World War One Practice Exam
Questions
Trench Warfare
Hints and clues to answering exam
questions
• Read through all the questions.
• If the question asks you to use Source and Recall,
write SR, (Source and Recall), next to it.
• If the question asks you how useful, or how reliable the
source is, write WWWW, (Who, What, When, Why),
next to it.
This gives you a clue about how to answer the question.
Start answering the questions:
• Always read through the source, and then the
question.
• Go back and read through the source again, and
underline any bits you think would be useful to use
as a quote in your answer.
• Think carefully about what sort of answer is
expected. Is it SR or WWWW?
Source A is a photograph taken in 1917 on the
Western Front
3. How useful is Source A as evidence of
the conditions in which men fought in the
First World War?
If the question is a WWWW question:
Your answer MUST be structured, (written out), in the proper
way:
i. Introduction sentence
ii. First paragraph about the Origin of the source, (who wrote
the source, when it was written, and what the source is),
iii. Second paragraph about the Purpose of the source, (why it
was written),
iv. Third paragraph to include quotes from the Source to back
up what you have said about why it was written.
v. Conclusion where you directly answer the question about
how useful/reliable the Source is, (do not say it is not
useful).
You must include relevant quotes from the Source.
You must include relevant information from Recall, (your own
Source ____ is of value
in___________________
_____________________
____________
because it is an extract
from
_____________________
___________ .
[write the topic you have been
asked about]
Origin
[say who wrote the source,
when, and what the source is]
If it is a primary source ADD
“The author had the benefit of
being there at the time”
If it is a secondary source, the
writer has the benefit of
hindsight, so you should ADD
something like: “As a historian
he has more evidence from
which to draw conclusions”
e.g. Source A is of
value as evidence
of the conditions
in which men
fought in the First
World War,
e.g. because it is a
photograph taken in
1917 on the Western
Front. As an original
photograph taken at
the time it is a
primary source, so
may be a picture
showing what
conditions were like.
This source was
possibly written to
______________
_____________ .
Purpose
[write why you think the
source was written e.g. to
place the blame] Always
write “possibly”.
e.g. This source was produced
possibly to keep a record of
what conditions on the
Western Front were like, or
maybe to show people at the
time how horrific it was.
Content
The source
shows
______________
______________
____________ .
quote from the source OR
give a detailed description of
the picture
Your quotes from the source
should back up why the
source was written.
You can add additional
information to explain what
has been said/shown in the
source.
e.g. The source shows wet,
muddy conditions, with
wounded or dead soldiers
laying on ladders being used
as stretchers. Soldiers are
using the ladders to cross
large craters of muddy water,
and others are queuing up
with further ladders, possibly
in order to collect more bodies.
The photo possibly shows the
aftermath of a battle, and the
clearing up exercise.
Recall
Add additional information
from your own memory
e.g. Conditions on the Western
Front were terrible, and this
photograph shows it clearly.
Many men got trench foot from
living in the wet, muddy
conditions. Bomb craters filled
with water and soldiers
drowned. The source shows
how horrific the work after a
battle was, clearing the bodies
of your comrades.
In conclusion this source
is very useful as evidence
of ___________as it is a
_______________ by
________________. He
uses the ________ to
show
_____________________
______________.
Answer the question:
a. Summarise what you
have already written into
one sentence.
b. Try to include WHO, and
WHY.
e.g. In conclusion this
source is very useful as
evidence of the
conditions in which men
fought in the First World
war as it is an original
photograph taken at the
time. Some
photographs were taken
as propaganda, and
these could be staged,
but this photo looks as if
it was taken to show
what actual conditions
were like.
In Source A George Coppard describes his experiences of
the First World War
Source A
The Battalion moved up the communication trench to the
front line trench at a snail’s pace, suffering heavy casualties
from shrapnel fire. We passed stretcher bearers with the
wounded and groups of tired troops going to the rear. We
would soon be in the attack on the German front line.
1. What methods of fighting were used on the
Western Front in the First World War?
SR question
Source
Trench warfare
Machine guns causing
shrapnel
Recall
System of trenches
Weapons
Source B is about conditions on the Western Front
Source B
The trenches stretched from the Swiss Alps to the English
Channel. In these trenches, soldiers were often knee-deep
in mud. Many were drowned when they slipped into flooded
shell holes. When the temperature dropped they suffered
from frost-bite.
2. Describe conditions for soldiers in the trenches
on the Western Front.
SR question
Source
Trenches
Mud
Drowning in shell holes
Cold – frost-bite
Recall
Living in trenches
Trenchfoot
Wet, sleeping in trench
or dugouts
Tinned food
Rats
Using limbs as hooks