HSC Studies of Religion Question Thread

[Mary_a]

In what you've told me, you've really covered it. Annnd, you've covered more than 5 minutes worth of talking. So it'll just be about following what the teacher prompts of you, but also making sure you're pinning down your ideas with scripture, principal beliefs, and so on. I have no doubt you'll do wonderful with this task. You could even script what you intend to say to the original question, and just trust in your knowledge that you'll know enough to pull through the questions

Thanks Elyse! Wish me luck

[mjorfian]

Hi guys. So I'm doing SOR 2, and after getting back an essay on death + mourning in judaism (got 14/20 that I was disappointed with), i rewrote it to see if i could improve my mark. The feedback I received was that my mark would remain the same regardless of anything that I improved on it, because I had an issue with sustaining my argument. I'm rather disheartened because the feed back is ambiguous on exactly how I'm meant to do so (and so I'm sort of left in the dark and trying to figure out where to go from here ahh). I wondering if you guys could spot what's exactly happening and how I'm meant to approach this issue? Here's just the intro and one of the weaker body paragraphs.

“...Therefore I command you, You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in the land.” Deuteronomy 15:11

With reference to the quotation, analyse how ONE significant practice gives depth and meaning to the life of the individual AND the Jewish community.

Death and mourning is a highly ritualised significant practice within the Jewish faith. It is through the upkeep of the commandment- “you shall open your hand to your brother..” (Deut 15:13) for the maintenance of the covenantal relationship between God and his people that the main purposes of this significant rite are fulfilled. That is - to show respect for the dead (kavod ha-met) and to comfort the living (nihum avelim). As a result, the importance and meaning is highlighted in the  individual’s life, while the community questions their own mortality, and reaffirms their faith in the expression of spiritual life after death. Hence, depth and meaning is given to lives of the individual and the Jewish community.

In Judaism, adherents belief in dead bodies as a source of ritual impurity is reflected in pre-burial practices as “He that touches the dead body of any man shall be unclean” (Numbers 19:11). Whilst the mourning family are preparing for the the burial, and the body is present, people that have been in the presence of the body must wash their hands before entering another home. This is done symbolically to remove spiritual impurity, even if the individual has not made physical contact with the body. Furthermore, the shomerim and/or the family members ritually cleansing the body before burial (Tahara/ purification) serves to fulfill the same purpose as it symbolises the transformation of status of the body that was created in the image of God, the water of the Tahara readying it for the next stage of making physical return to “the land” (Deut 13:11). Such practices serving to carry to carry out a core Jewish belief allows both the mourning individual and community to upkeep the commandment and the covenantal relationship between God and his people. Thus, meaning is created through the maintenance of Jewish traditions.

[jamonwindeyer]

Hi guys. So I'm doing SOR 2, and after getting back an essay on death + mourning in judaism (got 14/20 that I was disappointed with), i rewrote it to see if i could improve my mark. The feedback I received was that my mark would remain the same regardless of anything that I improved on it, because I had an issue with sustaining my argument. I'm rather disheartened because the feed back is ambiguous on exactly how I'm meant to do so (and so I'm sort of left in the dark and trying to figure out where to go from here ahh). I wondering if you guys could spot what's exactly happening and how I'm meant to approach this issue? Here's just the intro and one of the weaker body paragraphs.

Hey! Seems really silly to say your mark can't be improved, because clearly that's wrong! Let's take a look:

Spoiler

“...Therefore I command you, You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in the land.” Deuteronomy 15:11

With reference to the quotation, analyse how ONE significant practice gives depth and meaning to the life of the individual AND the Jewish community.


Death and mourning is a highly ritualised significant practice within the Jewish faith. It is through the upkeep of the commandment- “you shall open your hand to your brother..” (Deut 15:13) for the maintenance of the covenantal relationship between God and his people that the main purposes of this significant rite are fulfilled. That is - to show respect for the dead (kavod ha-met) and to comfort the living (nihum avelim). Be careful that you don't spend too long describing the purpose of the ritual - The marker will know exactly what the ritual is for already, you want to focus on the significance for the adheret. As a result, the importance and meaning is highlighted in the  individual’s life, while the community questions their own mortality, and reaffirms their faith in the expression of spiritual life after death. Hence, depth and meaning is given to lives of the individual and the Jewish community. I think this introduction is quite good! It could be made stronger by taking a more specific approach as to how depth and meaning is provided for the adherent - You could connect with either the idea of a dynamic/living religious tradition, or a connection to the significant beliefs of the faith, or both.

