Login

Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

March 29, 2024, 09:40:10 am

Author Topic: HSC Modern History Question Thread  (Read 347859 times)  Share 

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

owidjaja

  • National Moderator
  • Part of the furniture
  • *****
  • Posts: 1315
  • Bibliophile. Stationery addict.
  • Respect: +1010
Re: HSC Modern History Question Thread
« Reply #1305 on: June 06, 2019, 04:13:20 pm »
+3
All good! Do you happen to know of any key things to include in my USSR paragraph?

Thanks for your help!
Hey there,

These were some of the key points I remember writing in the exam:

Economic:
- Mass migration eastwards (beyond Ural mountains) to move industrial areas away from German bombers
- Factories were stripped down and rebuilt in the east
- Somewhere around 1500 enterprises were moved (check with other sources to make sure I quoted the right statistic!)
- US Lend Lease Scheme also helped USSR

Social:
- Slavs were viewed as untermenschen + USSR has a lot of Jews + communist = the Nazis biggest targets
- 20 million Russians died during the war
- Babi Yar refers to the Kiev massacres, carried out by einsatzgruppen (SS groups that trailed after German forces with the sole purpose of eliminating 'undesirables')
- Some Ukrainians swore an oath of loyalty to Hitler because they hated Stalin but since they were viewed as untermenschen, they were eliminated
- USSR also used scorched earth policy when retreating
- Therefore German barbarity + USSR scorched earth policy = devastating impacts on civilians

With social, you could also talk about propaganda here (i.e. the idea of fighting not for Stalin but for "Mother Russia"). Just make sure to flesh out these key points with some detail (like a statistic or a historian).

Hope this helps!
2018 HSC: English Advanced | Mathematics | Physics | Modern History | History Extension | Society and Culture | Studies of Religion I

ATAR: 93.60

2019: Aerospace Engineering (Hons)  @ UNSW

Gavan_Ja

  • Adventurer
  • *
  • Posts: 18
  • Respect: 0
Re: HSC Modern History Question Thread
« Reply #1306 on: June 18, 2019, 11:29:30 am »
0
Hey everyone,

My teacher wants me to answer the following question for a practice Conflict in Europe essay:

To what extent did the aims and strategies of the Allied powers contribute to their victory in 1945?

Anyone got any ideas for a possible structure?

Thanks a lot! ;)

owidjaja

  • National Moderator
  • Part of the furniture
  • *****
  • Posts: 1315
  • Bibliophile. Stationery addict.
  • Respect: +1010
Re: HSC Modern History Question Thread
« Reply #1307 on: June 18, 2019, 05:43:49 pm »
+2
Hey everyone,

My teacher wants me to answer the following question for a practice Conflict in Europe essay:

To what extent did the aims and strategies of the Allied powers contribute to their victory in 1945?

Anyone got any ideas for a possible structure?

Thanks a lot! ;)
Hey there,

Here I'd definitely talk about the air war- it's probably gonna be the biggest paragraph since you could talk about the Battle of Britain to even Allied use of airplanes in the Eastern Front/North African campaign. You could also talk about Montgomery's strategies in attacking the Devil's Garden (i.e. using feints/diversions to confuse reconnaissance, creating fake fronts, attacking the flanks). Under the North African campaign, you could also talk about how successful these strategies were since it allowed them to launch Operation Husky. Operation Overlord would also be a good one to include in your essay since you could talk about naval/aerial bombardments (which could link with the air war paragraph) and use of paratroopers (and fake ones as well), and you emphasise the success of D-Day because it allowed the Allies to open another front.

Hope this helps!
2018 HSC: English Advanced | Mathematics | Physics | Modern History | History Extension | Society and Culture | Studies of Religion I

ATAR: 93.60

2019: Aerospace Engineering (Hons)  @ UNSW

Gavan_Ja

  • Adventurer
  • *
  • Posts: 18
  • Respect: 0
Re: HSC Modern History Question Thread
« Reply #1308 on: June 24, 2019, 02:18:32 pm »
0
Hey there,

Anyone know of a good judgement and structure to make in relation to the following question:

"To what extent did the aims and strategies of the Allied powers contribute to their victory in 1945?"

My teacher didn't really explain it that well so I was just wanted someone's thoughts!

