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National Politics allows us to:
“ Critically examine the Australian political system and compare the political systems of Australia and the United States. Students examine the nature of the two systems and the key domestic and foreign policy issues and challenges facing them.” VCAA Study DesignUnit 3: Democracy in the Making[/color]AOS 1
Washington to CanberraSTUDY DESIGN SAYS :This area of study is a comparative analysis of the political systems of Australia and the United States.
Students critically examine both systems in terms of similarities and differences and the extent to
which they uphold democratic values. Consideration is given to values, ideologies and frameworks
as re ected by institutional structures, sources of power, levels of participation, representation,
accountability and leadership. Domestic pressures and issues that challenge the stability of each
system are also analysed.
IN ENGLISH aka my wording :
Therefore what is required is an understanding of the DIFFERENCES and SIMILARITIES. Easy done. As long as you can indentify differences/similarities in “representation”, “ideologies” (e.g. Democratic, Constitutional Monarchy), etc you are set. You should create a TABLE instead of writing paragraphs upon paragraphs because EVERY year in the exam, including 2009’s one they ask you to list 1 or 2 differences between the USA and Australia and provide 2 lines of explanations. Unit 4: The challenge of powerAREA OF STUDY 1
People and policyThis part requires you to know in detail a domestic policy issue (see below for a list of examples), and learn all about policy formulation e.g. how it begins with an idea, passes down to Government, parliament, the people etc.
AREA OF STUDY 2
Contemporary foreign policySelf explanatory, you need to learn about a foreign policy which may either be given to you or you can have some freedom in choosing. I have provided a list of some topic below which you can use for the SAC/exam. It also requires an understanding of the Department of Foreign Affairs, diplomacy, and factors which influence policy.
Now it is up to you to do the rest, I provided an example of how to "interpret" and break down the Study Design. It shouldn't be too hard since it is laid out in dot points! Remember, if it's NOT on the Study Design, they cannot EXAMINE YOU on it.
The examOkay, I struggled in Semester two in knowing EXACTLY what I needed to know. My teacher was unable to give a firm/definitte answer (maybe ebcause I wasn't wording my question clearly?), so I made it my job to scower over the past few years' exams to know exactly what I need to know.
The exam is broken up into 3 sections
(1)Short answerUnit 3- Democracy in the making;
(a) Democracy in the making; the first question in EVERY exam ALWAYS requires a
comparison between the USA and Australia by
defining a word. So Q1= defining a word using evidence from USA/OZ
(b) From there on in for Democracy in the Making, it requires comparisons between Oz/USA in reference to Parliament, Government, Judiciary.
In fact 2009= compare the court system between USA/ OZ,
2008= the legislative (parliament)
2006=compare the legislative (parliament)
Unit 3- Continuity and change
(a) ALWAYS a "
define" question, only in 2008 did it require reference to Australia specifically, but the rule of thumb is to ALWAYS *define* and *example*
(b)Next question USUALLY tends to involve
describing two "powers" or "functions" of some aspect of Gov (e.g. president, Minister, Governor General etc), OR Parliament, OR the electoral system (i.e. the voting)
(c)The next question REQUIRES a knowledge of a
possible area of change. This is where you use your knowledge from your research prior to the SAC in Semester 1. Remember Nic K (member on VN) asked about this, whether you talk about 1, 2 etc? Well the thing is your SAC requires "1" but for the exam they are not BROAD or GENERAL, you need to have a good understanding of SEVERAL areas of possible reform change which improves democracy.
The remainder of the exam follows the above format i.e. Unit 4
(2) Extended Response 1Is probably one of the "scariest" aspects of the exam since you do not know if a BROAD question will be given i.e. if you can use the same topic you did in SACs, or if a SPECIFIC topic will be given e.g. "the treaty with USA is good" which would have required a deep knowledge of WHAT the treaty involved, WHY, and the pro's/con's.
However a pattern does exist in the exam, for you are given TWO essays in which you choose ONE
Unit 3= Democracy in the Making
Essay 1-Is based on Area of Study 1 (Washington to Canberra) & ALWAYS requires a thorough understanding of the DIFFERENCES/SIMILARITIES.
e.g. 2006= required a comparison of Aus/USA's ELECTORAL SYSTEM
2007= required a comparison of Aus/USA's EXECUTIVE (President/Prim Minister)
2008= required a comparison of Aus/USA's ELECTORAL SYSTEM (almost exact same question as 2006)
Essay 2- Is based on AOS 2 (Continuity and Change) and tends to be EASIER than option one. This depends though.
e.g. 2006= Was an OPEN-ENDED question where you can choose ANY reform
2007=Specifically wanted an essay on CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE
2008=Was a SEMI-FREE question, as it talked about PARLIAMENT (which is a large topic, but still sort of specific)
(3) Extended Response 2Unit 4= The Challenge of Power
Essay 1- Is usually the EASIER option, and allows you to focus on ANY DOMESTIC POLICY you want. It requires you to use your knowledge form when you did your SAC in regards to public opinion on the issue, the stance of the Opposition, media etc.
