Revolutions Support Thread 2013

[jeanweasley]

I created this thread to seek support from fellow Revs students because for one, my Revs teacher just reads the textbook, summarises its content and writes notes from the textbook without real depth. She mostly says that things were bad and constantly uses the word "man" as if I'm supposed to understand it because of that. While she is not entirely detrimental, it is suffice to say that I do not have confidence in just waiting for her to tell me what to do so I'm taking it upon myself to work hard, well hard-ER than now because Revs is bloody hard.

Anyway, in short, please post questions, possible answers to questions and critiques for improvements.
(I'm currently studying Russian and American revolutions. )

[jeanweasley]

Bump. Are there any Revs student out there or am I the only one?

[edwin]

Behold a fellow Revs student! Hi there My teacher's great but right now I'm just stressing out over the first SAC which I have on Wednesday...

Fellow revolutionaries how do I write a perfect 3 or 4 points?

[jeanweasley]

Behold a fellow Revs student! Hi there My teacher's great but right now I'm just stressing out over the first SAC which I have on Wednesday...

Fellow revolutionaries how do I write a perfect 3 or 4 points?

Hello there ed!!
Wow, your SAC is nice and early. Mine isn't until the end of the term. :O
As for your question, I am unsure but this website might be able to help you: http://alphahistory.com/vcehistory/vce-history-exam-questions-1-2/
There are also other resources on the site.

[Art Vandelay]

prolly the best resources for revs are the checkpoints series for each revolution (by michael adcock), as well as the insight guide by scott sweeney. they both really helped me to understand the importance of proper signposting and structuring of questions, which makes examiners' and markers' jobs a lot easier, ensuring you secure marks.

regarding the actual knowledge, i found it useful to group events/ideologies/leaders into different groups (social/political/economic) when writing notes, as it then became a lot easier to formulate responses in a cogent manner.

edit: oh yeah, there are some great notes for each revolution under the 'resources>notes' section of this site, if you didn't already know

[edwin]

Hello there ed!!
Wow, your SAC is nice and early. Mine isn't until the end of the term. :O
As for your question, I am unsure but this website might be able to help you: http://alphahistory.com/vcehistory/vce-history-exam-questions-1-2/
There are also other resources on the site.

Hi Jean! ah yes it's probably because we had 3 weeks of year 12 at the end of last year (our head start program is ridiculous) - it all adds up!

I had forgotten about Alpha History - thanks for reminding me

prolly the best resources for revs are the checkpoints series for each revolution (by michael adcock), as well as the insight guide by scott sweeney. they both really helped me to understand the importance of proper signposting and structuring of questions, which makes examiners' and markers' jobs a lot easier, ensuring you secure marks.

regarding the actual knowledge, i found it useful to group events/ideologies/leaders into different groups (social/political/economic) when writing notes, as it then became a lot easier to formulate responses in a cogent manner.

edit: oh yeah, there are some great notes for each revolution under the 'resources>notes' section of this site, if you didn't already know

I'll see if I can get a copy of either before Wednesday! Or since Scott Sweeney teaches at my school, maybe I should just go talk to him haha. I have sort of grouped my notes in that manner already - probably should make them a little clearer though.

I knew about the notes on AN - but alas I'm doing the American Rev and literally all the notes on that are from kids who went to my school, and I've read them all :p

[Art Vandelay]

Hi Jean! ah yes it's probably because we had 3 weeks of year 12 at the end of last year (our head start program is ridiculous) - it all adds up!

I had forgotten about Alpha History - thanks for reminding me

I'll see if I can get a copy of either before Wednesday! Or since Scott Sweeney teaches at my school, maybe I should just go talk to him haha. I have sort of grouped my notes in that manner already - probably should make them a little clearer though.

I knew about the notes on AN - but alas I'm doing the American Rev and literally all the notes on that are from kids who went to my school, and I've read them all :p

tbh you would really benefit from having a chat with him. there are lots of seminars and lectures that will occur later in the year, but i cant imagine any of them comparing to a chat with a guy that literally wrote the books. so jelly...

