Hey guys!
The History Extension forum was a little bit (or a lotta bit) lacking in regards to advice and tips, so I thought I'd write up a quick guide about how to approach the Major Work component of the course, which makes up the majority of your internal mark! For my own major work, I received 39/40 and came 2nd in the HTA Extension History Essay Prize. My overall HSC Mark for History Extension was 48/50. These are the methods I used to get these results, however keep in mind that the major work is a highly personalised project, and what worked for me may not work for you. Either way, I hope this is found to be useful! (also keep in mind that this is just in regards to the major work, not the overall subject)
What is the Major Work?The Major Work is worth roughly 80% of your internal mark, making it blessing... or a curse. Basically, if you work really hard and smash the major work, then you can be confident that even if the in class essays don't go the way that you would like, you will still get a good mark overall. HOWEVER just to be clear you cannot neglect your in class essay skills, as the major work (unlike in a lot of other subjects) is marked internally, rather than by a panel of external markers. This means that if you smash the major work but muck up the HSC exam, your major work mark will be readjusted to match your poorer exam result
But anyway, what does the major work require? History Extension doesn't focus on 'History', but 'Historiography'. Unlike the historical investigation in year 11, your major work can't just be on a historical event or person, but instead upon the perceptions/perspectives/writings of that historical event or person, and why these perceptions/perspectives/writings have developed (more general questions are also acceptable... more on that later). An easy way to think about it is your main subjects are the historians, and not the historical figures, so make sure that you really understand your historians. Go further than just reading their published works (which you really MUST do btw), look into their biography, other historians opinions upon your historian, the sales statistics of their works, compare their early works to their later works, etc, etc. This will add depth to your essay, and demonstrate the extensive knowledge that is required to ace the course
Coming up with a QuestionComing up with a question is one of the hardest parts, and also the one that I guarantee you will change multiple times before you are happy with it. My biggest tips are to find out what not only you are interested in, but also what your teacher is as well. Though the Major Work is an independent project, there should still be considerable collaboration with your teacher. A lot of history extension teachers specialise in a particular area, whether that be post-modernism, social history etc, so if you can find a topic that matches with their knowledge base, that will help a great deal also! For example, my teacher was a marxist, so I chose a question that was centered around marxist dialectics, which luckily (if you can't tell from my dp
) I find quite interesting. Being able to bounce ideas off of a literal expert understandably proves quite useful
Also, try and find a topic that is unique and different. As much as I'm sure someone could write an amazing essay and get great marks on these topics, questions surrounding the historical debates in regards to Cleopatra, King Henry the 8th or the Salem Witch Trials, the historical evidence for Atlantis and Holocaust denial have been done many, many, many times, to the extent where it can sometimes be difficult to find your own voice. Again, these are great areas of study and if that is what you are truely interested in then go for it! However try, even within those topics, to find maybe a different avenue of enquiry that'll make your essay stand out
For example, a component of my essay was an examination of the legitimacy of Bill O'Reilly (fox news presenter) as a historian. O'Reilly, or as John Stewart refers to him "the mayor of bullshit mountain," is widely considered to be a poor historian to the extent whereby some do not consider him one at all, so writing a critique piece where I just parrot this view doesn't demonstrate much skill (I know this because that was my original essay
) Instead, I decided to write about how Bill O'Reilly IS a historian, and that his existence and success is more so a reflection upon the failures of the current state of the discipline - a more interesting and unique approach.
Another thing to consider is what
type of topic you want to focus on. Most questions fall under one of these:
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Debates surrounding (particular historical event/person/issue): These questions take a particular historical issue - for example the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Abraham Lincoln or the Roman Empire - and discuss, usually one, debate in regards to their nature. The argument should not be centered necessarily on which side of the debate is - in your view - true, but moreso as to why particular historians, from different socio-cultural and philosophical backgrounds, are on a certain side at all. For example, why does a right-wing historian like Robert Service have a different interpretation of Leon Trotsky compared to a member of the British Marxist Historians such as Eric Hobsbawm?
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Evaluation of (particular historian): These questions take a particular historian and their body of work, and analyse them, trying to work out common themes within their works, and why - based on their background, political views, etc. - they have come to the conclusions that they have on particular issues. These can take the form of a critique or an appraisal, however as stated before, try not to just parrot the criticisms and praise of others - find your own avenue of enquiry.
