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Coursework Training
Handbook
Cambridge IGCSE®
American History (BES)
0409
Cambridge Secondary 2
Cambridge International Examinations retains the copyright on all its publications. Registered Centres are
permitted to copy material from this booklet for their own internal use. However, we cannot give permission
to Centres to photocopy any material that is acknowledged to a third party even for internal use within a
Centre.
® IGCSE is the registered trademark of Cambridge International Examinations.
© Cambridge International Examinations 2014.
Contents
Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1
Section 1: The coursework component ............................................................................... 5
1.1 The structure and content of coursework
1.2 The nature of the assessment objectives
Section 2: Planning and teaching coursework in your school............................................. 13
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
2.6
2.7
When to do coursework
Constructing coursework tasks
Designing a scheme of work
Teaching and learning for coursework
Producing an extended piece of writing
Circumstances under which learners complete coursework and the role of the teacher
Support provided for teachers by Cambridge
Section 3: Marking coursework ......................................................................................... 21
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
Some basic points
Main features of the generic mark scheme
Using the mark scheme
Annotation of coursework
Marked samples
Section 4: Managing the administration of coursework ..................................................... 47
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
Internal standardisation
Internal moderation
Recording and dispatching of marks
The sample of work for external moderation
Section 5: How to become an accredited coursework assessor .......................................49
5.1 Accreditation
Appendices ....................................................................................................................... 61
Appendix 1: Ideas for teaching ‘significance’
Appendix 2: The Research Portfolio: Cover Sheet
Appendix 3: The Individual Candidate Record Card
Appendix 4: The Coursework Assessment Summary Form
Introduction
Introduction
Advice and guidance
This handbook is a guide to the delivery of Component 3 (Coursework) of Cambridge IGCSE American
History (BES) (0409). It contains the following:
•
details of the coursework requirements
•
an explanation of the assessment objectives
•
advice on setting coursework assignments
•
advice on marking coursework
•
marked examples of learners’ work
•
unmarked examples of learners’ work for accreditation purposes.
The coursework component of IGCSE American History (0409) is marked by Centres themselves. A
sample of that marking is then sent to Cambridge where it is scrutinised by a senior examiner (the External
Moderator), to ensure accuracy and consistency across the total entry for the qualification, and from one
year to the next. Where inaccuracies and inconsistencies are found in the marking all the coursework
marks affected will be appropriately adjusted. In extreme (and rare) cases, inconsistent marking can lead
to the need to review the marking of the whole of a Centre’s entry. This can cause delays in the delivery of
results. It is therefore in the interests of your candidates to ensure that your own Centre’s marking aligns
to the quality standard as closely as possible. Cambridge advises that all teachers involved in delivering the
IGCSE American History programme carry out the training using the Coursework Training Handbook. One
accredited coursework assessor should be selected to oversee the accuracy and consistency of the marking
of all teachers in the Centre for this qualification (i.e. to act as an internal moderator).
In addition, the Coursework Training Handbook is an excellent resource for training all teachers involved
in the delivery and marking of coursework, on what to expect of themselves and what to expect from
their learners. It is useful for standardising the approach to the coursework teaching, and aligning it to
the assessment criteria. Only one teacher in a Centre need apply for accreditation and though it is not
mandatory, it is ideal if all relevant teachers are accredited.
Accreditation
In addition to the general guidance, this handbook also provides an accreditation route for teachers wishing
to become accredited coursework assessors for Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES) (0409). If you
are seeking accreditation it is important that you read through the whole publication before attempting the
accreditation tasks.
To obtain accreditation, the following tasks must be completed and any marks, comments or
required responses recorded on copies of the forms provided in Section 5. These must then be sent
to Cambridge for appraisal, together with copies of your annotated Accreditation Samples and the
Cover Sheet provided. (You will find the postal address on the Cover Sheet). You can also scan all the
completed forms and your annotated Accreditation Samples, and email them to us at info@cie.org.uk
putting Teacher Accreditation in the subject line.
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
1
Introduction
The accreditation test comprises the following tasks:
•
work through the marked examples in Section 3 of this handbook and attempt to mark them using the
mark schemes provided in that section, comparing your marks to those of the moderator provided.
When you are satisfied that your understanding of how to apply the mark scheme agrees with that of
the moderator you will be ready to attempt the Accreditation Test.
•
copy the Cover Sheet, the Accreditation Submission Forms and the Accreditation Samples A and B on
pages 54–59 of this handbook.
•
using Accreditation Submission Form 1 devise a potential coursework task comprising a set of sources,
a key question, and a mark scheme. Provide a brief explanation of how the task gives candidates both
the scope and opportunity to measure significance and to use the sources in line with the requirements
of the generic mark scheme.
•
mark the two Accreditation Samples (A and B) on pages 55 and 58. Please give each answer a level
and a mark in each Assessment Objective. Using Accreditation Submission Forms 2 and 3, provide
brief summative comments explaining why the answer has been placed into a particular level in
each Assessment Objective and why it has been given the mark. Also provide marginal comments
throughout the answer commenting on how the answer is developing in relation to the Assessment
Objectives.
Please allow between four and six weeks for the moderator to assess the work that you submit and for
Cambridge to inform you of the outcome.
You will be notified of the outcome of your application by post. Where your application has been successful
you will receive a certificate and a feedback report. Where accreditation has not been awarded, you will
receive feedback on how you might improve your performance and will be invited to try again. Applications
can be submitted as many times as necessary to secure accredited coursework assessor status but there
will be an administrative fee on each occasion. Details of this can be found on the Cambridge website
www.cie.org.uk.
If your application has not been successful this does not mean that you will no longer be able to teach.
It simply means that you should not moderate the marking of other IGCSE Cambridge American History
coursework teachers in your school.
This handbook contains the following sections:
Section 1: The coursework component
This section provides a comprehensive explanation of the key features of Cambridge IGCSE American
History (0409) coursework (Component 3).
The section includes:
2
•
an explanation of the structure and content of the coursework option, including what learners have
to do, and what their completed work should look like. This is the best place to start if you wish to
understand the basic nature and requirements of coursework
•
an explanation of the Assessment Objectives and how they can be met. It contains guidance about
what qualities would be expected in a good piece of extended writing and what is meant by terms
such as ‘significance’, ‘relevance’, ‘deployment’ and ‘critical use of sources’ which appear in the mark
scheme.
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
Introduction
Section 2: Planning and teaching coursework in your school
This section offers advice that is particularly useful if you are teaching this qualification for the first time,
including:
•
when, during the course, it is best to begin coursework
•
what considerations to bear in mind when choosing a site or object for coursework and providing a set
of sources
•
guidance on how to construct coursework questions. It is essential that the questions that are set
enable learners to demonstrate the skills and understanding in the mark scheme.
•
guidance on how to construct a mark scheme for your coursework question
•
how to develop a scheme of work for coursework
•
some ideas about how and when to develop the skills and understanding needed for coursework
•
an explanation of the circumstances under which learners complete the work. Coursework differs from
both examinations and controlled assessment (work conducted in timed conditions in the classroom that
is used by some awarding bodies) and this section explains how. It also provides guidance on the role
and responsibilities of the teacher while learners are completing their work
•
an explanation of the support provided by Cambridge.
Section 3: Marking coursework
This section aims to familiarise you with the mark scheme and how to apply it, and offers some good
practice advice on internal moderation. It provides:
•
an explanation of the main features of the generic mark scheme
•
advice on how to apply the mark scheme using a ‘best fit’ approach
•
advice on annotating coursework and how to conduct internal moderation
•
six example coursework assignments on which you can practise your application of the assessment
criteria guided by marks and comments provided by the moderator.
Section 4: Managing the administration of coursework
This section offers an explanation of the administrative processes relating to the coursework component
and includes:
•
advice on internal standardisation and moderation
•
advice on how to record and send us the marks, and an explanation of the forms that need to be
completed
•
an explanation of how external moderation works and the teacher’s part in this, along with advice on
how to prepare the external moderation sample
•
examples of the administrative forms involved in this process.
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
3
Introduction
Section 5: How to become an accredited coursework assessor
This section provides instructions on how to take the accreditation test and submit your application once
you have worked through the rest of the handbook. It includes:
4
•
instructions
•
Cambridge IGCSE Coursework Assessor Accreditation Cover Sheet
•
Accreditation Submission Forms for tasks 1 and 2
•
Accreditation Samples A and B.
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
Section 1: The coursework component
Section 1: The coursework component
Teachers of Cambridge IGCSE American History (0409) must enter their candidates for three components.
The content for Components 1 and 2 is dictated by the syllabus, although each contains an element of
choice. Component 3 (coursework) offers teachers the opportunity to devise a task specific to their own
location, focusing on a local site or object.
1.1 The structure and content of coursework
1.1.1 Content
Component 3 of IGCSE American History requires that candidates produce one piece of extended writing
(between 1400 and 1600 words in length). This can be based either on a local site or on an object with local
associations. Teachers will need to ensure that they provide relevant contextual material to enable learners
to judge the significance of the site or object, as well as providing a pack of source material on which
learners can base their coursework.
The coursework must be approved by Cambridge in advance. It is expected that about one-fifth of the
timetable for this subject will be spent on teaching and learning about the site or object and its context, and
on the completion of the coursework in line with the weighting given to this Component.
1.1.2 The task
Learners must complete one question on the site or object. The question should be sufficiently general
and broad to allow learners some degree of flexibility in deciding the aspects of the site or object they are
studying. However, it must allow learners to draw on and demonstrate their broad contextual knowledge
and understanding of the long-term context as well as using the site or object and other sources, to draw
conclusions.
The question you set for the coursework must not be directly addressed during the teaching and learning of
the context. (There will be more detail on this in section 2.4.)
The question should be focused on the issue of ‘significance’. This will be the significance of the site or
object at the time it was developed or created and within a long-term temporal framework.
The task must be set as one question. It should not be broken down into a series of smaller questions by
the teacher, although the learners may approach the task by this method, breaking down the question into
sub-questions.
It is very common for all the learners in a Centre to complete coursework on the same site or object.
However, it is permissible for different sites or objects to be studied by different teaching sets within
the same Centre. If this happens, then each coursework task must be submitted for moderation
(see section 4.4).
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
5
Section 1: The coursework component
1.1.3 Learners’ responses
Learners’ responses should be no longer than 1600 words in length. Any part of the answer beyond 1600
words must not be assessed. The footnotes and bibliography do not form part of the coursework for the
purposes of the word count. Coursework may be produced in class or in the learners’ own time. However,
the Centre must ensure that coursework is the learner’s own work.
Coursework must be the learner’s own work. Any quotations, copied or paraphrased material must be fully
acknowledged. This can be done within the text of the answer or in footnotes. The sources used, whether
cited in footnotes or not, must be listed in the bibliography.
Learners should select relevant material from historical sources and organise and deploy it relevantly to
answer the question. They should also develop, explain and support their own arguments and judgements
using the source material provided by the Centre and additional material from their own research. They
should try to avoid description and narrative, and focus on producing a clear and supported answer to the
question. Learners should therefore be encouraged to develop and use their own arguments, judgements
and points of view. In order to access all the marks available, learners will need to produce an extended
piece of writing. It is permissible for learners requiring greatest support to use sub-headings.
Learners should not be encouraged to use the generic mark scheme as a check list to tick off aspects
of their response. They should instead try to write a focused, informed, and well-argued answer to the
question. It is important that learners understand that the markers and moderators are not interested in how
much they know or can write; they are only interested in how well learners have used the sources and the
evidence inferred from them to answer the question.
Once coursework has been assessed, learners are not allowed to repeat the task or redraft their work.
1.1.4 Marking and moderating
The generic mark scheme in the syllabus booklet must be used for marking coursework (a copy of this has
been included on p.22 of this handbook for convenience). Alternative versions of this mark scheme must
not be used. Coursework is marked out of 25 marks by the Centre and is then externally moderated by
Cambridge. The weightings of the Assessment Objectives are:
AO2 10 marks, AO4 15 marks.
Where multiple teachers are involved the Centre must ensure that marking is standardised though an
Internal Moderation process (see Section 4). Where the original mark and that of the Internal Moderator
differ, then the mark of the latter should stand and be submitted for External Moderation.
1.2 The nature of the assessment objectives
1.2.1 Assessment Objective 2
The concept of ‘significance’
It is important that teachers, learners and moderators share a common understanding of how the concept
of significance should be used in coursework. The terms ‘importance’ and ‘significance’ are often used
interchangeably in general speech, so it is important that teachers and learners understand how these terms
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Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
Section 1: The coursework component
are used within the context of IGCSE American History. It is helpful to think of ‘importance’ as referring to
the results or consequences of an event, action or idea – something finite. The focus is on the immediate
outcomes or impact of the event, action or idea, rather than on the long-term effects it might have had in
the context of broader changes that will have occurred over time. It is important that, in your teaching about
the concept of significance, you are consistent in these explanations.
For example, a question that asks how far the Quartermaster Depot contributed to the founding of Yuma,
AZ, might involve a learner in comparing the role of the Quartermaster Depot with other factors, such as
the siphon or the narrowness of the River Colorado that create a good crossing point. Thus the question
becomes one of causation, and the answers explain the causes of the initial growth of Yuma.
A question about the significance of the Quatermaster Depot could be asked in the form ‘How far was the
Quartermaster Depot significant to the development of Yuma?’ The context now covers a broader temporal
period and the question concerns the evaluation of other contributory factors in the ongoing development of
Yuma, crucially identifying changing functions over time. This forces learners to evaluate and select from a
range of information in the light of the changing nature of Yuma over an extensive period.
A good approach to answering this question might therefore be to:
•
establish a pattern of development in Yuma from the mid-nineteenth century, starting with the California
gold rushes;
•
assess the impact of the decision to site the Quartermaster Depot at this point on the Colorado River,
on the pattern of development of Yuma;
•
assess the impact of the railway, and consequent closure of the Quartermaster Depot, on the pattern of
development of Yuma;
•
assess the impact of the development of the site as a State Historic Park on Yuma;
•
reach an overall conclusion about how the significance of the site could be characterised.
On the basis of this approach it might be valid to argue that the significance of the site changed over time.
When measuring significance, learners should try to measure both the explicit impact of a site or object
at the time and over longer-term. They should also measure the changing context of the site or object by
analysing its relationship to prior and subsequent events and situations. This can be shown in diagrammatic
form as a cross.
relationship to prior events/situations
extent of impact at the time
extent of impact in the long-term
b
relationship to subsequent
events
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
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Section 1: The coursework component
Criteria can then be used to help measure the extent of significance. These might include:
Significance at the time
Width of impact
•
How many people, groups or institutions were affected?
•
Were different types of people affected (e.g. rich/poor)?
•
Were men/women affected to the same degree?
•
Were different parts of the area/state/country affected in the same way?
•
How wide, geographically, was the impact?
Depth of impact
•
How deeply were people’s lives, practices, beliefs and attitudes affected?
•
How far were other aspects, e.g. institutions, power relationships, changed?
•
For how long were people affected?
•
What kind of reaction was caused?
Nature of impact
•
How far was it beneficial?
•
How typical or unique?
•
How expected/unexpected?
•
How reported/how received?
•
How iconic/symbolic?
Significance in the long-term
•
How much of a change occurred between what went before and what came after (e.g. how far was it a
turning point)?
•
How much continuity occurred between what went before and what came after (e.g. how far was it part
of a trend)?
•
How far did it affect things in the longer term (e.g. was it a false dawn, how long did the impact last)?
Linking claims to the appropriate evidence
Whatever claim is made about the significance of the site or object, it must be justified with appropriate
evidence drawn from sources. In the case of significance at the time, sources relating to the time that the
site was developed, or the object made, will provide appropriate evidence. However, in judging the long-term
significance of a site or object, learners will need to deploy knowledge about the situation beforehand and
what happened afterwards. Teachers will need to consider this when compiling sources for learners to use.
Evaluation of the research
To make progress, learners must be able to evaluate their project. This requires the learner to stand
back from the process of researching and writing to identify what went well and what problems were
encountered. The evaluation should take the form of a brief paragraph at the conclusion of the main
submission. In this paragraph, the learner should consider issues such as the nature and availability of
source material, and the extent to which the evidence contained in it was sufficient to allow the learner to
answer the question. Learners should identify additional sources (rather than simply information) that could
enhance or extend their research.
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Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
Section 1: The coursework component
1.2.2 Assessment Objective 4
This assessment objective as it relates to coursework is about the ability to select relevant, reliable material
from sources and then organise and deploy it relevantly in order to respond to a particular question.
The skill of selection
When starting their coursework, the first task for learners will be to think about what the question is
asking and what answering it will involve; they can then begin to select what material might be useful and
relevant. Their priority should be to use the source pack to select material. Learners will have access to their
knowledge of the topic, their pack of sources, class work, textbooks and perhaps reference books and the
internet. They need to select examples from all this content that will be useful and relevant. This stage of
the process is vital because the challenge for most learners will be to provide an answer to the question
within 1600 words.
For example, if a learner is asked to assess the significance of a site, they might decide that it had a
significant impact on the economy of the area. They should then select material about employment,
businesses and commerce in the area before as well as after the development of the site. Learners should
understand that a comprehensive answer to the question is not expected when only 1600 words are
available. They need to select what they regard as the most important features that allow them to construct
and support an argument about significance.
Answers that consider two or three aspects (of significance) relevantly and in depth will always score
higher marks than answers that try to cover many more aspects because each will be dealt with
only superficially. It should be noted that ‘relevant’ is a key word in the mark scheme. Coursework that
contains substantial sections of irrelevant material (e.g. long-winded descriptive introductions, or extensive
descriptions of the site or object that are not related to the aspect of significance under consideration) will
be failing against one of the key criteria and this will affect the level into which it can be placed.
The skill of deployment
Once learners have selected some relevant material and examples from the given context, they need to
think about how they are going to deploy these relevantly to answer the question. It is not uncommon to
read work where the learners have chosen relevant material and good examples but have failed to use them
in the right way. Sometimes this is because they have used them for a description or a narrative that fails
to address the significance of the site or object explicitly. A developmental account may cover the relevant
period and topic, yet fail to make any assessment of the significance of the site or object that is the focus of
the coursework.
Learners need to remember that their central task is to answer the question. Every paragraph should be
helping to drive the answer along. The material and examples selected by the learner should specifically
support the argument the learner is making and the interpretation they have arrived at from studying the
historical evidence. Learners will achieve only lower-level marks if they describe or simply narrate the
development of the economy in the location of the site, or if they simply assert that the site was significant
to the economy. Learners should write an interpretation of the evidence, building a case, for example, to
establish the contribution the site has made to the development of the economy over time. The learner
needs to demonstrate their grasp of the meaning of change and continuity in relation to the focus of the
question and select the historical evidence that supports their own understanding of events.
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
9
Section 1: The coursework component
The skill of organisation
Answers may demonstrate good, relevantly deployed material, but nevertheless not articulate an
effective answer. Answers need to be well-organised and coherent, and tackle the question in a logical
order, identifying how the material builds up and supports the main thrust of their argument. Above all, as
the answer proceeds, a clear and consistent argument should be emerging.