In Judaism, adherents belief in dead bodies as a source of ritual impurity is reflected in pre-burial practices as “He that touches the dead body of any man shall be unclean” (Numbers 19:11). Nice inclusion of sacred text. Whilst the mourning family are preparing for the the burial, and the body is present, people that have been in the presence of the body must wash their hands before entering another home. This is done symbolically to remove spiritual impurity, even if the individual has not made physical contact with the body. What does this do to provide depth/meaning for the individual? What stronger connection to the faith is fostered? Furthermore, the shomerim and/or the family members ritually cleansing the body before burial (Tahara/ purification) serves to fulfill the same purpose as it symbolises the transformation of status of the body that was created in the image of God, the water of the Tahara readying it for the next stage of making physical return to “the land” (Deut 13:11). Really like your analytical style here, the integration of sacred text is seamless, nicely done! Such practices serving to carry to carry out a core Jewish belief allows both the mourning individual and community to upkeep the commandment and the covenantal relationship between God and his people. Thus, meaning is created through the maintenance of Jewish traditions. I like the idea you present here, the connection to beliefs developing meaning. However, you can't do it just at the end, it needs to be embedded throughout!

I think your analysis in this excerpt is really strong (particularly sacred text references!) I agree with the comment that your argument needs to be sustained - All this is saying is that the specifics of how meaning is created are at times a little vague. You can't go a whole paragraph without mentioning 'meaning' for the adherent - It needs to be constant! Every time you raise a new point, or a new way beliefs are strengthened, there should be a "Thus, the adherent is given a greater depth of understanding of the key belief of ______." Or something similar - From what I see, you only really bring it together that way right at the end!

[mjorfian]

Hey! Seems really silly to say your mark can't be improved, because clearly that's wrong! Let's take a look:

Spoiler

“...Therefore I command you, You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in the land.” Deuteronomy 15:11

With reference to the quotation, analyse how ONE significant practice gives depth and meaning to the life of the individual AND the Jewish community.


Death and mourning is a highly ritualised significant practice within the Jewish faith. It is through the upkeep of the commandment- “you shall open your hand to your brother..” (Deut 15:13) for the maintenance of the covenantal relationship between God and his people that the main purposes of this significant rite are fulfilled. That is - to show respect for the dead (kavod ha-met) and to comfort the living (nihum avelim). Be careful that you don't spend too long describing the purpose of the ritual - The marker will know exactly what the ritual is for already, you want to focus on the significance for the adheret. As a result, the importance and meaning is highlighted in the  individual’s life, while the community questions their own mortality, and reaffirms their faith in the expression of spiritual life after death. Hence, depth and meaning is given to lives of the individual and the Jewish community. I think this introduction is quite good! It could be made stronger by taking a more specific approach as to how depth and meaning is provided for the adherent - You could connect with either the idea of a dynamic/living religious tradition, or a connection to the significant beliefs of the faith, or both.

In Judaism, adherents belief in dead bodies as a source of ritual impurity is reflected in pre-burial practices as “He that touches the dead body of any man shall be unclean” (Numbers 19:11). Nice inclusion of sacred text. Whilst the mourning family are preparing for the the burial, and the body is present, people that have been in the presence of the body must wash their hands before entering another home. This is done symbolically to remove spiritual impurity, even if the individual has not made physical contact with the body. What does this do to provide depth/meaning for the individual? What stronger connection to the faith is fostered? Furthermore, the shomerim and/or the family members ritually cleansing the body before burial (Tahara/ purification) serves to fulfill the same purpose as it symbolises the transformation of status of the body that was created in the image of God, the water of the Tahara readying it for the next stage of making physical return to “the land” (Deut 13:11). Really like your analytical style here, the integration of sacred text is seamless, nicely done! Such practices serving to carry to carry out a core Jewish belief allows both the mourning individual and community to upkeep the commandment and the covenantal relationship between God and his people. Thus, meaning is created through the maintenance of Jewish traditions. I like the idea you present here, the connection to beliefs developing meaning. However, you can't do it just at the end, it needs to be embedded throughout!

I think your analysis in this excerpt is really strong (particularly sacred text references!) I agree with the comment that your argument needs to be sustained - All this is saying is that the specifics of how meaning is created are at times a little vague. You can't go a whole paragraph without mentioning 'meaning' for the adherent - It needs to be constant! Every time you raise a new point, or a new way beliefs are strengthened, there should be a "Thus, the adherent is given a greater depth of understanding of the key belief of ______." Or something similar - From what I see, you only really bring it together that way right at the end!

Hey Jamon, thanks for your feedback!

Funnily enough, the day after I posted on this thread, I had a little meeting with them to go through the essay and explain their feedback, and it was really similar to yours! It's definitely a lot clearer now and I get where you're all coming from I think I just sort of forgot about the basic structure/ purpose of an essay simply because it's in the context of SOR. So I read up on your guide to essay writing and that tied it all in together on where I should take it next. Faith is restored!! Yay!

But once again, I really appreciate your time. You guys are fantastic. I'll definitely be back to bother you with more SOR stuff soon!