Essay 2- Focusses on FOREIGN POLICY, and relies heavily on knowledge about Australia's NEIGHBOURS.
I was very lucky, I got away with using the SAME topics I did on my SAC for the exam! It didn't involve memorising as such, because I learnt it all from the research I put in during the SAC. Also it's common sense. I chose refugees for example, you must be living under a rock to NOT know what the Opposition thinks about it, what the public etc reckon. I was able to make stuff up IN THE EXAM because I knew the topic so well from just hearing News Bulletins, reading the news on the net, TV etc.
So the advice is, really focus on your SACs, because you end up using 2/3 of the same content on the exam
Suggested time allocationShort answer=40 minutes
Essay 1= 40 minutes
Essay 2= 40 minutes
But really, the short answers do not take 40 minutes, I think mine took 25-30 minutes. And it's important you spend time planning your essays! Use reading time to go through your points/paragraphs of the essay in your mind, as well as knowing what to choose.
I spent reading time looking at all 4 essay questions, and making up points for each and every one to know which one I had more "paragraphs" to write. For one essay question though I automatically crossed it off knowing I knew NOTHING ><
Spent only 1/3 of reading time on short answers because they are pretty basic.
Below is some MORE advice courtesy of Shmalex, I think they are all useful advice and I actually followed most of it without even knowing this >< haha.
1) Lateline is a good show to watch for politics stuff, and if you have foxtel it's a good idea to record so you can skim over stuff that isn't relevant. Also use the internet (google, The Age and rfeer to the Resource Link jess3254 posted in this Board)
My comment in Italics. I think this is EXTREMELY important. You cannot suceed in National Politics if you don't know Politics >< simple as that. You NEED to keep up to date with the latest issue everybody is talking about, this helped me so much for "Refugees" and "Climate Change", from simply watching the news for 10 minutes, or reading articles I WANTED on the net, I didn't have to do much research for SACS/exam3) THis is good advice for any subject but PARTICULARLY national politics. You should print off the study design and refer to it constantly. The text books aren't that comprehensive, but if you have the study design you can do your own research on the points listed (google, etc.)
4) Practice extended response essays from the start of the year (I wrote one on the holidays that was on the same topic as I wrote on for the end of year exams) and make sure you are developing your own ideas on topics throughout the year, like with englih where you develop your own interpretations on books. To add to this, you can read books on Australian politics. I just went to the library and grabbed whatever appeared to be relevent and because I had the STUDY DESIGN, I could tell what was going to help and what wasn't.
5) DON'T TRY TO ROTE LEARN this subect. Make notes and summaries by all means, but don't think that all you need to do is remember these notes and summaries. Politics is a subject about understanding, not just remembering.
If you keep up to date you have NO reason to rote learn, remember I used the SAME topic for the SAC in the exam because it was all 2nd nature/common sense from reseraching and watching the news, my textbook did not help what so ever.6) Every single time you answer a short answer question or write a definition, use an example or explanation to illustrate your point. Some questions might seem reallly difficult to elaborate on, but if you practice from the start of the year it will become second nature.
I made a list of over 100 definitions, by the end of the year they became second nature, you NEED THEM for the exam, you have around 3-4 questions requiring definitions. 7) As with any subject (but this one in particular) read, and re-read, and rereread the examiner's reports. They tell you exactly what they want you to know and how they want you to write it.
Why wouldn't you? They provide ANSWERS, as well as the range of essay topics people used , one examiners report listed like 10-15 different things people talked about, with many I would never have considered. Remember the exam tends to follow/copy previous year ones, it's not like English etc where every year the type of questions are way differentResources University/VCE lectures+powerpoint on issues Parliament of Australia Glossary/Definitions very important for exam
Overview of Parliament+good diagram of structure Fantastic and simple overview of FAQs of Constitution, Parliament, Government (refer to right hand side of website)
21 Essay questions on the Constitution (from past exams?) Downloadable PDFs of Constitution, Parliament, law making Responsible Government, structure of Gov. Consitution Resources of right hand side.
Democracy-challenges, what is it, types Australian Electoral Commission. Voting, elections etc American Government USA House of Representatives Refer to left hand side for resources
How Laws are made in the USA How laws are made (children edition) Government/laws/parliament Click the Kites sectors for your age group
Diagram of the structure of the USA's Executive, Legislative and Judiciary MUST PRINT THIS
If you have any resources YOU use/find please PM me and ill add them to the list, avoid posting on this thread directly to avoid clutter and confusion ><
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