[revsteacher]

Edwin,

If you have a good teacher, they should be teaching you how to put together a good 3-4 point paragraph answer. They should also ask you to complete several for homework or coursework, then provide feedback on how you could improve.

The Alpha History tips on structuring an answer are brief but valuable. Checkpoints is a lot more detailed but might be "overkill" if your teacher is already covering these skills in class (as I do). Above all I would suggest doing as much practice as you can, then getting someone to review and provide feedback on your answers. All the theory in the world won't help you if you don't practice. 

R.

[jeanweasley]

Edwin,

If you have a good teacher, they should be teaching you how to put together a good 3-4 point paragraph answer. They should also ask you to complete several for homework or coursework, then provide feedback on how you could improve.

The Alpha History tips on structuring an answer are brief but valuable. Checkpoints is a lot more detailed but might be "overkill" if your teacher is already covering these skills in class (as I do). Above all I would suggest doing as much practice as you can, then getting someone to review and provide feedback on your answers. All the theory in the world won't help you if you don't practice. 

R.

Hey revsteacher,

Could you teach me how to write a good 3-4 point paragraph answer? I did history last year but my teacher was very vague about it. She's my teacher now but I feel like she just talks for the whole lesson and by the end of it, we haven't really achieved anything. :/ I'm not exaggerating. She doesn't write notes and just reads the Malone's textbook, rephrases some words and rewrites a "dumbed-down" version of what's on the book. Basically, I have to do all the research myself. And although that isn't such a big deal, I feel like I should have a teacher that actually KNOWS what she's doing and not just addressing issues vaguely. I'm doing alright for now, we don't have SACs til the end of term but I feel that if I were to really get the score I want then I would have to push myself to commit and meet VCAA's demands.
I might consider buying the checkpoints though... Might have to invest on that...

[Lolly]

Hey, anyone going to Malone's lecture on the Russian Revolution ?

[revsteacher]

Could you teach me how to write a good 3-4 point paragraph answer?

I'm happy to help you where I can but it's difficult on this forum. I could write a lot about what to do, but much what I would say is already available at Alpha History, in Checkpoints, etc.

Perhaps if you could give me some specifics about things you're having trouble coping with, and I'll give some pointers.

R.

[jeanweasley]

Hey, anyone going to Malone's lecture on the Russian Revolution ?

When is it?

I'm happy to help you where I can but it's difficult on this forum. I could write a lot about what to do, but much what I would say is already available at Alpha History, in Checkpoints, etc.

Perhaps if you could give me some specifics about things you're having trouble coping with, and I'll give some pointers.

R.

How do I develop three to four strong points? And how do I back them up with evidence? Do I always need historian's quotes?

Say for example the topic is that "The tsar's unwillingness to share autocracy contributed to the revolution of 1905."

I think I can talk about his tutor and his father's influence on him to hold on autocracy and the Romanov dynasty but what else do I talk about?

[Art Vandelay]

Say for example the topic is that "The tsar's unwillingness to share autocracy contributed to the revolution of 1905."

I think I can talk about his tutor and his father's influence on him to hold on autocracy and the Romanov dynasty but what else do I talk about?

ok, the points you mentioned talk about why he was autocratic, but not why his autocracy contributed to the revolution of 1905, right? here are some points you could use:

- you could make the link between autocracy and capitalism, talking about how the tsar's 'predatorial imperialism' (i forget the exact quote), placed Russia in a bad situation economically during the period of the Russo-Japanese War.

- autocracy (top down power) made it difficult for the tsar to understand the problems of the proletariat, which included famine after losses throughout 1904-05 (eg losses in Tsushima,  Port Arthur). the resent and discontent that this group felt was a cause in the 1905 revolution.

i think i used some quotes from sidney harcave when I answered similar questions last year. he split the problems of Russia in 1905 into 4: labour, education, nationality, and farming.