Cheers

avocadinq

  • MOTM: FEB 19
  • Forum Regular
  • **
  • Posts: 92
  • Respect: +44
Re: HSC Modern History Question Thread
« Reply #1309 on: July 26, 2019, 06:22:08 pm »
0
Hello there!

Just wondering, is it necessary to include historians in your option essays (national studies, conflict and peace etc) for trials? Thanks in advance.
HSC 2019 | chemistry, english advanced, mathematics, mathematics ext 1, modern history and legal studies
For more study inspiration, check out my studygram! @quadrtics

owidjaja

  • National Moderator
  • Part of the furniture
  • *****
  • Posts: 1315
  • Bibliophile. Stationery addict.
  • Respect: +1010
Re: HSC Modern History Question Thread
« Reply #1310 on: July 26, 2019, 07:23:15 pm »
0
Hello there!

Just wondering, is it necessary to include historians in your option essays (national studies, conflict and peace etc) for trials? Thanks in advance.
Hey there,

You definitely don't need historians in your essays! If you do want to include one, it's better to paraphrase than quote because anyone can regurgitate a quote.

Hope this helps!
2018 HSC: English Advanced | Mathematics | Physics | Modern History | History Extension | Society and Culture | Studies of Religion I

ATAR: 93.60

2019: Aerospace Engineering (Hons)  @ UNSW

burningcandle

  • Fresh Poster
  • *
  • Posts: 2
  • Respect: 0
Re: HSC Modern History Question Thread
« Reply #1311 on: August 11, 2019, 12:05:32 pm »
0
May be a silly question,
Where do essay questions come from on the syllabus? The key features? I'm trying to prepare for trials and i'm not sure which points i should write practice essays for, so, maybe a better question is what is the best way to prepare for the essay sections (Russia & Indochina).
Thank you to anyone who replies, much appreciated.

owidjaja

  • National Moderator
  • Part of the furniture
  • *****
  • Posts: 1315
  • Bibliophile. Stationery addict.
  • Respect: +1010
Re: HSC Modern History Question Thread
« Reply #1312 on: August 11, 2019, 01:06:30 pm »
+3
May be a silly question,
Where do essay questions come from on the syllabus? The key features? I'm trying to prepare for trials and i'm not sure which points i should write practice essays for, so, maybe a better question is what is the best way to prepare for the essay sections (Russia & Indochina).
Thank you to anyone who replies, much appreciated.
Hey there,

Essay questions can come from either the key features or from the syllabus dot points itself. For example, when I did Conflict in Europe, I could get a question from the key features (e.g. Assess the effectiveness of Allied aims and strategies) and then I would structure my essay using the syllabus dot points. Or, I could get a question directly from the dot points (e.g. Assess the significance of the Russian campaign) and then the structure of my essay would be more on the significant battles on the Eastern Front. The main difference between the two essays is the amount of depth I'd go into in each paragraph.

Of course, there's a lot to prepare for so I usually make linking and detail tables. With linking tables, I'd have the syllabus dot points in the first column and in the first row, I'd select 3 key features that I think best suits the syllabus dot point. Going back to my Conflict in Europe example, if I was looking at the course of the European war and the syllabus dot point was the air war and its effects, one key feature that goes with this dot point is aims and strategies of Allied and Axis powers, and then I'd add in relevant detail to the table. This was very useful because I was able to have all the relevant information in one place, and it was also like an essay plan for each dot point/key feature.

With detail tables, this is if you're struggling to remember dates, statistics and quotes. The structure of the table is similar, in the sense that it's divided by syllabus dot points, but instead of having key features in the first row, it would be for details (i.e. dates, statistics, any important terminology) and quotes (i.e. quotes from primary/secondary sources).

If you'd like a few examples of detail/linking tables, I'd recommend the Notes section, especially Susie's tables since she also did Russia but I also linked mine in case you'd like an example on how to set it up. (1 2 3)

Hope this helps!
2018 HSC: English Advanced | Mathematics | Physics | Modern History | History Extension | Society and Culture | Studies of Religion I

ATAR: 93.60

2019: Aerospace Engineering (Hons)  @ UNSW

Muir.mclennan

  • Adventurer
  • *
  • Posts: 9
  • Respect: 0
Re: HSC Modern History Question Thread
« Reply #1313 on: October 11, 2019, 06:19:22 pm »
0
Hey, so I just had a question regarding "To what extent" or "Assess" style questions. Is it more sophisticated to find a thread of events/factors related to the question which emphasize the importance of whatever the question is asking, or to offer historical debate by explaining that other events/factors were important?

