History Grade 12 Paper 2: final revision

Built from the Grade 12 History Paper 2 revision broadcast of 15 September 2026 (14:30 to 16:00, Gauteng Department of Education with the Sci-Bono Discovery Centre, Phakama Research channel), using the English auto-caption transcript and the 21 slides shown on air. The broadcast covered Questions 1, 2, 4 and 5 only. Where a slide shows a memorandum, the wording is reproduced exactly. Where something said on air disagrees with the historical record, the notes give the correct version and say so in a Check box, and section 15 lists every one of them.

1. At a glance: how Paper 2 is built

History Paper 2 is 150 marks in 3 hours. It has two sections, each with three questions of 50 marks, and you answer THREE questions in total.

Question	Topic	Question focus
SECTION A: source-based
1	Civil resistance, 1970s to 1980s: South Africa	The crisis of apartheid in the 1980s: internal resistance
2	The coming of democracy to South Africa and coming to terms with the past	The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)
3	The end of the Cold War and a new world order, 1989 to the present	Globalisation
SECTION B: essays
4	Civil resistance, 1970s to 1980s: South Africa	The challenge of Black Consciousness to the apartheid state (the "Biko essay")
5	The coming of democracy to South Africa and coming to terms with the past	The negotiated settlement and the Government of National Unity (GNU)
6	The end of the Cold War and a new world order	The end of the Cold War and the events of 1989

Read the slide numbers carefully. The broadcast slide numbers the essays 1, 2 and 3. In the question paper they are Questions 4, 5 and 6.

The instructions, word for word from the paper.
4. Answer THREE questions as follows:
4.1 At least ONE must be a source-based question and at least ONE must be an essay question.
4.2 The THIRD question can be either a source-based question or an essay question.
5. You are advised to spend ONE hour per question.

So your paper is either two source-based and one essay, or one source-based and two essays. Three source-based questions, or three essays, breaks the rule. One hour per question, because the paper is three hours long.

Notice the pairing: Question 1 and Question 4 are both civil resistance; Question 2 and Question 5 are both the coming of democracy; Question 3 and Question 6 are both the end of the Cold War. If one side of a theme looks hard on the day, the other side is still open to you.

Show the safest three-question plan

Do your strongest source-based question first, because the Level 1 marks are physically on the page in front of you. Then your strongest essay. Then choose the third from whichever section you are more comfortable in. Write your three question numbers at the top of the answer book before you start and stick to them.

2. How the source-based questions are marked

History has three cognitive levels. Every source-based question (1, 2 and 3) contains all three levels, so do not think "Level 1 is Question 1". The levels only apply to Section A; the essays are marked on a rubric.

Level	Historical skill	Weighting
Level 1	Extract evidence from the source. Define historical concepts.	15 marks / 30%
Level 2	Interpret, explain and analyse evidence from the sources.	20 marks / 40%
Level 3	Interpret and evaluate evidence: usefulness, reliability, bias, limitations. Compare and contrast perspectives. The paragraph.	15 marks / 30%

Check. On air the split was given as 14 + 20 + 16 = 50. The DBE examination guideline weighting is 15 (30%) + 20 (40%) + 15 (30%) = 50, which is what the History Paper 1 guide uses too. The practical message is the same: Level 2 carries the most marks.

Level 1 questions

• Skill: extract information from the source; define a historical concept.
• Marks: 1 x 1, 2 x 1, 1 x 2 or 3 x 1 (sometimes 4 x 1 when names are asked for).
• Question verbs: list, quote, identify, name, state.
• Typical wording: What information in the source tells you about ...? Quote two reasons from the source ... What do you understand by the term ...? According to the source ...?

The one Level 1 answer that is never in the source is the concept. "Define the term" and "What do you understand by the term" test vocabulary you must have studied. Everything else at Level 1 is lift and copy.

Level 2 questions

• Skill: interpret, gather and analyse evidence. The answer is not sitting in the source; you work it out from the source plus what you know.
• Marks: the highest is 2 x 2 = 4.
• Question verbs: explain, comment, describe, organise.
• Typical wording: What message does the cartoon convey? Explain in your own words ... Why do you think ...? According to the source and your own knowledge ...

Level 3 questions

• Skill: evaluate. Explain different perspectives, draw conclusions about how reliable or useful a source is, identify its limitations, compare and contrast.
• Marks: 2 x 2 = 4, and the paragraph at 8.
• Question verbs: compare, contrast, comment on, justify, explain to what extent.
• Typical wording: Explain to what extent the evidence in Source 1A ... Compare the evidence in Sources 1A and 1B ... Comment on the usefulness, reliability or limitations of Source 1B ...

Reading the mark allocation

In (1 x 2) the first number is how many responses you must give and the second number is what each response is worth. So (1 x 2) is one answer for two marks, and (3 x 1) is three separate answers for one mark each.

You see	It usually means
(1 x 1), (2 x 1), (3 x 1)	Level 1 extraction. The answer is in the source.
(1 x 2)	Look in the source first, and read the wording. It is either a concept (Level 1) or an interpretation (Level 2).
(2 x 2)	Level 2 or 3. Two separate ideas, each explained. You need to have studied the content.
(8)	The paragraph. Level 3, marked on a rubric.