How do I develop three to four strong points? And how do I back them up with evidence? Do I always need historian's quotes?

using quotes, stats and dates will 'prove' your point, that u assert when signposting in your response. reading the Insight guide by sweeney is a nice guide to this method (go buy it), and u can find plenty of resources online (as linked by someone else).

it's easier to develop points by reading widely (ie not just from your text), and then making a nice set of notes, so all of this evidence comes together to make your contention (tsars autocracy contributed to 1905), which will be supported by your 'points'. these points have to be supported with evidence. generally in SACs, there are sections where you use historiography, and those where you do not (your teacher should tell you).

btw, if you're learning from the HTAV revs books, you can just look at the footnotes on the sides/bottom of the page you're on, and then go on to read the text mentioned. it even shows the page number so you can skip right to the pertinent section.

I've forgotten a lot of this stuff, but am happy to help you out if you need more help!

[jeanweasley]

ok, the points you mentioned talk about why he was autocratic, but not why his autocracy contributed to the revolution of 1905, right? here are some points you could use:

- you could make the link between autocracy and capitalism, talking about how the tsar's 'predatorial imperialism' (i forget the exact quote), placed Russia in a bad situation economically during the period of the Russo-Japanese War.

- autocracy (top down power) made it difficult for the tsar to understand the problems of the proletariat, which included famine after losses throughout 1904-05 (eg losses in Tsushima,  Port Arthur). the resent and discontent that this group felt was a cause in the 1905 revolution.

i think i used some quotes from sidney harcave when I answered similar questions last year. he split the problems of Russia in 1905 into 4: labour, education, nationality, and farming.
using quotes, stats and dates will 'prove' your point, that u assert when signposting in your response. reading the Insight guide by sweeney is a nice guide to this method (go buy it), and u can find plenty of resources online (as linked by someone else).

it's easier to develop points by reading widely (ie not just from your text), and then making a nice set of notes, so all of this evidence comes together to make your contention (tsars autocracy contributed to 1905), which will be supported by your 'points'. these points have to be supported with evidence. generally in SACs, there are sections where you use historiography, and those where you do not (your teacher should tell you).

btw, if you're learning from the HTAV revs books, you can just look at the footnotes on the sides/bottom of the page you're on, and then go on to read the text mentioned. it even shows the page number so you can skip right to the pertinent section.

I've forgotten a lot of this stuff, but am happy to help you out if you need more help!

Thanks. That was really helpful. We've just finished the 1905 revolution but we've started notes on WWI. I guess I just really have trouble on which points to use, or rather how to manipulate them to fit the question. I'll see if I can borrow the book from the library. Thanks again!

[revsteacher]

Say for example the topic is that "The tsar's unwillingness to share autocracy contributed to the revolution of 1905."

I think I can talk about his tutor and his father's influence on him to hold on autocracy and the Romanov dynasty but what else do I talk about?

That would certainly be one point. You should then think about specific policies, events or actions that reflect his unwillingness to share autocracy. They could include things like:

* The tsar's appointment of ministers and advisors.
* Reliance on support of the church, Black Hundred, etc.
* His policies of censorship and anti-liberalisation before 1905.
* His determination to go to war in Asia, against all advice.
* His failure to respond effectively to 'Bloody Sunday'.
* His attempts to deal with the 1905 Revolution by imposing martial law.

Finding a good 3-4 points is basically an exercise in lateral thinking. You need to scan through everything you know about the Area of Study / timeframe of the question, and for each fact ask yourself "does this suggest anything about the tsar's unwillingness to share autocracy". It's a good idea to jot down valid points as you come up with them too, in case you forget.

Note that you should not include historians' views in these 3-4 point paragraphs, at least not for the exam. They're supposed to contain straight-up factual detail. Anything specific, like a person, place, name, law, policy, event, document, etc. counts as detail or "evidence" so use as much of that as you can.

I know at this stage of the year that following these processes is time consuming and tedious. But once you've done a few of these answers, you will find that they become easier to construct and write.

R.