ATAR Notes: Forum
HSC Stuff => HSC History => HSC Humanities Stuff => HSC Subjects + Help => HSC Ancient History => Topic started by: stephanieazzopardi on July 14, 2015, 07:38:12 pm
-
Hey again everyone! This guide is going to answer the much-asked question everyone wants to know the answer to, and that is how to get a Band 6 in Ancient History. This guide will focus on all the tips and tricks to smashing the Trial/HSC exams specifically, although I must stress that getting a Band 6 in Ancient is based on your performance in internal assessments as well. But if you’re feeling a little disappointed with the marks from those hand-in essays or in-class exams, never fear! The HSC exam is your time to show the markers you know your stuff and that you deserve that shiny Band 6 (a Band 5 is also extremely good, but let’s aim high – yeah?). In the HSC, I received a score of 93 (Band 6) in Ancient, both for my assessment and exam marks – and today is my opportunity to tell you guys how I did it!
Studying Effectively for the Exam
Knowing how to do this is extremely important. The last thing you want to be doing is spending a whole day looking at your Ancient History textbook for 5 hours hoping your brain acts a sponge and is magically absorbing all the information.
The first thing you’ll need is a good set of notes that you have (hopefully) been developing over the past year. If not, don’t fret! It’s never too late to start writing study notes. Refer to my previous guide here for some helpful tips to writing study notes! Or for some inspiration, here are some GREAT study notes for Ancient.
The question I’ll ask you today is “Do you study better in a group or by yourself?” This is something you need to work out before you start forming study groups or planning days of just hours at your desk. I personally study much better by myself, although occasionally I will meet with friends to discuss difficult concepts or to teach them the concepts myself. Ancient was my best and most loved subject, so I always jumped at the opportunity to help my fellow Ancient classmates out, knowing that their marks also effected mine in the end.
When trying to form a study group, look for people who you know are going to work hard and challenge yourself to work harder. The most effective way to study in a group is to ‘test’ each other. Pair up with someone in the group and ask each other questions from the syllabus. Ask your partner what their weakest point is in Ancient and teach them what you know about that topic. Studying by teaching others has been scientifically proven to boost memory retention and it is also much more enjoyable than sitting at a desk by yourself for 5 hours.
But if you’re the social recluse like me when it comes to exam study time, independent study is the way to go! Studying is like a process, in that it has stages, and the stage you are at is dependent on how far away the exam is:
Stage 1: Firstly, sit your notes in front of you, and read them out aloud as if you are teaching a class. As previously mentioned, teaching others (or pretending to) has actually been proven to help you remember concepts better than just reading them in your head, or worse, just looking at them. Grab a younger or older sibling, a parent, or a friend, and teach them about the Economy of Pompeii and Herculaneum or the Religious Practices of Sparta. Or if all else fails, the furniture in your bedroom or living room will be just as keen to listen.
Stage 2: Now that you’ve read your notes aloud at least 3-5 times, and the exam is in around 2 weeks, it’s time to really start focusing on the most difficult or challenging content of the course. This is when you should be looking at your notes, picking out the dot points that you just can’t remember or are potential essay questions/long answer questions and writing out your notes for those dot points, again and again, until you confidently know the content of the dot point without having to look at your study notes.
Stage 3: This stage should be started in the last week before the exam, where you should be reading your notes aloud again, and writing down concepts you’re still stuck on. At this stage, you pretty much should be doing anything to try and remember as much as you can before the exam. Let me reinforce that there is an emphasis on ‘as much as you can’ for a reason.
Advice from a Band 6 Student
The concept of having to remember over 100 pages worth of study notes (you can find Band 6 study notes here for your Trial and Final HSC Exams can get a little overwhelming, which leads me to my next tip: don’t stress about your trials. I did and I totally regret it now. I remember the day before my trial exam, I was that stressed and anxious about feeling like I knew nothing that I couldn’t even physically study. I look back now and think why on Earth was I so stressed? In reality, Trials are just there to prepare you for the real thing, and they only weigh a small percentage of your final HSC mark by the time your assessment marks get scaled against your final exam mark. The stress I experienced through Trials allowed me to realise just how much I needed to prepare for the final exam in order to prevent experiencing the same levels of anxiety. Instead, the day before my exam, I was feeling a little stressed, but much more positive and confident in my self and my abilities.