[jamonwindeyer]

So great to hear it is clearer or you! Best of luck, we'll be here if you need us

[Lachlan Morley]

Hi everyone,

Does anyone have any tips for Religion Post 45 in Australia multiple choice questions,

I seem to being getting close to full marks in depth study short answers although multi's can be a let down

[mjorfian]

Hi everyone,

Does anyone have any tips for Religion Post 45 in Australia multiple choice questions,

I seem to being getting close to full marks in depth study short answers although multi's can be a let down

Hey! I did the BOSTES tests over and over again for my first assessment task and it worked great! There's generally a trend that you'll spot as they sort of recycle a lot of the questions.They're quick too so the easiest way to ace it is just doing them over and over again

Here's the link: http://mcq.bostes.nsw.edu.au/course/higher-school-certificate/studies-of-religion/

[elysepopplewell]

Hi everyone,

Does anyone have any tips for Religion Post 45 in Australia multiple choice questions,

I seem to being getting close to full marks in depth study short answers although multi's can be a let down

Hey! As suggested above, my number one recommendation is doing as many multiple choices are possible. I asked my teacher for past half yearly papers, and trial papers, and then I used the past HSC papers, and literally went through each paper as quickly as I could. You realise very quickly that so often the questions repeat themselves, but they recycle the language a little bit. For me, this was an excellent way of learning the content as well. Obviously you have a textbook and some notes to learn from, but I love doing the MCs as a form of study because you learn to find patterns in the questions, but you also revise the content.

If you aren't already, always do a process of elimination for questions you aren't sure of - read the question again and focus on key words that will give you hints to the answer.

[damecj]

Hey,
I got this practice essay question and just a bit unsure how to answer it:

Evaluate the distinctive response of Christianity to the issue of peace.   

Any help would be greatly appreciated

[maria1999]

hey guys!!
We just finished up Paul of Tarsus in class and it seems like a bit of a blur. Basically whenever describing his chief contribution, do I just need to always include love and justification by faith/universal church? I did Rabia for my significant person in Islam and I'm just really struggling with Paul as he's soooo different in terms of the nature of his contributions I find. Also how do I narrow down what to include for a short answer since theres so much content on him? Thanks in advance!!

[Lachlan Morley]

Anyone got any notes or ideas for christian actions in regards to world peace

[elysepopplewell]

hey guys!!
We just finished up Paul of Tarsus in class and it seems like a bit of a blur. Basically whenever describing his chief contribution, do I just need to always include love and justification by faith/universal church? I did Rabia for my significant person in Islam and I'm just really struggling with Paul as he's soooo different in terms of the nature of his contributions I find. Also how do I narrow down what to include for a short answer since theres so much content on him? Thanks in advance!!

You don't always need to include love and justification by faith! I organised my notes for Paul into his contribution as a missionary, and his contribution as a theologian/writer. You can download my notes here if you'd like to see how I did it. When it came to writing the essays - this is how I structured the points as well! It is not the only way, but you are right, given the nature of his contribution it is difficult to put into an "order."

Based on what the question asks of you is how you will respond, to the short answer. Pay very close attention to how many marks are given, as well as the verb (describe, analyse, identify) so you know how much energy/words to put into it!

[elysepopplewell]

Anyone got any notes or ideas for christian actions in regards to world peace

Hey,
I got this practice essay question and just a bit unsure how to answer it:

Evaluate the distinctive response of Christianity to the issue of peace.   

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Hey both of you! A 2016 student has uploaded their notes here and it's got Christianity and Peace in there

[CaitlinSavins]

Hi! I found Elyse's organisers for Islam, and I want to adapt that sort of scaffold for my own SOR notes, for Buddhism (Dalai Lama, Bioethics, Wesak) and Islam (Sayyid Qutb, Bioethics, Hajj). How do I adapt it to work for my school's topics? Thanks in advance. (No thanks to my school choosing to do Sayyid Qutb...)

[maraduke]

Whenever you are able could you please give me some feedback on this Australia post-1945 question.

For some Australians, God is no longer important. Religion does not seem attractive as the country is becoming increasingly secular.
With reference to the statement, account for the current religious landscape in Australia

Secularism in Australia has been on the rise due to a multitude of different reasons. In Australia, the increase of secularism has led to a decrease in traditional followers of religion in particular Christian denominations such as Anglican, Uniting Church, and Catholic. ‘Religion does not seem attractive for some Australians’ this is due to the belief that many have seen the church being boring or even unfulfilling due to the changing attitudes of the public. This changing attitudes has left many seek alternative forms of faith such as new age religions or completely ignore religion entirely. The rise of secularism can also be attributed to change of personal beliefs, especially over disagreements in the religion's beliefs such as creationism compared to the big bang theorist, as well as individual importance over the community importance, which is the traditional way churches and religions as a whole operate.