3. The source toolkit

Support: how are the sources similar?

"Explain how Source 1A supports Source 1B" asks what the two sources have in common.

1. Find something in Source 1A that says or shows the same thing as Source 1B.
2. Write it as one sentence with both sources in it: Source 1A says that the UDF was started by Reverend Allan Boesak and this is supported by Source 1B, which shows Boesak walking in front of a UDF demonstration.
3. Go back and find a second example: Source 1A says the people used weapons and this is supported by Source 1B, which shows people walking with knives.

You may write "both sources show ..." only when the sources use the same word or show the same thing. "Weapons" in one and "knives" in the other mean the same idea, but they are different words, so write "Source 1A says ... and this is supported by Source 1B, which says ...".

Contrast: how are the sources different?

Contrast means finding what is opposite or contradicting.

• Source 1A says the people are happy and this is contradicted by Source 1B, which says the people are angry.
• Source 1A says the people flew in Boeing aircraft and this is contradicted by Source 1B, which says they travelled by train.

Go back twice to each source. And read the question: tomorrow's pair might be 1C and 1D, or 2A and 2C, not 1A and 1B.

Bias

• A biased source gives one point of view: one person, one country, one organisation.
• It offers a limited view of the event.
• Look for emotive, exaggerated language or propaganda.

Reliability

Ask two questions: Is the source accurate? Can the source be trusted? Then answer these, because this is where your marks are:

• Who wrote or made it? Name the author or photographer.
• When was it made? Give the date and whether it matches the date of the event.
• Why was it created? Summarise the source and give its main idea.
• Is it consistent with other sources? Show that, for example, 1A describes the founding of the UDF, 1B shows it operating and 1C describes its activities, so they tell one consistent story.

Usefulness

Usefulness is close to reliability. Is it accurate, with a date and an author? Does it mean what it says? Can it be corroborated (confirmed by other sources)? Who produced it and why? A newspaper report or a photograph taken at the event can be very useful. A cartoon is the cartoonist's own impression, so focus on its message. Then ask whether the information can be used for the period or event being studied.

Limitations

Limitations is the opposite of reliability and usefulness. A source is limited when:

• it is biased, showing only one side (for example only the negative side of the UDF);
• there is no author or no date;
• it is not accurate or not consistent with other sources;
• it uses emotive, exaggerated language or propaganda.

4. The 8-mark paragraph

• It is always the last question of a source-based question, worth 8 marks, and marked with a holistic, analytical rubric.
• It is a Level 3 question: explain the role, impact, causes, effects or significance of an event.
• It always relates back to the key question, the bold line next to "QUESTION 1:" at the top.
• Minimum length: about eight lines (about 80 words). That is a minimum, not a maximum.

Show how to build the paragraph as you work

1. Read the key question first.
2. As you answer the ordinary questions on Sources 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D, underline every phrase that answers the key question.
3. When you reach the paragraph, do not copy the underlined text as it stands. Paraphrase it: keep the main idea and put your own words in front and behind.
4. End each borrowed point with the source in brackets, for example (Source 1A).
5. Add own knowledge: what you studied in class and in your textbook.
6. Write it as one flowing paragraph.

Two warnings from the broadcast. Bullet points are not a paragraph and the presenter warned they earn only about 2 marks. Copying the sources word for word, with no paraphrase, can earn 0.

5. The essay: what the marker is looking for

• Take a stance in the introduction.
• Develop a coherent line of argument from that stance, paragraph by paragraph.
• Support it with relevant historical facts, organised chronologically: a story has a start, a middle and an end. If the body starts in 1960, the next paragraph moves to 1961, then 1962.
• Never write the Section A sources out as your essay. The essay is marked on your own content.

The three ways an essay question is asked

Wording	How your stance must sound
Critically discuss (a statement)	Give both sides. "Indeed, ... because ... However, ..." For example: indeed Biko and other role players helped black people become self-reliant, but the apartheid government opposed it with strict regulations.
Do you agree? (a statement)	"It can be agreed that ..." or "One can agree that ..." or disagree.
Explain to what extent	"To a great (large) extent ..." or "To a lesser extent ..."

Match the stance to the question. "I agree to a great extent" mixes two question types. If the question says "to what extent", answer with an extent. If it says "do you agree", answer with agree or disagree. The presenter's advice: in the introduction write "it can be agreed" or "one can agree", not "I".

The introduction: three steps

Step	What it does
1. Stance	Answer the question, repeating its words.
2. Reason	Two (at most three) sentences of evidence from your content that justify the stance.
3. Orientation	Tell the marker what the essay will write about.

If any one of the three is missing, the introduction is not properly contextualised, and that is where marks start to go.

Background, body and conclusion

• One background paragraph only. It shows how things stood before the essay's story starts.
• The body is many paragraphs, not one or two: twelve, fifteen, sixteen. Every paragraph follows PEEL and is linked to the line of argument.
• Length: the presenter's rule is at least three pages, and keep going until the whole story is told.
• The conclusion says you are concluding, restates the stance and reasons, and says the essay has shown it.

