Evaluate the usefulness of sources 1 and 2 in understanding how the Industrial Revolution impacted different social classes.
Your response should:
WRITING PRACTICE
• Identify the perspectives within the sources
• Assess how useful each source is
• Use evidence from the sources
Source 1 and Source 2 are both useful for understanding how the Industrial Revolution affected
different social classes, but they show very different experiences. Source 1, a first-hand account
by William Dodd, reveals the harsh and painful life of working-class factory children, from the EVALAUTE –
first hand perspective of a young factory worker named William Dodd. He mentions how his To examine and judge the
continuous physical labour causes “the skin [to wear off], and causes the finger to bleed.” This merit, significance or value of
makes this source very valuable and useful in showing the negative impact of the Industrial something
Revolution, and especially factory work, on the poor, lower class, who had to work long hours
for little to no money. Source 2, a portrait of Richard Arkwright Jnr’s wealthy family,
demonstrates the wealth and comfort gained by successful industrialists, showing the positive
effects of the Industrial Revolution on the upper class. It shows the perspective of the upper
CRITERIA CHECKLIST
class and depicts them as living in extreme comfort, luxury and success, as shown by the fancy
clothing of all three family members. It is a reliable depiction of them considering they were Discerning evaluation of these sources by
analysing the origin and purpose and drawing
factory workers. It is also useful in understanding how the upper class gained immensely
justified conclusions about their usefulness
(owning factories) from the labour of the lower class (working in factories) who gained little to
none. Both sources, taken together, highlight the big gaps between the lives of factory workers Discerning examination of sources to compare
and factory owners during the Industrial Revolution. different points of view
HAVE I MADE A MAKE CLEAR
JUDGEMENT ABOUT THE USEFULNESS
OF EACH SOURCE?
HAVE I JUSTIFIED MY JUDGEMENT BY
REFERRING TO:
- Origin (where the source is
from/created by)
- Purpose (why was the source created)
HAVE I IDENTIFIED AND REFERRED TO
THE PERSPECTIVES PRESENTED WITHIN
EACH SOURCE?
HAVE I REFFERED TO EVIDENCE FROM
THE SOURCES WITHIN MY RESPONSE?
Source 1 – From A Narrative of William Dodd, A Factory Cripple, 1841 Analysis
What is the inferred meaning? What is the purpose of the source? Does the source present a particular
perspective?1
Context: William Dodd was employed at a local textile factory when he was
just 6 years old. After many years working within the factory Dodd obtained perspective of a young factory worker
various physical disabilities due to the strenuous labour. purpose is to show how life was extremely strenuous and
painful for these young people (first hand account to show his
own experiences)
inferred meaning is the immense pain and cruelty of making
young people work such physically stressful jobs which could
have future disastrous consequences
At the age of six I became a piecer... each piecing requires three or four Evaluation
rubs, over a space of three or four inches; and the continual friction of the Reliability:
Determine the level of reliability by considering the trustworthiness of the source.
hand in rubbing the piecing upon the coarse wrapper wears off the skin,
and causes the finger to bleed. The position in which the piecer stands to highly reliable as it is a first hand account from a young factory worker,
his work is with the right foot forward, and his right side facing the frame. only loss of reliability may be through mistranslation however that is
In this position he continues during the day, with his hands, feet, and eyes extremely unlikely
constantly in motion... the chief weight of his body rests upon his right
knee, which is almost always the first joint to give way... my evenings were
spent in preparing for the following day - in rubbing my knees, ankles,
Usefulness:
elbows, and wrists with oil, etc. I went to bed, to cry myself to sleep. Determine how useful the source is in response to the question.
very useful in understanding the circumstances of young factory
workers / the poor class (different social class) + detailed
description of the situation
Corroboration
Determine if this source corroborates another of your sources. Explain how.
does not directly corroborate source 2 but rather shows the
“opposite side” of the story
Source 2 – Portrait of Richard Arkwright Jnr and his family, painted by Analysis
Joseph Wright in 1790. What is the inferred meaning? What is the purpose of the source? Does the source present a particular
perspective?
purpose is to show Richard Jnr’s family and how they are
Context: This portrait depicts Richard Arkwright Jnr, a key industrialist during upper class +impress/status (good clothing, have their own
the Revolution. Arkwright’s father was hailed as the “father of the modern portrait)
industrial factory system”. Richard Jnr followed in his father’s footsteps, perspective of the upper class who own the factories rather
than working in them
owning and developing many factories in the 18th and 19th centuries.
inferred meaning:
the factory owners had immense success and wealth at the
cost of the sweat and labour of the factory workers
the upper class lived in complete comfort and luxury, didn’t
care about the struggles of lower class
Evaluation
Reliability:
Determine the level of reliability by considering the trustworthiness of the source.
reliable as a painting and a depiction of them considering they were
wealthy
Usefulness:
Determine how useful the source is in response to the question.
useful in understanding how the upper class benefitted
immensely while the lower class gained nothing, highlighting
the massive gap between classes
Corroboration
Determine if this source corroborates another of your sources. Explain how.
does not corroborate directly with source 1 but does show the
other side of the story
