HSC Modern History Question Thread

[rodero]

Yeah no I'm going to argue to a high extent, the war in europe was only to a small extent. I've done half of it, I'll just constantly make sure im looking at how the us/brit. foreign policy and japanese foriegn policy interlinks and impacts each other

Hey !

Just a quick suggestion, you might want to consider making a differentiated essay. i.e. "Japanese foreign policy was only partially responsible for the outbreak of the Pacific war in 1941, as other factors such as economic and political issues in the Pacific, US and British policies and the bombing of Pearl Harbour were equally significant." Obviously that thesis can be re-worked, but I hope you get the gist. It gives you scope to mention other syllabus headings, and ensures that you are acknowledging that Japanese foreign policy was not the sole cause of war. One thing about that is that you need to make sure you relate everything back to foreign policy, as that's the focus of the question.

That's just my idea, I've seen past exams where people have gotten into the top band by just mentioning one cause of the conflict - I personally can't write an entire essay on just the one dot point though. That being said, ask what your teacher thinks. Mine loves differentiated essays, which is probably why I'm so insistent on them

[dancing phalanges]

Hey !

Just a quick suggestion, you might want to consider making a differentiated essay. i.e. "Japanese foreign policy was only partially responsible for the outbreak of the Pacific war in 1941, as other factors such as economic and political issues in the Pacific, US and British policies and the bombing of Pearl Harbour were equally significant." Obviously that thesis can be re-worked, but I hope you get the gist. It gives you scope to mention other syllabus headings, and ensures that you are acknowledging that Japanese foreign policy was not the sole cause of war. One thing about that is that you need to make sure you relate everything back to foreign policy, as that's the focus of the question.

That's just my idea, I've seen past exams where people have gotten into the top band by just mentioning one cause of the conflict - I personally can't write an entire essay on just the one dot point though. That being said, ask what your teacher thinks. Mine loves differentiated essays, which is probably why I'm so insistent on them

Yeah definitely, they're mine preference too just more to write about!

[willfisch]

Hey Susie
Just wondering with the question I asked earlier regarding Japanese Foreign Policy and to what extent it was responsible for the outbreak of war, would I include a separate paragraph on the external influence of the war in Europe and how that in itself spurred Japan to take advantage of the areas in the Pacific colonised by countries fighting in Europe or does that still come under Japanese policy?

And also I am just wondering since I will be providing examples of both Japanese and American foreign policy, do I argue that for example Japanese foreign policy was so aggressive that it forced America into its foreign policy decisions which increased tensions and led to war?

Thanks

Mod Edit: Just merged your posts If you ever forget to add something, click edit and you'll be able to add it to the original post!

Hey, I am doing this as a practice question for Trials as well. Japanese foreign policy is the worst and I am hating how hard this essay is (Why did my teacher pick this topic). I wouldn't be able to Just talk about Japanese foreign policy only, So I am thinking of doing the British and American policy as well. Maybe how the invasion of China from the Marco Polo incident lead to tensions with not only China but America? Let me know what you are doing so we can bounce ideas off each other!

[dancing phalanges]

Hey, I am doing this as a practice question for Trials as well. Japanese foreign policy is the worst and I am hating how hard this essay is (Why did my teacher pick this topic). I wouldn't be able to Just talk about Japanese foreign policy only, So I am thinking of doing the British and American policy as well. Maybe how the invasion of China from the Marco Polo incident lead to tensions with not only China but America? Let me know what you are doing so we can bounce ideas off each other!

I've never even heard of the Marco Polo incident haha
but atm im thinking of a plan like
japanese foreign policy - highly significant
american and british foreign policy - significant but according to recent historians (i saw something need to find it again) it was more a reaction to japanese foreign policy which was the more dominant factor
as rodero said as well i could probably bring in some of the other dot points eg. impact of economic and political issues by 1937 and how this effected foreign policy and or led to war and pearl harbour.
but at the end of each extra paragraph link back saying therefore, although important in the outbreak of the pacific war, the economic and political issues by 1937 were not as important as japanese foreign policy in bringing upon war as _________. something like that, ill chuck more up when i finalise what ill write!

[willfisch]

I've never even heard of the Marco Polo incident haha
but atm im thinking of a plan like
japanese foreign policy - highly significant
american and british foreign policy - significant but according to recent historians (i saw something need to find it again) it was more a reaction to japanese foreign policy which was the more dominant factor
as rodero said as well i could probably bring in some of the other dot points eg. impact of economic and political issues by 1937 and how this effected foreign policy and or led to war and pearl harbour.
but at the end of each extra paragraph link back saying therefore, although important in the outbreak of the pacific war, the economic and political issues by 1937 were not as important as japanese foreign policy in bringing upon war as _________. something like that, ill chuck more up when i finalise what ill write!