PEEL	What goes in it
Point	The opening sentence: the point or statement of the paragraph.
Explain	Explain the point. Biko developed Black Consciousness: why did he?
Evidence / example	Names, dates, places, organisations. This is where the content marks live.
Link	Link back to the introduction and stance, or forward to the next paragraph.

A perfect introduction and conclusion earn little if the body has no content and no line of argument. Study the content until you can tell the whole story.

6. Question 1 content: the crisis of apartheid in the 1980s

Examination guideline bullets (the questions are set on these; they may use one bullet or all four):

• Government attempts to reform apartheid (the 1982 Urban Bantu Authorities Act; the Tri-cameral system)
• Internal resistance to reforms
• Growing power of the Trade Union Movement from 1973
• Response to Botha's 'reforms': new methods of mobilisation (labour's 'rolling mass action', roles of civics, UDF, Mass Democratic Movement and End Conscription Campaign and Black Sash)

Check. The slide reproduces the bullet as "Urban Bantu Authorities Act". The 1982 law is the Black Local Authorities Act. Use that name in an answer; a marker will accept the idea either way.

Total onslaught and total strategy

• P.W. Botha became Prime Minister in 1978 and, under the 1983 constitution, the first executive State President in 1984.
• The National Party claimed South Africa faced a total onslaught: a communist threat from outside and inside the country.
• The regional fear: in Angola the Soviet- and Cuban-backed MPLA fought the FNLA and UNITA. Next door was South West Africa (Namibia), which South Africa ruled. Pretoria feared communism would spread from Angola through Namibia to South Africa.
• Botha's answer was a total strategy: military force and security laws on one side, limited "reforms" on the other to win black middle-class, coloured and Indian support.

Check. On air Namibia was called South Africa's "fifth province", given as a "gift" after World War I. South Africa ran South West Africa under a League of Nations mandate from 1920 after Germany's defeat, and later refused to hand it over; it was never legally a province.

Reform 1: the Black Local Authorities Act, 1982

• Black townships could elect their own town councils, for the first time with the powers of white municipalities on paper.
• The councils had no real money, so they raised rents and service charges. Residents saw the councillors as puppets of apartheid.
• Urban black residents could lease township houses on 99-year leasehold. (Leasehold had been introduced in 1978; the presenter linked it to this reform.)
• Blacks were still refused a vote in Parliament: their political rights were meant to be exercised in the homelands (for example Transkei, Ciskei, Venda, KwaZulu).

Reform 2: the Tricameral Parliament, 1983

House	For
House of Assembly	White voters (the largest house)
House of Representatives	Coloured voters
House of Delegates	Indian voters
Black Africans: excluded

• Each house decided its "own affairs" (for coloureds, coloured affairs; for Indians, Indian affairs).
• "General affairs" such as defence and the economy needed all three, but whites always outnumbered the other two houses together, so real power stayed white.
• Blacks were excluded because they were meant to have political rights in the homelands, and because as the majority they would have outvoted everyone else.
• Black people still carried the pass book, the hated dompas, outside the homelands. (The pass laws were abolished in 1986.)

Internal resistance: the United Democratic Front (UDF)

• Launched on 20 August 1983 in Mitchells Plain, Cape Town, to oppose the Tricameral Parliament and the new black local authorities.
• An umbrella body of hundreds of organisations: civics, student, church, women's and youth groups and trade unions. Slogan: "UDF Unites, Apartheid Divides".
• Leading figures were church leaders of different races: Reverend Allan Boesak (classified coloured), Reverend Frank Chikane and Archbishop Desmond Tutu (black), and Reverend Beyers Naudé (white).
• Not formally part of the ANC or PAC, but it shared the ANC's Freedom Charter ideals and worked alongside the banned movements.
• Methods: boycotting the 1984 Tricameral elections (very low coloured and Indian turnout), rent and consumer boycotts, stayaways, making townships "ungovernable". The government declared a State of Emergency in 1985, extended nationwide in 1986.

The civics and the students

• Civics were local residents' associations. They ran rent boycotts against the town councils, organised street committees, and in places replaced the councils as the real local authority.
• COSAS (Congress of South African Students, 1979) organised high-school learners: school boycotts, "Liberation now, education later". It was banned in 1985.

Check. On air COSAS was placed at university level. COSAS was the school learners' organisation; university students were organised by AZASO (later SANSCO).

The trade union movement from 1973

• 1973 Durban strikes: tens of thousands of black workers struck for higher wages, the start of the modern black union movement.
• The Wiehahn Commission (1979) led to black trade unions being legalised.
• COSATU (Congress of South African Trade Unions) was launched in December 1985, uniting 33 unions. It became the mother body of the independent unions and worked with the UDF. Its first president was Elijah Barayi and its general secretary Jay Naidoo.
• Cyril Ramaphosa led the National Union of Mineworkers, a key COSATU affiliate.
• Rolling mass action: repeated strikes and stayaways that combined workplace demands with political ones. On 1 May 1986 (May Day, International Workers' Day) COSATU called a massive stayaway.