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Concept driven: These are the questions that aren't
necessarily (they can be) bound by a historical event, person or issue, or a particular historian. Instead, they are based around historiographical, historical and sociological concepts, for example postmodernism, Big History, marxism, empiricism etc. These can also take the form of a critique or affirmation of the specific concepts legitimacy and value within history. These questions vary greatly, and often take a more general approach, rather than focusing specifically on a single issue. My major work was based around the Hegelian Maoist dialectical concept of the interpenetration of opposites.
Writing The EssayIn terms of writing the essay, your structure and methodology should be similar to the way you write any other essay, however these are a few things to keep in mind
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Use your Synopsis as your introduction: This a great way to cut down on your words if you are struggling with the word limit, as it basically allows you an extra 250-300 word leg room. Your teacher may be fussy about this, BUT i'd say that if the HTA accepts it then your teacher bloody well should too
If you're struggling to structure your synopsis, just write it like an introduction (because that is what it essentially is anyway!)
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Reference as you go!!!: Do not leave this to the end dear god. Keep a bibliography as you go (Harvard referencing ofc) or you will have a very stressful time near the due date trying to find all of the sources that you used, and trust me there should be a lot of them.
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Log as you go!!!: Also a big one that everyone forgets about! Every time you make any changes - major or minor - always write it down in your log book. Your teacher may have their own rules in regards to this, but I recommend keeping your logbook on your laptop rather than having a hard paper copy. Its way easier to be lazy when you have to physically write something down
Also, remember the log doesn't just have to be reflections, also keep any articles/readings you used, drafts and redrafts of your work, comments made my teachers and other people that you got to read over your drafts, etc, etc.
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Use endnotes, not footnotes: This is just a small thing and probably won't affect your marks in the long run, however this is the format that the HTA expects if you or your teacher plans to submit your work into the competition
Other general tips -
Get in contact with the experts: If you can, send a couple of emails to some historians or historiographers with any questions you have. The worst that can happen is they won't reply, the best is that they do, and they end up becoming a very valuable resource to your investigation. For example, after attending a lecture run by him (very good btw 10/10 would recommend haha, if you go to the HTA study day with your school, make sure you go to his WW1 lecture), I asked Dr Bruce Dennett - a professional historiographer and once senior marker for extension history - if he would be willing to read over my essay. He said yes, and he gave me some of the most valuable and helpful feedback I received, that just after one phone meeting and subsequent redraft bumped up my mark considerably.
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Scrutinise your work: Every sentence you write, make sure that it is 100% backed up, supported, "correct" (in quotations, if you do extension then you know why
) and NOT a generalisation. Do you think it requires an endnote, a preface, maybe a little bit more of an explanation? tbh... probably. Sometimes this can be really hard to do yourself, which leads me onto my next tip:
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Regularly write drafts and get feedback: I was very lucky that my teacher was a superstar and accepted a billion drafts, because I cannot begin to describe how much this process helped. When you spend so long writing something, it begins to just become 'blah,' if that makes sense. If it doesn't, what I mean is that you become a bit desensitised to it, no longer able to tell what is wrong and what needs work. Getting (if you can multiple) people to have a look and find them for you is extremely beneficial.
Continually work on it over the year... however make sure to take a break every once in a while: Do not, I repeat DO NOT leave your major work to the last minute. Yes, you may have heard anecdotes of people doing this and still getting a good mark, but if anything that is the exception, and most certainly not the rule. The project is just too big, and with the log book as well, it can be very easy to tell if a student has completed this the night before. So make sure that you are continually chipping away at it throughout the year, HOWEVER make sure to take a break every once in a while. This is not only because you have other subjects that you need to focus on to, but also because sometimes we become so invested in our work that it is difficult to take a step back and not only see issues with it, but also (sometimes) if you even make sense to someone that doesn't have such a deep understanding of your chosen topic. Taking a bit of a time out, and then returning to your work can enable you with a cleaner and less clouded view of your work, which enables you to better understand the direction it should be taken next. It also lets you avoid a burnout as much as possible, which is always a plus!
Anyways, I hope this helped at least someone (and drove a bit more traffic to this section of ATARnotes hahaha)
Congratulations if you are a new history extension student because it is a great subject, and I wish you all the best for your major work. If you are someone trying to decide whether to pick up the subject, I hope this helped you make a decision that is right for you! If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask because I'm sure I missed out a lot of stuff ahaha.
Good luck everyone!! xx