OCR AS Level Ancient History Past Papers

Source evaluation is the defining skill for AS Ancient History and the area where most marks are either won or lost. For every ancient source question, your response should cover: the author's perspective and potential biases (Thucydides witnessed many events of the Peloponnesian War but was an Athenian exile — how might this shape his account?), the purpose for which the source was written (Suetonius was writing moralising biography, not political history — what follows from this?), what the source explicitly says and what it implies, and what it omits or cannot tell us. The strongest source evaluations use the word 'however' or 'nevertheless' to introduce a counter-consideration — showing awareness that no source is entirely reliable or entirely worthless. For Greek history essay questions, build your argument around the tension between Athenian and Spartan interests as the central explanatory framework for the 492–404 period. The Persian Wars initially united Greek states, but Athenian imperialism through the Delian League — converting a voluntary alliance into a tribute-paying empire — generated the resentment that ultimately precipitated the Peloponnesian War. Use the Peace of Callias, the Long Walls, and the Megarian Decree as concrete reference points to anchor your analysis. For Julio-Claudian essays, the central debate is the nature of Augustan and post-Augustan power. Was Augustus a revolutionary or a restorer of republican tradition? The Res Gestae (Augustus's own account of his achievements, written in the first person) should be read critically — it is propaganda as well as autobiography. Compare it with Tacitus, who writes from a senatorial perspective and views the Principate as a disguised autocracy. Arguments that use both sources and address the tension between them reach the higher mark bands.