Check. On air Ramaphosa was called "the leader of COSATU". He was general secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers and helped found COSATU; COSATU's first leaders were Barayi and Naidoo.

The End Conscription Campaign and the Black Sash

• Conscription: every white man had to do (two years of) military service after school.
• The End Conscription Campaign (ECC), formed in 1983, was a white organisation that said young white men should not be forced into an army used against the townships and the liberation movements. It was non-violent: marches, concerts, conscientious objectors.
• The Black Sash was an organisation of white women founded in 1955. Members wore black sashes and stood in silent protest outside courts and government buildings; in the 1980s its advice offices helped people hit by the pass laws and forced removals.

Repression and the Mass Democratic Movement

• In February 1988 the government restricted the UDF and many other organisations and banned COSATU from political activity; the ECC was banned later in 1988.
• Activists regrouped as the Mass Democratic Movement (MDM), a loose alliance of the UDF, COSATU and their allies, which ran the Defiance Campaign of 1989.

Check. On air the bannings were dated 1987 and the MDM described as the UDF "changing its name". The restrictions came in February 1988, and the MDM was a broader alliance of the UDF and COSATU, not a renamed UDF.

Source 1B, reproduced from the broadcast

The photograph below was taken during a rally organised by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) in the Western Cape on 1 May 1986. It shows workers participating in a protest under the banner of the Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union of South Africa (CCAWUSA), which was an affiliate of COSATU.

Labels on the source: CLENCHED FISTS, CCAWUSA, FORWARD WITH THE WORKERS' STRUGGLE. [From History of Trade Unionism in South Africa by L Gentle, et al.]

7. Question 2 content: the Truth and Reconciliation Commission

What was the TRC? (slide wording)

• This was a court-like body assembled in SA after the end of apartheid under the leadership of Archbishop Tutu.
• Anybody who felt that they had been the victim of violence could come forward and be heard at the TRC.
• The perpetrators of violence could also give public testimony and request amnesty from prosecution.
• The TRC was a crucial component of the transition to full and free democracy in South Africa.
• It was a public forum and procedures were broadcast on TV.

How it worked

• Set up by the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act of 1995, under President Nelson Mandela. Chaired by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Hearings began in 1996.
• It investigated gross human rights violations from 1960 to 1994: what happened, why, and who gave the orders.
• Three committees: Human Rights Violations (victims told their stories), Amnesty (perpetrators applied), and Reparation and Rehabilitation (support for victims).
• Hearings were held in local halls and civic centres near where the events happened, and broadcast on TV and radio.
• The final report was handed to Mandela in October 1998.

Amnesty: the two conditions

Amnesty is an official pardon issued by the state. A perpetrator granted amnesty could not be tried in a criminal or civil court for that act. To receive it:

1. the crime had to be politically motivated, and
2. the applicant had to make full disclosure: tell the whole truth.

A true confession to a crime that was not political did not earn amnesty.

Restorative, not retributive, justice

Retributive justice	Restorative justice (the TRC)
Punishment: trial and sentence. Example: the Nuremberg trials after World War II, where leading Nazis were sentenced, some to death.	Victim and perpetrator are brought together, the truth is told, and they work to repair the harm. The goal is reconciliation.

Numbers and reparations

• About 21 000 victims gave statements.
• About 7 000 people applied for amnesty, and only a minority (roughly 1 100 to 1 500, depending on how partial grants are counted) received it.
• Victims were later paid a once-off R30 000 and offered counselling and medical support.

Check. On air: "21 000 applied, 7 000 were approved to be heard, 2 100 received amnesty". The 21 000 were victim statements, not amnesty applications; about 7 000 applied for amnesty; fewer than 2 100 were granted it.

Successes and criticisms

Positive	Negative
Exposed the truth about apartheid-era crimes and who ordered them. Gave victims a public voice and acknowledgement. Helped avoid revenge and civil war during the transition. Some victims and perpetrators reconciled and live in peace.	Families such as Steve Biko's felt amnesty let killers escape justice and went to court to challenge it. Reparations were small and slow. Many perpetrators, including senior leaders, never applied or refused to appear. Some National Party leaders called it a "witch-hunt".

Check. On air it was implied that Biko's killers received amnesty. The Biko family opposed the amnesty process, but the five policemen who applied for amnesty for Biko's death were refused it in 1999.

Source 2A, reproduced from the broadcast

The extract below was taken from the funeral programme of Reverend Tshenuwani Farisani. The funeral took place on 7 June 2025. It focuses on Farisani's political activism against the apartheid government which led to his imprisonment in the 1980s.

Farisani was a founding member of the Black People's Convention (BPC) and served as its president from 1973 to 1975. He worked closely with Stephen Bantu Biko and other leaders of the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM). He co-founded the Black Evangelical Youth Organisation (BEYO) in the 1970s with current South African President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, Tshifhiwa Muofhe and Lawrence Khorombi. This initiative evolved into the Bold Evangelical Christian Organisation (BECO) and later the Evangelical Christian Outreach (ECHO).

