Free TCE Ancient History Flashcard Review

15 minutes of preparation time followed by 3 hours of working time, with about 60 minutes recommended for each of the three essays.

Three questions, one per section (Questions 1, 2 and 3), and all three are compulsory. Each is answered in its own booklet.

Criteria 3, 4 and 5: communication, use of evidence, and historiography (interpretations and representations).

Criteria 3, 4 and 6: communication, use of evidence, and the nature and characteristics of an ancient civilisation.

Criteria 3, 4 and 7: communication, use of evidence, and the impact of human agency on an ancient society.

Criteria 1, 2 and 8. The exam assesses Criteria 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.

Sections A and B must be answered on the same civilisation. Section C may use a different civilisation but only one prescribed individual.

The course document prevents overlap: studying the Battle of Kadesh for Section A precludes Ramesses II as the Section C individual.

Each criterion is rated (A+ to z in the extended scale, reported as A, B, C, t or z); the paper carries no marks. ATARMAxxing's 60 marks per section is only an indicative practice scheme.

Very short responses did not reach a C standard; markers need a developed argument with evidence, so time management across the three essays matters.

Write in the past tense and the third person; avoid 'I' and 'you' and keep a formal analytical register.

An essay memorised in advance and reproduced without adapting it to the set question. Markers reward answers that address the exact terms of the question.

Evidence produced in or close to the period studied, such as inscriptions, artefacts, buildings, papyri or texts by ancient writers. Later ancient writers (e.g. Plutarch on Solon) are often treated as ancient sources but must be dated carefully.

A later interpretation or analysis of the past, usually by a modern historian or archaeologist, based on primary evidence.

At least one primary and one secondary source; an essay without both cannot rate above C on Criterion 4.

A sentence that names the historian and their view before quoting or paraphrasing it, e.g. 'Mary Beard argues that…', rather than an unexplained name in brackets.

They are tertiary sources: unattributed summaries of other works, so they show neither analysis of primary evidence nor engagement with a historian's argument.

Combine primary and secondary evidence into one analytical argument, explaining how each supports or challenges the point, rather than listing them separately.

Confirmation of a claim by an independent source, such as archaeology supporting a literary account. Corroborated claims are more reliable.

Something a source leaves out, deliberately or not. Omissions, such as Egyptian monuments not mentioning the failure to take Kadesh, can be as revealing as what is included.