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March 29, 2024, 11:09:30 pm

Author Topic: Tips to Improve Your Results in Australian and Global Politics 1&2  (Read 3834 times)  Share 

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vans

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For some, VCE Humanities may sound daunting, if not, terrifying. Essays, debates, research tasks, you name it! Someone has probably associated these subjects with a negative connotation, ultimately deterring you away from undertaking humanities for VCE.

Whether you're doing Aus&Glopol voluntarily, or involuntarily, or just wanting to see what it entails, this post seeks to inform you on the tips and tricks that'll ultimately make your responses stand out from the rest of the cohort.

For the most part, majority of you will enter this subject without prior preparation. I mean come on, it's only Year 11, who wants to study beforehand? Do not feel compelled to begin your studies early, as Aus&Glopol is rarely a subject that intense preparation beforehand benefits from. Instead, absorb the information as it is delivered to you, and focus on how it is portrayed, analysed and explained.

1. Keep up to date with the latest news.
- Whether it's via social networking apps such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc., ensure that your knowledge of world issues is constantly up to date in order to have a clearer understanding of the topics covered in the class. As the case studies in Aus&Glopol are derived from the last 10 years (i.e. If you're studying it in 2018, all case studies must be from the period 2008-2018), most recent issues in the media may be connected to what you are studying in class. This extra knowledge may help you add depth to your responses, and showcase your ability to go beyond what is asked from you to earn an average mark, ultimately making your response stand out from the rest of the cohort.

2. Definitions, definitions, definitions.
- Don't forget your definitions! These will become your best friend/companion throughout the entirety of this subject, as many SACs and exams will be structured around the meanings of specific terms, and their relevance to concepts and case studies being analysed. My suggestion would be to create flashcards/index cards with the term on the front, and definitions at the back for each AOS (Area of Study) in order for you to test yourself and memorise them. These will come in handy towards the end of each unit, when all of your knowledge culminates into one exam.

3. Make checklists for your responses.
- Earlier this year, I didn't think much of what could really boost my responses, and relied on sophisticated writing and sufficient evidence to get me the marks I desired. However, as the year progressed, I eventually realised that in order to structure excellent responses and essays, the key to doing so lied in planning. I cannot emphasise this enough, but plan, plan and plan! You can attempt to write an essay without planning, but more often than not, you will find yourself stuck, confused, or wasting time trying to wrack your brain for the missing piece of evidence required to finish your piece. The way I combatted this issue was to create checklists. I took some time to go over previous pieces I had submitted and gotten feedback for, ensuring that I took note of the teacher's comments on what needs to be improved. This greatly increased my result in the next few SACs, and ensured that I was not lacking any development in arguments.

Outline of checklist:
INTRODUCTION:
- Introduce the issue. This may be a sentence or two in the beginning to allow the reader to grasp an understanding of what is concerning the case study in this AOS.
- Define relevant terms. This will then help you explain and link key concepts to the terms, helping you state your argument.
- State your contention. Much like an english essay, the heart of a Aus&Glopol essay is structured around a contention. This is crucial towards showcasing your stance on the issue.
- State your arguments.

PARAGRAPHS 1-3 [4 is optional]:
- Introduce the issue. Perhaps, begin with a statistic if required, and utilise it to elaborate further as you write the paragraph.
- Define any key terms.
- Ensure that you are always referring to the prompt, whether it asks for you to 'evaluate', 'discuss', 'analyse', 'explore' etc. (Note that when asked to 'discuss', both sides to the debate should be considered.
- Have 1-3 pieces of evidence, whether they are quotes directly from individuals or actors, criticisms from NGOs/Global actors etc. These help to enhance your piece, and are important to include in your response.
- Explain and analyse the evidence.
- Refer to your contention. The piece will not make sense if you are just blatantly stating evidence and analysis here and there, without reference to your contention, the heart of the piece.
- Conclusion.

CONCLUSION:
- Restate your arguments. A conclusion should be brief, concise and straight to the point. It should not be a place to elaborate on or introduce new ideas and concepts.

Spoiler
Sample essay introduction from yours truly!
Prompt: Cosmopolitanism provides the only effective framework for responding to ethical issues. Discuss with reference to at least one issue that you have studied this year.

The growing issue of people movement in the global political arena as a result of humanitarian crises such as conflict and ethnic persecution has divided the international community in regards to finding an effective framework for responding to ethical issues. Defined as the consideration as to whether an action is right or wrong, ethics seeks to address questions of morality and extends to global politics as global actors have underlying ideologies to their actions, such as realism or cosmopolitanism. As the number of people seeking refugee status across the globe increases, state such as Australia are faced with the difficulty of creating a response that will not only benefit the global community, but also the interests of the state itself. Cosmopolitanism may present itself as the most effective way to combat the issue of people movement, however, some states may believe that acting in the interests of their own national interests remains the most ethical approach towards resolving the issue.

This might not be the greatest introduction, but I decided to add one I had previously done in for an example.

4. Make notes on the coursework!
- There's nothing worse than looking back on your exercise book and not being able to find information because its been sloppily written due to having to get all the information down in class. Create some notes, whether it'd be electronically or handwritten, which can then be used to look back on when necessary. Trust me, it helps.

5. Refer to the study design.
- The most important part of the subject is the study design. This will be your go to for the next two years. Most questions in SACs and exams are derived from the study design and the blurb, whether it'd be from Units 1&2 or 3&4. Teachers will encourage you to refer to this document constantly throughout your studies, as it contains the key concepts, key skills and key terms needed to complete the subject.

6. Read your articles.
- A lot of Aus&Glopol lies in the reading of articles. For the most part, many resource books are created out of a collection of articles on topics covered in each AOS. However, when you read, rather than just simply highlighting, ensure that each highlighted word or phrase is consistently annotated. As my teacher would say, if you had just simply highlighted without annotating, you would not remember the relevance of the phrase when you look back it again. I found that annotating my highlighting allowed me to have a better understanding of what is being read.

7. If new info is added, evaluate!
- Wherever you have included new information or analysis, be sure to not leave it without an explanation. If you mention a state's objectives and then move on to talk about something else, ensure that you have elaborated on how it affects the case study prior to continuing. If you have mentioned the term 'state' or 'global actors', be sure to state which country, and which global actor is involved. Ensure that the names of campaigns are included, not just mentioning that a campaign has been made. These are the small differences that'll make your response stand out from others.

8. Teach someone else.
- The best way to develop your understanding in Aus&Glopol is to teach someone the content. This way, you'll be able to share your knowledge and see whether you have understood it well enough to teach it to someone else. it's a Win-Win situation! Go for it. I found that explaining concepts to my classmates and friends prior to SACs and exams helped me to better understand the concepts.

Overall, Aus&Glopol is not a hard subject, and there are no surprises (quoting my teacher! ;D) and you can easily excel in the subject if you understand the framework behind what is being asked for. Once you have a good grasp of what is needed, you will be able to write excellent responses.

Good luck!  :)
[VIC] Year 10: Australian and Global Politics 1&2

Year 11: English, Global Politics [Units 3&4], Mathematical Methods [CAS], Chemistry, Japanese, Music Performance

Year 12: English, Mathematical Methods [CAS], Chemistry, Japanese, Music Performance