Apartheid: white rule built in law from 1948
Apartheid was enforced racial segregation and white minority rule. It began after the National Party (Daniel Malan) won the whites-only 1948 election. Segregation already existed, but the party built it into law. Its foundation was the Population Registration Act (1950), classifying everyone by race, on which every other law rested. The Group Areas Act (1950) split towns into racial zones, and the pass laws forced black South Africans to carry passbooks.
Why apartheid ended: weigh and judge
A 'how far' answer on the end of apartheid weighs factors by criteria. (1) Internal resistance: the ANC, Sharpeville (1960) and above all Soweto (1976) and the 1980s revolt made the country ungovernable. (2) International pressure: sanctions and boycotts isolated South Africa in the 1980s. (3) Leadership: de Klerk (president from 1989) unbanned the ANC and freed Mandela in 1990, then negotiated the 1994 elections. Weigh how they interacted, against a criterion.
Drawn from real examiner reports.
Describe the event, not its effect
Paper 1(b) rewards the EFFECT, not a retelling. Candidates describe Sharpeville (1960) or Soweto (1976) without saying what it caused. Turn knowledge into effects: Sharpeville brought a state of emergency, the banning of the ANC and PAC, and international condemnation. Soweto spread unrest and drew foreign pressure. Explain how each event caused its effect.
Digest (## Generic skills, Paper 1 Q(b)): "Knowing the effect is not enough - it must be explained as an outcome/consequence, not just stated or described" (June 2024 & June 2023 Paper 1). DS8 not individually reported.
Assert importance without criteria
On the 16-mark judgement, strong candidates cap below Level 4 by asserting one factor was 'most important' without criteria. Set a criterion: judged by what made the system unworkable, the 1980s township revolt was decisive; by what forced negotiation, sanctions weighed heavily; by what triggered transition, de Klerk's 1990 moves were pivotal.
Digest (## Generic skills, Paper 1 Q(c)): candidates "assert that something was more important/more significant without applying and explaining criteria. Doing so is what secures Level 4" (June 2024 & June 2023 Paper 1). DS8 not individually reported.
Drift outside 1948-94
DS8 is bounded by 1948-94, so answers must not drift before 1948 (early Union history, the 1913 Land Act) or after 1994 (Mandela's presidency, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission). Material from the wrong period earns nothing, however accurate. Keep every example inside the window, from the 1948 victory to the 1994 elections.
Digest (## Generic skills, Paper 1 Q(a)/(b)): candidates lost relevance by dragging in events outside the stated date range (June 2024 Paper 1). DS8 not individually reported.
Quoting the extract, not analysing it
On the 6-mark impression question (AO4), selecting or quoting words that fit the impression caps at Level 2. To reach Level 3, analyse HOW the author builds it: the detail selected, the tone, emphasis and omissions. Go beyond 'the author shows the police as brutal' to explain that the impression rests on emotive words and showing only the victims' suffering.
Digest (## Generic skills, Paper 1 Q(a)): "Merely selecting/quoting information that supports the impression caps the answer in Level 2. To reach Level 3 the candidate must analyse HOW the impression was created" (June 2024 & June 2023 Paper 1). DS8 not individually reported.
Sharpeville 1960 vs Soweto 1976
Two separate massacres, easily swapped. At Sharpeville (21 March 1960), police fired on a crowd protesting the pass laws; it led to the ANC and PAC being banned and a state of emergency. At Soweto (16 June 1976), police fired on schoolchildren protesting Afrikaans in schools; it sparked nationwide township unrest. Sharpeville = 1960, pass laws; Soweto = 1976, Afrikaans.
The 1948 election was whites-only
The 1948 election that put the National Party in power was WHITES-ONLY: the non-white majority could not vote, so it was minority rule without consent. Apartheid did not INVENT segregation in 1948; it already existed (earlier land and pass laws). After 1948 the party made it far more systematic, codified in the 1950 race laws. So 1948 = entrenchment, not invention.
Mandela was released in 1990, not 1994
Do not collapse two dates. Mandela was released on 11 February 1990, after de Klerk unbanned the ANC. His release did NOT make him president and was NOT in 1994. Only in 1994 were the first non-racial elections held, which the ANC won, making Mandela president. Sequence: de Klerk president (1989), Mandela freed (1990), negotiations (1990-93), then elections (1994).
Analyse the extract's craft
State the impression first, quote a supporting detail, then explain the technique: the author emphasises X, omits Y, or picks emotive words and only the harshest details. Naming the impression earns Level 2; analysing HOW it is built earns Level 3.
Structure the 16-mark judgement
Argue both sides with dated detail, using the stimulus bullets AND your own knowledge. State a criterion (what made apartheid unworkable, or what forced negotiation) and apply it to decide how far you agree, not by asserting importance.
Give two developed effects
The 8-mark question needs TWO distinct effects, each explained as an outcome and anchored by dated detail (a law or event). Signpost them ('One effect... a second effect...'). Two developed effects beat four merely named.
In 1948 the National Party, led by Daniel Malan, won the whites-only general election and began building the system of enforced racial segregation and white minority rule known as apartheid (Afrikaans for "apartness"). Over the next four decades the government passed laws to classify and separate people by race, while opposition grew from the ANC and other groups. After the crises of Sharpeville (1960) and Soweto (1976), mounting township revolt and international sanctions in the 1980s, President F. W. de Klerk unbanned the ANC and released **
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