This is the para I wrote on the Marco polo bridge incident

After the Marco polo Bridge incident, Japan invaded China in 1937, which significantly contributed to the tensions with the United States. This was because when attacking China, the Japanese sunk a US gunboat called the Panay. Although the US only asked for an apology only, which was mainly due to the American population resisting all war, there still was the creation of tensions between the uneasy superpowers. Continually the huge atrocities that came with the attacks also created tensions between Japan and the US, as China was considered an important trade partner and a longstanding ally that the US would provide aid to. The attacks in Nanking became the most well known, and shocked the United states, as it was coined by US newspapers as the “Rape of Nanking”. This was because the Chinese were killed horrifically, with many of them being bayoneted in holes, and their widowed wives being raped and tortured. The invasion also meant that the Japanese were in direct conflict with the US-China “Open Door Policy”, which created more tensions, as Roosevelt started the embargo on Japanese trade.  Thus it is obvious that the attack on China in 1937 created significant tensions with the US and Japan, who were the main contenders that started the war in the Pacific theater.

[dancing phalanges]

This is the para I wrote on the Marco polo bridge incident

After the Marco polo Bridge incident, Japan invaded China in 1937, which significantly contributed to the tensions with the United States. This was because when attacking China, the Japanese sunk a US gunboat called the Panay. Although the US only asked for an apology only, which was mainly due to the American population resisting all war, there still was the creation of tensions between the uneasy superpowers. Continually the huge atrocities that came with the attacks also created tensions between Japan and the US, as China was considered an important trade partner and a longstanding ally that the US would provide aid to. The attacks in Nanking became the most well known, and shocked the United states, as it was coined by US newspapers as the “Rape of Nanking”. This was because the Chinese were killed horrifically, with many of them being bayoneted in holes, and their widowed wives being raped and tortured. The invasion also meant that the Japanese were in direct conflict with the US-China “Open Door Policy”, which created more tensions, as Roosevelt started the embargo on Japanese trade.  Thus it is obvious that the attack on China in 1937 created significant tensions with the US and Japan, who were the main contenders that started the war in the Pacific theater.

Oh okay then yeah that is 100% relevant. I would get some stats on Nanking, ie. how many killed, how many raped (rather than just saying many got killed etc.) as it emphasises the cruel nature of the Japanese attack and hence why it created so much tension. But other than that you bring up good points and could perhaps tie Nanking into only adding to Roosevelts view of the Japanese as becoming increasingly aggressive and hence his belief that America should lose its Isolationalist policy.

[willfisch]

Oh okay then yeah that is 100% relevant. I would get some stats on Nanking, ie. how many killed, how many raped (rather than just saying many got killed etc.) as it emphasises the cruel nature of the Japanese attack and hence why it created so much tension. But other than that you bring up good points and could perhaps tie Nanking into only adding to Roosevelts view of the Japanese as becoming increasingly aggressive and hence his belief that America should lose its Isolationalist policy.

Hell yes that is a great Idea, thanks!

I am also gunna do a paragraph on the Tripartite pact and Japans expansion with the greater east Asia co prosperity sphere

[dancing phalanges]

Hell yes that is a great Idea, thanks!

I am also gunna do a paragraph on the Tripartite pact and Japans expansion with the greater east Asia co prosperity sphere

All sounds good! The greater east Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere is definitely one to focus on, particularly if you can find examples which demonstrate that the Allies saw through this as imperalism and subsequently that it threatened the colonies they had in the Pacific hence the reason why it created tension and eventually led to war (I doubt the Allies would have wanted to simply give away their territory haha)

[willfisch]

All sounds good! The greater east Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere is definitely one to focus on, particularly if you can find examples which demonstrate that the Allies saw through this as imperalism and subsequently that it threatened the colonies they had in the Pacific hence the reason why it created tension and eventually led to war (I doubt the Allies would have wanted to simply give away their territory haha)

Check your messages !

[mixel]

Do you guys reckon we should be doing essays under timed conditions? I've been doing short answer under timed conditions because I want to practice doing as much as I can without wasting time in section 1, but I'm not really sure if timed conditions for any of the other sections would help me prepare as much as focusing more on quality in every other section.

[sudodds]

Do you guys reckon we should be doing essays under timed conditions? I've been doing short answer under timed conditions because I want to practice doing as much as I can without wasting time in section 1, but I'm not really sure if timed conditions for any of the other sections would help me prepare as much as focusing more on quality in every other section.

Hey! I definitely think that it is a good idea to be practicing essays under timed conditions! I did a mix of open book and closed book (exam conditions) last year. It is very easy to write too much in a modern history essay, so practicing in the time you have (like in an exam) will give you a good indication of how much you can squeeze in, and whether or not you need to work on being more concise I especially think that it is important to do Section III under timed conditions at least once, because in my opinion that is the easiest Section to go over time with!

