How To Write Pak Studies (History) Answer


The O'LEVEL SERIES
Topic: Pak Studies 2059/1

How To Write Their answers.
 
Let’s start with History, and how to write its answer. 


 4 Mark Question

For this type of question, about four valid points are required, and they can be simple. For example,

Q. What was the East India Company?

Point 1: It was a British trading company, founded by a group of British merchants.

Point 2: In 1600, it was granted permission by the British govt to trade with eastern companies.

Point 3: The first ship landed in Surat in 1608, but permission to trade was given in 1612.

Point 4: During the 18th Century, the company gradually grew into a military and economic power.

Even if a 4 mark question does not have 4 points, writing all the information even if there are two points are sufficient for a complete mark.

2) 7 Mark Question.

For a 7 mark question, you need to state and explain one reason for 5 marks, and two more reasons for full marks. So, 3 reasons are sufficient. But how to gain and write them? It is explained through the following levels.

Level 1: Simple statement = 1 mark
You will gain one mark when you simply just identify a one-line statement to a particular question asked. It could be like following,
Q. What were the reasons for the decline of Mughal Empire?

Ans. Luxurious loving successors were a reason for the decline of the Mughal Empire. (You will only score one mark for this type of answer)

Level 2: Identifies reasons = 2-4 marks

Here, your only identification of 3-4 reasons will score you within 2-4 marks. It could be like following,

Q. What were the reasons for the decline of the Mughal Empire?

Ans. Aurangzeb’s luxurious loving successors were a reason for the decline of the Mughal Empire. Furthermore, there were usually disputes among successors for winning the throne. Lastly, Aurangzeb’s unpopular rule also contributed to Mughal Decline. (Here you will score within the range of 2-4) 
Level 3: Explains reasons = 5-7 marks

To score marks within this range, you will have to state your reason and briefly explain it, then state a reason and briefly explain it. It could be like following,

Q. What were the reasons for the decline of the Mughal Empire?

Firstly, Aurangzeb’s successors were luxurious loving. They loved drinking, gambling, music, and poetry etc and spent money with little thought to the effect it had on the Empire’s economy. They left the administration to their ministers who often put their own interests first.

Secondly, there were struggle for successions which usually ended in a war. After Aurangzeb's death, fighting broke out between his sons, and Prince Mu'azzam established himself on the throne.In 10 years after Aurangzeb's death, 12 different people claimed to be the Emperor at the same time.

Thirdly, the Mughal rulers were neither good commanders nor good statesmen, as they were neither skilled in warfare nor in controlling the Empire. Moreover, the Mughal Army, although large, was weak and ineffective, and were unable to face challenges.

The above answer has well-explained 3 reasons that are bound to get a high mark. However, if you’re aiming for a 7 out of 7, then this answer is not complete. We are still missing something. A very integral level that is very very necessary for both 7 and 14 marks questions.

 I, once again, repeat that it is very important.

Analysis Of A Reason:
Lets define it as; linking a reason to the question. And how is it done?

Analysis is done after every reason you write in your answer, and that means that you have to write an analysis each for those 3 or 4 reasons you will write in your answer. It is done as following,

Q. What were the reasons for the decline of the Mughal Empire?

Firstly, Aurangzeb’s successors were luxurious loving. They loved drinking, gambling, music, and poetry etc and spent money with little thought to the effect it had on the Empire’s economy. They left the administration to their ministers who often put their own interests first.

Now you have mentioned the reason, and you now write the analysis by linking this reason with this answer. As we mentioned above that the successors were luxurious and lazy, so in the analysis we write,

Due to the extravagant living and lack of interest of the successors, the Empire fell into decline.

You see. It sums up the answer of the question by making a conclusion of their explained reason. So that you guys can further understand, I have written the whole answer below, including the conclusion.


Q. What were the reasons for the decline of the Mughal Empire?

Firstly, Aurangzeb’s successors were luxurious loving. They loved drinking, gambling, music, and poetry etc and spent money with little thought to the effect it had on the Empire’s economy. They left the administration to their ministers who often put their own interests first. Due to the extravagant living and lack of interest of the successors, the Empire fell into decline.

Secondly, there were struggle for successions which usually ended in a war. After Aurangzeb's death, fighting broke out between his sons, and Prince Muazzam established himself on the throne. In 10 years after Aurangzeb's death, 12 different people claimed to be the Emperor at the same time. Thus, the absence of a definite line of succession led to infighting among potential successors, which led to the instability of the Empire.