By nature, Ancient History demands a lot from its 17/18-year-old students, in terms of remembering its content. But don’t let this overwhelm you. You are not expected to know everything. You are expected to have a thorough understanding of the syllabus, enough to be able to easily answer questions on them in an exam situation. You are a high school student. Not a University student, nor a Professor. Don’t expect too much of yourself. The HSC markers want to reward you for what you know, and not punish you for what you don’t know. My parents have always told me “You can only do your best” and it’s important to me that I remember that. It’s also important to not put too much pressure on yourself to get a state rank or a 99 ATAR. Aim high, but aim realistically. It’s dangerous to aim too high in not only the HSC, but everything in life post-HSC (yes, there is a life after HSC), as it often leads to disappointment and dis-belief. I spent the HSC aiming for a Band 6 in Ancient because deep down, I knew I could achieve it. I’m not telling you not to aim for a Band 6 because it’s too high, go for it, but don’t let it stress you. The trick is just to study hard, eat well, and trust that YOUR BEST marks will follow.
The Exam
In this section I’m going to explore some of the tips you’ll need to know to impress the HSC markers in your exam. Because of the overwhelming amount of content Ancient students are required to remember for the exam, we can get so caught up in just dropping all our knowledge onto the page that we forget some easy ways to impress the markers and maximise our chances of receiving full marks for a written response.
1. Using Sources
In the exam, your responses to questions should not be just a regurgitation of facts. You need to back up all these facts with archaeological and/or written sources that suggest that these facts/events are true/did occur! You need to be incorporating sources consistently throughout your responses. An easy way to make sure you are doing this is to stem from the source: state the source and then explain what is reveals/suggests about question you are trying to answer. You also need to make a link between archaeological and written sources in your responses, while emphasising your answer to the question asked. For example, “The mosaic in the House of the Faun in Pompeii suggests that the people of Pompeii and Herculaneum’s diet was mainly comprised of seafood, further emphasising the two cities geographical location. This suggestion of the presence of seafood in their diet has been reaffirmed through Jashemski’s findings of fish bones and sea urchins in Pompeii.”
2. Historiographical Issues
In your responses, the HSC markers will definitely be looking to see if you have considered the historiographical issues of the sources you have mentioned, which sometimes is the difference between a Band 4 and a Band 5/6 response. You may or may not be thinking, ‘what on Earth is a historiographical issue’? When you have finished expressing to the marker what you think the source reveals about your topic, you need to show them that you know the limitations to the source. Historiographical issues are problems regarding the way history was written. For example, artists who designed statues of emperors and other political figures would have wanted to portray them in the most positive light possible, in order to act in favour of the government. So therefore we can’t conclude that Julius Caesar was as handsome and striking as the statues and coins suggest he was, instead we have to take these sources and appreciate them on a face value. When analysing written sources, especially Ancient sources, we need to consider the audience the writer was writing in favour of and who they themselves were influenced by. For example, the writings of Tacitus will have you believe that Agrippina the Younger was a wicked stepmother, a sexual transgressor and an insane controlling woman. But, yet again, we must consider the historiographical issues associated with his harsh account. Tacitus was a biased Senator, and thus hated Agrippina the Younger’s family, and he was also a male, meaning that everything Agrippina did that was powerful, political or anything 'unfeminine’ was disgusting on his behalf. And this definitely showed in his writing. Therefore we have to consider all the issues associated with the sources we are using in our essays, because the markers are interested in knowing if you are a true historian, in that you consider the problems regarding the way Ancient History was written.
3. Essay Writing and Structure
I’m not going to spend too long on this section because you guys have probably had this concept drummed into your head since day one of HSC, but it’s always good to have a quick refresher.
Introduction: Your introduction should immediately tell the marker your answer to the question. It should clearly include your academic opinion on the topic, what your body paragraphs will include, with a great emphasis on your use of sources and consideration of historiographical issues. The introduction of your essay is your first opportunity to tell the marker why they should read the rest of your essay, and most importantly, why they should give you 25/25 – make it good.
Body: The best way to structure your paragraphs is to remember the following acronym:
S: Source
E: Explain the source. What does it reveal/suggest?
W: What are the historiographical issues (context of historians, bias, purpose of writing etc)?
Conclusion: The final paragraph of your essay is your last chance to prove to the marker that you deserve a good mark for your essay, so make it count. Make sure you directly answer the question and restate the main argument of your essay. Your conclusion should be very similar to your introduction to ensure consistency from start to finish.
Exam Tips:
- Make sure you keep track of time. The last thing you need is to be running out of time in the exam. Follow the time guide on the front of the exam booklet and you should be set.
