Answers for Sources A, B

and C

Source A: A description of the government during the Shang dynasty.

The Shang Dynasty was a monarchy in which the king was both lawmaker and judge so no one dared to argue with him. He ruled by force, and anyone who transgressed the king's laws would be killed immediately by his soldiers. Archaeologists think that when a king died in the Shang Dynasty, his closest relation would take the throne.

Step 1: Making valid inferences

1. The King had the final say in everything.

2. The King was ruthless.

3. The Shang government was not democratic.

4. The King was feared by the people.

5. There was no freedom of speech.

Step 2: Evidence

Inference 1: The King had the final say in everything.

Evidence 1: “...the king was both lawmaker and judge...”

Step 2: Evidence

Inference 2: The King was ruthless.

Evidence 2: “He ruled by force, and anyone who transgressed the king's laws would be killed

immediately by his soldiers”.

Step 2: Evidence

Inference 3: The Shang government was not democratic.

Evidence 3: “Archaeologists think that when a king died in the Shang Dynasty, his closest

relation would take the throne.”

Step 2: Evidence

Inference 4: The King was feared by the people.

Evidence 4: “...no one dared to argue with him.” and “He ruled by force, and anyone who transgressed the

king's laws would be killed immediately by his soldiers.”

Step 2: Evidence

Inference 5: There was no freedom of speech.

Evidence 5: “The Shang Dynasty was a monarchy in which the king was both lawmaker and judge so no

one dared to argue with him.”

Step 3: Explain

Inference 1: The King had the final say in everything.

Evidence 1: “...the king was both lawmaker and judge...”, “no one dared to argue with him.”

Explanation: Therefore, I can infer that the King made the decisions ultimately because his views and decisions cannot be opposed.

Step 3: Explain

Inference 2: The King was ruthless.

Evidence 2: “He ruled by force, and anyone who transgressed the king's laws would be killed

immediately by his soldiers”.

Explanation 2: Therefore, I can infer that the King was ruthless because a fair and reasonable

King would at least give people a fair trial before execution.

Step 3: Explain

Inference 3: The Shang government was not democratic.

Evidence 3: “Archaeologists think that when a king died in the Shang Dynasty, his closest

relation would take the throne.”

Explanation 3: Therefore, I can infer that the Shang government was not democratic because

the people could not elect their King.

Step 3: Explain

Inference 4: The King was feared by the people.

Evidence 4: “...no one dared to argue with him.” and “He ruled by force, and anyone who transgressed the

king's laws would be killed immediately by his soldiers.”

Explanation 4: Therefore, I can infer that the King was feared by the people because they did not dare voice

out their opinions since the King has the habit of executing people unreasonably.

Step 3: Explain

Inference 5: There was no freedom of speech.

Evidence 5: “The Shang Dynasty was a monarchy in which the king was both lawmaker and judge so no

one dared to argue with him.”

Explanation 5: Therefore I can infer that there was no freedom of speech because if there was

freedom of speech, people ought to be able to argue with the King.

Mistakes made

1. Directly lifting or copying from the source for your main

inference.

E.g. Source A tells me that when a king died in the

Shang Dynasty, his closest relation would take the

throne.

Mistakes made2. Describing the obvious (even though you're

not copying or lifting from the source)

e.g. Source A tells me that the throne is passed to the King's closest relation.

Should have been: Source A tells me that the Shang government was not democratic.

Mistakes made3. NOT quoting from the source.

Your evidence comes from the source so this is the part where you don't have to use

your words. You can copy a whole sentence or just a short phrase. Remember

to use quotation marks.

E.g. “Archaeologists think that when a king died in the Shang Dynasty, his closes

relation would take the throne”

Or

The evidence from this source is “...no one dared to argue with him.”

Mistakes made

4. Irrelevant or unrelated explanations

Remember that your explanation has 2 parts.

Example

Therefore I can infer that there was no freedom of speech because if there was freedom of

speech, people ought to be able to argue with the King.

Part A (Reiteration of your main inference) which came from “There was no freedom of speech”

Part B (Explain how you came to that inference) which came from ““The Shang Dynasty was a monarchy in which the king was both lawmaker and judge so no one dared to argue with him.”