Between 1977 and 1987, Farisani was detained without trial on four separate occasions as a result of his outspoken opposition to apartheid. During these incarcerations (imprisonment), he was subjected to brutal torture, including beatings, electric shocks and prolonged isolation. His 1982 detention, one of the most widely documented cases of political abuse under apartheid, drew international condemnation (criticism). Amnesty International*, having declared him a prisoner of conscience, spearheaded (organised) a global campaign demanding his release, which ultimately succeeded.

His suffering became emblematic (symbolic) of the regime's cruelty and helped expose the extent of state-sponsored violence. In 1986, Farisani testified before US congressional committees, recounting his experiences in chilling detail; a testimony that led to formal resolutions in both the Senate and House of Representatives urging the South African government to end its persecution of him and other activists.

[Source: Funeral Programme of Reverend Tshenuwani Farisani, 7 June 2025]
*Amnesty International: a global human rights organisation that works to protect and promote human rights around the world

8. Question 4 content: Black Consciousness (the Biko essay)

The examination guideline bullets are used to set the question. The question may name only one bullet (for example the nature and aims), but you still write the whole story.

Background paragraph: the political vacuum of the 1960s

After the Sharpeville massacre (21 March 1960) the ANC and PAC were banned. Leaders went into exile, were detained, placed under house arrest or jailed for life, like the Rivonia trialists. By the late 1960s no organisation inside the country was openly standing up to apartheid.

Bullet 1: the nature and aims of Black Consciousness

• Nature: apartheid had taught black people that they were inferior. Black Consciousness set out to destroy that inferiority complex: a psychological liberation, pride in being black.
• "Black" meant all the oppressed: African, coloured and Indian.
• Aims: to unite black people, liberate their minds, build self-reliance, and lead their own struggle without white liberals ("Black man, you are on your own").

Bullet 2: the role of Steve Biko, his ideas and writings

• A medical student at the University of Natal, active first in the multiracial student union NUSAS.
• He broke away to found the all-black South African Students' Organisation (SASO) in 1968 to 1969.
• Influenced by Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, Frantz Fanon and the American Black Power movement (this links Paper 1 Question 6 to Paper 2 Question 4).
• Wrote the column "I Write What I Like" under the name Frank Talk. His best-known idea: the most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed. He told black people it was time to stop standing on the touchline and join the game.

Bullet 3: Black Consciousness and black-owned development

• At first the government tolerated BC, because black people "doing things for themselves" seemed to fit separate development (the Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act of 1959).
• SASO graduates founded the Black People's Convention (BPC, 1972) and the Black Allied Workers' Union (BAWU), in Durban.
• Black Community Programmes: health (the Zanempilo clinic near King William's Town, with Dr Mamphela Ramphele), education funds, home industries, arts and culture, and the publication Black Review.
• Once the state saw BC as a real challenge it cracked down: Biko was banned in 1973 and restricted to King William's Town; leaders were detained and tried.
• Viva FRELIMO rallies (1974): SASO and BPC celebrated the collapse of Portuguese rule in Mozambique, which inspired black South Africans. Leaders were arrested and put on trial, which spread BC ideas further.

Bullet 4: the influence of BC on the Soweto uprising and its legacy

• BC-trained graduates became teachers and passed the ideas to learners. At school level the South African Students' Movement (SASM) spread them.
• Grievances: Bantu Education, overcrowding, poor conditions at home and school, and the Afrikaans Medium Decree of 1974, which made Afrikaans the medium of instruction for mathematics, arithmetic and social studies.
• Tsietsi Mashinini, a SASM leader at Morris Isaacson High School, was a key organiser.
• 16 June 1976: thousands of learners marched. Police opened fire near Vilakazi Street, Orlando West. Hector Pieterson was killed; Sam Nzima of The World newspaper photographed him being carried. The uprising spread across the country and hundreds were killed.
• Legacy: many learners lost the year and repeated it in 1977; thousands left for exile and military training; Biko died in police detention on 12 September 1977; BC organisations were banned in October 1977; the world turned harder against apartheid; a generation of black South Africans stood up for their rights.

Check. On air the Afrikaans subjects were given as maths, physical science and life science. The 1974 decree put mathematics, arithmetic and social studies in Afrikaans, with general science and practical subjects in English.

The broadcast's essay question

To what extent did Steve Biko and the Black Consciousness ideology contribute to the 1976 student protest in Soweto? Support your line of argument using relevant evidence.

2026 is fifty years since 1976, the presenter's hint that this anniversary makes the topic likely.

Introduction (slide wording, colours as on the slide):

To a greater extent Steve Biko and the Black Consciousness contributed to the 1976 protest in Soweto. BCM and Biko seeks to infuse [fill] the black community with a new-found pride in themselves, their efforts, their value systems, their culture (heritage), their religion and their outlook to life. This in turn inspired the black students and gave them confidence to fight the Bantu education. In the next paragraphs we will be explaining how Steve Biko and the Black Consciousness contribute to the 1976 protest in Soweto.