Susie

[dancing phalanges]

Hey! I definitely think that it is a good idea to be practicing essays under timed conditions! I did a mix of open book and closed book (exam conditions) last year. It is very easy to write too much in a modern history essay, so practicing in the time you have (like in an exam) will give you a good indication of how much you can squeeze in, and whether or not you need to work on being more concise I especially think that it is important to do Section III under timed conditions at least once, because in my opinion that is the easiest Section to go over time with!

Susie

Hey Susie, I'm currently just working through my essay plans, should I aim to finish them to the standard I want and for as many syllabus dot points as I can first before starting to write full ones out under time conditions? I definitely aim to do that but just wondering whether atm i should aim on finish my conflict in the pacific essay plans (then i should be done with just a couple of gaps to fill in with germany)

[jakesilove]

Hey Susie, I'm currently just working through my essay plans, should I aim to finish them to the standard I want and for as many syllabus dot points as I can first before starting to write full ones out under time conditions? I definitely aim to do that but just wondering whether atm i should aim on finish my conflict in the pacific essay plans (then i should be done with just a couple of gaps to fill in with germany)

Personally, that's the tactic I took. I made sure all of my essay plans/thesis' were sorted and fleshed out a little bit before writing full essays. It just means that you've 'covered your bases', rather than putting all your eggs in one basket. The essay plans don't need to be anything heavy duty; just a thesis, and the order of your argument/statistics. Would be keen to hear what Susie has to say!

[sudodds]

Hey Susie, I'm currently just working through my essay plans, should I aim to finish them to the standard I want and for as many syllabus dot points as I can first before starting to write full ones out under time conditions? I definitely aim to do that but just wondering whether atm i should aim on finish my conflict in the pacific essay plans (then i should be done with just a couple of gaps to fill in with germany)

Really it's whatever you prefer! I personally just did full practice essays for Modern, not essay plans (by no means are essay plans a bad study method - I relied on them for Ancient, it just wasn't what I personally used for Modern). Reason being, my teacher was a marking fiend, so I capitalised on that by providing him with lots of responses to mark, as I felt like I learnt more in those one-to-one meetings, going over my essays, than I ever did in class. I think I treated full essays like you treat essay plans - trying to have written at least one for every dot point - in that case, if you feel like that is the most effective form of study for you, i'd finish the essay plans, then charge full steam ahead into full responses, preferably hand written, and under timed conditions

With essay plans though, I'd still include some essay conventions (i think that'd be what you call it) throughout - like full introduction and judgement for each paragraph, so that you can get used to writing them. As I said in my lecture, the introduction is potentially the most important part of your essay, because it is one of the only sections that the marker WON'T skim read - so I think that it is definitely worth writing those in full, and getting used to the structure, even if the rest of your essay is in dot point form. Same for judgements (though they are easy - just a sentence long!)

Susie

[dancing phalanges]

Really it's whatever you prefer! I personally just did full practice essays for Modern, not essay plans (by no means are essay plans a bad study method - I relied on them for Ancient, it just wasn't what I personally used for Modern). Reason being, my teacher was a marking fiend, so I capitalised on that by providing him with lots of responses to mark, as I felt like I learnt more in those one-to-one meetings, going over my essays, than I ever did in class. I think I treated full essays like you treat essay plans - trying to have written at least one for every dot point - in that case, if you feel like that is the most effective form of study for you, i'd finish the essay plans, then charge full steam ahead into full responses, preferably hand written, and under timed conditions

With essay plans though, I'd still include some essay conventions (i think that'd be what you call it) throughout - like full introduction and judgement for each paragraph, so that you can get used to writing them. As I said in my lecture, the introduction is potentially the most important part of your essay, because it is one of the only sections that the marker WON'T skim read - so I think that it is definitely worth writing those in full, and getting used to the structure, even if the rest of your essay is in dot point form. Same for judgements (though they are easy - just a sentence long!)

Susie

Thanks for both you and Jake's opinions. Yeah I don't think I'll get heaps achieved sitting down with my teacher, he's not that great at that sort of stuff. His feedback on one of my in-class practice essays was "great ideas etc." haha so not that helpful. But yeah my essay plans are typically 3-4 pages long, I write my thesis at the top as my sort of intro, I've written full intros for some. Then for each point I bring up at the start I write my opening sentence then do it in dot points with general information, statistics, historian quotes etc. and then as you said at the end, if it's a to an extent type question i write therefore, to a large/minimal/significant extent _____ etc... i think you get my drift, otherwise for any other question i do the same sort of concluding statement to tie it back to the question. Will get into timed essays asap though, got lucky in my half yearly on germany by preparing and memorising one essay on WR failure w/ reference to great depression and Nazism as totalitarian and both were options so need to be more prepared this time around to answer anything, and quickly haha but cheers for your feedback it's really helpful!