HSC Modern History Question Thread

[bellerina]

How do you remember stats when it comes to WW1?

[sudodds]

How do you remember stats when it comes to WW1?

Check out this guide written by Jake! 😊 Of course the classic look/cover/write check method works well too

[Wren]

hey just wondering.. I have a 'Outline the background and rise to prominence of the personality' question and I was just wondering how much information would be appropriate for background and how detailed? like would i name parents and things like that?

[jakesilove]

hey just wondering.. I have a 'Outline the background and rise to prominence of the personality' question and I was just wondering how much information would be appropriate for background and how detailed? like would i name parents and things like that?

The answer is always just 'as much information as possible'. Remember, for Part A, you should probably be spending an ABSOLUTE MAX of 15-20 minutes on it in an exam. Just make sure to cover the main point re rise to power and background, and include literally as much detail as physically possible. Name of parents is good, but statistics (eg. How many ____ did they build? How many ______ did they have? When were they appointed to ______?) is heaps heaps better.

[Wren]

The answer is always just 'as much information as possible'. Remember, for Part A, you should probably be spending an ABSOLUTE MAX of 15-20 minutes on it in an exam. Just make sure to cover the main point re rise to power and background, and include literally as much detail as physically possible. Name of parents is good, but statistics (eg. How many ____ did they build? How many ______ did they have? When were they appointed to ______?) is heaps heaps better.

Yep thanks Jake. I'm just a bit worried of turning it sort of into a biography.

[jakesilove]

Yep thanks Jake. I'm just a bit worried of turning it sort of into a biography.

For sure, but for a part A, you basically do want it to be a biography! A detailed, interesting, fact-filled biography that is targeted in answering the question. Certainly not what you want of a Part B though...

[bellerina]

How long should each part for the Personality section be..?

[jakesilove]

How long should each part for the Personality section be..?

How long is a piece of string? There's no good answer to a question like this; it is, however, important to split your time in the most efficient way.

The personality section is worth 25 marks. 10 marks are allocated to Part A, and 15 to Part B. So, you should be spending about 18 minutes on Part A, and 27 minutes on Part B! I personally recommend spending LESS time on Part A (aim for a max of 15 minutes), and longer on Part B (the harder section).

Again, there's no 'answer' to how many pages you should be writing. Your writing may be gargantuan, or miniscule, you may be a 'quality' or a 'quantity' person, or a mix of the two. If you get out a couple of pages, you'll definitely be in a good position to get a great mark

[sudodds]

hey just wondering.. I have a 'Outline the background and rise to prominence of the personality' question and I was just wondering how much information would be appropriate for background and how detailed? like would i name parents and things like that?

Just to add to Jake's awesome answer, when you get a question like that ie. Describe background and/or historical context and/or rise to prominence make sure that you touch on EVERY syllabus dot point under those headings. So eg for Trotsky if it asks for rise to prominence you MUST talk about 1905, 1917 and power struggle to answer it fully. My teacher always recommended writing all the dot points on the side as a check list to make sure you don't forget! And yes, as Jake said, as much detail as you can - that is the whole point of Part A given that it is not an analytical response - it measures how much you know rather than understand 😉

How long should each part for the Personality section be..?

Hmmmm well you want to be spending around 18 mins for Part A and 27 for Part B! So roughly 3-4 pages for Part A and 5-6 for Part B But as long as you get to at least 7-8 pages total for Section III then you're all gee!

EDIT: wow... I think this might be the first time you've beaten me to answering a modern question Jake, in like what? 10 months? Damn I feel so inadequate, like I've lost my purpose 😔

[jakesilove]

Just to add to Jake's awesome answer, when you get a question like that ie. Describe background and/or historical context and/or rise to prominence make sure that you touch on EVERY syllabus dot point under those headings. So eg for Trotsky if it asks for rise to prominence you MUST talk about 1905, 1917 and power struggle to answer it fully. My teacher always recommended writing all the dot points on the side as a check list to make sure you don't forget! And yes, as Jake said, as much detail as you can - that is the whole point of Part A given that it is not an analytical response - it measures how much you know rather than understand 😉Hmmmm well you want to be spending around 18 mins for Part A and 27 for Part B! So roughly 3-4 pages for Part A and 5-6 for Part B But as long as you get to at least 7-8 pages total for Section III then you're all gee!

EDIT: wow... I think this might be the first time you've beaten me to answering a modern question Jake, in like what? 10 months? Damn I feel so inadequate, like I've lost my purpose 😔

Hope you didn't discover a loss of belonging

[sudodds]

Hope you didn't discover a loss of belonging

I imagine this is quite like how Leon Trotsky felt in 1928

[maria1999]

hiya everyone!!!
Does anyone remotely know anything about Japanese foreign policy during 1937-1941? Or can anyone recommend any good resources for conflict in the pacific? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

[MEL7401]

hey!!!

we are currently doing a history interest project (year 11) and are supposed to be choosing a topic, from which we form our own question and answer it.....
problem is.... there are so many things to study!!! i want to do something really interesting, preferably a personality style thing- but i just have no idea what to do!!
i would seriously appreciate any suggestions or tips tho 

thx...

[jakesilove]

hiya everyone!!!
Does anyone remotely know anything about Japanese foreign policy during 1937-1941? Or can anyone recommend any good resources for conflict in the pacific? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Hey! Are these helpful at all? Otherwise, I didn't do Japan, so unfortunately can't help you out!

[jakesilove]

hey!!!

we are currently doing a history interest project (year 11) and are supposed to be choosing a topic, from which we form our own question and answer it.....
problem is.... there are so many things to study!!! i want to do something really interesting, preferably a personality style thing- but i just have no idea what to do!!
i would seriously appreciate any suggestions or tips tho 

thx...

Hey! Interesting... I have to say that your best bet it so find a personality that you are actually interested in. Is there any point in modern history that you've always been attracted to? Any region of the world? Any wars/revolutions/monarchies? Also, you could try to get a head start on next year's content; do you know what options you'll be doing yet? For instance, if you do WWII, whilst you can't do a personality specifically studied in the HSC, you could do another personality (I'm thinking some high-ranking officials in the Nazi regime).

Let me know what you think about the above, and I can try to come up with some more specific suggestions for you!