Conclusion (slide wording):

In conclusion, to a greater extent Steve Biko and the Black Consciousness contributed to the 1976 protest in Soweto. BCM and Biko seeks to infuse [fill] the black community with a new-found pride in themselves, their efforts, their value systems, their culture (heritage), their religion and their outlook to life. This in turn inspired the black students and gave them confidence to fight the Bantu education. The above essay has explained how Steve Biko and the Black Consciousness contributed to the 1976 Soweto uprising.

Stance, then reason, then orientation. The conclusion is the introduction with "In conclusion" added and the orientation turned into "The above essay has explained". In your own essay, tidy the grammar: "sought to infuse", "Black Consciousness Movement", "contributed".

9. Question 5 content: negotiations, violence and the GNU

Some learners call it the Mandela essay, others the Ramaphosa essay, others "the road to democracy".

Examination guideline bullets: beginning of negotiations 1990 to 1991; breakdown of negotiations; multiparty negotiation process resumes; ongoing violence: attempts to derail negotiations; final road to democracy 1994 (27 April 1994 election; the Government of National Unity).

The spine of events, in order

When	What happened	Peace or violence
2 Feb 1990	F.W. de Klerk's speech to Parliament: ANC, PAC and SACP unbanned; political prisoners to be released.	Peace
11 Feb 1990	Nelson Mandela released.	Peace
1990	Police shoot protesters in Sebokeng (Vaal); fighting between IFP-supporting hostel dwellers and ANC supporters on the Reef and in Natal.	Violence
May 1990	Groote Schuur Minute: commitment to end violence, release political prisoners, let exiles return.	Peace
Aug 1990	Pretoria Minute: the ANC suspends the armed struggle of Umkhonto we Sizwe; the government moves to lift the State of Emergency.	Peace
1991	Violence continues; evidence of a police-funded "third force" helping the IFP. National Peace Accord (Sept 1991); the Goldstone Commission investigates violence and moves to stop the carrying of traditional weapons.	Both
Dec 1991	CODESA 1: 19 parties; Declaration of Intent; working groups set up. The CP, PAC and AZAPO stay out.	Peace
Feb to Mar 1992	NP loses the Potchefstroom by-election to the Conservative Party; De Klerk calls a whites-only referendum: 68.7% yes to continue negotiating.	Peace
May 1992	CODESA 2 deadlocks over the majority needed to pass the constitution and over power-sharing. Mandela accuses De Klerk of backing a third force.	Breakdown
June 1992	Boipatong massacre: the ANC walks out of negotiations and launches rolling mass action.	Violence
7 Sept 1992	Bisho massacre: Ciskei soldiers fire on ANC marchers, killing 28.	Violence
26 Sept 1992	Record of Understanding (worked out by Cyril Ramaphosa and Roelf Meyer): talks resume; elected constitutional assembly.	Peace
Late 1992	Joe Slovo's sunset clause: five years of power-sharing and job security for civil servants.	Peace
Apr 1993	Multiparty Negotiating Forum begins.	Peace
10 Apr 1993	Chris Hani assassinated by right-wingers. De Klerk asks Mandela to address the nation on TV and calm the country; the election date is soon fixed.	Violence
June 1993	The AWB storms the World Trade Centre in Kempton Park, demanding a volkstaat.	Violence
July and Dec 1993	APLA (PAC's armed wing) attacks: St James Church and the Heidelberg Tavern, Cape Town.	Violence
Mar 1994	Bophuthatswana crisis (Mangope refuses to join; AWB men killed) and Ciskei's leader falls. Shell House massacre: ANC guards fire on IFP marchers in Johannesburg.	Violence
Mar to Apr 1994	Constand Viljoen's Freedom Front registers for the election; the IFP joins a week before voting.	Peace
27 Apr 1994	First democratic election. ANC about 63% (62.6%), NP 20%, IFP 10.5%.	Peace
10 May 1994	Mandela inaugurated as the first black president. GNU: ANC, NP and IFP in cabinet; deputy presidents Thabo Mbeki and F.W. de Klerk.	Peace

Check. On air the homeland holdouts were given as Bophuthatswana, Ciskei and Transkei. Transkei's military ruler backed the ANC; the holdouts were Bophuthatswana, Ciskei and the IFP-run KwaZulu. The Freedom Front came out of the right-wing Afrikaner Volksfront, and Boipatong, which caused the June 1992 walk-out, was not mentioned on air but belongs in the essay.

The broadcast's essay question

The road to democracy was characterised by a non-violent process of negotiation. Critically discuss this statement with reference to the period between 1990 and 1994.

Introduction (slide wording):

Indeed, the road to democracy was characterised by a non-violent process of negotiation because the national party and the ANC paved the way for smooth negotiation through the Groote Schuur and the Pretoria meeting, however other political parties like the Conservative Party, AWB, PAC and AZAPO refused to be part of the negotiations and threatened to wreck negotiations with violence. The following paragraphs will critically discuss how violence threatened the nonviolent process of negotiation process to a new democratic South Africa.

