To answer this question correctly, students must see both the strengths and weaknesses of a newspaper article as evidence of what happened between Italy and the Ottoman Empire in 1911-1912. For Question 1, students must explain that the article is useful as a contemporary account of Italian fighting against the Ottomans. For Question 2, students must explain how the fact that the article has second-hand information and was written from an American perspective might make it less useful as evidence.
Level: Proficient
Question 1
Student explains that the article is useful evidence in that it gives a contemporary account of the fighting.
Question 2
Student explains that the article is less useful because it is a second-hand report and written from an Anglo-American perspective.
Level: Emergent
Question 1
Student sees that the article provides some evidence of what happened in the fighting but makes assumptions about the article that go beyond the warrants of the evidence or does not fully explain how the article could provide useful evidence.
Question 2
Student sees that the article has limitations but provides an incomplete explanation about why the article is less useful as evidence.
Level: Basic
Question 1
Student does not provide a relevant explanation for how the article could be useful as evidence.
Question 2
Student does not identify or explain the limitations of the article as evidence.
