CONTROLLED ASSESSMENT TASK part (b)Some people have the view that Jack the Ripper was not caught because of police failures.How far do your selected sources support or contradictthis interpretation? |
Notes for teachers/candidates about approaching this task
Underneath is a suggested structure which should be accessible to most candidates following a GCSE History course. It is offered as guidance and should not be seen as a writing frame or the only or best way to tackle this exercise.
* An introduction
This needs to have a clear focus on the set question and also needs to show an awareness of what an interpretation actually is.
It needs a clear reference to the different interpretations of the issue / topic.
There is a need to briefly set the issue in its historical context.
There is NO NEED to evaluate any sources or evidence in this part of the assignment.
* A discussion/explanation of the first interpretation
There should be a clear statement of this interpretation.
There should be a clear attempt to explain how people who support this interpretation have arrived at their views.
There should be discussion of evidence which can be used to support this interpretation. Both content and attribution need to be addressed
* A discussion/explanation of the second interpretation
There should be a clear statement of this interpretation.
There should be a clear attempt to explain how people who support this interpretation have arrived at their views.
There should be discussion of evidence which can be used to support this interpretation. Both content and attribution need to be addressed
* Summary
There should be a final answer to the set question.
There should be a judgement reached as so which set of evidence is considered to have most validity in addressing the interpretation.
It is recommended that the answer to part (b) should be about 1200 words in total.
It is also recommended that candidates use no more than 4 sources from each section (8 in total) to explain how and why each interpretation has been arrived at.
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SOURCES WHICH SUPPORT THE INTERPRETATION
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SOURCE B1
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The initial strategy for undoing the Ripper was quite ordinary – just increase the number of police in London's East End. While there, the constables, who throughout had no reliable description of the killer, spent considerable time in cheap lodging houses and pubs seeking any "suspicious" wretch. In the early stages they detained and questioned countless men. Later they became reluctant to check even truly suspicious persons. And so the Ripper went on killing.
[John Holliday, an historian writing in his book, Jack the Ripper, the Green River Killer and the Police (1990)]
SOURCE B2
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The police failed to control public perception of their actions, which led to the crisis quickly spinning out of control. They failed to control the flow of information and did not prove that they were acting responsibly. They failed to show that they were doing everything to catch the killer. Finally the police allowed internal disagreements and failed relationships within their ranks to cause turmoil.
[Brian Schoeneman, an American historian writing in his article,
A Crisis Management Based Analysis of the Whitechapel Murders (2002)]
SOURCE B3
[An illustration published in Punch magazine on September 22nd 1888. It was drawn by Tenniel, one of the most famous artists of the time, and was accompanied by a poem making fun of the police.]
SOURCE B4
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We do not wish to blame the police. But we do say that the organisation of the force must be