For example, let’s take the question ’Assess the significance of the railroad station and depot at Tucson,
Arizona.’ A learner might divide their answer into four parts:
(i) examining the transport links in Tucson before 1880 and the ways in which they affected the area,
(ii) considering how far the coming of the railroad changed what was already happening in the short-term
(perhaps by 1890);
(iii) considering what happened after 1890 to establish whether the impact was long-lasting or whether
other factors came into play;
(iv) reaching an overall assessment of the significance of the railroad station and depot based on the earlier
sections.
Argument and judgement
It is important that learners develop their own views and arguments. A moderator will need to see
evidence that learners in a Centre express different views and arguments. Learners should be encouraged
to understand that there are no correct answers to their coursework question. The same question may
produce dozens of different answers, all of them may be valid. However, learners should understand that
their views and arguments need to be supported by sound and accurate knowledge, relevant and wellchosen examples, and a good understanding of the history. The latter will focus on the learners’ grasp of
the concept of significance. To judge this effectively learners must understand the points of view of people
in the past, their attitudes and ideas, and change and continuity and its causes. To present a convincing
argument, learners will need to display a wide range of knowledge relevant to these concepts in relation to
the site or object that forms the focus of the coursework.
The critical use and evaluation of sources
In answering the question, learners are expected to select their material from historical sources. The Centre
should provide access to sufficient sources for learners to attain the highest levels, although learners may
choose to use additional sources.
It is important that learners develop their ability to use sources critically. In essence this means that they
should progress beyond the face-value reading of sources to what can be inferred, and consider the
uses and issues of the source for a historian. That is, they should use their contextual knowledge and the
provenance of the source to give weight to the evidence it contains.
Learners often start by reading what a historical source says at face-value; that is, they accept it as factually
accurate and truthful, or otherwise reject it as inaccurate or a lie. Learners should instead use sources as
evidence, and not see our understanding of the past as fixed. The task of the historian is seen as providing a
valid interpretation of events. Learners who accept sources at face-value are not reading and using sources
critically, and this will affect the validity of their interpretation. They are likely to be rewarded in the lowest
band level of marks.
Drawing inferences from sources represents a more advanced approach because it involves using sources
in a more sophisticated way. For example, in reading a source written about the Prudence Crandall School
House for Young Ladies and Little Misses of Color at Canterbury, Connecticut, the learner might infer the
views of the writer about the education of African Americans in the mid-nineteenth century. In reading
10
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
Section 1: The coursework component
a speech made at the opening of the Indian School in Phoenix, Arizona, the learner might infer the value
placed by the speaker on Native American culture.
In making these inferences, the learner recognises that a view of the past may be biased by the views of
the writer or speaker. As such, the learner may reject some views contained in sources on the grounds that
they distort the past. The recognition of bias is an important step to using historical sources, but it is not
the end point. The logical conclusion is that we cannot know anything for certain about the past because
all sources are potentially biased and therefore misrepresent what happened. Learners who operate
consistently at this level are likely to be rewarded in the middle band level of marks.
Learners with a more developed understanding of the nature of historical evidence will recognize that,
in order to use a source effectively, an historian needs to consider it as a version of the past. That is, to
consider the factors that determine the way in which the creator of the source (writer or artist, for example)
represented the past. This could involve a consideration of the context in which the source was created,
the purpose of the creator in relation to the image he or she wished to convey of him or herself or others,
or the audience to whom the source was directed. For example, a learner might consider the typicality
of comments on the Prudence Crandall School House in the context of 1830s Connecticut; they might
consider that a speaker at the opening of the Indian School in Phoenix, Arizona, would need to convince
listeners that education were the best way forward for Native Americans. Learners who consistently
operate at this level of thinking are likely to be rewarded in the top band level of marks.
It is essential that teachers take the need to evaluate sources at a high level into account when devising
coursework. If sources simply provide a factual account then it is more difficult for learners to recognise
their point of view, the purpose of the source and so on and it is more difficult to reach the higher levels in
Assessment Objective 4. Therefore care should be taken to ensure that some of the sources have issues
regarding provenance that will be clear to learners at this stage of their development.
Conclusions and points of view – different approaches
It is important that learners demonstrate a clear direction of purpose in their analysis as this helps to build a
context within which they can evaluate the facts and arrive at their own interpretation.
One of the advantages of coursework is that it provides learners with an opportunity to plan their work
carefully and produce a rough draft. Therefore, they should be in a position of knowing what their overall
argument and point of view is before they start writing the final draft.
Learners should indicate their main viewpoint and argument before they start writing the final draft. One
approach is to state this in the opening paragraph of the coursework. This gives focus and direction to the
rest of the answer in which the learner justifies their point of view.
For example, a learner responding to the task: ‘Assess the significance of the railroad in the development
of Tucson, Arizona’, could begin by stating that they will argue that the coming of the railroad and its station
and depot were of great significance for Tucson, AZ.
Such an approach would need to take careful note of the command words in the question in order to answer
effectively and remain focused. In the example above, the command word is ‘Assess’. If this is ignored,
the answer could become one-sided, only providing evidence to justify the conclusion that the railroad
was of great importance, perhaps characterising it as a turning point. Such an answer would fail to present
opposing arguments, for example that the development of Tucson was gradual and steady with no clear
change resulting from the railroad. The force of an argument is drawn from setting one view in opposition to
another and only then concluding on favour of the stronger.
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
11
Section 1: The coursework component
In order to draw a conclusion, learners need to do more than repeat the arguments already presented. They
should state what those arguments are pointing towards, in other words they should provide a justification
for the stance they have taken on the question. Learners should state the reason(s) why they have selected
the items and/or aspects they did, and why they have used them in the way they have, showing how their
interpretation of the available evidence (taken in summary altogether) strongly supports this view.
Citation of sources
It is important that the teacher or moderator can verify the evidence presented by a learner in their
coursework. This is because it is vital to the validity of the historical argument to acknowledge all sources,
including the ideas of others when they are included in a learner’s work, and to provide references for more
obscure factual material. It is also required that learners provide a bibliography with their coursework.
Footnotes
It is not necessary to footnote every fact included in the coursework. Where a learner writes that he or
she is quoting from the terms of a named international treaty, for example the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
in relation to the establishment of the U.S./Mexican border, there is no need to cite where the candidate
obtained the details of the terms, since the text of the treaty is readily available. Footnotes should be
reserved for direct quotations, paraphrases of the views of others, and reference to information or evidence
that is not readily available to the general reader. For example, the opinions of Generals Henry W. Halleck,
Ulysses S. Grant and P.G.T. Beauregard about the importance of the railroad crossing at Corinth, Mississippi,
to the Civil War would need to be acknowledged with the provenance (i.e. the date, to whom the remarks
were directed etc.). A learner who refers to the source of information or an opinion within the text of the
response but provides no footnote should not be regarded as being guilty of plagiarism.
Bibliography
It is acceptable to present the bibliography in any of the commonly used formats. It should be consistent
and sufficiently full to allow the teacher or moderator to verify information used in the work. Learners should
only include works they have used in writing their coursework, including all the materials cited in footnotes.
If the teacher has provided sources that the learner has not used, these should not be included in the
bibliography.
Teachers should support learners in the production of a bibliography, for example, they should provide
sufficient detail about all the sources in the set they compile, to allow learners to cite these sources in the
bibliography. Inadequate citing of either footnotes or works in the bibliography should be reflected in the
overall mark awarded in Assessment Objective 4, but should not preclude the award of a mark unless there
is clear evidence of unacknowledged copying of sources.
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Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
Section 2: Planning and teaching coursework in your school
Section 2: Planning and teaching coursework in
your school
2.1 When to do coursework
One important decision that needs to be made, when the course as a whole is being planned, is when to
complete the coursework. There are several factors that will influence this decision.
•
What do learners need to be able to do and understand before beginning the coursework? Learners will
need to be able to use sources critically. This is also a requirement of Component 2, so a Centre may
decide to teach Component 3 (coursework) after Component 2. Learners will also need to be able to set
their chosen site or object in context. If this coincides with an element of Component 1 content covered
by the Centre, then Component 3 (coursework) would best be left until after that element has been
taught. For example, one context of the Indian School at Phoenix, Arizona, is Component 1, Theme 2,
Key Question 1.
•
It is not a good idea to tackle coursework too early in the course because learners may not be
sufficiently familiar with the period overall and will have made little progress in developing their skills and
understanding. The coursework should not be left too late in the course because this is when the focus
is on preparation and revision for the examination papers, and time will be needed to mark the work.
This would suggest that the period around the turn of the year is a good time if the course is taught over
one year and the beginning of the second year of the course is a good time to choose if the course is
taught over two academic years.
2.1.1 Choosing a site or object on which to base coursework
Coursework must be based on a local site or object and it is likely that this will be the starting point for the
teacher. However, unless suitable sources are readily available and the significance of the site or object
is sufficiently broad to allow a range of approaches/interpretations and answers to a question about its
significance, then the site or object is not viable as a topic for the coursework.
The site or object needs to be studied in context to assess its historical significance. The emphasis should
be on an ordinary site so its significance will probably be local and perhaps regional. Where a site or object
is of national or even international importance, for example the Falcon Airfield at Mesa, Arizona, it should
only become a coursework focus if there is also local significance. The chosen site/object should itself form
the core source, but additional primary and/or secondary sources should also be used. The site or object will
need to be interpreted by learners with support from the teacher or a guide. Learners should be encouraged
to listen to guides critically. Other forms of primary sources, such as written material, photographs and
statistics should be used to allow learners to demonstrate their ability to use sources critically.
A site or object would work well as a coursework focus if:
•
it is accessible – that is, it is easy for a visit to be arranged by the teacher or by the learners
•
it is ordinary – it can be compared with other similar sites or objects as a possible approach for judging
significance
•
there is a range of source material readily available. This allows the teacher to put together a sources
pack and the candidates to access additional materials if they wish;
•
the accessibility of the sources is varied, but much of it can be understood at a range of levels. This is
useful in ensuring that a good proportion of the sources can be used by candidates of differing abilities
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
13
Section 2: Planning and teaching coursework in your school
•
a range of secondary material is available on the impact and significance of the site or object. This gives
candidates a starting point for their assessment of the significance of the site
•
there is a range of possible lines of enquiry about the significance of the site or object. This allows
candidates to prioritise lines of enquiry and to recognize that significance depends on the questions
asked.
A site or object would not be suitable if:
•
the source material is too limited, or does not allow for the site or object to be set within developmental
accounts
•
interpretation of the site or object requires specialist knowledge beyond what it is reasonable to expect,
for example technological understanding or knowledge about archaeological methodology
•
it had little or no local impact.
2.1.2 Provision of a set of sources
To show evidence of understanding of the critical use of sources (see Section 1.2.2 ‘The skill of selection’)
learners will need to be provided with a range of appropriate sources IGCSE. American History Coursework
is not designed to be a test of locating sources but of using them critically.
As with the selection of a site, the burden is on the teacher to make wise choices. You should consider the
following when selecting your source materials.
•
The quantity of reading and other material. This needs to be sufficient to allow for a range of criteria
so that significance can be considered, but not so great as to be daunting for learners. Able learners can
fail to make good use of sources if they have too much to do.
•
Providing opportunities for critical evaluation of sources. Learners will need some basic
information about the site or object and the location, but a substantial proportion of sources should
provide opportunity for critical evaluation such as cross-referencing or consideration of both the purpose
and audience of the sources.
•
Providing a range of source-types. This will give learners the opportunity to evaluate the research in
terms of the types of sources available and what they can and cannot learn from them in relation to the
question.
Teachers may provide learners with access to additional sources but should beware of learners who
substitute finding out information (a low-level skill in relation to sources) for critical use of sources. The latter
is the skill that is rewarded more highly in Assessment Objective 4.
2.2 Constructing coursework tasks
Choosing a suitable site or object and providing a set of suitable sources are essential elements in setting
a coursework task. If the task does not provide learners with opportunities to meet the requirements of
Assessment Objectives 2 and 4 particularly: ‘argument to reach a judgement about significance; deployment
of relevant material from sources that are used critically’, they will struggle to achieve a higher mark.
2.2.1 Setting suitable questions
The task should always be set as a question that requires learners to assess the significance of a local site
or object. It is important that the question is not limited to a finite event, action or idea as this will produce
a conventional ‘causation’ question simply requiring the comparison of the relative importance of causal
factors. A question that asks about the importance of a site or object implies that the learner should assess
14
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
Section 2: Planning and teaching coursework in your school
the results or consequences of the building of the site or invention of the object (i.e. its impact at the
time). Such a question invites the learner to describe the results and assess their relative importance. An
assessment of significance goes beyond this (see 1.2.1 ‘The concept of significance’) because it will relate
to a process (or a broader context) over time requiring interpretation of the change and continuity that has
taken place through the evidence available.
The question should not be phrased in a way that does not require the assessment/evaluation of
significance, e.g. ‘Explain the significance of...’. This question takes the position that something has already
been accepted as significant and prompts the learner to justify it as a foregone conclusion.
Questions should always require learners to measure or assess significance, e.g. ‘To what extent was
the construction of the siphon under the Colorado River at Yuma, Arizona, a significant event in the
development of the Yuma County?’.
The question should have a clear focus. It is not helpful to set a question that involves two ideas, factors or
statements, e.g. ‘How far were the Quartermaster Depot and the siphon significant in the development of
Yuma, Arizona, and its surrounding area?’.
The following questions would be suitable:
•
How significant was the railroad crossing at Corinth, Mississippi, in the period from 1855 to 2013?
•
To what extent was the State Territorial Prison, Yuma, Arizona, significant in the development of the
area?
•
‘The State Capitol Building in Phoenix was very significant in the development of the state of Arizona.’
How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.
In order to maintain standards and ensure that candidates are given the opportunity to access all marks
available to them equally across all Centres, Cambridge coursework consultants advise on, assess and
approve all proposed coursework tasks. This service is compulsory for all Centres. Please send your draft
coursework tasks to:
The Product Manager
Cambridge IGCSE American History (US)
Cambridge International Examinations
1 Hills Road
Cambridge
CB1 2RU
United Kingdom
Or email the draft coursework task to Info@cie.org.uk marked for the attention of the Product Manager,
Cambridge IGCSE American History (US).
The coursework scheme should include the following:
•
the identity of the chosen site or object
•
examples of the range of sources relating to it that would be used to support the coursework inquiry and
•
a short justification of the site’s or object’s significance and a clear explanation of how the chosen site
or object and the resources provided will enable candidates to reach the highest levels of the mark
scheme.
Cambridge will return coursework consultants’ comments as quickly as possible. Once Cambridge has
approved a coursework task, Centres do not need to resubmit it annually unless it changes.
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
15
Section 2: Planning and teaching coursework in your school
2.2.2 Devising a mark scheme for the question
A coursework task can only work well if it discriminates effectively and fairly between learners at different
levels. For this reason it is essential that you produce a question-specific mark scheme, based on the
generic mark scheme, at the planning stage.
At each level of each Assessment Objective, you should give examples related to the site or object chosen.
In Assessment Objective 2 at Level 1 the example could be, ‘Asserts that the Hoover Dam was significant
for businesses that needed electricity’. At higher levels in Assessment Objective 2 there is no need to
provide the evidence that learners might give to support their argument. It is sufficient to state in the mark
scheme that limited or sufficient supporting evidence is provided as this will indicate the extent to which
any assertion is justified and therefore rewardable (for example, “Claims that the siphon at Yuma was a
turning point in agriculture in Yuma County and provides evidence of acreage under cultivation before and
after the siphon was operational.”)
In Assessment Objective 4, at Level 3 an example of source evaluation would be:
‘recognises that although the British commanding officer reassured the inhabitants of Mesa that no
low flying would take place over built-up areas [Mesa Journal-Tribune, November 28, 1941], and the
young British pilots were given clear instructions to this effect, they nevertheless carried out these
manoeuvers over Phoenix [Bill Bishop’s diary, June 22, 1943]. Thus the commander’s assurance cannot
be accepted at face value.’
This provides an example of cross-referencing of sources. In addition it would be useful to provide examples
where the provenance of the source is used to evaluate the source. An example of this is:
“The Border Patrol officer who gave us a talk on 10 January 2013 stressed that the U.S.-Mexican
border provides protection for U.S. citizens, but he wanted to justify how strict and time-consuming it
is to cross the border in places like San Luis. He did not give us statistics to show us what proportion
of people crossing the border were found to be terrorists or drug traffickers, so it is hard to know if his
justification for the border checks is valid.”
2.3 Designing a scheme of work
A scheme of work provides more detailed guidance about the teaching and learning of a course than the
outline plan which merely identifies the site or object and the Key Question. Schemes of work vary a great
deal but a typical one might include details about:
•
the site and object to be investigated
•
the Key Question being covered
•
the total amount of time devoted to that Key Question
•
(for each lesson) – content and issues to be covered
– learning outcomes
– learning activities
– skills and understanding
– assessment opportunities
– resources to be used.
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Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
Section 2: Planning and teaching coursework in your school
The content for Component 1 in the syllabus is organised through Key Questions and Focus Points to
encourage issue-based and problem-solving learning and to encourage learners to discuss and develop
their own views (very important for coursework). It is good practice to follow this pattern when devising
a scheme of work for Component 3 (coursework). The scheme of work should reflect and encourage this
approach to learning.
The scheme of work for coursework should ensure that there is a focus on the skills and understanding
explained in Sections 1.2.1 and 1.2.2, but should not address the coursework question directly.
2.4 Teaching and learning for coursework
The coursework topic has to be taught just as any part of the syllabus has to be. Learners need as much
knowledge and understanding for coursework as they need for the examinations. Learners do have access
to sources, notes, books and other materials while completing their coursework, but their ability to make
good use of these materials will depend on the knowledge and understanding they have already acquired.
Some of the relevant material may already have been covered in teaching Components 1 and 2 but other
material will need to be taught and learners will need support in using the sources in the pack and in
ensuring that they cite sources accurately in the text or footnotes and in the bibliography.
Here are a few aspects of teaching coursework that you might want to take into consideration.
•
The coursework question and the issues within it should not be directly addressed during teaching
and learning. The teacher’s role is to prepare learners so that they have the knowledge, skills and
understanding that will enable them to tackle the coursework question by themselves. For example, if
the coursework question is about the significance of a school within a community, teaching and learning
can include the main developments in education and related issues about race and/or gender (such as
in the case of the Prudence Crandall School at Canterbury, Connecticut, the schools in Gilbert, Arizona
or the Indian School at Phoenix, Arizona). However, there should be no special focus on education in the
location concerned.
•
Learners will answer their coursework question better when they can place it in a broader context.
This will add extra depth to their answers, enable them to make necessary links and to go across, and
backwards and forwards in time – all of which will lead to more sophisticated assessments of significance.
•
It is important that activities are used that develop the learners’ ability to discuss and debate issues.
This will help to build their confidence in developing their own views. It can be useful to introduce
learners to a range of interpretations about issues such as the pattern of development of attitudes to
race, or economic changes in an area, so that they understand that there are no right answers and that
what is important is that a view is supported with relevant evidence. This concept is also addressed in
Component 2 in the final question where, as in coursework, source material should form the basis of the
answer.
•
Learners will benefit from practising the selection of relevant material for a given purpose from an
extensive range of items. They should also be given opportunities to produce extended pieces of writing
so that they have experience of deploying and organising information.
•
It is important that time is taken to explore the meaning of significance with learners and how criteria
can be used to measure it. This could be done using factors/individuals other than the one used in the
coursework question. The idea of significance is a useful tool in gaining an overview within the Themes
of Component 1. There is some discussion of significance in Section 1.2.1 of this handbook and some
ideas for teaching and learning are given in Appendix 2.