For example, "Assess the role of ideology in the Power Struggle and Stalin's rise to power following the death of Lenin in 1924."

Would it work better to find links between ideology and for example: political tactics, role of personality and changes in society

OR

Make a judgement that ideology wasn't the only factor in the power struggle as, for example: the role of Trotsky and political tactics had a separate and equally significant impact

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks a lot

angelina.osis

  • Adventurer
  • *
  • Posts: 8
  • ange
  • Respect: 0
Re: HSC Modern History Question Thread
« Reply #1314 on: January 16, 2020, 03:14:24 pm »
0
For the Power and Authority unit, I haven't received feedback on my essay on the point: - an overview of the features of dictatorships that emerged in Russia, Italy, Japan. Could I receive feedback?

papa kwan

  • Adventurer
  • *
  • Posts: 10
  • Respect: 0
Re: HSC Modern History Question Thread
« Reply #1315 on: February 10, 2020, 11:57:16 am »
0
Hey, so I just had a question regarding "To what extent" or "Assess" style questions. Is it more sophisticated to find a thread of events/factors related to the question which emphasize the importance of whatever the question is asking, or to offer historical debate by explaining that other events/factors were important?

For example, "Assess the role of ideology in the Power Struggle and Stalin's rise to power following the death of Lenin in 1924."

Would it work better to find links between ideology and for example: political tactics, role of personality and changes in society

OR

Make a judgement that ideology wasn't the only factor in the power struggle as, for example: the role of Trotsky and political tactics had a separate and equally significant impact

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks a lot

Hey there,
I did my HSC last year and got 94 in modern, so I'm gonna try to answer your question. (That said this is my first time replying to someone else's post so apologies in advance if the formatting and stuff looks weird, and you might want to check with your teacher or a moderator). Anyway, back to your question. Long story short, it depends on the directive verb. If it's assess, then you only talk about what's in the question. If it's to what extent, then you can bring in other stuff and go therefore, to a significant extent, ideology was significant in Stalin's rise...., however other factors such as political tactics similarly made notable contributions to his succession of Lenin (you could break that down into 2 sentences if you wanted).


papa kwan

  • Adventurer
  • *
  • Posts: 10
  • Respect: 0
Re: HSC Modern History Question Thread
« Reply #1316 on: February 10, 2020, 12:17:11 pm »
+1
For the Power and Authority unit, I haven't received feedback on my essay on the point: - an overview of the features of dictatorships that emerged in Russia, Italy, Japan. Could I receive feedback?

Hey there,
So I've had a quick read of the intro and Body 1 so here are a couple of things:
1) Topic sentence is a little confusing. I had to read it 3x before I got what you were trying to say. A HSC marker is highly unlikely to read something more than once, so make sure you're clear in what you're saying
2) Paraphrase sources where possible. Anyone can chuck out a quote from the source, but paraphrasing shows you genuinely understand the source.
3) Characterise/briefly introduce the control group and imperial way. Just call them army factions or something
4) Concluding sentence of Body 1 needs to be adjusted. "These dictatorships would maintain the interpretation of their ideologies"- this doesn't sum anything up (as a concluding sentence should) "through control" (this is the idea of Body 2, so don't mention it in Body 1). The main idea of Body 1 is that they had radical ideologies, so you could just do something like "Therefore, the dictatorships in Japan, Italy and Russia were founded upon the ideologies of radical reform, facism and communism respectively". Also, the "radical ideology" of Japan is underexplored, especially under the control group. "the control group desired to improve existing structures". You need specific detail there. A policy, movement, anything. Besides, improving existing structures is hardly radical, which defeats the purpose of your argument given the control group was the one that took power. Better examples of radical ideology in Japan would be: autarky, militarism, nationalism, hatred of the West etc
5) Tojo was a general, not an emperor.


alexbrett

  • