and sometimes dangerous conditions. A 72-hour week made up of
six 13-hour days was common and the standard rate for such long hours was a
meagre 9 shillings (90c) a week. Factory workers, however, were better off than
those who took work home on a piece rate basis. Outworkers were very poorly
paid. One bag maker was paid 2 shillings for stitching a gross (144) of 25-pound
bags. She in turn employed girls whom she paid 71/2 pence (7.5c) per gross of 25
pound bags. After paying all her expenses the woman's income had been reduced
from £1 2s 6d to 18 shillings a week while her girls were paid the merest pittance.
Milestones: Turning Points in New Zealand History
Tom Brooking.

12. Being aware of the limitations: THE SWEATING COMMISSION, 1890
Evidence on the benefits of trade union activities from Ellen Wilson, a Dunedin shirt-
finisher.
ELLEN WILSON examined.
“I am a shirt finisher... The best week I had then, working hard, was 10s. 6d.;
that was working from 9 in the morning till 11 at night, with no hours off
for meals.”
“I got about ten minutes for dinner, and when I got home at night I used to
take a short time to do a little extra cooking; but I could scarcely take time
to get my meals.”
“I can now make 12s. to 13s. a week; and a good finisher would make 18s. a
week inside the eight hours per day. I can make 12s. per week now,
working eight hours per day, whereas before it took me fourteen hours to
make 1s. 10½d.”
[Shirt Finishers worked from Home attaching collars, buttons or cuffs and
were usually paid by the number of shirts completed]

13. Considering the reliability, validity and usefulness of evidence : THE SWEATING
COMMISSION, 1890: Evidence on the benefits of trade union activities from Harriet
Morrison, Vice-President of the Tailoresses' Union,
Miss HARRIET MORRISON examined.
“I am Vice-president of the Tailoresses' Union.... Working ordinary hours in
the factory, the girls earn 2s. 6d. per day. When they take work home,
perhaps they could make an extra shilling. Including both day and night
work, they could earn 3s. 4d., not including Saturday. This was previous to
the establishment of the Union.”
“It [membership of the Union] has stopped entirely the taking of work home.
Since the formation of the Union I have made it my business to inquire
strictly, and keep a very strict watch. I have others to watch too, for me,
with the exception of one or two instances which have: been done away
with since....”

14. Fighting the Sweating Dragon
– distinguishing fact
from opinion.
– recognising specific
points of view, bias
and propaganda.
– being aware of the
limitations of a
single piece of
evidence.
– considering the
reliability, validity
and usefulness of
evidence.
St. George (Harriet Morrison) fighting the Sweating Dragon (1892)

15. Von Tempskys death
– distinguishing fact
from opinion.
– recognising
specific points of
view, bias and
propaganda.
– being aware of the
limitations of a
single piece of
evidence.
– considering the
reliability, validity
and usefulness of
evidence.

16. Port Nicholson in 1840
– distinguishing fact
from opinion.
– recognising
specific points of
view, bias and
propaganda.
– being aware of the
limitations of a
single piece of
evidence.
– considering the
reliability, validity
and usefulness of
evidence.

17. Vogels Migration Scheme
– distinguishing fact
from opinion.
– recognising
specific points of
view, bias and
propaganda.
– being aware of the
limitations of a
single piece of
evidence.
– considering the
reliability, validity
and usefulness of
evidence.
Source: NZHistory.net for the Ministry of Culture & Heritage

18. Marking for Grade Score Marking
NØ No response; no relevant evidence.
N1 Little relevant information noted.
N2
The response is substantively incorrect even if there are one or more correct
points (ie, the requirement to satisfactorily demonstrate ‘understanding’ has
not been met). For example:
Source One: ONE perspective identified with some evidence, OR TWO
perspectives identified but NO valid evidence.
Source Two: one or more points incorrectly identified
Source Three: one or more points incorrectly identified AND / OR inaccurate
reliability assessment
Source Four: one or more points incorrectly identified AND / OR inaccurate
reliability assessment.

19. GSM: Achieved
ACHIEVEMENT
Possible Coverage of Source 1 and Source 2
A3 TWO perspectives are described, with limited relevant evidence.
A4 TWO perspectives are described, with some relevant evidence.
Possible Coverage of Source 3
A3 ONE relevant piece of information is described.
A4 TWO relevant pieces of information are described.
Possible Coverage of Source 4
A3
ONE valid comment on reliability is described OR ONE valid piece of information is
identified.
A4
ONE valid comment on reliability is described AND ONE valid piece of information
is identified.

20. GSM: Excellence
ACHIEVEMENT WITH EXCELLENCE
Possible Coverage of Source 1 and Source 2
E7 TWO perspectives explained with detailed relevant evidence.
E8 TWO perspectives perceptively explained with detailed relevant evidence.
Possible Coverage of Source 3
E7 TWO relevant pieces of information are explained in detail with relevant evidence.
E8
TWO relevant pieces of information are explained in detail and perceptively with
relevant evidence.
Possible Coverage of Source 4
E7
ONE valid comment on reliability is explained in detail AND ONE valid piece of
information is explained in detail.
E8
ONE valid comment on reliability is explained in detail and perceptively AND ONE
or more valid pieces of information is explained perceptively.