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
17
Section 2: Planning and teaching coursework in your school
Learners will need to be well-grounded in using historical sources before undertaking coursework. While it
is acceptable to ensure that learners can understand the material presented in sources during the teaching
of the topic, they should not be taught how to evaluate specific sources provided for the coursework.
Instead they need to be familiar with the approaches they should use. They could be introduced to these
approaches and practise using them in relation to any of the topics in Component 1. The use of sources
is also a key focus in the teaching of Component 2. It is here that the understanding of historical evidence
should be consolidated, preferably before teaching of coursework.
2.5 Producing an extended piece of writing
We ask learners to produce a piece of extended writing, which is a considerable challenge in its own
right. The following section contains advice about helping learners to construct such a piece of writing. It
should be remembered that producing a well-organized and focused answer of this length is a challenge,
and learners should not be attempting such a piece of work for the first time when they start on this
coursework. It is important that learners have been able to practise producing work of this length. This could
be done in other, earlier, parts of the syllabus content.
A plan
A plan is important because constructing it helps learners think about the question and how to answer it.
They will need to think about what is relevant, what to leave out and the order in which they are going to
answer the question. It also gives learners an overview of the answer which they can constantly refer to
when writing their final draft. The plan will help to keep them focused.
A blank sheet of paper is often terrifying for learners and the first sentence of the answer is often the
hardest part to complete. Producing a plan can help learners get over this. To get started they could
brainstorm ideas (using sticky notes can be useful) and then begin to organize their ideas by creating a mind
map (a diagram that groups and links associations freely across an entire page, rather than from left to right).
An outline of the overall shape of the answer should then emerge.
First draft
Introduction – learners should briefly explain how they plan to answer the question, and state what their
overall argument/point of view is. There is no need to describe the content background/context.
Main body of answer – every paragraph should directly address the question and should take the
argument further. There should be a logical development from one paragraph to the next. There should be
an overall clear structure and organisation.
Conclusion – a direct answer to the question should be stated showing how the arguments pursued in the
body of the work justify the final position the learner has taken.
questions for learners to ask themselves before writing final draft:
18
•
am I within the 1600 words?
•
have I answered the question?
•
is my final answer to the main issue in the question clear, developed and supported? (This can be either
in the main part of the answer or in a developed conclusion.)
•
is each paragraph used for a new idea, aspect or argument?
•
does every paragraph address the question?
•
do the paragraphs logically flow from one to the other?
•
is there anything important that I have left out?
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
Section 2: Planning and teaching coursework in your school
•
have I evaluated the sources I have used?
•
does sentence construction, grammar, punctuation or spelling need to be improved or corrected?
•
do I have accurate references for quotations?
•
do I know how to list all the sources I have used in my bibliography?
2.6 Circumstances under which learners complete coursework
and the role of the teacher
2.6.1 Completion of coursework
It would normally be expected that learners would begin their coursework shortly after the teaching and learning
of the relevant material in Component 1 but also after having spent some time learning to use sources critically.
This may be done through the content for Component 1 or in teaching the chosen option for Component 2.
Coursework can be completed in class under supervision, unsupervised in the Centre, or in the candidate’s
own time e.g. at home. Many teachers find it useful to allow learners to begin their work in class and then
complete it in their own time.
It is the Centre’s responsibility to ensure that the completed coursework is entirely the learner’s own work.
Learners should not collaborate with other learners, nor should they receive help from other individuals.
Some teachers find the easiest way to ensure this is to have all the coursework completed in class under
supervision. However, this does not necessarily mean examination conditions.
Learners can have access to the work they completed during the teaching and learning of any relevant
aspects of Components 1 and 2. They will also need access to the sources provided by the Centre and any
other resources the teacher decides may be useful.
Anything that a learner includes in their coursework that is not their own work, e.g. quotations and copied
or paraphrased material, must be fully acknowledged. They can do this within the text of the answer or in
footnotes.
Once coursework has been assessed by the teacher, learners are not allowed to repeat the question or
redraft their work.
2.6.2 The role of the teacher
As the teacher you can offer general guidance to learners on how best to approach a coursework question,
but you must be careful not to exert too much influence over their decisions. Any guidance you do give
should be given to the whole class and should not go beyond general points such as reminders to focus
on answering the question, to develop their own arguments, and not to write description or narrative
responses.
You should not comment on the work in progress. Nor should you provide feedback on a work in progress,
or a first draft.
One useful way to help learners is to focus on the skills and understanding mentioned in Section 1.2.
above in your normal teaching and learning for Component 1 and Component 2. It might be helpful to
allow learners to answer questions addressing significance and using a set of sources critically during this
teaching before they start their coursework. Full feedback can be provided on such work in relation to what
will be required when the learners tackle Component 3 (coursework).
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
19
Section 2: Planning and teaching coursework in your school
You should introduce the concept of significance early in the teaching and learning of the syllabus and
devise exercises to help candidates explore and develop their understanding of the concept. Ideas for this
are provided in Appendix 2.
You should provide all learners with an adequate range of resources to allow them to meet the requirements
of the coursework question. Learners are allowed to use their own additional resources and are permitted
access to the internet, but many find it difficult to use this efficiently and effectively. It might be better
therefore if you explore interesting and relevant websites with them during general teaching and learning.
Any useful sections could be downloaded for all learners to use.
You must be careful to avoid directly addressing the coursework question, or the issue implicit within it,
during teaching and learning about the site or object. It is also your responsibility as the teacher to ensure
that the work learners complete is entirely their own work.
2.7 Support provided for teachers by Cambridge
Online and face-to-face training
Cambridge regularly offers training for IGCSE American History (BES). Details of future training can be found
via the Cambridge public website at www.cie.org.uk/events.
Teacher Support
Moderators’ reports
Moderators produce two types of report for each examination series. The first consists of an individual
report to each Centre about their learners’ coursework and the Centre’s marking. The second is a general
report to all Centres. This describes good practice and offers general advice to Centres.
Scheme of work
A scheme of work for Components 1 and 2 is available on Teacher Support http://teachers.cie.org.uk
20
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
Section 3: Marking coursework
Section 3: Marking coursework
3.1 Some basic points
The generic mark scheme must be used when marking coursework. It can be found in the syllabus booklet
and is also reproduced on the following page.
If two or more teachers within your Centre are involved in marking coursework, Centres must ensure that all
learners are assessed to a common standard. (See sections 4.1 and 4.2 below.)
Cambridge externally moderates a sample of learners’ coursework.
3.2 Main features of the generic mark scheme
As shown overleaf, there are two Assessment Objectives, for Component 3, and each is divided into three
levels to denote the standard achieved. Each level covers a range of three, four or five marks.
The main aspects covered in the mark scheme are how well candidates can demonstrate:
•
identification of criteria for judging significance
•
provision of supporting evidence for claims about significance
•
evaluation of the study by suggesting possible further research
•
ability to select, organise and deploy evidence from sources to construct an argument
•
ability to reach a substantiated conclusion
•
evaluation of historical sources
•
ability to cite sources.
Marks should be awarded for Assessment Objectives 2 and 4 using the criteria listed in the Mark Scheme.
Note that the descriptions below are general and refer to a candidate’s overall performance in each
Assessment Objective.
The total mark achieved for a particular Assessment Objective will place the candidate in one of the
following mark levels. The candidate’s work should demonstrate the qualities given for that level. If it does
not, the marks should be adjusted.
Positive marking is encouraged, rewarding achievement rather than penalizing failure.
The total marks available for these Assessment Objectives are as follows:
Assessment Objective 2: 10 marks
Assessment Objective 4: 15 marks
No other Assessment Objectives may be assessed. Assessment must focus on the quality of the
candidate’s work, not the quantity or presentation.
Once coursework has been marked, candidates may not repeat the task or redraft their work.
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
21
Section 3: Marking coursework
Generic Mark Scheme
AO2: Significance
10 marks available
Level 1
0–3
marks
Candidates can identify some
criteria for significance and make
claims about the significance of
the chosen site or object. These
will either be weakly supported or
unsubstantiated.
AO4: Use of Sources in Research
15 marks available
Level 1
0–5
marks
Candidates can comprehend sources but
take them at face value. They can identify
sources that are useful for particular tasks
and can draw simple conclusions. They can
provide some relevant information to show
where a source can be found.
The limitations of the study are
described or ignored. How further
research would advance historical
understanding of the site or
object is barely considered or not
addressed.
Level 2
4–7
marks
Candidates can identify and
provide supporting evidence for
at least one criterion for judging
historical significance, using
their knowledge of the historical
context of the chosen site or
object.
Level 2
6–10
marks
Candidates can identify and
provide supporting evidence for
a range of criteria for judging
historical significance. They can
recognize that the site or object
has different significances.
They can use a wide range of
knowledge of the context of the
chosen site or object.
There is a careful evaluation of the
limitations of the study, explaining
well how further research would
advance historical understanding
of the site or object.
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Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
Candidates can select, organize, and
deploy a range of relevant information to
produce structured narratives, descriptions,
and explanations that are accurate and
reasonably thorough but are nonetheless
limited to the more obvious aspects of the
matter under consideration.
Candidates can evaluate and use sources
critically to investigate issues and reach
conclusions.
There is some evaluation of
the limitations of the study,
but this is limited. How further
research would advance historical
understanding of the site or object
is explained to some extent.
Level 3
8–10
marks
Candidates can select and use relevant
information to construct narratives and
description. These will be straightforward
and accurate but are likely to be relatively
brief or limited in scope.
They can recognize that sites or objects
have been interpreted in different ways.
They can cite most sources accurately.
Level 3
11–15
marks
Candidates can select, organize, and
deploy an extensive range of relevant
information to produce consistently wellstructured narratives, descriptions, and
explanations. These are thorough and
accurate, and show an appreciation of the
wider historical context.
Candidates can evaluate and use a range
of sources critically to investigate issues
and to reach reasoned and substantiated
conclusions. They can explain how and
why differences exist in the ways in which
sites or objects are interpreted.
They can cite all sources fully and
accurately.
Section 3: Marking coursework
3.3 Using the mark scheme
The generic mark scheme should be used as the benchmark for marking. Centres will also have made
a question-specific mark scheme but as with the mark scheme for Components 1 and 2, any worked
examples in the coursework question-specific mark scheme are not required within the response. The
examples are just that: examples, which may or may not appear in the response. Other examples which
demonstrate the same level of understanding are equally acceptable.
The mark scheme should be used in a ‘best fit’ way. An answer does not have to meet all the requirements
of a level before being placed in that level, that is, each element is not in itself a requirement of that level
being awarded. Instead the elements describe characteristics of an answer at that level. If a learner has
succeeded in reaching a level in the majority of elements then the mark awarded should be in that level
even though some elements are at a lower level.
Many answers will have elements of two different levels, e.g. if some parts of an answer are level 3 but
other parts are level 2, markers should ask themselves, ‘Which level does it fit best with?’.
Answers should be read and assessed holistically. Ask yourself, ‘Allowing for the strengths and weaknesses
of the answer, which level does it fit best in, in each Assessment Objective?’.
Do not use the mark scheme in a ‘tick box’ way. For example, if a learner evaluates a source and finds it to
be unreliable, yet still uses the evidence in the source in reaching a conclusion, then the evaluation should
not be rewarded highly.
There are a number of key ‘drivers’ in each Assessment Objective; a focus on these when marking should
help you decide the level. These are:
Assessment Objective 2:
•
extent to which significance(s) is (are) identified and supporting evidence is provided
•
extent of evaluation of study.
Assessment Objective 4:
•
quality of organisation of material from sources
•
the extent to which overall judgement is reached and supported
•
extent to which there is critical use of sources
•
accuracy and completeness of citation of sources.
Answers that meet most, or all, of the requirements of a level should be placed at or towards the top of that
level. If an answer is on the borderline between two levels but is finally placed in the higher level, it should
go at the bottom of that level.
3.4 Annotation of coursework
It is useful to the external moderator if work is annotated by the teacher. The purpose of these comments
is to identify key features of the answers and explain why a particular level and mark has been awarded.
The level can be communicated through marginal comments such as ‘identifies criterion for significance’,
‘supporting evidence’, ‘evaluates source for purpose’ and ‘face value acceptance of source’. The mark within
the level you have decided on, can then best be communicated through further comments at the end,
summing up the main qualities of the answer and identifying the key features of the level descriptor under
which the answer falls.
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
23
Section 3: Marking coursework
Judgements about which level an answer reaches should not be made half-way through the answer. This is
a summative judgement which can only be made after the whole answer has been read.
The level and the mark awarded in each Assessment Objective, together with the total mark, should be
shown at the end of the answer with your summative comments.
3.5
Marked samples
Please refer to the generic mark scheme in section 3.2 and the guidance on how to use the mark scheme
provided in section 3.3. Work through the six coursework examples below and attempt to mark them
as instructed. The comments provided should help guide you. Compare your marks with those of the
moderator given at the end of each example and try to come to a similar understanding of the mark scheme
as the moderator. Once you are satisfied that you have a good understanding, you will be ready to attempt
the accreditation test in Section 5.
Please note that any errors of language, punctuation, spelling or grammar that were present in the original
examination submission examples below have been reproduced here for the sake of authenticity.
Example 1
Background:
Falcon Field Air Force Base, now Falcon Field Airport, is located seven miles northeast of Mesa, Arizona. It
opened in 1941 and was used to train the British Air Force during World War two in order to defend against
the German air force – the Luftwaffe. In a contest conducted by the mesa Chamber of Commerce, over
seventy names were considered. It was decided that the Air Force base would be named Falcon Field,
because falcons were trained in Britain to hunt. This was an appropriate name because pilots came to this
Air Force base to train for twenty weeks before returning across the Atlantic to fight in World War Two.
Today, the Falcon Field Airport is the fourth busiest general aviation airport in America1.
The opening of Falcon Field Air Force Base resulted in the community of Mesa prospering. At first, there
were concerns that there were not enough resources and materials for cadets to train and be able to sustain
previous living standards. The solution was to build an entire base containing dormitories, recreational areas,
a hospital, hangars, and a kitchen on the actual air force base. However, there was still a shortage of homes
and utilities. Many cadets opted to buying houses outside of Mesa in more industrial and materialized areas
of Arizona, in which they could still conveniently drive to work.
Comment
Identifies significance at the time for Mesa. Evidence not clearly linked to assertion.
When the pilots landed in Mesa, Arizona in 1941, they were concerned that they would not be accepted into
American culture – they did not know the likes and dislikes of the Americans that were to train them, their
favorite activities, or what they liked to do in their spare time. However, they received a warm welcome.
Few were prepared for the conditions of Arizona. They arrived in their thick, woolen Royal Air Force (R.A.F.)
uniforms and one said,...When those doors opened on the train, it was like walking into a wall of fire.’2 Once
the pilots stepped onto the Air Force base, an intensive twenty week training began.
Comment
Identifies significance at the time for pilots with some supporting evidence.
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Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
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Description
Time was of the essence in the construction of the Falcon Field Airport. The Nazi leader, Adolf Hitler, was
conquering Europe quickly which resulted in the rapid construction of Falcon Field. Built in ninety days,
two hangars, a flight tower, hospital, dining hall, a lounge, and four cadet halls were constructed. By 1942,
a swimming pool and an additional two more barracks were built. Less than two months before the base
was scheduled to be handed over to the army, an article was published saying: ‘Nearing completion, the
big airport at Higley is scheduled to be turned over to the army by December 1, but it’s completion may be
somewhat delayed. Even after the army takes over, much work will continue on roads, walks, etc. At the
present time, buildings are virtually completed, but utilities have not been run to the field...There will be
about 170 buildings at the airport.’3
Mesa, Arizona was chosen to be the training base because Arizona had clear skies and sunshine year round.
Though the Arizona heat was intense, the desert was a quintessential atmosphere for the cadets to train.
Clear skies contributed to impeccable visibility and there was little around the area in which the pilots trained.
The climate was also free of snow, ice, and gray skies. In the London Daily Telegraph, the area around Falcon
Field was described as being in, ‘...One of the great deserts, with jagged mountains reflecting fantastic colors
in incredibly clean air.’4 The conditions were drastically different from the gray skies and flat terrain of Britain.5
Comment
Some explanation of site.
Significance:
The ability to come to America and train brought a sense of community that had previously not been instilled
between Britain and America. There was an undeniable sense of community between the pilots and people
of Mesa. A witness of the arrival of the R.A.F. airmen was quoted saying: ‘I can’t speak highly enough of the
local population, how they accepted us. I mean, when we actually arrived, on the first Saturday that we were
allowed out, we had exactly – 200 cars come to the main gate to request us to join them for the weekend.’6
The people of Mesa offered many resources and social opportunities for the training cadets. Dinners,
dances, movies, theater performances, sporting events, and numerous other activities were available
to those in training at Falcon Field. At these events, they were able to converse and form lasting bonds
between the people of Arizona. Prior to the cadets coming to Mesa, an article was published in a local
newspaper asking if any community members would like to host a cadet for dinner one night.
Further exemplification of the unity created through the cadets of Falcon Field is the memorial service held
annually in honor of twenty-three fallen pilots and their efforts towards World War Two. Each November, a
memorial service is given at the Mesa Cemetery where all but one cadet is buried. The service is held by
the Daughters of the British Empire. This memorial illustrates the lasting unity that Falcon Field has fostered
because it is an impacting piece of British history in the centre of Mesa. In the 2006 memorial service, an
old poem was read and it stated : ‘If I should die, think only this of me: That there’s some corner of a foreign
field that is forever England...’
Though many of the cadets that trained in Mesa are not living today, they are still honored. The cadets were
able to build lasting relationships through the strenuous training conditions each cadet had to undergo.
Numerous men were quoted saying that if the American pilots ever needed a place to stay in Britain, they
would be the first to offer their hospitality. Falcon Field instilled memories and work ethic into the cadets
that had a lasting effect on them. Many said they hoped to carry the memories they had gained for many
years to come. After training sessions had concluded, a cadet was quoted claiming: ‘And when this war is
over, when we take our place by the fire with pipe, slippers and evening paper, our thoughts will stray to
those who befriended us in a far off land in time of war.’7
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
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Section 3: Marking coursework
Comment
Evidence to support claim about significance at the time for pilots. Evidence to support lasting
significance for Anglo-American relationship.
Falcon Field Airport is a significant piece of history for the city of Mesa. Mesa suffered immensely
throughout the Great Depression and the opening of both Falcon Field and Williams Field Airport furthered
economic recovery. With an increase in population due to the cadets, there had to be a larger production
of everyday materials. The farming and cattle industries boomed along with the clothing industry. Larger-scale
production was taken place in order to keep up with the demand of clothes and food. Industries that
benefited from the increase in people were food, cotton and wool.
The city of Mesa grew because many housing development projects and population was rapidly increasing.
Before the war, Mesa had been a small, rural, farming town, but by the end of the war, it was becoming a
full-scale city. When the war ended, soldiers that had been stationed on the Falcon Field or Williams Field
airfields returned to Mesa to reside and live.
