Grade 12 · Social studies
Build a qualified historical synthesis
Integrate evidence with different scopes, origins and uncertainties into a conclusion no broader than the sources support.
6 authored questions + worked example
Worked example
A budget shows a hall was funded; a dated photograph shows its opening; neither records daily attendance. Which synthesis is supported?
Answer & why
Answer: The hall was funded and opened, but daily attendance is not established.
The sources establish funding and opening while leaving attendance unmeasured.
All questions
All 6 authored questions for this skill.
Question 1
A speech advocates a project; a private letter questions its cost. Which synthesis preserves both sources?
- The two documents must describe different projects.
- Every person opposed the project.
- The project had public advocacy and at least one recorded cost concern.
- Nobody questioned the project.
A hint
Preserve agreements, differences and missing evidence instead of forcing every source into one simple story.
Answer & why
Answer: The project had public advocacy and at least one recorded cost concern.
The stated evidence shows advocacy and a particular concern, not unanimous opinion.
Question 2
A historian's claim covers all villages, but surviving records come from two coastal settlements. What qualification is needed?
- Remove all place names and keep the universal claim.
- Limit the conclusion to the documented places or acknowledge the coverage gap.
- Treat missing records as proof of agreement.
- Assume inland villages were identical.
A hint
Preserve agreements, differences and missing evidence instead of forcing every source into one simple story.
Answer & why
Answer: Limit the conclusion to the documented places or acknowledge the coverage gap.
The evidence's geographic scope does not establish every village's experience.
Question 3
An account quotes three newspapers, but all copied the same dispatch. What should a synthesis disclose?
- Copying makes the event impossible.
- There are three independent eyewitnesses by definition.
- Publication count proves universal agreement.
- The reports share one textual origin.
A hint
Preserve agreements, differences and missing evidence instead of forcing every source into one simple story.
Answer & why
Answer: The reports share one textual origin.
Source dependence changes how much independent corroboration is available.
Question 4
Newly found records contradict one detail of an existing interpretation. What is a sound next step?
- Assume new always means accurate.
- Ignore them because the interpretation is older.
- Evaluate the new records and revise the affected claim if warranted.
- Rewrite every unrelated fact without checking.
A hint
Preserve agreements, differences and missing evidence instead of forcing every source into one simple story.
Answer & why
Answer: Evaluate the new records and revise the affected claim if warranted.
Historical explanations can be revised through evaluation, rather than automatic acceptance or rejection, of new evidence.
Question 5
A budget shows a hall was funded; a dated photograph shows its opening; neither records daily attendance. Which synthesis is supported?
- Every resident attended daily.
- The hall was funded and opened, but daily attendance is not established.
- The hall was never opened.
- Funding proves all visitors liked it.
A hint
Preserve agreements, differences and missing evidence instead of forcing every source into one simple story.
Answer & why
Answer: The hall was funded and opened, but daily attendance is not established.
The sources establish funding and opening while leaving attendance unmeasured.
Question 6
Two independent logs agree on a ship's arrival date, while later memoirs disagree about the weather. What can a synthesis do?
- Treat all details as equally confirmed.
- Report the supported date and retain uncertainty about weather.
- Discard the date because any disagreement invalidates all evidence.
- Invent exact weather to remove uncertainty.
A hint
Preserve agreements, differences and missing evidence instead of forcing every source into one simple story.
Answer & why
Answer: Report the supported date and retain uncertainty about weather.
Evidence may support different parts of a narrative with different confidence.
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