Conclusion (slide wording):

As I conclude, the road to democracy was indeed characterised by a non-violent process of negotiation because the national party and the ANC paved the way for smooth negotiation through the Groote Schuur and the Pretoria meeting, however other political parties like the Conservative Party, AWB, PAC and AZAPO refused to be part of the negotiations and threatened to wreck negotiations with violence. The following paragraphs will critically discuss how violence threatened the nonviolent process of negotiation process to a new democratic South Africa.

Fix before you copy it. The slide's conclusion still ends "The following paragraphs will critically discuss", which promises paragraphs that are not coming. A conclusion looks back: "The above essay has critically discussed how violence threatened the non-violent negotiation process that led to a new democratic South Africa." Also capitalise the National Party, and name the Groote Schuur Minute and the Pretoria Minute rather than "meeting". "Critically discuss" needs both sides, and this model does that: "Indeed ... because ..." (peace) and "however ..." (violence).

10. Questions 3 and 6: not covered on air

The broadcast gave only the focus: Question 3 (sources) is globalisation, and Question 6 (essay) is the end of the Cold War and the events of 1989. Revise them from your textbook and past papers if you plan to choose them.

11. Misconceptions that cost marks

The mistake	What to do instead
Answering three source-based questions, or three essays.	At least one of each. The third is your choice.
Looking for a concept's definition in the source.	Concepts are never in the source. Learn the terms.
Quoting the source for a Level 2 "explain" or "comment" question.	Interpret: say what it means, using content you studied.
Writing "both sources" when the sources use different words.	"Source 1A says ... and this is supported by Source 1B, which says ..."
Answering only one point in a (2 x 2) question.	The first number is how many responses: give two.
Writing the paragraph in bullets, or copying the sources word for word.	One paragraph, paraphrased, source in brackets, plus own knowledge.
"I agree to a great extent."	Match the stance to the question type.
Starting the essay at the end of the story.	Chronological order: start, middle, end.
Writing a perfect introduction and conclusion with thin content.	Content and the line of argument carry the essay.
Copying Section A sources into an essay.	Zero. The essay is your own content.
"Define the term in your own words" answered as the topic.	"In your own words" asks for the general meaning; "in the context of" asks for the meaning in that topic.

12. Reading the marks

Question	What earns the marks
Level 1, (2 x 1) or (3 x 1)	Separate short quotations from the source, one per mark.
Concept, (1 x 2)	A full definition in one sentence.
Level 2, (1 x 2) or (2 x 2)	One (or two) explained ideas that go beyond the words of the source.
Level 3, (2 x 2)	Two developed points: for reliability, name the author, date, purpose and consistency.
Paragraph, (8)	Rubric: relevant evidence from the sources plus own knowledge, organised into a paragraph that answers the key question.
Essay, (50)	Rubric: stance, line of argument, relevant chronological content, introduction and conclusion.

13. Exam-style questions with memos

These are the broadcast's own questions, with the memo exactly as the slides showed it. Answer them on the Exam paper tab to have them checked.

1.1.1 Comment on the significance of holding this COSATU rally on 1 May 1986. (1 x 2) (2)

[Interpretation of evidence from Source 1B – L2]

• Workers in South Africa joined workers worldwide in celebration/commemoration of International Workers' Day
• It united workers throughout the world in the struggle for their rights
• Any other relevant

1.2.2 What is inferred (implied) by the words, 'FORWARD WITH THE WORKERS' STRUGGLE', in the context of mass action against the apartheid government in the 1980s? (1 x 2) (2)

[Interpretation of evidence from Source 1B – L2]

• It indicates the commitment/call for workers to fight against the apartheid government's repressive labour laws
• Any other relevant response

1.2.3 Explain the symbolism of the 'clenched fists' in the banner and some of the workers in the photograph. (1 x 2) (2)

[Interpretation of evidence from Source 1B – L2]

• It was a symbol of the liberation/workers' struggle
• It shows the unity and determination of workers in their struggle against the apartheid government's labour laws
• It symbolises the power that the workers had against the apartheid government
• Any other relevant response

2.1.1 Name, from the source, TWO organisations within the Black Consciousness Movement, in which Farisani served as a founding member. (2 x 1) (2)

[Extraction of evidence from Source 2A – L1]

• '... Black People's Convention/BPC ...'
• '... Black Evangelical Youth Organisation/BEYO'

2.1.2 State any THREE types of abuses, according to the source, that Farisani was subjected to during his imprisonment between 1977 and 1987. (3 x 1) (3)

[Extraction of evidence from Source 2A – L1]

• '... brutal torture ...'
• '... beatings ...'
• '... electric shocks ...' '... prolonged isolation'

2.1.3 Explain why Amnesty International declared Farisani 'a prisoner of conscience'. (1 x 2) (2)

[Interpretation of evidence from Source 2A – L2]