Comment
Claim about longer-term significance for Mesa. Evidence before 1941 is thin. More evidence after
1941. Contrasts Mesa before and after World War Two.
Limitations in Study:
In researching Falcon Field, the aspect that would further exemplify the significance of the site would be a
more detailed analysis of Mesa’s economy after the opening of the airport. It would be interesting to see
the increase in product demand both during the war and in the years after the war due to the opening of the
airport, Mesa truly began to prosper. It would also be interesting to read actual journal entries or personal
reflections that were not written with a positive spin. The sources from local newspapers, newspapers
from Britain, and magazines had positive approaches – there was never anything negative said from the
cadets about their experiences. Both these aspects would advance our understanding of the site by giving
an understanding of the lasting effects of the airport on Mesa and an honest account of numerous different
perspectives of the experiences had on the base.
Comment
Identifies limitations of study, suggesting further research materials and range of comments
that is missing.
Conclusion:
Falcon Field Airport is a significant piece of history for both Britain and Arizona because it brought the two
nations together and was able to bring success to the Royal Air Force in both defeating and intimidating the
Luftwaffe. It instilled a unity and bond between Mesa, Arizona and Britain that created lasting friendships
and influential memories. Falcon Field Airport also stabilized a healthy economy in Mesa and an increase
in population. Though Falcon Field is not studied in every history classroom, it is still a significant piece of
history that seems to have been forgotten. Falcon Field was essential in fighting the Luftwaffe in World War
Two and successfully helped the Allies win the war.
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Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
Section 3: Marking coursework
1
WWII Aviation in Arizona Exhibit. Mesa Historical Museum. January 5, 2013.
2
Video Transcript of ‘Arizona Stories: Falcon Field’, PBS Arizona Collection, November 10, 2012.
3
’C of C seeks New Members’, Mesa Journal Tribune, October 3, 1941.
4
Falcon Field Described in London Paper’, London Daily Telegraph, March 13, 1942.
5
Video Transcript of ‘Arizona Stories: Falcon Field’, PBS Arizona Collection, November 10, 2012.
6
’The Day Mesa Took Flight: July 16, 1941’, The East valley Tribune Online, March 17, 2011.
7
’Thank you, America’, The Falcon, The Magazine of No.4 British Flying Training School, Mesa, Arizona,
July 29, 1943.
Bibliography:
Video Transcript of ‘Arizona Stories: Falcon Field’, PBS Arizona Collection, November 10, 2012.
‘C of C Seeks New Members’, Mesa Journal Tribune, October 3, 1941.
‘Falcon Field Described in London Paper’, London Daily Telegraph, March 13, 1942.
‘Thank you, America’, The Falcon, the Magazine of No.4 British Flying Training School, Mesa Arizona,
July 29, 1943.
‘The Day Mesa Took Flight: July 16, 1941’, The East Valley Tribune Online, Match 17, 2011.
WWII Aviation in Arizona Exhibit. Mesa Historical Museum. January 5, 2013.
Summative comment
Assessment Objective 2:
Identifies and exemplifies significance for Mesa’s economy. Identifies and exemplifies consequences
for Anglo-American relations at a personal level. Makes unsubstantiated claims about impact on
outcome of World War Two.
Considers limitations of study in terms of missing information and also missing points of view.
Recognises that there may be alternative interpretations of the site, but that the evidence for this was
not available.
Level 3/8
Assessment Objective 4:
Uses a wide range of sources to provide supporting evidence for claims about significance. The
material is selected from a range of sources and organized and deployed well. There is some
appreciation of the wider context of U.S. – UK relations although this is undeveloped.
Evaluates sources in general by identifying what is missing and why this matters, but does not
evaluate individual sources explicitly.
Cites almost all sources accurately and fully.
Level 3/11
Total mark: 8 + 11 = 19
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
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Section 3: Marking coursework
Example 2
Throughout the past three centuries, the ‘Crossroads’ in Corinth has in many ways been and still is significant.
Starting out as a small, rural town, Corinth has grown both in size and economy greatly because of railroad
transportation over the years. Corinth’s location was obviously seen as important since the ‘Crossroads’ was
placed there in the first place, but the ‘Crossroads’ later had its first actual big influence during the Civil War in
the late 1800s. From there, the ‘Crossroads’ and railroads grew more and more in importance.
Comment
Clear statement of significance of site at different times.
During the last half of the 19 th century, Corinth was just beginning to be noticed across the country. Why
was this? The answer to that would be the Civil War. In talking about Corinth, one writer said, ‘In 1855,
officers of the Memphis & Charleston R.R. and the Mobile & Ohio R.R. chose this site for the junction of
their two lines, giving it the obvious name of Cross City. Two years later the editor of the weekly newspaper
suggested that the community change its name to the more imaginative name of Corinth, the Grecian
crossroads city.’1 By reading this statement, it’s clear that Corinth was almost directly in the centre of those
four cities that the two vital railroads traveled to. This made Corinth an ideal crossing ground, which later
turned into a battleground. When the Civil War broke out, the North soon realized that Richmond was their
first priority and Corinth was their second.2 The capture of Richmond was obviously important in the North
succeeding since it was the capitol. The reason Corinth needed captured was because taking control of
the ‘Crossroads’ from the South would ensure the North an extreme advantage by cutting off supplies to
the South and hindering the South’s fighting tactics since the Civil War was fought using railroad defense
skills.3 With as many tracks that run through Corinth or connect to its ‘Crossroads’ somehow, noticing this
location’s importance was key. The South even knew how important keeping the ‘Crossroads’ was. General
Ulysses S. Grant called it ‘the great strategic position.’4 General P.G.T. Beauregard even said, ‘If defeated
here (Corinth), we lose the Mississippi Valley and probably our cause.’5 After the war, which the North won
once they gained control of the ‘Crossroads,’ Corinth started booming. The popularity and importance of
the town, thanks to the war and the ‘Crossroads,’6 Because Corinth had always been a good location for
commerce due to its location and crossing, it soon became the foremost manufacturing centre in Northeast
Mississippi. More and more companies were popping up around Corinth, creating more and more jobs for
people.7 By the end of the 19 th century, Corinth inhabitants were looking to the future of development, and
they weren’t planning on stopping there.
Comment
Developmental account establishing significance of Corinth.
Continues account post 1865, clearly linking evidence to argument.
As the 20th century rolled in, Corinth continued to grow both in economy and popularity. Like mentioned
before, railroads were now transporting all the products that were growing in demand across the country
by means of Corinth’s ‘Crossroads.’ Businesses and stores both related to railroads and not related to them
were also setting up near the tracks. Everyone knew that if they wanted good business, then near Corinth’s
depot was the place to be. For example, the Corinth Machine Company was a business set up in 1907 that
became recognized worldwide for its sawmills.8 For many of the more common civilians, the railroads that
went through the ‘Crossroads’ were used to transport their products that weren’t necessarily big and heavy
like steel and coal. Corinth now shipped more than a million dollars’ worth of products in just one year. Milk
was even starting to be produced commercially. Now, so many of the citizens’ products were sold in both
28
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
Section 3: Marking coursework
local and other markets. Plus, there were new textile plants, hosiery mills, and garment factories set up
in Corinth.9 The businesses were booming, and everyone was excited about it. What really kicked off the
new century in Corinth, though, was the visit of President William McKinley and his wife on April 30, 1901.
This visit led to more new businesses being set up, such as the Corinth Woolen Mills and McAmis Drug
Store, not to mention more enthusiasm from the Corinth citizens too.10 President McKinley had been on
his last cross-country rail trip at the time, and because of the importance that Corinth was gaining from its
‘Crossroads’, he decided to make it one of his famous stops. While passing Corinth’s Depot across the so
famous ‘Crossroads,’ all citizens gladly welcomed him full of joy. Another big occurrence in the 20th century
was the visit of yet another President in Corinth. This time it was President Roosevelt on November 15,
1934. He too made an appearance at the platform crossing to greet everyone, but his reasons for coming
to Corinth were different. He wasn’t just coming because Corinth’s crossing was growing so important.
Roosevelt’s main interest was in his Tennessee Valley program. The county that Corinth is in was chosen for
the first TVA power cooperative since it was a rural and urban area.11 Roosevelt most likely thought Corinth’s
area was food for his program because he knew how much business went through Corinth because of its
‘Crossroads.’ Roosevelt saw Corinth’s significance and could see it making his program grow.
Comment
Continues account into 20th century: contrasts reasons for McKinley and FDR visits to Corinth. Shows
changing significance.
Toward the end of the 20th century, railroads continued to be in use pretty regularly. Some would think
that railroads aren’t as important as they used to be, In a way, that’s true, yet it’s not entirely the truth.
Obviously, Corinth was greatly influenced in development because of the railroads during the late 19 th and
early 20th centuries. I mean, they were used for war and then transformed to this demanding and popular
means of transport for both goods and people. That kind of influence on a town leads to the economy
building up and people craving more of the newness. As of the late 20 th century, many people just started
to set their new ideas on other things. Who wouldn’t? The world is always changing. On the other hand,
just because railroad use was slowing down, doesn’t mean that it completely stopped. That would most
likely never happen, and Corinth is an ideal place for that means of transport. AS far as influence on the
development of Corinth in the late 20th century, I think the railroads still did aid in development even up
until the present. They may not influence that as much as they did in earlier years, but a ton of goods
and money still come into Corinth because of the railroads. Corinth has a number of industries, such as
Mississippi Polymer, Caterpillar, and Kimberley Clark, which set up in Corinth specifically to have their
products transported by means of the railroads. The three trains that run through Corinth’s ‘Crossroads’
almost every day bring into Corinth billions of dollars.12 I’d say that’s still pretty influential. The railroads also
develop Corinth in another way. Because of the ‘Crossroad’s’ importance in the past and even now, Corinth
created a museum and Civil War Centre where people can visit to learn how everything influenced Corinth.
Of course, the number of visitors changes over the years, but as of last year, around 23,000–25,000 people
visited this museum and centre. That means that if you added up all the expenses these visitors paid while
staying in Corinth, you’d get about $23.6 million.13 That’s a lot of money that the ‘Crossroads’ continued and
is still continuing to aid in Corinth getting. In my opinion, the railroads are just as influential in development
as they were in earlier eras, just in new and different ways.
Comment
Continues account into late 20th century.
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
29
Section 3: Marking coursework
As an overall thought, I think the significance of the ‘Crossroads’ to Corinth over the past three centuries
was all influential. Just by simply being located in Corinth, the ‘Crossroads’ has impacted the small town
in so many ways and still continues to do that. Forever, the ‘Crossroads’ will be a symbol of fighting, of
development, and of inspiration to all.
Comment
Introduces idea of significance for heritage and links this to Corinth’s economy.
1
Federal Writers’ Project of the Works Progress Administration, New York: Viking, MISSISSIPPI A Guide to
the Magnolia State, 1938.
2
Scott, Robert N., The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and
Confederate Armies, 1880.
3
New York Tribune, ‘Corinth, Miss., Centre of the Rebel Defenses in the South-West,’ 9 April 1862.
4
New York: Knickerbocker, 1912, Project Gutenburg, Letters of Ulysses S. Grant to His Father and His
Youngest Sister, 15 September 2004.
5
Scott, Robert N., The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and
Confederate Armies, 1880.
6
Brinkley, Alan, The American Journey-Illinois Edition, 2006.
7
Industrious, N.d. display within the Crossroads Museum, Crossroads Museum and Historic Depot,
Corinth, MS.
8
Industrious, N.d. display within the Crossroads Museum, Crossroads Museum and Historic Depot,
Corinth, MS.
9
Federal Writers’ Project of the Works Progress Administration, New York: Viking, MISSISSIPPI A Guide to
the Magnolia State, 1938.
10
Roach, Nikki B., comp. ‘Corinth Timeline,’ Alcom County MSGENWEB, 23 November, 2011.
11
Crossroads Access Inc., ‘Pres. Roosevelt’s Visit,’ The Weekly Corinthian, 20 April 1934.
12
’Interview with Orville King, Senior Train Master of Kansas City Southern: Corinth district.’ 1 November
2012.
13
Kristy White, Executive Director, Corinth Area Convention and Visitor’s Bureau,’ 1 November 2012.
Bibliography
Brinkley, Alan. “Chapter 19.” The American Journey-Illinois Edition. By James McPherson. 5th ed. New
York: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2006. 567. Print.
“Corinth, Miss., Centre of the Rebel Defenses in the South-West.” New York Tribune [New York] 9 Apr.
1862: n. pag. Print.
Federal Writers’ Project of the Works Progress Administration. MISSISSIPPI A Guide to the Magnolia State.
New York: Viking, 1938. Print.
Grant, Ulysses S. Letters of Ulysses S. Grant to His Father and His Youngest Sister. New York:
Knickerbocker, 1912. Project Gutenburg. Project Gutenburg Online, 15 Sept. 2004. Web. 18 Jan. 2013.
Industrious. N.d. Display within the Crossroads Museum. Crossroads Museum and Historic Depot,
Corinth, MS.
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Section 3: Marking coursework
“Interview with Orville King, Senior Train Master of Kansas City Southern: Corinth District.” Personal
interview. 1 Nov. 2012.
“Kristy White, Executive Director, Corinth Area Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.” Email interview. 1 Nov.
2012.
President McKinley’s Transcontinental Trip. N.d. Photograph. The Illustrious Life of William McKinley: Our
Martyred President. By Murat Halstead. Buffalo, NY: World, 1901. 309. Print.
President Roosevelt’s Cross-country Train Tour. 1934. Photograph. White House Press Staff: Public Domain,
Washington, DC.
“Pres. Roosevelt’s Visit.” The Weekly Corinthian. CrossRoads Access Inc., 20 Apr. 1993. Web. 18 Jan.
2013.
President McKinley’s Visit to Corinth. 1901. Photograph. Crossroads Museum and Historic Depot, Corinth,
MS.
Roach, Vikki B., comp. “Corinth Timeline.” Alcorn County MSGENWEB. N.p., 23 Nov. 2011. Web. 18 Jan.
2013.
Scott, Robert N., H. M. Lazelle, George B. Davis, Leslie J. Perry, Joseph W. Kirkley, Fred C. Ainsworth,
JohnS. Moodey, and Calvin D. Cowles. “Browse Making of America.” The War of the Rebellion: A
Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Washington, D.C.: Govt. Print.
Off., 1880. 667. Print. SERIES 1 VOLUME X, PART 1.
Scott, Robert N., H. M. Lazelle, George B. Davis, Leslie J. Perry, Joseph W. Kirkley, Fred C. Ainsworth, John
S. Moodey, and Calvin D. Cowles. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the
Union and Confederate Armies. Washington, D.C.: Govt. Print. Off.,1880. 403. Print. SERIES 1 VOLUME X
PART 2.
Siege and Battle of Corinth. N. d. Corinth Commission, Shiloh National Parle Robinson’s Battery. Rocco,
Keith. Web.
“Situation of Corinth, Miss.” The New York Herald [New York] 6 Apr. 1862: n. pag. Print.
Summative comments
Assessment Objective 2
Well-supported developmental account which considers significance for Corinth’s economy and
reputation over the period studied. Recognises changing significance over time and thereby provides a
range of criteria for judging significance according to temporal viewpoint. Does not consider limitations
of study.
Level 3/9
Assessment Objective 4
An extensive range of sources, accurately cited, are used to establish a complex developmental
account. Evidence is selected, organised and deployed to illustrate the developmental account. The
material is well-structured and there is an awareness of the wider context. A conclusion is reached on
the basis of the evidence presented, showing that the site has different significances according to the
temporal perspective chosen. No explicit evaluation of sources.
Level 3/12
Total mark: 9 + 12 = 21
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
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Section 3: Marking coursework
Example 3
The Significance of Falcon Field
Introduction
Falcon Field, located in Mesa, Arizona, has many years of historical importance behind its creation. This
aviation base was created to train Great Britain’s Royal Air Force, also known as the RAF. The RAF was
relocated to Mesa because of the weather and resources it had to offer. In the beginning Mesa had
appealed to the British to have them relocate their base to Mesa for publicity and to create a rapport
between Great Britain and Mesa, Arizona. In the end and still today, Falcon Field has had a vast impact on
Mesa’s economy, its people, and its status in the world.
Comment
Introduction identifies changing significance over time.
Description
This 728 acre1 air base, opened September 1941, was positioned seven miles northeast of Mesa.2 At first
the construction of the base was mapped out to cost about 4,784,607 dollars.3 That amount of money
later created two hangers built 2000 feet in length, a control tower, a clinic, a mess hall and four cadet
barracks to house 200 cadets. Later two more additional barracks were created along with a cadet lounge,
a swimming pool and a drop-in centre or an international club 4. Falcon Field offered additional amenities
that the British base could not. It offered air conditioning, dorms and good food, such as milkshakes.5 After
the vicious attack of Pearl Harbor, Falcon Field placed armed sentries patrolling the entire area and no
civilians were permitted on the base.6 After these precautions were taken, plans were made to improve
the communications between the Mesa Military Airport and Falcon Field. The Mesa District Chamber
of Commerce made huge efforts to create an outlet between the two bases. Through these efforts the
commerce created a reality and the highway was built. The Mesa Journal-Tribune Newspaper described the
highway as a, ‘hard-surfaced road from Rambo’s service station on Apache Trail, south to Higley. The road
from Higley to the field is three miles...It has long been recognized by both fields that a direct highway route
between the two would be convenient.’7 This route would improve the communication between the two
fields and hopefully establish a better camaraderie between the two basis’ cadets and airmen. The Mesa
Journal-Tribune Newspaper also states that the men enlisted in the Mesa Military Airport are not permitted
to leave the base area encompassed within a 20 mile radius, without special permission.8 This new highway
should help the airmen commute more easily in the 20 mile radius and give them a further outreach to new
areas and people.
Falcon Field, today, is much bigger, has a further outreach and is more advanced than in the 1940s. Today
Falcon Field is 784 acres, 56 acres larger than in 1941. It is the home to 265,000 aircraft operations with
850 aircrafts, making it, in 2011, the fourth busiest general aviation airport.9 The airport has convenient
access to the freeway, surrounding aerospace and technology companies along with surrounding houses,
and still has availability and more land development for other companies to use at some point in time.10
Additionally there are more than 18,000 people employed by more than 200 businesses in the off-airport
Falcon Field employment area.11 Four major parks and centres surround Falcon Field helping it prosper and
employ thousands, with an additional six others. These four are the Longbow Industrial Park, the Falcon
Industrial Park, the Dover Industrial Park, and the Mesa Commerce Centre. Nonetheless, the field is also the
home to Boeing’s Apache Helicopter facility, the largest company in the area providing jobs for more than
4,700 people.12 The base today is much larger, employs thousands, is much more convenient for employees
and businesses, and is much busier as it houses many planes, people and businesses.
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Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
Section 3: Marking coursework
Comment
Descriptive with some sense of significance for communications and U.S.–U.K. relations
Significance
Falcon Field played a very significant role in the history for Mesa and Great Britain. During World War II
Falcon Field was used to train Britain’s Royal Air Force. The R.A.F. cadets were spending their time at
ground school, studying aerodynamics, theory of flight, squadron duties, theory of bombardment, pursuit
aviation, meteorology, radio code, communications and airplane engine construction and maintenance to
become the best they could be.13 The British made the decision, after Mesa offered to train the cadets,
to send their troops to Arizona for multiple reasons. First they did not have the weather or the open fields
that Arizona had for the cadets to practice flying low for the more experienced, and high for the less
experienced. Also the British did not have the air bases or space that they needed to train the new cadets.
