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March 28, 2024, 08:32:49 pm

Author Topic: Guide to Global Politics: Getting a 40+  (Read 8805 times)  Share 

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jinaede1342

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Guide to Global Politics: Getting a 40+
« on: January 05, 2020, 10:11:45 am »
+12
I remember reading sooo many of these religiously right before the start of year 12, so I thought I’d add to these especially since global politics is a relatively niche subject with ~2000 enrolments. Here are the 5 things I wish I knew from the very first SAC.


1. Details, depth, and evidence!

Global politics is one of those subjects where it’s easy to write descriptive answers with sophisticated writing, but with little *actual* content, evaluation and critical analysis. To score well, however, ‘good’ writing skills alone will not get you over the line. It is important to mention names, dates, and most importantly quotes. Let’s have a look at the types of evidence you can have to help push your responses into full marks territory.
 

Dates (eh)- every student will have these, and they’re usually there for context but do not show a detailed understanding of the content. Fill your work with these (within the 10 year period of course) but try to aim for varied types of evidence that I’ll mention below.

Names (better) - these are finer details that are a good way to show your comprehensive knowledge of the political world. Authoritative figures from NGOs, TNCs, IGOs, states and political scientists can aid your responses

Quotes (best) - these lie at the pinnacle of the evidence pyramid. Quotes are the only type of evidence that will directly and conclusively support your contentions, and lend credibility to your arguments and evaluations.

For example, you can mention that:
The Global Compact on Refugees has limitations because of state prioritisation of national interest

orrrrr you can say that


The Global Compact on Refugees is “not a silver bullet that will solve all the problems” (UN Refugee Agency UNHCR Chief, Filippo Grandi, 2018) due to the continued state prioritisation of national interests above lofty cosmopolitan ideals.

As you can see while both responses convey similar meanings, one response shows a comprehensive and detailed understanding with sufficient evidence belonging to a student who ‘knows their stuff’, whilst the other has “paltry” evidence (yes this was the exact word that one of the examiners reports used to describe poor scoring responses).

2. Have contemporary case studies

Case studies are needed in any short answer response that is 2+ marks. It is important to make sure that in the October/November period you find a handful of recent events that fit into the course to demonstrate a continued interest in the subject. These case studies are bound to impress examiners. With that being said, it can often be difficult to find recent examples similar to 2011/2013 Libya and Syria resolutions etc, so don’t abandon older case studies as they are often really helpful for evaluations, but try to include a handful of recent case studies where possible.


3. Work on 8 marker and essay responses!
I can not stress this point enough. These questions are where the greatest spread of results occur in the exam, and are therefore the greatest point of differentiation. Only 5% of responses each year will score between 18-20/20 in the essay component which makes up 25% of your exam! To stress this further, the A+ cut off usually sits at 71-72/80 in Global Politics, so losing 5-6 marks in the essay section alone will be detrimental to your exam score. It’s a good idea to start working on this part early. This was by far the most difficult area to see improvement in. Often times, the global politics content is not difficult but knowing what you need to write to access full marks is very difficult.

This is how I felt I was being marked throughout the year;
Evaluate style questions (8 marks)
- 2 marks: strengths/points for
- 2 marks: weaknesses/points against
- 2 marks: overall contention/summation/judgement
- 2 marks: for wow factor (detailed evidence, very sophisticated contention, ‘pretty’ writing, length)

4. SACs are important, but are not the be all and end all

Having received my statement of study scores, it is clear that SACs in this subject matter. The Global Politics cohort is bright, most students are interested and keen, year 11s often dedicate every inch of their existence to this subject as their 3/4, the cohort is small and competitive. Whilst it does feel like the odds are against you on paper, it is important to note that someone out there will receive those 40+ scores and there’s no reason why it can’t be you! Having been through the roller coaster of Global Politics SACs, my marks were initially inconsistent but by unit 4 I had found my bearings. Did this cost me some study score points? Certainly. But sometimes you need that singular 15/20 in a SAC to speak to your teacher, figure out what the problem is, fix it and then smash it in the end of year examination.