• The injustices meted out against Farisani due to his political beliefs were wrong
• The apartheid government imprisoned him because he held political views that were not tolerated by the state in which he lived
• That he was imprisoned for peaceful expression of his political beliefs
• Pledging solidarity with the cause of prisoners like Farisani who suffered physical abuse and was restricted solely for his stance against apartheid
• Putting pressure on the apartheid government for the abuses suffered and campaign for the release of Farisani who fought against the injustices of apartheid
• Any other relevant response

2.1.4 Define the term persecution in your own words. (1 x 2) (2)

[Definition of a term from Source 2A – L1]

• Cruel or unfair treatment of people because of their beliefs
• Harassment of people who hold dissenting views
• Unfair treatment of a person on the basis of gender/sexual orientation /political beliefs
• Any other relevant response

14. Further reading

• The broadcast: History Grade 12 Paper 2, 15 September 2026 (content starts at 18:42).
• South African History Online, sahistory.org.za: the UDF, COSATU, the Black Sash, Steve Biko, the Soweto uprising, CODESA.
• The TRC's own site and final report, justice.gov.za/trc.
• DBE past NSC History Paper 2 question papers and memoranda, and the DBE examination guidelines.

15. Said on air, checked against the record

The broadcast is a good revision session, but the auto-captions and a live presenter both slip. Use the right-hand column in your answers.

On air or on the slide	The record
Cognitive levels 14 + 20 + 16 marks	DBE guideline: 15 + 20 + 15
"1982 Urban Bantu Authorities Act" (slide)	Black Local Authorities Act, 1982
Namibia was SA's "fifth province", a "gift" after World War I	South West Africa was a League of Nations mandate administered by SA
99-year leases introduced with the 1982 reform	Leasehold was introduced in 1978
COSAS at university level	COSAS organised school learners; AZASO organised university students
Ramaphosa was the leader of COSATU	He led the National Union of Mineworkers; COSATU's first president was Elijah Barayi, general secretary Jay Naidoo
UDF and allies banned in 1987; MDM was the UDF renamed	Restrictions in February 1988; MDM was a broader UDF and COSATU alliance
21 000 applied to the TRC, 7 000 approved, 2 100 amnesty	About 21 000 victim statements; about 7 000 amnesty applications; fewer than 2 100 granted
Biko's killers were given amnesty	They were refused amnesty in 1999
At Nuremberg "all" the Nazi generals were sentenced to death	Some were sentenced to death, others to prison, and some acquitted
Afrikaans for maths, physical science and life science	Afrikaans for mathematics, arithmetic and social studies
Biko "under house arrest"	Banned in 1973 and restricted to King William's Town
"Separate Development Act of 1959"	Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act, 1959
Transkei refused to join the new South Africa	The holdouts were Bophuthatswana, Ciskei and KwaZulu (IFP)
Q5 slide conclusion: "The following paragraphs will critically discuss"	A conclusion says "The above essay has critically discussed"
Caption spellings: Bigo, Busak, Chakane, Codessa, Casatu, Bhorta, Sutoetto, Pritoria, Bishu	Biko, Boesak, Chikane, CODESA, COSATU, Botha, Soweto, Pretoria, Bisho

16. One-page summary

Area	Remember
Paper	150 marks, 3 hours, THREE questions: at least one source-based and one essay. One hour each.
Levels	L1 extract and define (list, quote, identify, name). L2 interpret (explain, comment, describe). L3 evaluate (compare, contrast, reliability, usefulness, bias, limitations, paragraph). (1 x 2): first number = responses.
Paragraph	8 marks, last question, key question, underline as you go, paraphrase, (Source 1A), own knowledge, no bullets, 8 lines minimum.
Essay	Stance, reason, orientation. One background paragraph. Many PEEL paragraphs in chronological order. Conclusion. Stance matches the question type.
Q1 1980s	Total onslaught, total strategy. Black Local Authorities Act 1982. Tricameral Parliament 1983 (Assembly, Representatives, Delegates; blacks excluded). UDF 20 Aug 1983 Mitchells Plain. Civics, COSAS, COSATU Dec 1985, ECC 1983, Black Sash 1955. Restrictions 1988, MDM and the Defiance Campaign 1989.
Q2 TRC	1995 Act, Tutu, 1960 to 1994, three committees. Amnesty = politically motivated + full disclosure. Restorative not retributive. Televised. R30 000. Criticisms: Biko family, witch-hunt, small reparations.
Q4 BC	Vacuum after Sharpeville. Psychological liberation, black pride, self-reliance. Biko, NUSAS to SASO, "I Write What I Like". BPC, BAWU, Black Community Programmes, Zanempilo. Viva FRELIMO 1974. SASM, Afrikaans Medium Decree, Mashinini, 16 June 1976, Hector Pieterson, Sam Nzima. Biko dies 12 Sept 1977.
Q5 road to 1994	2 Feb 1990, Groote Schuur, Pretoria Minute, Peace Accord, CODESA 1, referendum 68.7%, CODESA 2 deadlock, Boipatong, Bisho, Record of Understanding, sunset clause, Hani, World Trade Centre, St James and Heidelberg, Bophuthatswana, Shell House, 27 April 1994, GNU.