Additionally they did not have the resources such as the number of and the conditions of the airplanes that
Mesa had to offer. Moreover they did not have the gasoline they needed to fuel the airplanes for practice
flights, because all the gas they had they were using to fight off the Germans. Lastly, they also had the
chance of being shot down while in training by the experienced Germans.14 The people of Mesa had many
resources and also hearts to offer to the incoming British cadets.
Comment
Identifies significance now and provides supporting evidence.
The people of Mesa were very welcoming to the British Royal Air Force. Many businesses supported the
RAF as they placed slogans on advertisements such as, ‘Firestone says welcome RAF cadets’, and, ‘The
R.A.F have come to Mesa’.15 Also when there was not enough housing for all of the incoming cadets many
Mesa families offered to house the cadets and take them in as part of their family.16 Furthermore the other
cities of Arizona were just as welcoming as they also housed cadets but additionally held banquets and
graduation dances for them.17 By 1945 2400 R.A.F. and 125 U.S. cadets were trained with 1400 R.A.F. and
116 U.S. cadets still graduating.18 L.A.C. Oliver, C.J. describes his experience in Mesa as, ‘They turned out
to be like our own brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers...We hope one day to come back to Phoenix,
Tempe and Mesa, to see our good friends once again or to be able to entertain these people in our own
country.’19 Moreover the people of Mesa honored, as a community, the fallen cadets and instructors who
died while training. Today we still hold a memorial service each year to honor the deaths of the 23 R.A.F.
cadets, the one U.S. cadet and the four pilot instructors.20 While the R.A.F. cadets were in Mesa it created a
bond between Mesa and Britain that is still upheld today.
Comment
Detailed evidence on why Mesa was chosen as an R.A.F. base. Evidence on impact on people at the
time and how this developed later.
During the time the cadets were visiting, the economy of Mesa soared. The economy grew and grew as
many cadets were sending mail back home across the pond to their families and friends in Britain. This
opened up a new opportunity, especially at the post office, for Mesa to be able to become an international
zone for sending mail and for many people from different places to visit. 21 Today because of the airfield and
the diversity and opportunities it brought with it, 23 billion dollars are contributed to the local economy by
the airport and its over 95 businesses at Falcon Field.22 Also in Arizona was ranked eleventh among states in
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
33
Section 3: Marking coursework
the number of private pilots and registered general aviation aircraft, making aviation related businesses one
of Mesa’s largest employment sectors.23 This airbase coming from 1941 to 2013 has made a huge impact
of giving Mesa publicity around the world, employing thousands, uplifting the economy and placing an
impression on the hearts of the people of Mesa.
Comment
Wider impact at the time. Jumps to present.
Limitations
Throughout the study of Falcon Field many sources have been provided. The variety of sources have been
primary and secondary sources. There were newspaper articles, letters, magazine excerpts and website
excerpts. Many of the sources were from encounters of the groundbreaking ceremony, or from the memorials
of the deaths of cadets and from businesses supporting the R.A.F. However there were not many sources
from the encounters of women or children during the time period or about how they felt about the British
coming in. Also there were not many excerpts or stories from women who interacted with the Royal Air force
cadets. This could have aided in the writing of the paper because the different opinions could have been seen
from all points of view. Lastly, there were very few sources comparing Williams Field base and the Falcon
Field base. This could have aided in comparing the experiences of the different cadets and their experiences
at the different bases. There were many sources provided and very few limitations of the research conducted.
Comment
Identifies gaps in evidence – missing viewpoints.
Conclusion
Falcon Field in the many years has impacted the economy, people’s hearts, people’s homes and Mesa itself.
This airbase has changed many aspects of Mesa from its economy to its publicity to its allies and even to
its people. Without Falcon Field and the training it offered to the RAF in 1941 the economy of Arizona and
even Mesa would not be as developed as it is today. This field has changed the history of aviation and Mesa
forever, allowing the city, its people and Britain to grow as one in their journey to success.
34
1
Art Thompson, “Lead-up to WWII spawned Mesa’s Falcon Field, Gateway Airport,” The Arizona Republic
Newspaper, April 23, 2011.
2
”Ground for Big Aviation Bases Here,” Mesa Journal-Tribune Newspaper, July 18, 1941.
3
”Shortage of Homes in Mesa Bad Problem,” Mesa Journal-Tribune Newspaper, 5 September 12, 1941.
4
’Airport Men Get City Aid,’ Mesa Journal-Tribune Newspaper, November 7, 1941.
5
’Falcon Field Described in London Paper’, Mesa Journal-Tribune Newspaper, March 13, 1942.
6
’Mesa on Alert, ‘Mesa Journal-Tribune Newspaper, December 12, 1941
7
’Air Base Highway Planned,’ Mesa Journal-Tribune Newspaper, January 9, 1942.
8
’Air Base Highway Planned,’ Mesa Journal-Tribune Newspaper, January 9 1942.
9
Mesa Historical Museum placards (Mesa: Mesa Historical Museum, 2013).
10
’Falcon Field Employment Centre,’ Official Website of Mesa, Arizona. Database on-line. Accessed January
2013. Available at http://www.mesaaz.gov/economic/FalconField.aspx.
11
’Arizona Stories: Falcon Field, ‘PBS: Arizona Collection. Database on-line. Accessed November 2012.
Available at http://azpbs.org/arizonastories/ppedetail.php?id=20.
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
Section 3: Marking coursework
12
’Falcon Field Employment Centre’, Official Webstie of Mesa, Arizona. Database on-line. Accessed January
2013. Available http://www.mesaaz.gov/economic/FalconField.aspx.
13
’Shortage of Homes in Mesa Bad Problem’ Mesa Journal-Tribune Newspaper, 1941.
14
’Arizona Stories: Falcon Field,’ PBS: Arizona Collection. Database on-line. Accessed November 10, 2012.
Availalbe at http://azpbs.org/arizonastories/ppedetail.php?id=20.
15
Mesa Journal-Tribune Newspaper (ads section), October 3, 1941.
16
’Want British Boy as Guest?’ Mesa Journal-Tribune Newspaper, November 7, 1941.
17
Jim Dawson, ‘The R.A.F. in Arizona Falcon Field 1941–1945,’ (2002) 65.
18
Art Thompson, ‘Lead-up to WWII spawned Mesa’s Falcon Field Gateway, Airpmi,’ The Arizona Republic
Newspaper, April 23, 2011.
19
Lt. C. L. Tyrber, et al., ‘thank you, America,’ The Falcon Field, Gateway Airport, ‘The Arizona Republic
Newspaper, April 23, 2011.
20
Art Thompson, ‘Lead-up to WWII spawned Mesa’s Falcon Field, Gateway Airport,’ The Arizona Republic
Newspaper, April 23, 2011.
21
’Postal Rush Grows, ‘Mesa Journal-Tribune Newspaper, March 13, 1942.
22
Mesa Historical Museum placards (Mesa: Mesa Historical Museum, 2013).
23
’The Economic Impact of Aviation in Arizona‘, Arizona Department of Transportation Aeronautics Divisions,
Arizona State University, College of Business, accessed February 10, 2013.
Bibliography
“Air Base Highway Planned,” Mesa Journal-Tribune Newspaper, 9 January 1942.
“Airport Men Get City Aid,” Mesa Journal-Tribune Newspaper, 7 November 1941.
“Arizona Stories: Falcon Field,” PBS Arizona Collection. Database online. Accessed 10 November 2012.
Available at http://www.azpbs.org/arizonastories/ppedetail.php?id=20.
“Break Ground for Big Aviation Bases Here,” Mesa Journal-Tribune Newspaper, 18 July 1941.
Dawson, Jim. “The R.A.F. in Arizona Falcon Field 1941–1945,” 2002.
“The Economic Impact of Aviation in Arizona,” Arizona Department of Transportation
Aeronautics Divisions, Arizona State University, College of Business, accessed 10 February 2013.
“Falcon Field Described in London Paper,” Mesa Journal-Tribune Newspaper, 13 March 1942.
Falcon Field Employment Centre. Mesa: Official Website of Mesa, Arizona, accessed January 2013.
Database online. Available at http://www.mesaaz.gov/economic/FalconField.aspx.
Mesa Historical Museum placards. Mesa: Mesa Historical Museum, 2013.
“Mesa on Alert,” Mesa Journal-Tribune Newspaper, 12 December 1941.
Mesa Journal-Tribune Newspaper (ads section), 3 October 1941.
“Postal Rush Grows,” Mesa Journal-Tribune Newspaper, 13 March 1942.
“Shortage of Homes in Mesa Bad Problem,” Mesa Journal-Tribune Newspaper, 12 September 1941.
Thompson, Art. “Lead-up to WWII spawned Mesa’s Falcon Field, Gateway Airport,” The
Arizona Republic Newspaper, 23 April 2011.
Tyrber, Lt. C. L., et al., “Thank You, America,” The Falcon, The Magazine of No. 4 British Flying Training
School, Mesa, Arizona, 29 July 1943.
“Want British Boy as Guest?” Mesa Journal-Tribune Newspaper, 7 November 1941.
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
35
Section 3: Marking coursework
Summative comments
Assessment Objective 2
Identifies significances for different groups during the war years and provides evidence for each of
these. Links these significances to the present, with supporting evidence. Lacks sufficient context
before 1941.
Shows some awareness of the limitations of the study in terms of missing ‘voices’ which would have
given a wider range of perspectives.
Level 2/6
Assessment Objective 4
Uses a range of source material which is sometimes cited accurately. The evidence is selected and
organized effectively to illustrate the argument. There is a tendency to accept sources at face value.
Level 2/7
Total marks: 6 + 7 = 13
Example 4
The railroad crossing in Corinth was drastically important in the 19 th century, and it still is very significant
today. In all times from the late 1800s to the present time, the crossroads has been a major part of the
city of Corinth. Originally, it was all the city had as it transformed from a small farming village to a thriving
industrial centre. In the early 20th century, it was a very important part of the city of Corinth, as it was still
used to transport goods and supplies to industries. In the present time, the crossroads still remains an
important part of the movement of industrial materials, and it greatly boosts the local economy. Without the
crossroads Corinth may have never developed into what it is today.
Comments
Identifies significance at different times.
As stated earlier, the crossroads was crucial to the success of the city of Corinth in the late 1800s. There
was no other way to transport materials in bulk except the railroads, and Corinth’s crossroads happened to
connect some of the biggest industrial suppliers in the country. The two railroads that ran through Corinth
were the Mobile and Ohio and the Memphis and Charleston. With the importance of the crossroads to the
city and the rest of the south, Corinth would become a major strategic point in the Civil War. Union General
Henry W. Halleck once said, “Richmond and Corinth are now the great strategical points of the war, and
our success at these points should be insured at all hazards.”1 As stated in Source J, “The fast-growing
national rail system created new economic links in the country. The railroads carried raw materials such as
Iron ore, coal, and timber to factories. They also carried manufactured goods from factories to markets and
transported produce from farming areas to the cities.’2 One could easily see how important the railroads
were to America at the time. With the importance of the railroads, it’s also easy to see the importance of
the crossroads to a small city such as Corinth. Without it, they would have been completely insignificant
to the rest of the country. With the many raw materials that ran through Corinth daily, it eventually became
a very important industrial centre. The locals of Corinth used the crossroads frequently to support their
businesses. Source L states, “...the inhabitants find the future more absorbing than the past; they are more
36
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
Section 3: Marking coursework
interested in the development of their poultry farms, dairies, and textile plants than in the fact that General
Grant once occupied the town. They now ship more than a million dollars worth of products a year, and are
beginning to produce milk commercially.”3
This shows just how successful the crossroads made the people of the Corinth. It gave them a way to ship
and receive goods, which boosted the economy tremendously. The crossroads was very significant to the
city of Corinth in the late 19th century.
Comments
Evidence to support claim about economic significance of railroad crossing for Corinth in the 19th century.
Even as time progressed, the crossroads remained very important to the city of Corinth. In the early 20 th
century, it was still used as a major transportation route for raw materials that could be used in industries all
around. The importance of the crossroads was very evident to the people that lived there as well as the rest
of the country. As stated in Source 0, President William McKinley visited Corinth on April 30, 1901.4 Source
R states that, “President Roosevelt will visit Corinth Saturday night and is to make a platform appearance
during his stay here.’5 Both presidents used the railroads to make their tours and both made an appearance
in Corinth. It’s very obvious that the crossroads was a major part of Corinth, and it was important to the
nation too. The Mobile and Ohio and the Memphis and Charleston were huge railroads, even in the 1900’s,
and without them, Corinth may have not been very successful. Corinth continued to progress into a thriving
industrial centre at the time, which meant that many industries came and went in Corinth. Some were
successful and some were not, but regardless, the crossroads was still very significant to the city and was
its main source of income. Also, according to Source R, “To President Roosevelt this stops on a Southern
tour en route to California. To President Roosevelt this section is of special interest because it is the scene
of his Tennessee Valley program. In this county the first TVA power cooperative in which rural and urban
users of electricity united, has been set up.’6 Roosevelt chose this area for a particular reason, and it very
well could be because of the flow of materials in and out of the city by the crossroads. As one could easily
see, the crossroads had remained very important to the city of Corinth in the early 20 th century and would
remain important, even today.
Comments
Continues evidence to support claim about economic significance, but lacks sense of development.
References to Civil War and presidential visits are not linked to argument Speculative comments on
FDR’s visit.
Though some might argue otherwise because of the advancements in technology, the crossroads still
remains very significant to Corinth. However, it’s not just the crossroads itself that has kept it alive. It’s also
the history behind it. Source T states that, ‘Approximately 23–25,000 folks visited the Corinth Civil War
Interpretive Centre in the last year. It is estimated each cultural/heritage traveler spends an average of $944
per trip. That is a lot of money in the local economy – 23.6 million.’7 Had there not been the crossroads in
Corinth, there probably wouldn’t have been a major battle at or around Corinth, and there definitely wouldn’t
have been museums set up. The revenue off of these so called ‘centres’ is a huge bonus for the city of
Corinth and is easily one of the most important sources of income in the city. According to Source U, the
numbers of visits over the past years has stayed pretty steadily over 20,000 after 2004 except in 2008
when it still racked up 19, 943 visits.8 Not only is the tourism huge for the city, but the railroads that cross
in Corinth still transport many raw materials. According to Source Nm ‘There are three railroads that travel
through Corinth Daily and thereby use the Crossroads. Kansas City Southern has 2 trains a day travel though
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
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Section 3: Marking coursework
Corinth carrying goods of timber, wood chips, and boxcars of paper. Each trainload carries 60–100 cars per
train with an average load size of 5500–6000 tons. Norfolk Southern has 2 trains a day travel through Corinth
carrying goods of coal and various commodities. Each trainload carries 100–120 cars per train with an
average total of 60,000 – 100,000 tons. Redmont, a local train carrier, travels through Corinth an average of
1 – 2 times per week carrying Sunshine Mills Dog Food to various distributors. On what that translates into
economically: The three train companies bring through Corinth an estimated billion dollars annually.’9 As one
could easily see, whether it is through tourism, or the use of the crossroads today, it is still very significant to
the city of Corinth. It brings in over a billion dollars annually, which is huge for the local economy.
Comments
Provides evidence of significance for Corinth now in terms of tourism and transport. Some limited
linkage to past events.
No matter the time period, the crossroads has been very significant to Corinth since the construction of it.
In the late 19th century, railroads were practically the only way to transport a massive amount of materials
around the country, and with Corinth having one of the most significant crossroads in the county, it became
a thriving industrial centre. In the early 20th century, the crossroads still brought in a great deal of money for
the city and also made the area a target for the Tennessee Valley Program because of the flow of materials
in and out of the city and the location close to the Tennessee River. In the present time, the crossroads still
remains a huge part of the city of Corinth as well as a very important source of money. With the Corinth
Interpretive Centre, the depot downtown, and the actual crossroads bringing in over a billion dollars a year, it
is still very significant to the city. Whether it is 100 years ago, or 10 days ago, the crossroads has been and
will continue to be a crucial part of Corinth’s success.
Comments
Overview of development of Corinth and the significance of the crossing in this.
38
1
Scott, The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate
Armies, 1880.
2
Brinkley, The American Journey-Illinois Edition, 2006.
3
Crossroads Museum and Historic Depot, Industrious, Present time.
4
Roach, Corinth Timeline, 2011.
5
Crossroads Access Inc., the Weekly Corinthian, 1934.
6
Crossroads Access Inc, The Weekly Corinthian 1934.
7
White, Email interview, 2012.
8
Department of Interior, Corinth Civil War Interpretative Centre and Shiloh National Battlefield Yearly
Visitation Totals, 2012.
9
Personal interview, Interview with Orville King, No, 2012.
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
Section 3: Marking coursework
Bibliography
Brinkley, Alan. “Chapter 19.” The American Journey-Illinois Edition. By James McPherson. 5th ed. New
York: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2006. 567. Print.
“Corinth, Miss., Centre of the Rebel Defenses in the South-West.” New York Tribune [New York] 9 Apr.
1862: n. pag. Print.
Crossroads Workers in 1916. 1916. Photograph. Crossroads Museum and Historic Depot, Corinth, MS.
Daughtery, Kevin. Corinth: A Case Study of the Influence of Railroads in the Civil War. Working paper. N.p.:
n.p., n.d. Print.
Department of the Interior. Corinth Civil War Interpretive Centre and Shiloh National Battlefield Yearly
Visitation Totals. 1 Nov. 2012. Raw data. Shiloh National Military Park, Shiloh National Battlefield.
Federal Writers’ Project of the Works Progress Administration. MISSISSIPPI A Guide to the Magnolia State.
New York: Viking, 1938. Print.
Grant, Ulysses S. Letters of Ulysses S. Grant to His Father and His Youngest Sister. New York:
Knickerbocker, 1912. Project Gutenburg. Project Gutenburg Online, 15 Sept. 2004. Web. 18 Jan. 2013.
Hudson, Murray. “Map of The Memphis and Charleston Railroad and Connections.” Map.
Map of The Memphis and Charleston Railroad and Connections. Philadelphia: National Railway Publication,
1877. N. pag. Print.
Industrious. N.d. Display within the Crossroads Museum. Crossroads Museum and Historic Depot, Corinth,
MS.
“Interview with Orville King, Senior Train Master of Kansas City Southern: Corinth District.” Personal
interview. 1 Nov. 2012.
“Kristy White, Executive Director, Corinth Area Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.” Email interview. 1 Nov.
2012.
President McKinley’s Transcontinental Trip. N.d. Photograph. The Illustrious Life of William McKinley: Our
Martyred President. By Murat Halstead. Buffalo, NY: World, 1901. 309. Print.
President Roosevelt’s Cross-country Train Tour. 1934. Photograph. White House Press Staff: Public Domain,
Washington, DC.
“Pres. Roosevelt’s Visit.” The Weekly Corinthian. CrossRoads Access Inc., 20 Apr. 1993. Web. 18 Jan.
2013.
President McKinley’s Visit to Corinth. 1901. Photograph. Crossroads Museum and Historic Depot, Corinth,
MS.
Railroads of the Confederacy. Digital image. American Civil War. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Jan. 2013.
Roach, Vikki B., comp. “Corinth Timeline.” Alcorn County MSGENWEB. N.p., 23 Nov. 2011. Web. 18 Jan.
2013.
Scott, Robert N., H. M. Lazelle, George B. Davis, Leslie J. Perry, Joseph W. Kirkley, Fred C. Ainsworth,
JohnS. Moodey, and Calvin D. Cowles. “Browse Making of America.” The War of the Rebellion: A
Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Washington, D.C.: Govt. Print.
Off. 1880. 667. Print. SERIES 1, VOLUME X, PART 1.
Scott, Robert N., H. M. Lazelle, George B. Davis, Leslie J. Perry, Joseph W. Kirkley, Fred C. Ainsworth, John
S. Moodey, and Calvin D. Cowles. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the
Union and Confederate Armies. Washington, D.C.: Govt. Print. Off.,1880. 403. Print. SERIES 1, VOLUME X,
PART 2.
Siege and Battle of Corinth. N. d. Corinth Commission, Shiloh National Parle Robinson’s Battery. Rocco,
Keith. Web.
“Situation of Corinth, Miss.” The New York Herald [New York] 6 Apr. 1862: n. pag. Print.
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
39
Section 3: Marking coursework
Summative comments
Assessment Objective 2
The conclusion provides a clear developmental account, with the supporting evidence largely in
the preceding pages. Significance to the economy is clear. Other claims about significance are
undeveloped. Argument is generally supported, but sometimes speculative.
There is no evaluation of the study.
Level 2/6
Assessment Objective 4
Evidence is drawn from a range of sources which are cited accurately. Evidence is selected and
organised to support the argument. Some ideas are expressed tentatively, but this is because
the original source was tentative rather than because the source has been found to be of dubious
reliability. Overall there is little to suggest that the candidate evaluated sources.
Level 2/8
Total mark: 6 + 8 = 14
Example 5
The History of Falcon Field Air force Base
During World War Two, Falcon Field Air Force Base served as a training ground for British soldiers. It helped
change the course of the war as well as provide for the community. If not for this base, the British might
have lost and the outcome of World War Two might have been very different.
Falcon Field Air Force Base (now Falcon Field Airport) is located in Mesa, Arizona. It is 784 acres and
located near Nammo Talley Inc. and The Boeing Company’s Apache facilities.1 Back in 1940 was when they
decided to build the base right in the desert. The final result was a base with dorms, barracks, a hospital, a
canteen, hangars and offices.2 The cadets that were stationed at the base ranged from the ages eighteen
to thirty years old. Where they slept was inside dorms that provided heat when it was the winter and air
conditioning for the 110 degree summers. Some examples of the food they were provided with were:
roasts, ice cream and milkshakes. A lot of the times the food was provided by feasts that were made by
families who lived in the near-by community families who easily accepted the British into the Mesa area.3
Whenever cadets pass they would throw celebrations, for instance, one time thirty-nine British cadets
finished the twenty week training so they all celebrated in one of the hangars on the base by having lots of
food and lot dancing.4 The uses of the base is what’s most interesting about the airfield.
Comments
Identifies a short-term significance for Falcon Field.
Describes some uses of airfield.
Falcon Field Air Force Base was used during World War Two as a place for British cadets to train so that
they can fight in the war. The reason why they had to train here was because Britain did not have enough
safe fields to train on, airplanes, and fuel. They were able to train here because of the ‘Empire Air Training
40
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
Section 3: Marking coursework
Scheme’ which actually sent the royal Air Force to Canada, South Africa, Rhodesia and the United States.5
There was more than 2,000 cadets mostly British but some were Chinese and American. The American
cadets were not separated from the British and they had to abide to all the regulations made by the King.
The training that they received was also based off of the British training. If the King’s regulations ever
violated the United States military code then the Americans would not have to obey. Out of the four years,
1,400 British cadets graduated from Falcon Field Air Force Base and 118 American cadets graduated. Sadly,
twenty-three of all the cadets had passed away due to training accidents. There is a cemetery at Falcon
Field for the British cadets who had died there.6 Funeral services were held at the Air Force base whenever
a cadet had died and many times British families would come to Arizona to mourn for their lost family
member.7
Comments
Identifies and supports contemporary significance for R.A.F.
During their whole time spent doing training, they achieved over 300,000 hours in the air and fly around
forty-five million miles when the distance flown is added together. Due to Falcon Field providing a place
for the Royal Air Force to train, the British were able to defend themselves when the German Luftwaffe
attacked. If not for that success, the result of the war may have been different. The base did not just help
out with the war, it had also helped the city of Mesa to grow. The cadets needed to eat so food was needed
to be made. The kitchen at the base provided many jobs for members of the community. Falcon Field also
helped the cotton and wool market due to the cadets needing clothing, blankets, and other necessities.8
So the base really helped provide for the community of Mesa as well as the war. Now that the Air Force
base has retired and become a general public airport, it serves a different purpose for the economy and
community. One of the purposes is that it relieves Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and PhoenixMesa Gateway Airport from having to teach how to fly fixed wing airplanes and helicopters. It also helped
them focus on their airline sevices.9 Aviation in Arizona is one of the biggest businesses to bring in revenue
for the state and provide people with jobs. There are over 10,500 citizens of Arizona who have a job linked
to aviation. The total impact of aviation in the state is one and half billion dollars.’10 So, the airport still helps
out the community and even the state as a whole.
After researching articles about Falcon Field, I realized that there were several limitations in in the research
I was doing on the base and the community at the time. The biggest limitation in my studies was I did
not go to the site itself to see the airport. That makes it hard for me to actually see what I am researching
and makes it difficult to understand how it truly was during the 1940’s at the base. Another limitation was
that I have no actual first hand experiences at Falcon Field Air Force base. I was never stationed there and
have never even been there although, I have driven past the airport many of times. The other thing that I
was not able to do was talk to someone who was stationed on the base during World War Two. If I were
able to accomplish these limitations, then the research would of had more evidence as well as first hand
experiences, therefore providing me with a better understanding of what the base was like, how the airport
is now, and how the community was affected by Falcon Field.
Comments
Identifies and provides limited support for contemporary significance for Mesa’s economy. Identifies
significance now and provides limited supporting evidence.
Attempts to identify limitations of study.
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
41
Section 3: Marking coursework
Falcon Field Air Force Base was designed to help provide a place for the British Royal Air Force to have a
safe place to train its cadets. It served its purpose by providing newly trained pilots to fight in World War
Two and help America later win. Now Falcon Field Airport is still serving its purpose by providing public use
of airplanes and by providing to the community of Mesa and the state of Arizona.
1
’World War Two Aviation Exhibit’, Mesa Historical Museum. January 5, 2013.
2
Mesa Journal-Tribune Newspaper, ‘Movie Folk Look Over Air Field’ (November 28, 1941).
3
Mesa Journal-Tribune Newspaper ‘Falcon Field Described in London Paper’ (March 13, 1942).
4
Mesa Journal-Tribune Newspaper, ‘Happy Days are here Again’ (November 7, 1941).
5
AAHS Journal – American Aviation Historical Society, ‘Falcon Field Beginnings’ (1945). Volume 30, p. 175.
6
Simmons J., Larry. The Falcon Field Story: No. 4 BFTS and No. 3044 AAF Base Unit: Mesa Arizona, 1941
to 1945. Purchased November, 2012.
7
Mesa Journal-Tribune Newspaper, ‘A Bit of England at Mesa’ (December 5, 1941).
8
Anderson, Jung, Smith and Wilson, Images of America: Mesa (2008).
9
Falcon Field History. Accessed February 2013. http://www.mesaaz.gov/falcon_field/history.aspx
10
Arizona Department of Transportation Aeronautics Divisions, Arizona State University,
College of Business, ‘The Economic Impact of Aviation in Arizona’ (February 10, 2013).
http://azmemory.azlibrary.gov/cdm/singleitem/collection/statepubs/id/7046/rec/20
Bibliography
“A Bit of England at Mesa,” Mesa Journal-Tribune Newspaper (December 5, 1941) Anderson, Jung, Smith
and Wilson, Images of America: Mesa (2008)
Arizona Department of Transportation Aeronautics Divisions, Arizona State University,
College of Business, “The Economic Impact of Aviation in Arizona” (February 10, 2013).
<http://azmemory.azlibrary.gov/cdm/singleitem/collection/statepubs/id/7046/rec/20>
“Falcon Field Beginnings,” AAHS Journal- American Aviation Historical Society. (1945). Volume 30, p. 175.
“Falcon Field Described In London Paper,” Mesa Journal-Tribune Newspaper (March 13,
1942) Falcon Field History. Accessed February 2013. <http://www.mesaaz.gov/falcon field/history.aspx.>
“Happy Days are Here Again,” Mesa Journal-Tribune Newspaper (November 7, 1941)
“Movie Folk Look Over Air Field,” Mesa Journal-Tribune Newspaper (November 28, 1941)
Simmons J., Larry. The Falcon Field Story: No.4 BFTS and No. 3044 AAF Base Unit: Mesa Arizona, 1941 to
1945. Purchased November, 2012.
“World War Two Aviation Exhibit,” Mesa Historical Museum. Date visited January 5, 2013.
42
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
Section 3: Marking coursework
Summative comments
Assessment Objective 2:
Identifies significance of airfield during the Second World War for R.A.F and Mesa, with limited scope
and supporting evidence. Comments on significance in air transport now, with limited evidence.
Limitations of study mostly reveal student’s limitations.
Level 2/4
Assessment Objective 4:
Uses a limited range of sources and does not establish a developmental account. There is some
selection of relevant information but it is not deployed effectively.
No attempt is made to evaluate sources.
Citation of sources is adequate.
Level 1/3
Total mark: 4 + 3 = 7
Example 6
The significance of the railroads to Corinth to start from the 1st of the century is that the railroads is what got
the railroads started up. They weren’t as fast as people thought they would be, but it got things were they
needed to be. Corinth was also good place for commerce due to is strategic place around the railway. This
was the best manufacturing in the North-East., The farming we had also produced us with supplied of dairy
products and much more. We had lots of trains that come through Corinth everyday or a day or two. The
three main companies had brought through Corinth is estimated amount of about a billion dollars a yearly. In
today we still have railroad in Corinth like Caterpillar, Kimberly Clark, Timber Products, Kingsford, Mississippi
Polymer and Marathon Cheese if it was still in business today, be a railroad too. This companies had millions
of dollars worth of products that are distributed from Corinth’s industries by the railway services, one of the
President came through Corinth on the railroads; President William McKinley on 1901-April 30 on Gala Day.
It was like thousands of people who wanted to see him. Also President Roosevelt came through Corinth to
make a Platform appearance during the time he stayed here. This economy was a fast growing national rail
system that had created a new economic, that links in the country.
Comments
Ideas about the economy are not clearly expressed. Argument lacks coherence.
During this time the railroads had carried lots of things, such as iron ore, coal and timber to some factories.
The railroads and things helped soldiers during the war took too get their supplies from one place to another
of them from one palace to the other. Also the railroads had lots other supplies to handle too. The railroad
system wanted the economy to create other things like the iron tracks and the locomotives the helped the
mining and processing industries back then. During this time the Corinth and Shiloh was going on. Also the
Corinth and Vicksburg war was going on too. After the wars Corinth stands as a multi-faceted demonstration
of how railroads influenced operations and strategy in the Civil War. It had already brought together the two
great armies that clashed at Shiloh. In turn the Confederates and Federals had defended and attacked it,
struggling for its control. Now possession of this small railroad town was about to make possible on the Civil
War’s most decisive campaigns. As much as perhaps any other place in the western theater, Corinth shows
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
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Section 3: Marking coursework
why the Civil War was a war based on railroad strategy.’ Richmond and Corinth are now the great strategical
points of war, and our success at theses point should be insured at all hazards.’ Declared a Union General
early in the American Civil War. A confederate general agreed saying, ‘If defeated her [Corinth], we lose the
Mississippi Valley and probably our cause.’ Sieges, battles, and skirmishes were all fought in around Corinth
during the war, and the South lost each time. As the Confederate general predicted, the South thus lost
Mississippi Valley and the war. How much of a role it was played in the Corinth’s military, and the history
it had played when the Confederacy’s defeat has been long debated by historians, but it was very obvious
that the Southern had defeated in the North Mississippi did not help their cause at all. But Corinth is the
important crossroads town of Corinth, located in northeast Mississippi, contained over a thousand when the
Civil War began, and some of the fighting took place inside its limits. During this time the structural damage
and the dead people was a very tremendous effect on the local population. Many houses, churches, and
hotels became hospitals and many inhabitants cared for the wounded.
Comments
Lack of paragraphing. Drifts onto ideas and events related to the Civil War. Sources not cited.
As the town changed hands during the war, white residents sometimes found themselves under enemy
occupation while blacks had their first taste of freedom in a ‘contraband’ camp. The main reason for
Corinth’s military importance was because two major railroads, the Memphis and Charleston Railroad,
running east, and west, and the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, running north and south, crossed in its
downtown. The relatively new transportation technologies, steamboats and railroads, revolutionized the
art of war. These two railroads were perhaps the most important in the Confederacy because they extend
nearly the entire height and breadth of the South. During this time General Albert Sidney Johnston was held
in Mississippi in Corinth in April 1862 at the time Union General Ulysses S. Grant’s Army of the Tennessee
was within 20 miles.
The significance of the railroad crossing of Corinth. Also to have things imported to us. Now days we
transport things by train, car and planes, and etc., even though they had trains back then it took them
days of weeks to get things to their destination. We probably have about two railroad connections, which
were Memphis to Charleston, and Mobile to Ohio. During this time the Civil War was going on, and I think
we were winning at this point. Like Federal General Henry Halleck quotes on May 25, 1862, ‘Richmond
and Corinth are the strategical point of the war, and our success at these point should be insured at all
hazards.’1 Now on form that, the Rebels where induced from the commanding general to select as a point
of resistance the district around Corinth are numerous. The hilly nature of the ground renders it easy to
construct defensive works; and Corinth itself is an converging point for various lines of communication,
which enable the Rebels to supply themselves with provisions and re-enforcements.
Comments
Explains contemporary significance in Civil War and describes some events.
Argument lacks some coherence.
It connects with Memphis by rail; 95 miles distant, Columbus; 140 miles distant, and also with Clarksville,
and Paducah; each 180 miles distant. The Ohio and Mobile Railway crosses the Memphis and Charleston
road at Corinth. The Paducah road is not in possession of the Rebels; but to Jackson, 30 miles from Corinth
were heavy works are thrown up as well to Corinth. The means of access from the heart of the Rebel region
could not be surpassed. The way is a retreat the cases disaster was amply provided. Corinth was at the
border of three states surrounding it. The railroads these trains were traveling on were made out of wood,
44
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
Section 3: Marking coursework
hardworking men. Probably about five hundred men worked on the railroad crossings. Also in addition to
that the railroad companies provided work for about thousands of people who laid tracks and built stations
and for those who manufactured railway cars and equipment.
The significance is great because today the railroad industry is still growing today. Corinth is a railroad town
because we have lots of railroads in our town. Some come through here everyday or more than once a day
maybe, all week, or two days out of the week. We have railroads companies in our town today. They are
like Kimberly Clark, Caterpillar, Timber Products, and more. Some trains are Mobile to Ohio and Memphis
to Charleston. We have history in our town, and places to visit like the Interpretive Centre, Crossroads
Museum, and Corinth Civil War Centre. Also Shiloh Battle Field. Lots of people visit Corinth because of
our railroads. Corinth is also known for its many railroads in our town. We have a great industry for farming
because we produced dairy products and much more. Like we produced cheese, milk and other things.
We transported things like raw materials, such as iron ore, coal, and timber locomotives. On our railroads.
The lumber industry is were we supply the wood and things for the railroads to get built for the railroad
ties and the coal industry. Which provides fuel for locomotives. We also built tracks. There are three trains
companies bring through Corinth an estimated of about billion dollars annually. Well to day Corinth is still a
railroad town, and still is great. The significance to the development of the region in the later 20th century as
it was in earlier eras, was that the earlier years wasn’t as good as the later years. As the years past things
started to progress more and develop more. Economy was bad back then they didn’t have as much money
as have know. It was hard times back then for people, like today people are in their hard times today. The
railroads even got better too.
Comments
Attempts to judge significance now. Some evidence is incomplete or lacks coherence.
Bibliography
1
Scott, Robert; ‘The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and
Confederate Armies’; 1880.
Summative comments
Assessment Objective 2
Provides some ideas about contemporary significance during the Civil War and today. Some support is
provided, but this is often confused or not linked adequately to the argument.
There is no attempt to evaluate the study.
Level 1/3
Assessment Objective 4
Sources are used to provide evidence, but they are rarely cited adequately. There is limited
organization of the material selected from the sources, with much of the argument implicit.
There is no attempt to evaluate sources; sources are accepted at face value.
Level 1/4
Total mark: 3 + 4 = 7
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
45
Section 3: Marking coursework
46
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
Section 4: Managing the administration of coursework
Section 4: Managing the administration of coursework
4.1 Internal standardisation
If two or more teachers within a Centre are involved in marking coursework, Centres must ensure that all
work is marked to a common standard, and that a single, valid and reliable set of marks is produced.
This is best achieved before marking begins by carrying out an internal standardisation meeting. For this, the
lead teacher or internal moderator (a teacher who has been accredited by Cambridge to mark coursework),
should select and mark samples of coursework taken from each class or teaching set. These should
represent the full range of candidates’ abilities. These can then be used in the meeting to provide a standard
against which the marking of other teachers can be evaluated and brought into line.
4.2 Internal moderation
When everybody has completed the marking, the internal moderator should check the marking of a small
sample of scripts from each teacher to ensure they have adhered to the standard. Any differences in
marking between the internal moderator and other markers should be talked through and resolved. Marks
can be adjusted from any part of the range of marks, and if there is a discernible trend of leniency or severity,
marks should be adjusted for other coursework in that range. If the trend is consistent, it is possible to scale
marks upwards or downwards without the need to re-mark all coursework within the range affected.
If however, there is no clear pattern and if learners are at risk of being awarded the wrong mark, more
coursework from that teacher’s marking should be marked and adjustments made until all doubt about the
accuracy of the marking has been removed. Samples should be re-marked from the remaining teachers’
marking until the process is complete.
Please note that if marks are changed as a result of internal moderation, the change of marks should be
clearly shown on the work and on both the Individual Candidate Record and the Coursework Assessment
Summary Form (see appendices 4 and 5).
4.3 Recording and dispatching of marks
From June 2015 all of the forms mentioned below and the instructions for completing them may be
downloaded from www.cie.org.uk/samples. The database will ask you for the syllabus code and your Centre
number, after which it will take you to the correct form. Follow the instructions provided when completing
the form. In the meantime, all forms are available for photocopying from the syllabus.
When the learners have completed the coursework, each learner must complete the form 0409/03
Research Portfolio: Cover Sheet. The teacher should then sign the form and draw to the moderator’s
attention any issues in the appropriate space.
Once the work has been marked and internally moderated, an Individual Candidate Record Card must be
completed for each candidate (see Appendix 4). This form should be attached to the front of each candidate’s
work.
The Coursework Assessment Summary Form should also be completed. This provides the external
moderator with an overview of all the candidates and marks in the Centre (see Appendix 5).