- Don’t stay too long answering the multiple-choice questions. Use the required time and that is it. The majority of your marks will come from your long responses/25 markers.
- Make sure you pick the right options in Sections 2, 3 and 4. The last thing you want to be doing in the exam is writing about Egyptian religious practices when answering a question on religion in Sparta.
- When picking the essay question, pick the option that will best allow you to show your analysis of sources and historiographical issues.
- Don’t be afraid to ask for more booklets! Write as much as you can, but in saying that, be concise and straight to the point.
I hope you guys find this guide helpful! Be sure to leave a message if you have any questions! Remember to check out these great Ancient History study notes!
All the best! :D
-
This is absolutely brilliant!!
Very detailed, yet concise and straight to the point.
I strongly encourage all HSC Ancient History students to utilise Stephanie's guide over here and read it through in detail.
Even better, this is an opportunity to ask Stephanie any questions about studying Ancient History and how to perform extremely well in this subject. All you need to do is post on this thread!
-
Hey Stephanie :)
I just have two questions about how you approached the Ancient exam.
1. How much should you write for the extended response in section II? I know it all depends upon how much someone could write in a given time, but would you say that on average we should be writing more/less/the same for the extended response in section II than we might do in Part A of Section III? I'm trying to do practice responses for Sparta, but I feel like I am just writing way too much (approx. 800 words).
2. Is there a certain order you would recommend the paper be completed in? ie. start with he essay/mulitiple choice, etc.
Thank you! :D
-
Hey Stephanie :)
I just have two questions about how you approached the Ancient exam.
1. How much should you write for the extended response in section II? I know it all depends upon how much someone could write in a given time, but would you say that on average we should be writing more/less/the same for the extended response in section II than we might do in Part A of Section III? I'm trying to do practice responses for Sparta, but I feel like I am just writing way too much (approx. 800 words).
2. Is there a certain order you would recommend the paper be completed in? ie. start with he essay/mulitiple choice, etc.
Thank you! :D
Hi sudodds! From memory, I think I can recall that I wrote about 4-5 pages for my Sparta extended response. It is after all 15 marks, and for a 25 marker you should be looking at writing around 6-8 pages, so 4-5 sounds accurate to me ;D Don't worry about writing too much, the more the better! As long as you are managing your time efficiently in the exam then you shouldn't have a problem writing an 800 word response. By the way, isn't Sparta awesome? ;)
And on the order I recommend to complete the paper in.. I say from the very start to finish! Go through the paper as BOSTES has set out the paper to avoid missing sections of the paper and spending too much time on writing your essays, and then forgetting about those crucial MC marks in P&H!
Hope all this has helped! Good luck with your Ancient History studies!!
-
Hi Stephanie,
Love your advice, made me feel a bit less stressed about the upcoming trial
The thing I really struggle with in ancient is remembering sources (authors name, date + place found), especially in exam situations -during which as my teacher has pointed out to me, I have trouble organising my thoughts.
Did you have any particular method of remembering sources?? (I think i find the historiography part easier bc. its more interesting)
-
Hey Stephanie I was wondering on how you would try to learn and understand the content for ancient history?
-
Ancient is one of two subjects I struggle with, and reading this definitely helped ;D thanks!
-
Hi Stephanie,
Love your advice, made me feel a bit less stressed about the upcoming trial
The thing I really struggle with in ancient is remembering sources (authors name, date + place found), especially in exam situations -during which as my teacher has pointed out to me, I have trouble organising my thoughts.
Did you have any particular method of remembering sources?? (I think i find the historiography part easier bc. its more interesting)
Hey :) I don't know if you went to the ATAR notes lecture for Ancient, but the lecturer Ashleigh had a really good idea about memorising sources that has really helped me keep on top of it all :) She said that instead of just trying to memorise a million different sources, just memorise a few that relate to a variety of different areas of the course. For example with Pompeii and Herculaneum, the Temple of Isis can be used as a source when discussing influence of Egyptian culture, social structure, local political life, public buildings etc. In regards to memorising the source details, I suggest just re-writing them and re-writing them until they just stick in your brain :)
Good luck!
-
Hey Stephanie I was wondering on how you would try to learn and understand the content for ancient history?
