VCE History Revolutions Question Thread

[Elsa//768]

Absolutely!

Been a few years since I did revs but I was in a very similar (almost identical) situation to you after my first unit 4 SAC and I got a study score of 45. If you're highly ranked in the class by the end of the year, and do well in your exam, you're all set! Don't worry too much about this SAC, just use it as a learning experience and motivating factor to drive you through the remainder of the year.

All the best!

I see... Thank you!! I feel so much better now

[IlyaGlinin]

Hi all,
Was wondering if anyone has any resources or access to practise exams for Revs (speficically China and Russia) since the new study design has only been out for 2 years- and other than the 2016, 2017 exam and the 2018 trial exam on the VCE Revs site, there are no other practise exams which you can do! (Also checked online but only ones I found are regarding the old study design.)

[K888]

Hi all,
Was wondering if anyone has any resources or access to practise exams for Revs (speficically China and Russia) since the new study design has only been out for 2 years- and other than the 2016, 2017 exam and the 2018 trial exam on the VCE Revs site, there are no other practise exams which you can do! (Also checked online but only ones I found are regarding the old study design.)

Hey there. I think the best person to ask is your teacher! They'll probably have a stack of practice questions they've written hidden away somewhere and they also probably have access to a fair amount of resources. People are limited with what they can supply on ATAR Notes - company practice exams can't be distributed as it breaches their copyright. Might be worth having a gander at the Notes section of AN (you'll find this up the top of the page!) to see if someone has uploaded self-made questions/resources

[Hala119]

Hey there!
Exam is coming up so I was wondering if there were any tips on studying for it. How in depth should you know about the content?

Thanks!

[alrightally]

Hi,

There are so many sub points for each AOS that even if I get a quote for each that's like 100 quotes to memorise. I'm willing to do this to cover all grounds, but of course whatever topic the exam selects for a question you may need more than 1 quote to support. I don't know how to approach it so that I have enough quotes for the likely topics and not waste my time with other topics. I'm not sure if this makes sense, but can someone offer advice on how I should select what quotes to memorise (+amount)?

Thanks!

[K888]

Hi,

There are so many sub points for each AOS that even if I get a quote for each that's like 100 quotes to memorise. I'm willing to do this to cover all grounds, but of course whatever topic the exam selects for a question you may need more than 1 quote to support. I don't know how to approach it so that I have enough quotes for the likely topics and not waste my time with other topics. I'm not sure if this makes sense, but can someone offer advice on how I should select what quotes to memorise (+amount)?

Thanks!

Hey there - I did revs a few years back now but the way my teacher approached it with us was to have a number of quotes that could be applied broadly to a timeframe, rather than a quote applied to each event. Rather than focusing on a historian's specific viewpoint on a particular event, see if you have quotes that are a bit more broad and comment on the overall state of things, because then you can elaborate on that as you're writing. Saves yourself a lot of memorising

[charlotte1120]

How do you actually answer the History exam... In Section A you chose 1 revolution, and you answer every question on it? And for B you chose another and do the same?
I know this is a stupid question, but our teacher never explained how to answer and doesn't reply to emails. The exam looks so terrifying...

[K888]

How do you actually answer the History exam... In Section A you chose 1 revolution, and you answer every question on it? And for B you chose another and do the same?
I know this is a stupid question, but our teacher never explained how to answer and doesn't reply to emails. The exam looks so terrifying...

Hey! So you've got the nuts and bolts of it. Did you discuss in class which revolution you'd do for which part?
For example, when I did revs my teacher taught us so that we'd do the Chinese revolution for Section A and the Russian revolution for Section B. The exam looks daunting at first, but just ignore the revolutions you haven't studied and take some time to familiarise yourself with the exam structure before the actual exam

Here's the link to the sample exam: https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Documents/exams/history/hist-rev-samp-w.pdf and I'd really recommend just taking the time to break it down and work through it slowly.

Hey there!
Exam is coming up so I was wondering if there were any tips on studying for it. How in depth should you know about the content?

Thanks!

Hi Honestly my biggest tip is practicing answering exam questions. Use past VCAA exams and ask your teacher if they have any questions that they've created or have access to. Make sure you're good with the timing of the exam, so start off answering the questions without time pressure, then add in the time limit.
You need to know the content, but it doesn't have to be *super* in depth. Like, enough that you know the consequences of events and that you can provide a bit of detail, but you don't have to be able to write an essay about every single event.

Hope this helps a bit!

[Hala119]

Hey!

Thanks for the tips!

In reference to practise exams, I was wondering something. The exams have a copyright restriction, so I am unsure of how to go about handling, for example, this:

(added as attachment)

[K888]

Hey!

Thanks for the tips!

In reference to practise exams, I was wondering something. The exams have a copyright restriction, so I am unsure of how to go about handling, for example, this:

(added as attachment)

I'd have a chat to your teacher. They should have access (or be able to get it) to the non-restricted versions of the exams

[Hala119]

Hello again. xD.

I was worried about the timing of the exam. Because theres limited amount of time to write each piece, I was wondering how to fit the amount of information I need to get across my points to get a high mark without being able to write a lot and not leaving out detail. Im worried I wont be able to finish in time or to a satisfactory level to do well/get a high mark.

Does anyone have any tips on how to handle this?

[K888]

Hello again. xD.

I was worried about the timing of the exam. Because theres limited amount of time to write each piece, I was wondering how to fit the amount of information I need to get across my points to get a high mark without being able to write a lot and not leaving out detail. Im worried I wont be able to finish in time or to a satisfactory level to do well/get a high mark.

Does anyone have any tips on how to handle this?

My biggest tip is just to practice, practice and do more practice! Also try cutting down your words - I found early in Revs that I took a bit of time to get to the point. It requires a bit of a different writing style to English. The examiners are going to reward you for the points you get across, not the flowery nature of your language. If you've used a whole sentence to say something (or sometimes as I found, not much!), maybe see if you can cut down some of it and even see if you can get more functional words in there (i.e. words that provide a point/info).

When I did Revs, I also set out a specific amount of time to do each question. That way I made sure I answered everything, and didn't devote an unfair amount of time to one aspect of the exam at the expense of other sections. Have a chat to your teacher and see if they have any ideas for a time break down!

I did Revs with the old study design (I think the only different term is 3 or 4 pointers, and maybe the structure of questions has changed?), and my structure looked something like this:
Section A:
- 3 or 4 pointer (x2) - 15 mins each
- Doc study - 30 mins (split up into separate time allowances for each aspect)

Section B:
- Doc study - 30 mins (as above)
- Essay - 20-25 mins

Gave me time for proof-reading at the end, and also gave me a few minutes leeway in case I got writers block.

That being said, having a specific structure might stress some people out, so it really depends what works for you. I worked best when I had a strict schedule to stick to and found it kept me on task, but you might have a different way of doing exams

[Elccco]

Hi all,

I know we are nearing the end game with only 15 days until the Revs exam, but I was wondering if anyone has any specifics on Felix Dzerzhinsky in regards to the Russian revolution outside of his involvement in the CHEKA and Red Terror.

Thanks heaps

[Elsa//768]

Hey Hey,
I have a weird question here. Is it possible to ask for an additional answer booklet during reading time? Also, if I do use an additional booklet, do I write my answers in the 'extra space' section or do I write them in the original section?
Thanks!

[sammmarc]

Hello, with reference to the time constraints of the exam, just wondering if their is anyone who suffers the same "problem" of messy handwriting when writing pieces in the time limit?
My teacher has said examiners aren't a fans of quick, messy handwriting which can distract them from the quality of your ideas, but part of me fails to see how people can write with immaculate handwriting under such time constraints.