HSC Ancient History Question Thread

[sudodds]

Hi Susie, could you mark my essay please?  Also, I know you didn't study my topic, but for the 'roles' part in para 3, would I have to go into specific details or is what I'm doing still ok?

Hi Grace!

I'm going to have a look over your essay now I just now created an essay marking thread, so I will post your feedback there once it is done! Here is the link! (I'll send you a PM as well once I've gone through everything!)

Susie

[grace.estelle]

Hi Grace!

I'm going to have a look over your essay now I just now created an essay marking thread, so I will post your feedback there once it is done! Here is the link! (I'll send you a PM as well once I've gone through everything!)

Susie

Ok thank you!!

[sudodds]

Ok thank you!!

No worries!

And to answer your specific question about going into detail on the roles of each of the members in paragraph 3, unfortunately I can't really say for sure as I haven't studied the option  To me that paragraph seemed really strong, but as I said in my feedback, I highly recommend giving your teacher a draft as well (if they accept drafts), as they'll be able to direct you much better than I can in regards to stuff like that 

[jadelaishevsky]

Hi I have to write an essay on "How significant was the consulship of Pompey and Crassus in 70BCE on the developments of the late Republic?" and im really struggeling with an introduction, could you possibly give me any pointers? I aways struglle with history introductions because im never sure what to put in them becasue theyre not like english ones. Any help would be much appreciated!
Thanks!

[sudodds]

Hi I have to write an essay on "How significant was the consulship of Pompey and Crassus in 70BCE on the developments of the late Republic?" and im really struggeling with an introduction, could you possibly give me any pointers? I aways struglle with history introductions because im never sure what to put in them becasue theyre not like english ones. Any help would be much appreciated!
Thanks!

Hey Jade! Unfortunately I didn't study that unit So content wise I'm pretty useless. However I can give you a few pointers in regards to structure!

First of all you MUST start with a judgement. If your first sentence is not a judgement then you will lose marks, because it means that you are not answering the question. Looking at your question, I'd say the phrasing of your judgement should look similar to this:

The consulship of Pompey and Crassus in 70BCE was highly/partially/to a limited extent (pick which one you agree with) significant to the development of the late Republic.

See how simple the judgement was? You don't want to be going overboard, just one simple statement will do Then you need to explain your judgement. In 1-2 sentences, briefly explain the context of your judgement (maybe what consulship is and why it can be impactful? Again I'm not familiar with the content so I can't really say for sure what this would include), and why you have made that judgement. Then you need to outline your argument. This is literally just a list of what your paragraphs are going to be on - this can be either factors based (ie. the specific and relevant events/people/issues that resulted in the development of the late Republic) or thematic (economic, political, social, religious themes etc.). Finally, you want to link back to your original judgement/thesis.

I hope this helps! If you have any more questions let me know + feel free to post your intro here once you've written it if you'd like me to give it a look over so I can maybe be a bit more specific in my feedback

Susie

[Maraos]

Hey!
I've got a question regarding exam responses. I've been doing a few past papers, specifically the Spartan society section, and I'm unsure whether I should include evidence for every point I make. For example some questions are quite short and only require around a paragraph (such as; "Outline the role of the gerousia in this period"). Would i really have to include a quote from a historian or provide archaeological evidence for such a short question? I understand the last question in the society questions will require your own sources, also would you do the same for the core topic as well?


Thanks! 

[sudodds]

Hey!
I've got a question regarding exam responses. I've been doing a few past papers, specifically the Spartan society section, and I'm unsure whether I should include evidence for every point I make. For example some questions are quite short and only require around a paragraph (such as; "Outline the role of the gerousia in this period"). Would i really have to include a quote from a historian or provide archaeological evidence for such a short question? I understand the last question in the society questions will require your own sources, also would you do the same for the core topic as well?


Thanks! 

Hey! Well it really depends on how many marks the question is worth. 1-2 marks? Most likely the question is just asking you to identify something (eg. identify two responsibilities of the kings) - something like this does not require evidence. 3-4 marks? I'd want to include maybe one or two sources - literary or archaeological. Anything above 4 marks is where I would be really trying to back up all of my points with evidence. This evidence doesn't need to be discussed at length, you could just name drop a particular source or site, but if you want to get the most amount of marks possible then it should be included.

For Pompeii and Herculaneum? 100%. As it is a source based study they will almost always ask you to incorporate your own sources as well. The big thing here is to make sure that you have a source for both Pompeii AND HERCULANEUM (everyone forgets herculaneum  ). You will lose marks if you don't reference both towns (unless the question explicitly asks for a discussion on only one). This may seem pretty daunting, but remember that a lot of the sources for Pompeii and Herculaneum can be used for multiple sections of the syllabus, and thus can be used for multiple questions. For example the Temple of Isis? Can be used as a source for a question on evidence provided for;
- The eruption
- Social structure
- Local political life
- Everyday Life
- Temples
- Religion
- Influence of Greek and Egyptian Cultures

Hope this helps!

Susie

[Maraos]

Hey! Well it really depends on how many marks the question is worth. 1-2 marks? Most likely the question is just asking you to identify something (eg. identify two responsibilities of the kings) - something like this does not require evidence. 3-4 marks? I'd want to include maybe one or two sources - literary or archaeological. Anything above 4 marks is where I would be really trying to back up all of my points with evidence. This evidence doesn't need to be discussed at length, you could just name drop a particular source or site, but if you want to get the most amount of marks possible then it should be included.