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
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Section 4: Managing the administration of coursework
Cambridge will send a computer-printed Coursework Mark Sheet (MS1) to each Centre in late March (for
the June examination), and in September for the November series. Form MS1 will list all the candidate
names and numbers. This mark sheet should be completed and the top copy returned to Cambridge as
soon as possible. The deadlines for return are 30 April (for the June examination) and 31 October (for the
November examination). If candidates re-sit Components 1 and 2 in November, the coursework mark from
the June session can be carried over.
4.4 The sample of work for external moderation
The sample submitted for external moderation should:
•
represent the spread of marks across the entire ability range for the cohort, including the top scoring
piece of coursework, some middle range marks and the lowest scoring piece of work
•
include a balance of work from candidates across all teaching sets and assessors
Each sample should:
•
include the candidates’ coursework. (The pages of the work of each candidate can simply be stapled
together with the Individual Candidate Record Card and Research Portfolio: Cover Sheet attached as the
front two pages.)
•
include the Coursework Assessment Summary Form(s)
•
include the second copy of the form MS1 (or a copy of the electronic version)
•
include the coursework question and any other instructions given by you to the candidates, the source
pack and the question-specific mark scheme
•
contain information on the circumstances in which coursework was completed by candidates and about
how you undertook internal moderation.
On all forms, those candidates selected for external moderation must be indicated by an asterisk (*)
You will select the sample yourself based on the criteria at the beginning of this sub-section. In instances
where the cohort of entries is greater than 10, a representative sample of work must be submitted to
Cambridge, in accordance with the following numbers stated in the Cambridge Administrative Guide
(International Version):
1 – 10 entries: all candidates
11 – 50 entries: 10 candidates
51 – 100 entries: 15 candidates
101 – 200 entries: 20 candidates
Over 200 entries: 10% of candidates
It might be necessary for Cambridge external moderators to call for a further sample of work, beyond
the original submission. Full details of this request for further samples would be addressed to the named
Examinations Officer at your Centre.
Centres are asked to retain copies of all Individual Candidate Record Cards and Coursework Assessment
Summary Forms until the publication of results.
48
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
Section 5: How to become an accredited coursework assessor
Section 5: How to become an accredited coursework
assessor
5.1 Accreditation
Each Centre must have at least one teacher who is an accredited coursework assessor for IGCSE American
History, but we strongly recommend that anyone involved in the teaching of IGCSE American History
reads through this training handbook. This is to ensure that teachers understand what is required in the
construction of coursework questions, and that they are able to mark coursework correctly and consistently
using the generic mark scheme.
In order to gain accreditation, you should first have read through the guidance in this handbook and worked
through the marked examples in Section 3. You should have attempted to mark them using the mark
schemes provided, and compared your marks to those given by the moderator. Once you are satisfied that
your understanding of the application of the mark scheme agrees with that of the moderator you will be
ready to attempt the Accreditation Test.
The Accreditation Test
•
Copy the Accreditation Cover Sheet, the Accreditation Submission Forms (1–4) and the Accreditation
samples A and B on pages 54 – 59.
•
Using Accreditation Submission Form 1, propose one coursework task in the form of a key question
and provide a brief explanation of how the task gives candidates both the scope and opportunity to
measure significance and to use the sources in line with the requirements of the generic mark scheme.
•
Provide a set of sources to accompany the task (as many as possible should be historical sources rather
than interpretations of the site or object). The set of sources does not need to be as extensive as the
set that would be provided for learners to complete the coursework task, but it should include sufficient
sources to demonstrate the use of a range of evaluative approaches.
•
Provide a question-specific mark scheme.
•
Tick the boxes in Accreditation Submission Form 2 to indicate that you have included the set of
sources and the question-specific mark scheme in your Accreditation submission.
•
Mark the two Accreditation Samples (A and B) on pages 55 and 58, providing marginal comments
throughout (on the copies you have made) to indicate how your marks relate to the Assessment
Objectives.
•
Using Accreditation Submission Forms 3 and 4, please give each Accreditation Sample a level and a
mark in each Assessment Objective. In addition, please provide brief summative comments explaining
why the answer has been placed into a particular level in each Assessment Objective.
•
Fill in the Accreditation Cover Sheet with your details and place all the documents in task order with
the Cover Sheet on top. Scan all the completed forms (and annotated samples) and email them to
info@cie.org.uk. Please put ‘Teacher Accreditation’ in the subject line of your email. Alternatively if you
are unable to scan your documents, then please take a copy for your own records and post them to the
address on the Cover Sheet.
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
49
Section 5: How to become an accredited coursework assessor
Cambridge IGCSE® coursework assessor accreditation
Cover Sheet
Cambridge IGCSE American History (0409)
Please complete this form in BLOCK CAPITALS.
Centre number
Centre name
Teacher’s name
Contact email
Declaration of authenticity
I have read and understood the training materials and certify that the evidence submitted with this
form is my own original work.
Signed
Date
(DD/MM/YY)
Name
Return this form to
Cambridge IGCSE Accreditation Coordinator (EDM)
Cambridge International Examinations
Cambridge Assessment DC10
Hill Farm Road
Whittlesford
Cambridgeshire
CB22 4FZ
United Kingdom
Please keep a copy of the completed submission forms and all other documents that form part of your
application for accreditation, for your own records.
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Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
Section 5: How to become an accredited coursework assessor
Accreditation Submission Form 1
IGCSE American History (0409) Coursework Assessor Accreditation
Task 1
Set one coursework task comprising:
•
a key question (please write your question in the box below)
•
a brief explanation of how the task gives candidates both the scope and
opportunity to measure significance and to use the sources in line with the
requirements of the generic mark scheme
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
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Section 5: How to become an accredited coursework assessor
Accreditation Submission Form 2
IGCSE American History (0409) Coursework Assessor Accreditation
Task 1 (Continued)
Please provide a set of sources
As many sources as possible should be historical rather than interpretations of the site or object.
The set of sources does not need to be as extensive as the set that would be provided for learners to
complete the coursework task but should include those sources referred to (at each level of Assessment
Objective 4) in the question-specific mark scheme you will be submitting for the task above.
(please tick the box to indicate that these have been included in your submission)
F
Please provide a question-specific mark scheme
This should contain examples at each Level of each Assessment Objective to indicate in outline how
learners could achieve that Level.
In Assessment Objective 2 examples should provide a range of ideas about significance in relation to
different lines of development and/or different temporal spans. There should also be some indication of how
learners might evaluate the study.
In Assessment Objective 4 examples should be given to show how learners could use the sources provided
at each Level.
There is no need to provide examples of citation of sources at the different levels.
(please tick the box to indicate this has been included in your submission)
52
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
F
Section 5: How to become an accredited coursework assessor
Accreditation Submission Form 3
IGCSE American History (0409) Coursework Accreditation
Task 2 Mark the accreditation samples A and B
Please write marginal comments on each answer indicating where marks relate the relevant Assessment
Objective and return your annotated answers along with these forms to the address on the cover sheet.
Summative comments on each Accreditation Sample should be supplied on the forms below.
Summative comments on Accreditation Sample A
Level
Assessment Objective 2
Mark
Level
Mark
Assessment Objective 4
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
53
Section 5: How to become an accredited coursework assessor
Accreditation Submission Form 4
IGCSE American History (0409) Coursework Accreditation
Task 2 (continued)
Please write marginal comments on each answer indicating where marks relate the relevant Assessment
Objective and return your annotated answers along with these forms to the address on the cover sheet.
Summative comments on each Accreditation Sample should be supplied on the forms below.
Summative comments on Accreditation Sample B
Level
Assessment Objective 2
54
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
Mark
Level
Assessment Objective 4
Mark
Section 5: How to become an accredited coursework assessor
Accreditation Sample A
What is the historical significance of Falcon Airfield, Mesa, AZ?
Falcon Field was an air force base in Mesa, AZ from 1941–1945. It was used to train British cadets along
with some American cadets. The groundbreaking of the 720-acre base was on July 17, 1941 and was built
by Southwest Airways.1 It was an air force base on American soil but the, “British air commission had
arranged to finance 60 percent of the cost of the new field,” since they would be using it.2 Not everything
was perfect for the RAF when they moved in: they would see, “the skeleton of one huge hangar is up; the
concrete foundation of another has been poured for another.”3 It did not stay like that forever and they did
eventually finish it. “[H]e was well pleased with the new improvements at Falcon Field.”4 Falcon Field was
built and was a successful British flying school and air force base. It was turned over to the City of Mesa in
1946 and is currently a municipal airport. It has very little of the original buildings, but both hangars are still
there. Many people and companies use it year-round.
While Falcon Field may ship cargo and house aviation companies, it is more than that. It has made a
difference. Falcon Field has changed Arizona and many lives for years.
The airport has affected the economy and workforce. One group that was affected was the women. The
United States had to support the Air Force during the World War II and it was not an easy task for anyone.
The cities that housed the air force bases had to put forth an extra effort to keep the system running,
“Because so many men were enlisted, women were called to perform a variety of jobs that men would
have traditionally held...their work kept the Mesa military bases functioning.”5 Women were able to step up
and break the barrier of prejudice in jobs. In Mesa, the women were what kept the whole project running at
Falcon Field: caring for the cadets and providing them proper training. Plus they were employed, supporting
their families, and stimulating the economy.
There are many aviation related businesses that are housed at Falcon Field. Falcon Field supports large
companies such as Boeing and Nammo Talley. “Each year more than $2.3 billion [are] contributed to the
local economy by the airport and its businesses -more than 95 businesses at Falcon Field employing more
than 1,100 people.”6 Besides those who work housed at Falcon Field, there are more than 13,000 people
employed at the off-airport employment area.7 Falcon Field has made a difference to the economy and work
force in Arizona since it was started. It gave jobs to men and women in Mesa, keeping the air force base
running; it has brought many companies to Arizona, supporting the economy by giving more jobs and by
putting more in the money supply.
Falcon Field caused a housing shortage in Mesa when it was first built as cadets and staff moved there.
Before they showed up there was a realization that more housing would be needed to provide for the
incoming pilots. “Private building is increasing, but not at a rate rapid enough to provide the necessary
housing.”8 They were correct and housing was made, but not nearly enough to house such a large influx of
people. “Housing was so scarce that the federal government built housing projects like Escobedo to help
alleviate the shortage.”9 The housing shortage spurred jobs and growth in the Mesa economy. Flacon Field
created a worry about accommodating those associated with it; it was significant to the established Mesa
community, incoming people, and the government that created projects to help.
However insignificant Falcon Field may seem, it made a difference in WWII. Falcon Field was for training
British pilots. Ashley Hall of the RAF delegation said it is important, “that [they] can train here free from
interference by the weather,” this may have caused more fatalities or caused the training to take longer.10
Also, they were able to train without the worry that they would be bombed on while training, which would
demolish their air force. Hall also said, “This sharing of schools or instructors and of airplanes is getting
together on the common job and the common purpose.”11 Falcon Field unified the Americans and the British
in the fight against cruel dictatorship and persecution. Falcon Field “...was the training place for hundreds
of British pilots.”12 This was necessary to World War II. Hitler said that he would not invade Britain until they
won in the air. Falcon Field was helping freedoms be preserved. Britain had to keep winning in the air, and
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
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Section 5: How to become an accredited coursework assessor
with the pilots that were taught they were able to not back down, but hold their stance. “[O]rdinary people
in ordinary places, working together, could make a difference in the outcome of a world war.”13 Falcon Field
my have been a rather small air force base, a place that may seem insignificant during a war, but working
together as a community, Falcon Field and Mesa were able to contribute to the war effort. Together the little
places and little actions went a long way in defeating the Axis Powers and restoring peace to the earth.
Falcon Field Air Force Base has transformed into a high functioning Municipal Airport that has change Mesa.
Falcon Field was the foundation for, “one of the nation’s busiest general aviation airports.”14 It is an obvious
change from Mesa’s once small community. However great it is now, there was some disagreement over
the idea of buying Falcon Field. A sign said it would be like, “operating a steamboat on Mormon Lake.”15
They decided to buy it for one dollar under certain conditions: it would be used for commercial aviation for
no less than 22 years.16 It is a successful general aviation airport with, “more than 229,000 total aircraft
operations...at the airport in 2011.”17 While Falcon Field may have been a skeptical idea at first, it has
become a high functioning airport that serves thousands.
Besides influencing the local community, Falcon Field strengthened international relations with Britain. Two
pieces of Britain will always be in Mesa. One is Falcon Field itself. “The falcon, a hawk trained by hunting in
the British Isles, will be the insignia used as Falcon Field.”18 The courageous spirit of Britain lives on through
the history of Mesa and the transformation of the air force base. It lives further in the lives of those who
were killed training at the air force base and are buried in the Mesa Cemetery. “It’s a unique ceremony
celebrating the bond between The United States and Great Britain during times of war and peace,”19 Falcon
Field strengthened the relations between the countries; “...the training of British and American cadets under
a British programme at an American operated school is a situation unique in the history of the Nations
concerned,”20 Falcon Field intertwined the nations by the unification of training and later fighting and spirit.
Falcon Field gave more than just relations between governments: it fostered friendships. The cadets had
an enjoyable time with everyone. The whole team was there to cheer the cadet on his first solo flight with
the tradition of tossing them into the swimming pool afterwards. They worked hard to make it through
the training and were able to relax later.21 The time at Falcon Field was the best time they ever would
have. They shared their culture. The British would go to the “pictures” and the Americans would go to the
“movies”, but soon enough that would be switched around. After their stay at Falcon Field they were, “firm
friends...‘Doing swell;’ [they] were friendly, [they] were happy.”22 The British cadets were welcomed into the
community and created long-time friends, for some they would never get rid of her. “...Young boys were
very happy to be treated like one of the family.”23 The boys were thrilled with Falcon Field, “...this is paradise
found...We live just like kings.”24 They lived like kings with freedoms, friends, new experiences, and a
welcoming community with beautiful sights. Falcon Field impacted the British and American cadets. It gave
them a different perspective, their own paradise, and their friends and their culture.
Falcon Field made a difference in history. It changed the economy in Mesa, along with the growth in
population. It made a difference in the outcome and the ability to push through and stop the spread of
Hitler’s power. It created the personality of Mesa with an aviation community. Falcon Field strengthened
international relations with Britain. Most importantly, it impacted the history of thousands of people, the
cadets at Falcon Field and the community that befriended them.
Falcon Field was an important part of Mesa, however there are very few people left to discuss their
thoughts first hand. The significance it has had on the rest of their lives is hard to find. Also, it is hard to find
perspective from every group. While we know that some Native Americans worked at Falcon Field we are
not sure what they all thought about it and how it changed their lives. Also, there was no research found
about how it was significant to the Japanese-Americans or Mexican-Americans and their lives. Another
limitation of the study was that there was not enough time to go to every library and museum to find all the
information about Falcon Field. With more research, the significance Falcon Field has had on these groups
may be found, but it is not included in this examination.
56
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
Section 5: How to become an accredited coursework assessor
[1598 words]
1
“Ground is Broken for Two New Airports”, The Mesa Journal-Tribune, July 18, 1941.
2
“British Air School Slated for Valley”, The Arizona Republic, June 13, 1941.
3
“144 Men On field At Mesa”, The Mesa Journal-Tribune, September 26, 1941.
4
“Movie Folk Look Over Air Field”, The Mesa Journal-Tribune, November 28, 1941.
5
“WWII Aviation Exhibit.” Mesa Historical Museum. January 5, 2013.
6
“WWII Aviation Exhibit.” Mesa Historical Museum. January 5, 2013.
7
“Falcon Field Employment Centre”, Official Website of Mesa, Arizona. Accessed January, 2013.
<http://www.mesaaz.gov/economic/FalconField.aspx>
8
“Shortage of Homes in Mesa Bad Problem”, The Mesa Journal-Tribune, September 12, 1941.
9
Lisa Anderson, Alice Jung, Jared Smith, Thomas Wilson, Images of America: Mesa, Charleston, Chicago,
Portsmouth, San Francisco: Acadia Publishing, 2008.
10
“Falcon Field Unit Praised”, The Arizona Republic, February 20, 1943.
11
“Falcon Field Unity Praised”, The Arizona Republic, February 20, 1943.
12
“A Major City Asset”, The Mesa Tribune, June 10, 1963.
13
Daryl Mallet, Images of America: Mesa, Charleston, Chicago, Portsmouth, San Francisco: Acadia
Publishing, 2009.
14
Jim Ripley, “The Day Mesa took Flight: July 16, 1941”,
The East Valley Tribune Online, Published March 17, 2011.
<http://www.eastvalleytribune,com/columns/article_053c3942-50e3-11e0-8c9a-001cc4c002e0.html>
15
“WWII Aviation Exhibit.” Mesa Historical Museum. January 5, 2013.
16
“WWII Aviation Exhibit.” Mesa Historical Museum. January 5, 2013.
17
Falcon Field History, Official Website of Mesa, Arizona. Accessed February, 2013.
<http://www.mesaaz.gov/falcon_field/history.aspx>
18
“English Air Men Are Coming”, The Mesa Journal-Tribune, August 1, 1941.
19
“Arizona Stories: Falcon Field”, PBS Arizona Collection, Accessed February, 2013.
20
Lt.C.L.Tyrber, “World Powers Exchange Notes”, The Falcon, The Magazine of No. 4 British Flying training
School Mesa, Arizona, July 29, 1943.
21
Lt.C.L.Tyrber, The Falcon, The Magazine of No. 4 British Flying training School Mesa, Arizona, July 29,
1943.
22
Lt.C.L.Tyrber, “World Powers Exchange Notes”, The Falcon, The Magazine of No. 4 British Flying training
School Mesa, Arizona, July 29, 1943.
23
Larry Simmons, The Falcon Field Story: No.4 BFTS and No.3044 AAF Base Unit: Mesa, Arizona, 1941 to
1945.
24
Jim Dawson, The RAF in Arizona Falcon Field 1941–1945, 2002.
Bibliography
[18 items correctly listed]
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
57
Section 5: How to become an accredited coursework assessor
Accreditation Sample B
What is the historical significance of the Railroad crossing at Corinth, MS?
The railroad junction in Corinth, MS played a significant role in the events that occurred in the latter of the
19th century. The crossroads would contribute to the Civil war in many ways, and the further growth and
progress of Corinth. And in this essay I will prove how the railroad junction was a main centre piece in the
Civil war, how Corinths crossroads are significant to the economy and linking of the nation., and largely
contributed to the growth of Corinth by stating facts and sources that specifically prove my my answer.
Corinth was a significant source of conflict in the Civil war. As it was important to both the Confederacy, and
the Union, because of the crossroads of two major railways. This junction made Corinth a vital point to have
control over and is stated by a significant figure in the civil war Federal General Henry H. Halleck in Source
D. And he explains it as, “Richmond and Corinth are now the great strategical points of the war, and our
success at these points should be insured at all Hazards.”1 Corinth was first inhabited by the Confederacy,
in order to protect it as whomever had control of it had control over a wide range of land and had easy
transportation in a wide area. Soon the Union sought control over Corinth and its junction. This fight over
Corinth soon led to the battle of Shiloh in 1862. General P.G.T Beauregard quote in Source F further shows
the importance of Corinth to the Confederacy with the following quote, “If defeated here we lose the
Mississippi Valley, and probably our cause.”2 The results of the Battle of Shiloh resulted in Union control
of Corinth, and of course control of the crossroads. This impacted the war and gave the Union large upper
hand, turning the tide of the war in the Unions favor.