Thirdly, the Mughal rulers were neither good commanders nor good statesmen, as they were neither skilled in warfare nor in controlling the Empire. Moreover, the Mughal Army, although large, was weak and ineffective, and were unable to face challenges. Therefore, the lack of modern weapons, training and commanders was a major reason contributing to the Empire’s decline.

There, you have your 7 mark answer. I hope you guys get the hang of this as we go on.

3) 14 Mark Question

For a 14 mark question, you need to state a reason for 7 marks, and then another reason for 8 marks, another for 9 marks, and so on until you reach 13 marks. That will make a total of 7 reasons to explain in this type of question, and a well-written conclusion for 1 mark to wrap it up. Normally, here you’ll be choosing sides. For example,

Q. Were Aurangzeb’s reforms the most important reason for the decline of the Mughal Empire? Do you agree? Explain your answer.

Level 1: Simple statement = 1-2 marks.

It’s just like I told earlier, you either state a one-line statement about why Aurangzeb’s reforms were unpopular which will just give you 1 mark.

Level 2: Describe reasons = 3-6 marks.
This level occurs when you have no idea what to do in this question, and just go ahead and simply explain every reason without categorizing them or something. You do it exactly like a 7 mark question, with exactly or maybe more reasons.

NO! Don't ever do that, never write a 14 mark question without any conclusion or categorizing them.
Level 3: Explains 1 factor/ one side = 7-10 marks

You read the question and you see that Aurangzeb’s reforms are mentioned and you go ahead and write everything about Aurangzeb’s reforms.

You will only get 8 or 9 marks, if you have written everything about his reforms.

Level 4: Explains 2 or more factors/ the other side = 9-13 marks.

If you have written everything about Aurangzeb's reforms, and after that, you write other reasons as well (about 5 or 6 more), you’ll get within 11-13. Only if they are correct and explained like the format I have explained.

For those who have still not understood yet, there are 2 sides in this question. The first side is Aurangzeb’s reforms, and other side is all of the other reasons for Mughal decline. Why? Because the question has asked you to.

 

Side One: Aurangzeb’s Reforms             
1 ) Intolerant attitude towards non-Muslims.
2) Jizya tax re-introduced.
3 ) Deccan wars
4) Other reforms of his
Side Two: Other reasons
1) Lazy and pleasure loving successors
2) Succession disputes
3) Coming of the British
4) Internal and External forces invasion
5) Weak Mughal army

And don’t forget that the side asked in the question first is the side you explain first in order to achieve 7 marks. If the question asks, ‘Was coming of the British the most important reason for the decline of Mughal Empire?” Then in this reason, your first side is coming of the British which you’ll explain first in order to get 7 marks, then you explain other reasons to get the rest of the marks.
Level 4: Conclusion or Judgement = 14 marks
And finally, you judge in this paragraph whether or not Aurangzeb’s reforms were the most important reason for Mughal decline, and why? Lazy and clumsy conclusion is not accepted.
Before you see the 14 marks question I’ve written below, I’ve written some important points that you need to compulsory write in your answers.

1) Frequently use connectives such as Therefore, Hence and Thus. They are half the reason you get marks.

2) The examiner likes the use of Firstly, Secondly, and Lastly before your every reason. So make it your habit to start your reason with it.

3) Use a separate paragraph for every reason. Don’t mix up the reasons or fit them in one paragraph. Take one reason, identify it, explain it and give its analysis.

4) Give an analysis! It is very important. The examiner may exclude that reason that has no conclusion.

5) Go to www.gceguide.com. There, in resources, you will find notes and some example candidate responses. Use both. Especially, you have to have to read the responses. This way, you’ll know further on how to write these answers.

 

 Now The 14 Mark Question below. 

Q. 'Were the reforms of Aurangzeb the most important reason for the decline of the Mughal Empire?' Do you agree. Explain your answer.
 