For Pompeii and Herculaneum? 100%. As it is a source based study they will almost always ask you to incorporate your own sources as well. The big thing here is to make sure that you have a source for both Pompeii AND HERCULANEUM (everyone forgets herculaneum  ). You will lose marks if you don't reference both towns (unless the question explicitly asks for a discussion on only one). This may seem pretty daunting, but remember that a lot of the sources for Pompeii and Herculaneum can be used for multiple sections of the syllabus, and thus can be used for multiple questions. For example the Temple of Isis? Can be used as a source for a question on evidence provided for;
- The eruption
- Social structure
- Local political life
- Everyday Life
- Temples
- Religion
- Influence of Greek and Egyptian Cultures

Hope this helps!

Susie

Thanks for the tips!

Poor Herculaneum , I find that even textbooks neglect it haha

[sudodds]

Thanks for the tips!

Poor Herculaneum , I find that even textbooks neglect it haha

No worries! Yep, they definitely do Unfortunately there is just so much more evidence from Pompeii because more of it has been excavated - but as the topic is Pompeii and Herculaneum is really does need to be included

[Maraos]

Hello again! 
I've got a question regarding 'types of economic activity which took place in Pompeii and Herculaneum (2014 HSC past paper)
In my answer I spoke about tourism. For evidence I brought up the fact that the Amphitheatre of Pompeii can hold over 20,000 spectators (more than the citizen body) and for Herculaneum I spoke about the villa of the Papyri and how it was a mouseion used to show off a collection of art to the public.

Would tourism be a good example of economic activity? The markers didn't speak about it in the marking criteria nor is it in the syllabus however it kinda makes sense right?

[sudodds]

Hello again! 
I've got a question regarding 'types of economic activity which took place in Pompeii and Herculaneum (2014 HSC past paper)
In my answer I spoke about tourism. For evidence I brought up the fact that the Amphitheatre of Pompeii can hold over 20,000 spectators (more than the citizen body) and for Herculaneum I spoke about the villa of the Papyri and how it was a mouseion used to show off a collection of art to the public.

Would tourism be a good example of economic activity? The markers didn't speak about it in the marking criteria nor is it in the syllabus however it kinda makes sense right?

Hey!

Technically yes, tourism does make sense, and the evidence you used is good - but I think there are better examples, and you would be better off sticking more closely to the syllabus, so look at trade, commerce, industry and occupation. Your answer is just too specific if you only focus on tourism. Though it is believed that tourism was a feature of the economy at that time, its a very small feature in comparison to the other four I mentioned (it would fall under an example for industry).

Another very minor point, but you don't want to initially confuse the marker as tourism (modern day tourism specifically) is on another section of the syllabus. Unlikely, as Pompeii and Herculaneum is the core, so anyone marking that section should be very comfortable with the content, but you can never be too careful - make the markers job as easy as possible.

Susie

[Maraos]

Hey!

Technically yes, tourism does make sense, and the evidence you used is good - but I think there are better examples, and you would be better off sticking more closely to the syllabus, so look at trade, commerce, industry and occupation. Your answer is just too specific if you only focus on tourism. Though it is believed that tourism was a feature of the economy at that time, its a very small feature in comparison to the other four I mentioned (it would fall under an example for industry).

Another very minor point, but you don't want to initially confuse the marker as tourism (modern day tourism specifically) is on another section of the syllabus. Unlikely, as Pompeii and Herculaneum is the core, so anyone marking that section should be very comfortable with the content, but you can never be too careful - make the markers job as easy as possible.

Susie

Okay, better play it safe then. Thanks for the advice

[Maraos]

Hello... I'm back (Ancient study got me asking alot of questions  )

Just a quick question, this seems a bit picky but I was doing a past paper (Spartan society section) and it involved a question where you had to discuss the role of the Perioikoi. I used a quote from Herodotus where he was explaining how at the 'battle of the Platae' 34,500 Perioikoi were involved as Auxiliary troops. This was a great example to use for the Perioikoi's role in the military however i only just realised that the battle took place in 479BC and the syllabus says; "Spartan society to the battle of Leuctra 371BC".   

Maybe I'm thinking too hard about this  but will the markers care if i use an example that is more than 100 years after the time period of the syllabus??

[sudodds]

Hello... I'm back (Ancient study got me asking alot of questions  )

Just a quick question, this seems a bit picky but I was doing a past paper (Spartan society section) and it involved a question where you had to discuss the role of the Perioikoi. I used a quote from Herodotus where he was explaining how at the 'battle of the Platae' 34,500 Perioikoi were involved as Auxiliary troops. This was a great example to use for the Perioikoi's role in the military however i only just realised that the battle took place in 479BC and the syllabus says; "Spartan society to the battle of Leuctra 371BC".   

Maybe I'm thinking too hard about this  but will the markers care if i use an example that is more than 100 years after the time period of the syllabus??

Haha no worries! Loving all the questions, keep them coming!

479 BC is actually 100 years before the Battle of Leuctra, so that is an absolutely fantastic example to include within your response! Really easy mistake to make, just remember that when it comes to BC we count years backwards (a little bit like it was a negative number?). So 1BC is going to be a lot later than 400BC, etc, etc.

You are right to be concerned about including examples that are outside of the scope of the designated timeframe though! A little bit of detail might go unnoticed, but in general it is definitely something you want to avoid, because it means you aren't answering the question correctly.

[Maraos]

Haha no worries! Loving all the questions, keep them coming!

479 BC is actually 100 years before the Battle of Leuctra, so that is an absolutely fantastic example to include within your response! Really easy mistake to make, just remember that when it comes to BC we count years backwards (a little bit like it was a negative number?). So 1BC is going to be a lot later than 400BC, etc, etc.

You are right to be concerned about including examples that are outside of the scope of the designated timeframe though! A little bit of detail might go unnoticed, but in general it is definitely something you want to avoid, because it means you aren't answering the question correctly.

..... oh god....


How embarrassing.... Obviously................. hahahah sorry my brain is literally dead being staying up till 2 am everyday this week.


Thanks for the advice