Source analysis

[TheIllusion]

Hello AN,
I was just wondering how much I should be spending on the a,b and c source analysis question.
As of now, I have been spending up to several hours to complete all questions. Hence, I am worried this might drag me down in the times sacs, exams, etc, since I would not have hours to complete the work.
Is this normal?
Any tips on how to write faster?

Thanks.

[hums_student]

Hey there! I didn't do revs but after checking out past exams it doesn't seem too different to ancient history in terms of structure.

It's perfectly ok to be spending hours on a set of source analysis at the moment as you've still got months till your exam. Just keep practicing often under timed conditions and you'll find that the time will cut down after a while. In the final exam, the recommended time for a 20-mark source analysis is 30 minutes (5 minutes on a), 10 minutes on b), 15 on c)), however it's recommended to use no more than 27 minutes in order to give yourself time to check over your responses at the end.

As for tips on writing faster, the best way is to just keep practicing. No one is able to write a perfect SA in 30 minutes at the start of the year, however if you keep practicing, it will become a lot easier and more natural. Also if you do enough practice, chances are you'll end up writing on a topic you've already written on in a SAC/exam, so you won't have to spend time thinking of new ideas.

Another tip is to really know what the question is asking for. In ancient history (this probably also apply to revs), many students spend too much time providing information that's not relevant to the question. If you can quickly identify what the question wants, and write an efficient answer that clearly addresses the topic and doesn't go off tangents, you'll also cut down your time significantly.

You might want to check everything I wrote above with someone who actually does/did revs Good luck!

[TheIllusion]

Hey there! I didn't do revs but after checking out past exams it doesn't seem too different to ancient history in terms of structure.

It's perfectly ok to be spending hours on a set of source analysis at the moment as you've still got months till your exam. Just keep practicing often under timed conditions and you'll find that the time will cut down after a while. In the final exam, the recommended time for a 20-mark source analysis is 30 minutes (5 minutes on a), 10 minutes on b), 15 on c)), however it's recommended to use no more than 27 minutes in order to give yourself time to check over your responses at the end.

As for tips on writing faster, the best way is to just keep practicing. No one is able to write a perfect SA in 30 minutes at the start of the year, however if you keep practicing, it will become a lot easier and more natural. Also if you do enough practice, chances are you'll end up writing on a topic you've already written on in a SAC/exam, so you won't have to spend time thinking of new ideas.

Another tip is to really know what the question is asking for. In ancient history (this probably also apply to revs), many students spend too much time providing information that's not relevant to the question. If you can quickly identify what the question wants, and write an efficient answer that clearly addresses the topic and doesn't go off tangents, you'll also cut down your time significantly.

You might want to check everything I wrote above with someone who actually does/did revs Good luck!

Thanks for your reply hums_student,
It is very useful information.
How important are the area of study 1 SAC's? I was told by some it does not matter as much as the final exams, whilst some said it is very important.
Thanks.  

[hums_student]

Thanks for your reply hums_student,
It is very useful information.
How important are the area of study 1 SAC's? I was told by some it does not matter as much as the final exams, whilst some said it is very important.
Thanks.  

I would really recommend you to treat all SACs with equal importance, even if they don't contribute as much to your final study score. For history, the exam is worth 50% while all your SACs are worth 12.5% each - this may not seem like much however if you do pay attention to it, it really helps you prepare for the exam, and can also boost your ranking among your cohort.

That being said, don't stress too much if you bomb your first SAC. I got 47% on mine, but ~90% in the other three, so it wasn't as detrimental. Remember that in your first SAC no one is anywhere near exam ready, so it's normal to perform worse than you expected.

[TheIllusion]

Thank you hums_student.
Very reassuring.