Greetings, fellow AN’ers. Congratulations on finding this post tucked away in the socially isolated VCE Ancient History board, the place where only true intellectuals dare to visit.
I completed VCE last year, and Ancient History was by far my favourite (and most demanding) subject – however I was annoyed at the utter lack of VCE-specific resources. Hence I’ve decided to have a go at writing a guide.
If anyone is after notes, practice SACs, and trial exams, just shoot me a PM. A collection of practice prompts for essays and source analysis can be found
here.
Please note that this guide is written according to the 2016 – 2020 Study Design. So, without further ado, let us dive right in to the wonderful world of ancient history.
.
A BRIEF OVERVIEWI think I’d better start off with a brief intro of what VCE Ancient History 3/4 is actually like, as it’s such a new subject and not many people know what to expect.
History, like most VCE subjects, is split into
four areas of study. Different schools do SACs differently, however most will have one SAC per AOS – two SACs per civilisation.
Outcomes 1 and 3 are called
Living in an Ancient Society. These outcomes focus on the
social, political, and economic features of your selected civilisations, including:
- How the civilisation was formed
- Interactions with neighbouring cities
- The political and legal system
- Conflicts between social classes
- How its economy was maintained.
.Outcomes 2 and 4 are called
People in Power, Societies in Crisis. In these outcomes you learn about
how the civilisation responds to conflict, including:
- Causes of the conflict
- How the conflict developed
- Outcomes and the aftermath of such conflict
- Three influential key figures
HOW TO APPROACH SECTION A – SOURCE ANALYSISIn source analysis questions, you are given 1-3 source(s) and are expected to use them, as well as your own knowledge, to answer three questions.
a) questions are 4-5 marks each, and would only require you to use
one of the sources given. You will most likely be asked to
outline or
identify, and do NOT need to use any external knowledge. (Basically, treat this as a reading comprehension question).
An example of an a) question could be:
a) Using source one, outline how Rome developed their navy during the First Punic War.
In this case, you would only use source one, even if other sources given can also be used. Start with a strong opening sentence that outlines your points, then expand. Make sure to always use the source as evidence to back up your points, however do NOT let the source write the answer for you. ~80% of your response must be in your own words.
b) questions are worth 5-6 marks, and require you to use
one or more sources and your own knowledge. You’ll likely be asked to
explain or
analyse. Here is an example:
b) Referring to the sources and your own knowledge, explain the significance of the Battle of Zama in Rome’s wars with Carthage.
This question states ‘source
s” – therefore you have to use ALL sources provided in order to gain full marks. . If the question had stated ‘Referring to source 1 and 3…’ then stay the hell away from source two. You will also be required to bring in some
external knowledge not provided by the sources. The same point from part a) still applies – make sure the source isn’t writing the answer for you. They’re just there to back up your points.
c) questions are similar to mini-essays, and are worth 10 marks. You are not required to use the sources
(with ONE exception, which I’ll soon explain) – Instead all of it must be your own knowledge. Instruction words are the same as what you’d expect from essays, such as
evaluate. An example would be:
c) Evaluate the extent to which Rome’s wars of expansion changed the social and political climates during the period 264 to 146 BCE.
First, note that there is a time period given in the question. This means that whatever evidence you use MUST be from this time period, even if the entire outcome may be beyond it. Next, see how the question explicitly asks for ‘social and political’ features. This means that you must focus on the social and political changes in your response. You can still mention economic aspects, but be brief and try to link it back to either ‘social’ or ‘political’ areas.
So what’s the one circumstance where you have to use the sources in a c) question? Say that you were given three sources, however in a) and b) you only used two of them. Then in the c) question you have to bring in whatever source you didn’t use.
HOW TO APPROACH SECTION B – ESSAYSIf you do other humanities subjects, then you’ll find that the essays tend to be quite similar in terms of structure. Yes – TEEL structure
tragically applies. You generally follow the traditional structure of ‘Introduction, 3 body paragraphs, conclusion’, though I have written essays with 2 long body paragraphs or 4 short ones and did not get penalised. Now let’s dissect an essay topic:
To what extent was Alcibiades responsible for the renewal of the Peloponnesian War in 413?
INTRODUCTIONThere are many ways to start your intro. Generally, I stuck to one of two ways:
.Contention: The DIRECT method
Alcibiades was, to a minor extent, responsible for the renewal of the Peloponnesian War. While his actions had short-term significance, they could not have ensured the outbreak of conflict without deeper underlying factors.
Contention: The NON-DIRECT method
The renewal of the Peloponnesian War in 413 BCE was caused by a multitude of factors. The actions and decisions of Athenian statesman Alcibiades, while significant in the short term, could not have ensured the outbreak of conflict without deeper underlying factors.
After you’ve stated your contention, introduce your points. In this case, I would talk about what other factors also caused the outbreak of conflict.