Source B: An extract of an article on the website www.harappa.com on the rise and fall of the Indus Civilization.

The Indus Civilization flourished between about 2600 and 1800 BC when it collapsed into regional cultures at the Late Harappan stage. According to Parpola the collapse was due to a combination of several factors like over-exploitation of the environment, drastic changes in the river-courses, series of floods, water-logging and increased salinity of the irrigated lands. Finally the weakened cities would have become easy victims of the raiders from Central Asia, whose arrival heralded a major cultural discontinuity in South Asia.

Step 1: Making valid inferences

1. The fall of the Indus Valley Civilisation was partly due to the government's poor planning.

2. The fall of the Indus Valley civilisation was partly due to the government's inability to cope

with natural disasters.

3. The fall of the civilisation was due to overpopulation.

Step 2: Evidence

Inference 1: The fall of the Indus Valley Civilisation was partly due to the government's

poor planning.

Evidence 1: “...the collapse was due to a combination of several factors like over-

exploitation...water-logging”

Step 2: Evidence

Inference 2: The fall of the Indus Valley civilisation was partly due to the government's inability to

cope with natural disasters.

Evidence 2: “...the collapse was due to combination of several factors like...drastic

changes in the river-courses, series of floods...”.

Step 2: Evidence

Inference 3: The fall of the civilisation was due to overpopulation.

Evidence 3: “the collapse was due to a combination of several factors like over-

exploitation of the environment”

Step 3: ExplainInference 1: The fall of the Indus Valley

Civilisation was partly due to the government's poor planning.

Evidence 1: “...the collapse was due to a combination of several factors like over-

exploitation...water-logging”

Explanation 1: Therefore, I can infer that poor planning was partly responsible for the fall of the

Indus Valley civilisation because proper governance would have prevented over-

exploitation and water-logging.

Step 3: Explain

Inference 2: The fall of the Indus Valley civilisation was not just due to natural disasters, but also the

government's inability to cope with them.

Evidence 2: “...the collapse was due to combination of several factors like...drastic changes in the river-

courses, series of floods”.

Explanation 2: Therefore, I can infer that the Indus Valley civilisations' fall was not just due to the natural

disasters. The government's incompetency in dealing with the aftermath of the natural disasters cost them

greatly.

Step 3: Explain

Inference 3: The fall of the civilisation was due to overpopulation.

Evidence 3: “the collapse was due to a combination of several factors like over-exploitation of the environment”

Explanation 3: Therefore, I can infer that the Indus Valley civilisation collapsed because of overpopulation which

severely strained limited resources.

Source B: A description of the features of the Indus Valley Civilisation.

The city of Mohenjodaro covered at least one square mile and is better preserved than Harappa. Both of these principal cities were well planned, with streets laid out in a regular grid pattern and oriented to the cardinal directions. Street widths and brick sizes were standardised. Most houses were served by a built-in drianage system and had chutes for garbage disposal. The main street at Mohenjodaro was more than half a mile in length and about thirty-three feet wide. Perhaps as many as 40,000 persons lived there and were involved in industry and trade. The most spectacular features of Mohenjodaro are the Great Bath and the Granary.

Source C (Possible Answer 1)Source C tells me that the government of the Indus Valley Civilisation has advanced architectural knowledge and technology. The evidence is “Both of these principal cities were well planned, with streets laid out in a regular grid pattern and…street widths and brick sizes were standardised.” Therefore, I can infer that the government has advanced architectural knowledge and technology because back then, they were already using architectural ideas and concepts that are thought to be relatively modern.

Source C (Possible Answer 2)

Source C tells me that the government of the Indus Valley Civilisation was concerned about the hygiene conditions of the cities. The evidence is “Most houses were served by a built-in drainage system and had chutes for garbage disposal.” Therefore, I can infer that the government was concerned about the hygiene conditions of the cities because of the sanitation fixtures that were incorporated into the buildings.

Source C (Possible Answer 3)

Source C tells me that the government had foresight and was prepared for an increase in population. The evidence is “Both of these principal cities were well planned, with streets laid out in a regular grid pattern…” Therefore I can infer that the government had foresight and was prepared for an increase in population because the city was not built in a haphazard manner, so as to accommodate more living quarters for more people.