Hey marynguyen18! Thanks for using our forums :) The best way to learn and understand the content for Ancient is to go beyond the classroom. I would say 70% of my work for Ancient was achieved at home, not in the classroom. You have to take what your teacher has taught you in class, go home and make summary notes based on the syllabus (look in our notes section and search "Ancient" for some great notes), and do your own further research on the topics. This may seem like a lot of work although this is the only way you are truly going to grasp a full understanding of the content. In your study, go over your summary notes and just keep making them more concise. Ancient is a lot to take in and the markers/teachers know that. But yeah, the best thing to have is a good set of summary notes otherwise you'll have sources and information all over the place, which is when you'll find it hard to understand the content. All the best.
-
thanks so much for the advice I'm just a bit overwhelmed bc i have both my chemistry and ancient history trials on the same day and I'm struggling to know both the content.
-
thanks so much for the advice I'm just a bit overwhelmed bc i have both my chemistry and ancient history trials on the same day and I'm struggling to know both the content.
Ah don't worry I know that pain all too well. The best thing to do for Trials, seeing as they are soon, is simply to make a list of the topics in Ancient and Chemistry that you NEED to focus on. Not ones that you know, or kind of know, the topics that you honestly think you know nothing about, and then tackle each topic one by one until you have a thorough understanding of them.
The best thing to do is to learn from this experience. When it comes to your HSC, and if you have multiple exams on the one day, you need to prepare way in advance. This means studying each subject thoroughly starting at least 3 weeks before the exams, so that if you do have multiple exams on the one day it won't be an issue because you have studied as much as you can for BOTH subjects.
But for now, I suggest you focus on the topics in Ancient and Chem that you find most difficult or hard to remember. Good luck! Remember to stay calm, study hard and the results will follow!! :)
-
So I've written my study notes, but my trials are in like, a week, and I don't know how to get all 40 pages of them in my head! Thoughts/advice??
-
So I've written my study notes, but my trials are in like, a week, and I don't know how to get all 40 pages of them in my head! Thoughts/advice??
Hey! You might want to give this article a read, it has 18 ways you can use to try and get those notes into your head!! ;D
Jake did Modern History, and his favourite technique was worksheets! Check out this article as well!
-
Hey! You might want to give this article a read, it has 18 ways you can use to try and get those notes into your head!! ;D
Jake did Modern History, and his favourite technique was worksheets! Check out this article as well!
Thank youuuu!
-
Post-trials thoughts - how many pages/paragraphs would you recommend for 10 marker & 15 marker questions? I'm never sure tbh :/
-
Hey Stephanie,
For historiographical issues/source reliability/limitations, would you raise that point for Society questions? Also for the last society questions (worth maybe 8 or 10 marks) would you follow an essay structure or one big paragraph?
Cheers :)
-
Hey Stephanie,
For historiographical issues/source reliability/limitations, would you raise that point for Society questions? Also for the last society questions (worth maybe 8 or 10 marks) would you follow an essay structure or one big paragraph?
Cheers :)
Hi aoife98! Ok so it totally depends on the question itself. If they're asking you to analyse a source then you do need to be mentioning the possible historiographical limitations related to that source.
For the 8/10 marker society questions, I would definitely be following an essay structure. You definitely shouldn't be writing a single paragraph. Treat it as a 'mini essay'. I remember getting an extra writing booklet for my Society essay, so make sure that you give the markers lots and lots of information to maximise your chances of getting full marks, and it's totally possible! In relation to historiographical issues here, I would totally recommend mentioning them.
Refer to this section of the above article for guidance on ALL responses to questions that are or more than 8 marks worth!
Introduction: Your introduction should immediately tell the marker your answer to the question. It should clearly include your academic opinion on the topic, what your body paragraphs will include, with a great emphasis on your use of sources and consideration of historiographical issues. The introduction of your essay is your first opportunity to tell the marker why they should read the rest of your essay, and most importantly, why they should give you 25/25 – make it good.
Body: The best way to structure your paragraphs is to remember the following acronym:
S: Source
E: Explain the source. What does it reveal/suggest?
W: What are the historiographical issues (context of historians, bias, purpose of writing etc)?
Conclusion: The final paragraph of your essay is your last chance to prove to the marker that you deserve a good mark for your essay, so make it count. Make sure you directly answer the question and restate the main argument of your essay. Your conclusion should be very similar to your introduction to ensure consistency from start to finish.
Good luck!
-
hey, if a questions been asked say last year and year before, then it shouldn't be asked in this year's exam right? So should I focus on the syllabus points that haven't been asked recently?
-
hey, if a questions been asked say last year and year before, then it shouldn't be asked in this year's exam right? So should I focus on the syllabus points that haven't been asked recently?
In general I say to people that they shouldn't use prediction to not study stuff, they should use it to study particular things more.
