How do historians plan an inquiry and build an evidence-based argument to answer a historical question?
Plan a historical inquiry and construct an evidence-based argument from sources
How to plan a historical inquiry and build an evidence-based argument, covering questions, research, corroboration, structure and the historical concepts assessed by TASC.
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What this dot point is asking
Alongside analysing individual sources, the course assesses your ability to undertake historical inquiry and communicate the result. This is the process that holds the whole subject together, and it is rewarded heavily in both internal research tasks and the external examination. An inquiry is more than collecting facts; it is constructing an evidence-based answer to a genuine question about the past.
The first step is the question. A good historical question is focused, answerable from the available evidence, and open enough to allow debate. Compare a weak question, asking simply what Augustus did, with a strong one, asking how successfully Augustus disguised one-man rule as a restored Republic. The second invites analysis, judgement and the use of competing evidence. The wording of the question also tells you which historical concepts are in play, such as cause, significance or change.
Research means gathering relevant primary and secondary sources and recording them so they can be cited. You evaluate each source for origin, purpose, reliability and usefulness, as the source-analysis skill in this course requires, and you keep track of where claims come from. Crucially, you corroborate: where two independent sources agree, confidence rises; where they conflict, you must explain the discrepancy rather than simply pick the one you prefer. The clash of sources is often where the most interesting history lies.
Building the argument means organising your evidence into a structured case rather than a narrative. A strong response states a clear thesis that answers the question, develops each point in a paragraph that pairs evidence with explanation, engages with differing historical interpretations, and reaches a conclusion that follows from the analysis. The historical concepts the course names, evidence, continuity and change, cause and effect, significance, perspectives, interpretations and contestability, give you the analytical vocabulary to do this well.
For a TASC inquiry, practise the full cycle until it is routine: pose a sharp question, gather and evaluate sources, corroborate and weigh interpretations, and write a structured, evidence-based argument with a clear conclusion. This is the skill that underlies internal research assignments and external extended responses alike, and mastering it lets you turn the fragmentary evidence of the ancient world into history of your own.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of TASC exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
2023 TASC20 marks"The ancient past relies on the interpretation of evidence to provide understanding of an ancient site, significant event, development or an era." Describe and assess how the primary and secondary sources have contributed to the interpretation and understanding of the historical context and representations of one (1) ancient site, significant event, development or era that you have studied.Show worked answer →
Section A essay (Criteria 3, 4 and 5). It rewards a properly planned inquiry: a clear question, evidence selected to answer it, and an argument built on corroboration rather than a string of facts.
Open with a thesis that our understanding of the chosen topic is an interpretation built from limited evidence, then organise the body around the kinds of evidence. Show how primary sources (inscriptions, archaeology, contemporary writing) and secondary sources (modern historians) each contribute, and how they are checked against one another.
Demonstrate inquiry method explicitly: state what each source adds, where sources agree and where they conflict, and how you weighed them. End by assessing how far the combined evidence supports a confident understanding of the historical context and how the topic has been represented, conceding the points that remain open. A high response names a specific debate rather than describing the topic in general.
2022 TASC18 marks"The evidence that exists has a direct impact on how reliable, contested and/or valid our understanding of the ancient past is." Discuss this quotation, making reference to the primary and secondary sources associated with one (1) ancient site, significant event, development or era that you have studied. In doing so, refer to the origin, purpose and context of those sources.Show worked answer →
Section A essay (Criteria 3, 4 and 5). The question tests whether you can plan an inquiry that links the state of the evidence to the strength of the conclusion.
Argue that the quantity and quality of surviving evidence directly sets the limits of what an inquiry can show, so understanding is reliable where independent sources corroborate and contested where they conflict or fall silent. This is the inquiry skill applied to a quotation.
Structure the body around the inquiry cycle rather than a narrative: pose the question, gather and evaluate the primary and secondary sources for origin, purpose and context, corroborate them, and weigh interpretations. Use the analytical vocabulary the criteria reward, reliable, contested, valid, corroboration, gap, and conclude by tying the evidence directly back to how secure or provisional your understanding must be.