HSC Modern History Question Thread

[sudodds]

You just need to blow the maker away; throw in a billion statistics, draw some quick conclusions from your facts, have dates and names left right and center. Be brief, but comprehensive. It's usually totally to the markers discretion whether they give you 9 or 10, so I wouldn't be worrying about this.

Jake

Also make sure that you use consistent wording, and that your sentences are coherent and concise. The difference between a 9 and a 10 is often determined by the clarity of your response. Even though it may seem obvious and clear to you, if you start switching up the words from "significant," to "critical" to "instrumental," a tired marker may get confused and think you are changing your judgement.

[angelaaa8]

With so little time left, what is the best way to revise over all the topics? Make quick notes? Read notes?
And is historiography needed in part A or more so in part B for personalities?

[jakesilove]

With so little time left, what is the best way to revise over all the topics? Make quick notes? Read notes?
And is historiography needed in part A or more so in part B for personalities?

Funny you should ask! Check out this article here, and let me know if you have any more questions

[angelaaa8]

Sweet, thanks! I have a couple of questions.
1. Is historiography needed in part A or more so in part B for personalities?
2. Approx. how many words/pages is expected for part A and B? (I am not a very fast writer, unfortunately)
3. Or more so, how long should I be spending on each part? I don't want to be bogged down in part a.

***edit: How many historian views should I aim to put in for part B? (I am doing Ho Chi Minh and there aren't many resources on the internet for him to have a look at exemplars)

[jakesilove]

Sweet, thanks! I have a couple of questions.
1. Is historiography needed in part A or more so in part B for personalities?
2. Approx. how many words/pages is expected for part A and B? (I am not a very fast writer, unfortunately)
3. Or more so, how long should I be spending on each part? I don't want to be bogged down in part a.

***edit: How many historian views should I aim to put in for part B? (I am doing Ho Chi Minh and there aren't many resources on the internet for him to have a look at exemplars)

1. No, no need to include historiography in Part A
2. Can't tell you how many words! Just as many as you can get through
3. Spend as little time on Part A as possible (10-15 minutes) and the bulk on Part B

As many historians as you can fit in! Literally, just as much as possible.

[Celeriac]

Thank you for answering 

Can a few (2-3) historians still be used in Part A of the personality section to support detail?
e.g "According to Fest (1999), Speer's renovation of Goebbel's ministry went over budget"

My teacher recommended that we still use them for Part A, but now I'm not so sure.

[jakesilove]

Thank you for answering 

Can a few (2-3) historians still be used in Part A of the personality section to support detail?
e.g "According to Fest (1999), Speer's renovation of Goebbel's ministry went over budget"

My teacher recommended that we still use them for Part A, but now I'm not so sure.

Oh absolutely! My advice is that you don't NEED historiography, but you can certainly use it!! The example you've given above is a perfect example of a good use of historians in Part A

[pughg16]

Thank you for answering 

Can a few (2-3) historians still be used in Part A of the personality section to support detail?
e.g "According to Fest (1999), Speer's renovation of Goebbel's ministry went over budget"

My teacher recommended that we still use them for Part A, but now I'm not so sure.

My teacher has often said that we can feel free to use historiography in part a,however it won't get any more marks. Question a) is also normally a simpler directive term such as describe or explain, so personally I don't think the markers are looking for you to justify anything as they are not asking for an opinion.
Personally, I like to save my quotes for b) as I know they are a necessity in there!!

[angelaaa8]

Do we have any predictions of what Part A for the personality might ask? Background AND rise to prominence? Or just rise to prominence?
I'm hoping for both..

[sudodds]

As many historians as you can fit in! Literally, just as much as possible.

Be careful of shopping lists though!! Historians are super important within Part B, moreso than with the two essays, but the markers still want you to analyse, and to see your own voice come through. Don't just drop a historian in for the sake of dropping a historian. Always have a purpose for their inclusion, because that way you're showing the marker that you understand what they are saying, rather than just parroting their words. Historians should be used to back up your own arguments and judgements, not form the basis of them.

[atar27]

Hey do you think we should be memorising historians?

[atar27]

Hey do you think we should be memorising historians?

Since we don't know the question

[birdwing341]

Since we don't know the question

That honestly depends on your preference! Do you want to memorise some historians/quotes that might appear for a certain section or do you want to invest the time in memorising/practicing other content? It's up to you. I, though, will definitely be memorising some historians because, let's face it, the HSC only comes once! And I want to do the best I can

[atar27]

So birdwing341 you prefer memorising historians?
We are all going to try our best! Hope the exam is not too challenging!

[AFix]

It will be historical context LOL