So, yeah! If you notice a topic area that hasn't been asked in a little while, definitely put some extra time into it. However, don't use this as an excuse to not study everything else, you must be prepared for everything! :)
-
What do you guys suggest for the length of 10/12/15 mark questions? They don't have a word count/guide so I'm never quite too sure... would 2 pages for 10 marks and 3-4 for 15 be enough?
-
What do you guys suggest for the length of 10/12/15 mark questions? They don't have a word count/guide so I'm never quite too sure... would 2 pages for 10 marks and 3-4 for 15 be enough?
Hi! I don't really know about how many pages, but my teacher said that the amount of words/time spent should be approximately 1.8 minutes per mark, as each section should take you about 45 mins.
So for a 10 marker - 18 mins, 12 marker - 22 mins, 15 marker - 27 mins.
Also, you should be aiming to write 1100-1200 words per 45 mins. So lets say for the personality section where you will get a 10 marker and a 15 marker, you should write approximately 400 words for the 10 maker, and 700-800 for the 15 (according to my teacher).
Hope this helps :)
-
Hey, just a quick query - for the last section of the exam (the 25 mark essay), there are two questions. I do the Persian wars and they normally ask a question about the wars and then about the Delian league. My tutor recommended that I answer the question about the Delian league as they tend to allow greater depth of analysis etc. But, I feel quite unconfident about the Delian league...should I still try and answer the second question or just try to do the first one? I'm really unsure of this and any help would be great!
Thanks
-
Hey, just a quick query - for the last section of the exam (the 25 mark essay), there are two questions. I do the Persian wars and they normally ask a question about the wars and then about the Delian league. My tutor recommended that I answer the question about the Delian league as they tend to allow greater depth of analysis etc. But, I feel quite unconfident about the Delian league...should I still try and answer the second question or just try to do the first one? I'm really unsure of this and any help would be great!
Thanks
My teacher always says to go with the one you are most comfortable with, so I'd probably go with the first one. You don't want to take too many risks in the HSC, plus if you don't feel confident with it, then how are you meant to demonstrate this greater depth of analysis? However, if your tutor is recommending you to do the second one then maybe its because they think you are capable from some of the stuff you have shown them maybe?
-
Would I possibly be able to post a delian league essay plan up here for someone to have a look at?
-
Would I possibly be able to post a delian league essay plan up here for someone to have a look at?
That would be awesome! I've got a really really good intro for a Delian League question, but I have no idea what to do for the bodies! I just really want to be prepared for tomorrow
-
Sorry I didn't get onto this! Did today go ok for you arleee?
-
Hello world,
I have just been given the date for my in-class essay on Augustus, which is due in 4 weeks. We won't been given the question for this essay , is there any way I can make a start? Any advice would be supremely helpful!
-
Hello world,
I have just been given the date for my in-class essay on Augustus, which is due in 4 weeks. We won't been given the question for this essay , is there any way I can make a start? Any advice would be supremely helpful!
Practice essays practice essays practices essays (did I mention practice essays?). Definitely one of the BEST ways to prepare for Ancient history essays (and pretty much any essay in general). Go through past half yearly/trial/HSC questions related to what you have studied and have a go. Make sure to get them checked by a teacher (or here if you'd like! We don't have a thread for it yet, but if that is something people would be interested in I'd be happy to set one up) so that you know what areas you need to improve upon/what is working well that you need to continue. Doing practice essays not only exposes you to the types of questions that you could get asked, but also forces you to start considering your knowledge as not just content - but examples to back up your judgements.
Essay scaffolds also work super well, particularly right before the exam as they take less time :)
Hope this helps! Good luck with your assessment :D I'm sure you will smash it! Be sure to let us know how it goes/if you need anything :)
-
thank you so much a guide is exactly what i need for ancient essays lol!
my marks are sometimes very good and other times not very good at all its so frustrating that i struggle to keep it consistent but this is extremely helpful!
-
thank you so much a guide is exactly what i need for ancient essays lol!
my marks are sometimes very good and other times not very good at all its so frustrating that i struggle to keep it consistent but this is extremely helpful!
Steph is literally amazing right :) I know exactly how you feel in terms of marks seeming inconsistent - exactly me last year in english. The best way to rectify that is to do past papers, and get them marked by a teacher (or on here lol ;) ) A lot of the time it has nothing to do with the content, but how you applied the content - i.e. structure. So getting a teacher to look over your work, and identifying the weak areas that you may not even realise exist will definitely help with consistency!