5. Speak to your teacher
Your Global Politics teacher is knowledgeable, they know the course inside out, they are one with the study design, and, are always really helpful with questions. Take their advice and feedback on board, and proactively take steps to apply this feedback. When it comes to practice exams, it is really important that you submit some of your responses to you teacher instead of self-marking. A fresh set of eyes can provide you with insight that you perhaps might not have thought of.


To everyone studying Global Politics in 2020 and beyond, good luck!


Mod edit: removed the advertisement part from your post. Please see the forum rules if you are unsure why this happened. You may link to your post in the selling section within your signature if you wish.

Apart from this, great post & thank you for sharing your insights.
« Last Edit: January 05, 2020, 11:14:29 am by Bri MT »
VCE: | English [48] | Global Politics [44] | Biology [40] | Chemistry [36] | French [34] | Methods [32]
ATAR: 98.40
2020: Bachelor of Laws (honours)/ Bachelor of Commerce @ Monash

Selling Global Politics responses + English/Global feedback and essay correction: https://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=189680.0

Global Politics Tuition via Zoom - PM for details

sarascully

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Re: Guide to Global Politics: Getting a 40+
« Reply #1 on: February 02, 2020, 12:41:50 pm »
+1
hi jinaede1342!

this is a great insight into units 3/4 - as someone who has completed units 1/2 and scored highly in sacs (a+ average), i'm going into units 3/4 with confidence. i too want to study law/commerce at monash and although this isn't related directly to glopol, i was just wondering, from looking at your subjects, if you found such a broad and diverse subject selection/workload manageable.

this year i will be doing chemistry, methods, french, legal studies, literature (as 1/2's) and glopol as a 3/4 although i don't know if it would be better to hone in my selection and thus choose economics over chem.

did you personally find doing chem worth it even though it doesn't relate directly to your course? if so, how did you distribute your time amongst your subjects?

yours truly,

sara :))
literature, global politics, legal studies, french, spesh and methods <33

kld class of 21'

don't forget to look after urself !!!

goal: laws/commerce @ monash uni

jinaede1342

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Re: Guide to Global Politics: Getting a 40+
« Reply #2 on: February 26, 2020, 12:48:42 am »
+3
Just saw this, so hopefully my response isn’t too late. Managing all my subjects was challenging at times but certainly manageable. I went into global politics without 1/2 so didn’t really know what to expect, but it was definitely a great decision. I found that because my subjects were broad, I was less bored in class. There are times when you’re not going to particularly be fond of maths/sciences and I felt that global was a really good ‘break’ between heavier/more difficult subjects. As to whether to choose economics/chem, I’m not entirely sure. I ask myself this same question over and over. 3/4 chem was awesome, despite a disappointing exam, I really enjoyed the content. I’m yet to see whether not studying economics will put me at a significant disadvantage for uni, but I gather that it probably won’t. Just go with whatever feels right and remember to carefully consider that not taking chem will mean lots of science based courses aren’t accessible. Good luck!
VCE: | English [48] | Global Politics [44] | Biology [40] | Chemistry [36] | French [34] | Methods [32]
ATAR: 98.40
2020: Bachelor of Laws (honours)/ Bachelor of Commerce @ Monash

Selling Global Politics responses + English/Global feedback and essay correction: https://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=189680.0

Global Politics Tuition via Zoom - PM for details

NickN

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Re: Guide to Global Politics: Getting a 40+
« Reply #3 on: March 19, 2020, 08:39:38 pm »
0
Yes Yes Yes!! This exactly hit on what I was told to focus on doing Glopol last year. Except My exam score came out to be not so great. But! This is very spot on here! :)
VCE: 2019-2020

2019:
Further Mathematics [36]
Global Politics [28]

2020:
Chinese Second Language
Physics
Mathematical Methods (CAS)
English Language

https://imgur.com/a/clmvEal