history is fun

hi all,

After having marked quite a few practice SEQs, I would like to just take this opportunity to remind you about the use of evidence.

Now, the SEQ answering structure should follow the following:

Point - Just recycle the topic statement of the question.

Evidence - This is where it seems to be lacking - for the 1959 elections, it is not sufficient to just talk about the fact that the parties were more active in canvassing for votes. Someone who didn't study could say that! Evidence is something tangible, a name, a place, a date, a time, a statistic, an event, something that tells the examiner that you know something tangible about what happened during that period of time.

Explaination and Link - This is where you show the examiner that you are able to explain how the facts that you have given in the evidence help to answer the question. For example, just because the Japanese had better preparations (e.g. intelligence and training) doesn't necessarily translate into an immediate Japanese victory. So how did it lead to Japanese victory? Here you must make the connection between preparation and victory (see the section in bold).

For example: Due to the better Japanese preparations, the Japanese army had a tremendous advantage over the British. They were thus able to surprise the numerically superior British army during the battles in Malaya and Singapore and easily overcome the British, thus leading to the Japanese victory.