Note - if the question asks for ‘what extent’, you are ACTUALLY REQUIRED to state the extent to which you agree / disagree with the statement (*gasp* how shocking). If you sit on the fence, then write ‘to a moderate extent’.
BODY PARAGRAPHSNow, the question obviously focuses on the key figure of Alcibiades (i.e. the sexiest man in history), so your essay must have a central focus on Alcibiades as well. According to examiners’ reports, this would mean at least
two out of three body paragraphs must be on the topic, or you could be penalised.
Here, I’ve put myself in a sticky situation by saying that I disagree with the topic – I still have to talk about Alcibiades for two paragraphs. In this case, I would focus my first two paragraphs on Alcibiades and the short-term consequences of his actions.
.For example, this could be a sample topic sentence:
Alcibiades’s direct involvement in the Sicilian Expedition of 416 to 413 ignited the tensions between Athens and Sparta and undermined the conditions of the Peace of Nicias (421).
My last body paragraph would be used to bring in the point in my contention on the other underlying factors that re-ignited the war.
.Sample topic sentence
Despite this, the Peace of Nicias was ‘doomed to fail’ (Kagan) from the beginning due to its inability to quiet both sides of the conflict pushing for a decisive victory and its failure to restore the territorial status quo.
Having a short, direct quote in your topic sentence can make your point seem stronger, just don’t overdo this.
Try to use signposting words to separate out your points if you have multiple points in one paragraph. Words like ‘furthermore’, ‘additionally’, and ‘moreover’ can leave a great impression.
CONCLUSIONYou don’t generally need a long conclusion – just a few short sentences that brings together your points and drives home your contention. You can definitely put quotes in your conclusion, and you can even end on them if they are strong enough.
HOW TO APPROACH THE EXAMJust a general overview of the exam – it’s 2 hours long with a 15 minute reading time. There are two source analysis questions (one for each civilisation) and two essays (one for each civilisation). For essays you pick one prompt from a choice of two. You do not get a choice for source analysis.
The most important aspect of the exam is time allocations. It’s generally recommended to spend no more than half an hour on each section. However, I’d suggest spending no more than 27 minutes. It’s best to leave some time to check over your responses at the end, also if you do end up going over on one of the sections, you’ll still finish on time.
SOME GENERAL EXAM TIPS- Write with a black, ballpoint pen. This shows up the clearest when photocopied. Think about it – your assessors are probably elders in their 60s with thick spectacles reading your essays at 2am, running on nothing but 4 cups of coffee. You’d want to make life just a tad bit easier for them, then maybe they’d go easier on you when marking.
- Do NOT annotate. You won’t have time. Unless you're confident that it works for you, just use reading time to mentally annotate and plan.
- Use reading time wisely. Seriously – history has the most demanding workload during reading time. It’s likely that you’ve never seen the sources before, so
read the whole thing! Also, it’s best to make a decision on what prompts to write on for your essays in reading time.
GENERAL TIPSDon’t treat History as a bludge. It’s extraordinarily content heavy and will require a lot of effort and hard work to see good results. While the content is fun to learn, do not go into this subject with the mindset of ‘this will be a subject for me to chill and relax’, because it’s not. Be prepared to do a lot of work for this subject. History was by far my most demanding subject in VCE. It’s not a subject to be taken lightly of.
Read independently and actively. There’s quite a lot of reading involved with Ancient History. While you can rely on the teacher to teach you the content, be warned that this isn’t enough. I found it useful to just carry a history book with me everywhere (nerdy, I know), and just take it out and read a couple of pages when I’m waiting for the bus or something.
Go beyond the study design. The Study Design is a useful tool and it’s always important to keep in mind what you really need to know for the exam as you study. With that said, I’d encourage you to go beyond. It offers you a deeper understanding of the content, including the social, political, and economic features of the time period, and an occasional reference to something outside the SD can give the examiner a better impression. Example – the Catiline Conspiracy is not on the SD, but still go over it in your own time as it offers some valuable insights into the political career of Caesar and Cicero.
Rote-learn quotes and key details.Here’s the slightly *boring* part of history – rote learning. Yes – it’s dull, but it’s needed to achieve high marks. One comment that appears each year in examiners’ reports is that students are not able to write about the most basic details, such as when an event happened, who were involved, etc. Memorising some key details can set you apart from the rest of the cohort!
.example
Average response – ‘In his early years, Pompey was granted many significant titles by his commander, despite the fact that he did not meet the requirements.’
High-scoring response – ‘In 83 BCE, at the age of only 23, Pompey was granted the title of propraetorian imperium by his commander Sulla, despite the fact that he was seven years below the prerequisite age and had not held any qualifying offices beforehand’.
Best of luck for VCE! If you have any questions regarding history, feel free to make your own thread in the Ancient History board. Alternatively, just shoot me a PM!
Cannot guarantee an instant reply but I’ll do my best.
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