The economy and structure of Corinth was also greatly influenced by the crossroads as a result of the
masses of soldiers and citizens moving to Corinth during the Civil War. The new railroads built in Corinth
boosted the economy and spark that built Corinth, because farmers and shop owners could now import
and export items and good at extremely low costs, and very quickly. This is proven in Source F by the
American Journey, “The fast growing rail system create economic links in the country. The railroads carried
raw materials such as Iron, ore , coal, and timber to factories. The aslo carried manufactured goods from
factories to markets and transported produce from farming areas to the cities.” Over all the crossroads was
very significant in latter half of the 19th century by being a vital point in the Civil War, and helped to create
Corinth as it is today.
The railroad crossing at Corinth was significant as it allowed for the meeting of two very large railways,
the Mobile-Ohio, and the Memphis-Charleston. The meeting of these two railroads at Corinth allowed for
the connecting of the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, and Atlanta (East Coast) to Memphis (Mississippi
River). Thus the crossroads allowed the access of many more regions of the U.S. to expand and grow,
and economy to be boosted by the new access of more farm land and shipping ability. And effectively
connecting the U.S. in ways that couldn’t be done without the railroad at Corinth. I will provide proof and
evidence regarding the topic conveying hard evidence towards my statements.
Corinth was a very small agricultural town, but was formed into a booming trading post as a result of two
major railways that met in Corinth’s centre. The crossroads made Corinth transform form a small town to
a manufacturing post. Such as described in Source L from the Crossroads Museum and Historic depot,
“Corinth has always been a good location for commerce due to its strategic location along the railway. While
maintaining close ties with agriculture, it became the foremost manufacturing centre in Northeast Mississippi.”
While railroad boomed Corinth in population and mass, the location of the railroad also led to the forming
of major factories such as in this statement from Source L, “The W.T. Adams Machine Company was
established in 1879. The Corinth Machine Company, organized in 1907 gained worldwide recognition for its
saw mills. And later in 1945 the Berry Motor Company, which made hydraulic motors, opened and was later
sold to Tyrone Industries.” And agriculturally they flourished with farmers being able to quickly and efficiently
transport and sell via railroad. Source M from the MISSISSIPPI A Guide to the Magnolia State effectively
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Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
Section 5: How to become an accredited coursework assessor
explains and proved this with the following article, “The inhabitants fins the future more absorbing than the
past: they are more interested in the development of their poultry farms, dairies, and textile plants than in
the fact that General Grant once occupied the town. They now ship more than a million dollars worth of
products a year, and are beginning to produce milk commercially.” This gives fact towards my statement and
shows how the railroads also effected not only Corinth and its economy, but the U.S. economy as a whole
from the produce and mechanical equipment that was and still is being produced from Corinth.
Corinth gained national recognition from its service in the Civil War, and the and mostly its vital rail system
that was the crossroads that greatly affected and aided connecting the U.S. and boosting the U.S. economy,
as it did for Corinth.
In this essay I will state my opinion on why I believe the crossroads at Corinth is not as significant as it once
was in the development of the surrounding region by providing facts and statistics to provide logical proof
and reasoning to my answer.
The crossroads at Corinth was the very factor in why we are the city that we are. As Corinth literally
acquired its name because of the crossroads located there in honor of the famous Greek city Corinth. Such
a statement is proved by the MISSISSIPPI: A Guide to the Magnolia State with the following statement,
“In 1855 the officers of the Memphis & Charleston R.R. and the Mobile and Ohio R.R. chose this site for
the junction of their two lines, giving it the obvious name of Crossroads City. Two years later the editor of
the weekly newspaper suggested that the community change its name to the more imaginative name of
Corinth, the Grecian crossroads city.” The Crossroads also impacted Corinth because it was a main point
in the Civil war, which centralized many soldiers in Corinth, which some one never leave and would affect
the towns population. After the Civil war Corinth’s new found fame brought many U.S. citizens to Corinth to
stay because of the crossroads, and the market ability it gave Corinth.
None the less, Corinth is still important today as it plays a large role in Corinth’s economy, and the nation
as a whole. Here are some statistics on how the crossroads has attributed to Corinth and its economy
from Source T, “Approximately 23,000–25,000 folks visited the Corinth Civil War Centre in the last year. It
is estimated each cultural/heritage traveler spends an average $944 per trip. That is a lot of money in the
local economy-$23.6 million.” As well as these statistics provided by Kirsty White, Executive Director of the
Corinth Area Convention & Visitor’s Bureau as listed from Source T, “Listed below is information provided
by the Mississippi Development Authority-Tourism Division regarding the impact of tourism for the year
2011: *Tour and travel expenditures by Alcorn County visitors: 41,064,718 million. *Total direct and indirect
employment related to tour and travel sector for Alcorn County in 2011: 700 people. *Percentage of travel
and Tourism employees in Alcorn County: 5.5% of the workforce. *State/Local taxes and fees attributed to
tourism: 3,348,097 million. *Total Tourism capital investment in Alcorn County in 2011: 1,254,257.”3 As the
facts listed above show the railroads in Corinth still majorly contribute to the economy in Corinth, as well as
the surrounding towns and cities.
As the railroads still contribute to Corinth’s economic and populous growth, the railroads pre 20th century
created Corinth, and affected the nation as a whole as a result from the outcome of the Civil War. The
crossroads created diversity of jobs and race population, and became a centrepiece at the heart of Corinth’s
economy and culture. It has contributed to our growth and culture in many ways, and will continue to do so.
[1410 words]
1
Halleck, as quoted in The War of the Rebellion (1880) p. 667, 1862
2
Grant, as quoted in Letters of Ulysses S. Grant (1912), 1862
3
White, Email Interview, 2012
[Bibliography – 2.5 pages of correctly listed items]
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
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Section 5: How to become an accredited coursework assessor
60
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
Appendices
Appendices
Appendix 1: Ideas for teaching ‘significance’
Appendix 2: The Research Portfolio: Cover Sheet
Appendix 3: The Individual Candidate Record Card
Appendix 4: The Coursework Assessment Summary Form
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
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Appendices
62
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
Appendix 1: Ideas for teaching ‘significance’
Appendix 1: Ideas for teaching ‘significance’
These activities do not necessarily have to be used exactly as they are. They can be adapted to be used
with other content examples.
Activity A: Great people
Lists like the ‘Great Americans’ list could be used to teach significance. For example, the top ten ‘greatest’
individuals could be examined with learners researching who they are. Learners could also decide criteria
to discuss how far they agree with the list. Relevant criteria from those listed in section 1.2.1 could be used
for this.
Issues for discussion:
Are the individuals significant in different ways?
How far does the list reflect when the poll was taken? Would a different list have been produced e.g.
30 years ago? Today?
What changes would the learners make to the list?
How do lists from other countries differ? More women? Different types of people?
If candidates could add events, ideas and sites to the list, which ones would they choose?
Are individuals more significant than events, ideas or sites?
The Greatest American, 2005.
Ronald Reagan – 24%
Abraham Lincoln – 23.5%
Martin Luther King, Jr. – 19.7%
George Washington – 17.7%
Benjamin Franklin – 14.9%
George W. Bush
Bill Clinton
Elvis Presley
Oprah Winfrey
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Billy Graham
Thomas Jefferson
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
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Appendix 1: Ideas for teaching ‘significance’
Walt Disney
Albert Einstein
Thomas Alva Edison
John F. Kennedy
Bob Hope
Bill Gates
Eleanor Roosevelt
Lance Armstrong
Muhammad Ali
Rosa Parks
The Wright Brothers
Henry Ford
Neil Armstrong
Activity B: Significant events
The following are examples of classroom discussions that would help learners understand ‘significance‘
through their historical impact.
(a) Here are two accounts of deaths:
(i) Earl Little was fatally struck by a streetcar in Lancing, MI on September 28, 1931
(ii) In Dallas, TX, President John F. Kennedy was shot dead on November 22, 1963
Two individuals both had their lives cut short and were mourned by friends and family. Are they equally
significant in history?
(b) The Boston Tea Party (1773) and the St Valentine’s Day Massacre (1929) were massacres involved the
deaths of very few people, so why should they be considered relevant topics for study?
Activity C: Using previous learning
(a) The indexes or contents of textbooks are a useful source of ideas – which individuals, events or ideas are
mentioned most often? Does this vary from book to book? Are there significant people, events or ideas
missing? How much attention is paid to e.g. scientific ideas?
(b) Reviewing a period you have studied choose the four most significant events in the unit you have just
covered. Learners need to justify choice and defend challenge from other candidates.
Recapping learning from previous leasons is also a useful way to focus on the meaning of significance.
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Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
Appendix 1: Ideas for teaching ‘significance’
As an example: from the following list, choose the four events which you think were the most significant
and give reasons for your choice:
The Boston Massacre
The Declaration of Independence
The creation of the Constitution and Bill of Rights
The Missouri Compromise
The Kansas-Nebraska Act
The election of Lincoln as President
The Civil War
The Emancipation Proclamation
The assassination of Lincoln
The 19th Amendment.
Activity D: Explanation cards
Encouraging explanation of why an event is significant also helps learners develop an understanding of the
term. This can be done with a list or set of cards for group work, which could include some ‘dummies’ i.e.
less likely explanations. Learners have to select the more likely ones and be able to explain their choice.
Some suggested themes and wording for cards are provided below.
1. Why was the Wall Street Crash a significant event?
(i) First decide if the explanation cards are about results/consequences, causes, or significance.
(ii) Then choose the three best explanations of the significance of the Wall Street Crash. Explain your choice.
Suggested Cards
a) It brought to an end the boom years that followed the First World War.
b) It changed attitudes to the role of government in the economy.
c) It made Herbert Hoover unpopular.
d) It bankrupted many people.
e) It led to a long economic depression.
f) It showed the dangers of buying shares ‘on the margin’.
g) It led to banking reforms.
h) It demonstrated the limits of the boom of the 1920s.
i) It demonstrated that protectionist tariffs could be damaging to the U.S. economy.
j) It led some stock brokers to commit suicide.
k) It was caused by speculation.
l) It showed the limits of government power in the economy.
m) It led many banks to crash.
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
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Appendix 1: Ideas for teaching ‘significance’
n) It marks the change from boom to bust in the inter-war economic pattern.
o) It led to a world-wide economic depression.
p) It contributed to a move from democracy to dictatorship in some countries.
2. This exercise introduces learners to the idea that something can be significant for very different reasons.
The U.S. Civil War had an impact on a number of developmental themes.
(i) Ask learners to group the cards according to which theme they relate:
•
the economy
•
the constitution and politics
•
Civil Rights.
(ii) Ask learners to consider whether the Civil War was equally significant for all the themes.
Suggested Cards
a) The Republican Party was associated with supporting African Americans.
b) Slavery ended.
c) The 14th, 15th and 16th Amendments gave rights to African-Americans.
d) It led to share-cropping in the South.
e) The Southern economy did not recover from the Civil War.
f) Black Codes were introduced in the Southern States.
g) The Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups formed.
h) The Democrats became the party of white southerners.
i) It bankrupted the South.
j) It led to a period when the Federal Government dictated government in the southern states.
k) It established the primacy of federal government over state government on issues of national
importance.
l) The use of slaves was becoming increasingly expensive before the Civil War.
m) New technology marked significant changes in the way wars were fought.
3. Why was World War Two a significant event in history?
The aim of this exercise is to help learners develop a vocabulary for ascribing a level of significance to an
event. The first stage is to represent a pattern of development graphically. Learners need to recognise that
unlike graphs in math or science there is no right or wrong, simply judgement.
Ideas for three tasks follow
Task 1:
Learners work in groups, each drawing up a living graph related to one of the following themes:
66
•
U.S./rest of the world relations
•
the global balance of power: European empires; Cold War: U.S. vs U.S.S.R
•
the technology of war
•
ideologies: Nazism, Communism, Capitalism etc.
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
Appendix 1: Ideas for teaching ‘significance’
On a living graph, the horizontal axis represents time. To judge significance, the timespan should be at least
50 years. In this case 1919 to 1985 could be used, but it should be noted that using a different timespan, for
example 1900 to 2000, could change the significance of the key event.
Learners can choose their own scale for the vertical axis. In the first theme above, the degree to which the
U.S. was isolated from or involved with the rest of the world in foreign relations would be an appropriate
scale. Learners could be given a scale or decide on one for themselves.
Events are then plotted onto the graph and joined with a line. This indicates the pattern of development. You
could supply each group of learners with a list of relevant events to plot onto their graph.
Task 2:
Learners write a description of the pattern of development represented by their living graph.
In doing so, they should be encouraged to use terms such as:
•
turning point (a change of direction or major change steepening or flattening the line)
•
trend (to represent gradual change in the same direction)
•
dead-end (an event which initially appears to have an impact but in fact has no impact on the overall
direction of development)
•
continuity (events that reinforce what was happening beforehand and what happened subsequently)
•
discontinuity (an event which does not fit with the overall pattern of development)
•
false dawn (to indicate a false beginning to a trend which in reality develops from a later event).
Task 3:
Learners decide which characterisation denotes the greatest significance, and go on to create a hierarchy of
significances for World War Two.
The greater the difference an event makes to the direction of the overall line of development on the graph,
the greater the significance of the event. Thus a turning point is of greater significance than a discontinuity.
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
67
Appendix 1: Ideas for teaching ‘significance’
68
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
Appendix 2: The Research Portfolio: Cover Sheet
Ha
nd
bo
ok
Appendix 2: The Research Portfolio: Cover Sheet
Cambridge IGCSE 0409 American History
0409/03 Research Portfolio: Cover Sheet
A Cover Sheet must be attached to the front of the work of each candidate.
Candidates complete Part A and the teacher responsible for the course completes Part B.
Part A
Centre Number
0
4
Component
0
9
0
Series/Year of Submission
May/June
Candidate Declaration
Candidate Name
3
Tra
ini
ng
Syllabus
Candidate Number
I confirm that the enclosed material is all my own work. Any work taken from another source has been
appropriately referenced and acknowledged.
Date
Part B
Teacher Declaration
wo
rk
Signature
I have supervised sufficient work to enable me to sign this statement of authentication with confidence that
this is the candidate’s own work.
Syllabus regulations on the role of the teacher have been observed.
Co
ur
se
Teacher Comment (for use if a teacher wishes to draw the examiner’s attention to a concern or
problem):
Signature
Teacher Name
Date
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
69
Appendix 2: The Research Portfolio: Cover Sheet
70
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
Appendix 3: The Individual Candidate Record Form
Co
ur
se
0409 AMERICAN HISTORY
Individual Candidate Record Card
Cambridge IGCSE
Please read the instructions printed overleaf and the General Coursework Regulations before completing this form.
Centre Number
Candidate Number
wo
rk
June
Candidate Name
Teaching Group/Set
Tra
ini
ng
Brief Summary of reasons for awarding band and mark for
Assessment Objective 2
(max 10)
0
Brief Summary of reasons for awarding band and mark for
Assessment Objective 4
Ha
nd
bo
ok
Marks to be transferred to Coursework Assessment
Summary Form
(max 15)
TOTAL
MARK
(max 25)
71
0409/03/NCW/I
Appendix 3: The Individual Candidate Record Form
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
Marks to be transferred to Coursework Assessment Summary Form
WMS321
2
Centre Name
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
1. An Individual Candidate Record Card must be attached to the front of the work of each candidate.
2. Complete the information at the head of the form.
3. Mark the Coursework assignment for each candidate according to instructions given in the syllabus booklet.
4. Enter marks and total marks in the appropriate spaces. Complete any other sections of the form required.
5. Ensure that the addition of marks is independently checked.
6. It is essential that the marks of candidates from different teaching groups within each Centre are moderated internally. This means
that the marks awarded to all candidates within a Centre must be brought to a common standard by the teacher responsible for co-ordinating
the internal assessment (i.e. the internal moderator), and a single valid and reliable set of marks should be produced which reflects the relative
attainment of all the candidates in the Coursework component at the Centre. The outcome of internal moderation, in terms of the number of marks
added to or subtracted from the initial total, must be clearly shown when marks are transferred onto the Coursework Assessment Summary Form.
7. Transfer the marks to the Coursework Assessment Summary Form in accordance with the instructions given on that document.
8. Retain all Individual Candidate Record Cards and Coursework which will be required for external moderation. Further detailed instructions about
external moderation will be sent in late March of the year of the examination. See also the instructions on the Coursework Assessment Summary
Form.
Appendix 3: The Individual Candidate Record Form
72
Instructions for completing the Individual Candidate Record Card
Appendix 4: The Coursework Assessment Summary Form
Co
ur
0409 AMERICAN HISTORY
Coursework Assessment Summary Form
Cambridge IGCSE
se
Please read the instructions printed overleaf and the General Coursework Regulations before completing this form.
Centre Number
Candidate
Number
wo
rk
Candidate Name
Centre Name
Teaching
Group/
Set
Assessment
Objective 2
Assessment
Objective 4
(max 10)
(max 15)
Signature
Name of internal moderator
Signature
Total Mark
(max 25)
0
Internally
Moderated Mark
(max 25)
Ha
nd
bo
ok
Date
Date
73
0409/03/CW/S
Appendix 4: The Coursework Assessment Summary Form
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
Tra
ini
ng
Name of teacher completing this form
WMS324
2
June
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
1. Complete the information at the head of the form.
2. List the candidates in an order which will allow ease of transfer of information to a computer-printed Coursework mark sheet MS1 at a later stage
(i.e. in candidate index number order, where this is known; see item B.1 below). Show the teaching group or set for each candidate. The initials of
the teacher may be used to indicate group or set.
3. Transfer each candidate’s marks from his or her Individual Candidate Record Card to this form as follows:
(a) Where there are columns for individual skills or assignments, enter the marks initially awarded (i.e. before internal moderation took place).
(b) In the column headed ‘Total Mark’, enter the total mark awarded before internal moderation took place.
(c) In the column headed ‘Internally Moderated Mark’, enter the total mark awarded after internal moderation took place.
4. Both the teacher completing the form and the internal moderator (or moderators) should check the form and complete and sign the bottom portion.
B. Procedures for external moderation
1. University of Cambridge International Examinations sends a computer-printed Coursework mark sheet MS1 to each Centre in late March for the
June examination showing the names and index numbers of each candidate. Transfer the total internally moderated mark for each candidate from
the Coursework Assessment Summary Form to the computer-printed Coursework mark sheet MS1.
2. The top copy of the computer-printed Coursework mark sheet MS1 must be despatched in the specially provided envelope to arrive as soon as
possible at Cambridge but no later than 30 April for the June examination.
3. External moderation of internal assessment is carried out by Cambridge. Centres must submit the internally assessed marks of all candidates
to Cambridge. Centres must also submit the internally assessed work of a sample of candidates to Cambridge. The Cambridge Administrative
Guide, available on our website, provides details of which candidates are to be included in the sample. The deadlines and methods for submitting
internally assessed marks and work are in the Cambridge Administrative Guide available on our website.
4. Cambridge reserves the right to ask for further samples of Coursework.
5. With the sample work, please send information as to how internal moderation was carried out.
Appendix 4: The Coursework Assessment Summary Form
74
A. Instructions for completing Coursework Assessment Summary Forms
Appendix 4: The Coursework Assessment Summary Form
Cambridge IGCSE American History (BES)
75
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