Firstly, Aurangzeb had an intolerant attitude towards non-Muslims (reason identified) He made Hindus and Sikhs live according to the Quran, and destroyed a number of Hindu temples or closed them down and new ones were not allowed to be built. Some popular Hindu traditions, such as suttee, were also banned. Moreover, he introduced Jizya which was deeply disliked by them. (reason explained). As non-Muslims felt religiously suppressed, Aurangzeb’s rule became unpopular.(Analysis given).
Secondly, taxation was generally high during his period to pay for the cost of military campaigns and he spent huge sums on luxurious buildings, such as Pearl Mosque at Delhi built for his private prayers. As many people were unable to pay these taxes, and his useless heavy spending led him to become an unpopular rule.
Lastly, Aurangzeb's long campaign of wars were met with no clear victory of either side which exhausted human and economic resources. His war with Marathas lasted for 20 years, and finished the treasury. Many experts and generals lost their lives too. Due to loss of capable generals showed that Aurangzeb could not tackle military affairs, and thus, made his rule unpopular. (One side completed)
However, there were other reasons that also contributed to Mughal decline. (onto the 2nd side)
Firstly, Aurangzeb’s successors were luxurious loving. They loved drinking, gambling, music, and poetry etc and spent money with little thought to the effect it had on the Empire’s economy. They left the administration to their ministers who often put their own interests first. Due to the extravagant living and lack of interest of the successors, the Empire fell into decline.
Secondly, there were struggle for successions which usually ended in a war. After Aurangzeb's death, fighting broke out between his sons, and Prince Muazzam established himself on the throne. In 10 years after Aurangzeb's death, 12 different people claimed to be the Emperor at the same time. Thus, the absence of a definite line of succession led to infighting among potential successors, which led to the instability of the Empire.

Thirdly, coming of the British was also another reason. They had been able to stockpile superior modern weapons due to industrial revolution and their troops were also better organized, trained and established authority without much opposition such as Battle of Buxar. Due to superiority of the British, they gradually took over the Mughal Empire by taking advantage of their instability.

Lastly, invasion of external and internal forces was also another reason. The Persian leader, Nadir Shah, invaded the Mughal Empire in 1739, defeated the Mughal Emperor and sacked Delhi by taking everything, including Peacock Throne, with him. Later, Afghan leader, Ahmed Shah Abdali, attacked the Empire and added a large part of it e.g Kabul, Peshawar, Kashmir, and Punjab to his possessions. These attacks encouraged local forces like Sikhs and Maratha to take advantage of it. (Now I want you to make up a conclusion and comment it below. I’ll tell you how you did it!)

Therefore, it can be agreed that even though Aurangzeb’s policies were responsible to some extent, there were other long term and immediate reasons for the decline as well. Local and external forces looted the Empire, lazy successors were unable to defend it, struggle for succession meant military decline and European superiority took over. (Conclusion done)

  I Hope You Find This Useful. Make Sure To Ask Me About Any Of Your Difficulty.

Comments

  1. weak army was the most important reason for the decline of mughal empire give reasons for your answer

    ReplyDelete
  2. Replies
    1. 10 mark has 3 points rather than 5 like in 14 marks. It solved in similar manner as 14 marks question... It just has 3 main points that you have to elaborate rather than 5.

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    2. Quick update... Its best if u write 4 points to be safe... And make sure to add a conclusion like u do in 14marks. Essentially, a 10mark question is a hybrid of 7 mark and 14 mark question... U write 4 points (instead of 3 or 5) and u write a conclusion like in a 14 mark qurs5. Hope that helps m8

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  3. Thank you! It helped me a lot in preparing for my upcoming exams.

    ReplyDelete
  4. That will help alot in the Upcoming CIE.

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  5. This Seriously helped a lot thank you soo much
    Allah Bless you!

    ReplyDelete
  6. It hepled a lot to understand the pattern of question... now attempting a dull question of history seems amazing...🙂

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank you so much, this clarified a lot of my conclusions!

    ReplyDelete
  8. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  9. Please can u help me on how to write a 10 mark question? my exams are next week so i serously need help,,thank u sm

    ReplyDelete
  10. I didn't understand the conclusion. Which one of the reasons you agreed?(His reforms or other reasons?)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. they have said that they were equally important for decline

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  11. Replies
    1. 4 points and a conclusion so total five paragraphs

      Delete
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  13. At the last the 14 marks q attempted had 4 points on 2nd side but I think u need to write 7

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No u wrote 3 for one side and 3 for another

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  14. Really Helpful Thanks Alot

    ReplyDelete
  15. I don't understand my teacher says in a 14 mark u write an evaluation and not a conclusion she said if u summarise it u will loose marks and rather you would have to state a reason to why u agree more with that reason without repeating what u have already written

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  16. Bro you can earn pretty cool money from this too, you have likely good followers

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  17. Have these type of answers helped in scoring a distinction in Pak Studies?

    ReplyDelete
  18. What if the side one of the answer has only 1 point like the external invasions? Do we have to write that 1 point in side one and 5-6 more in side two?

    ReplyDelete
  19. can u explain a 14m nswer that starts like How successful was Indian resistance to the british attempts of taking over india between 1750 to 1850 ?

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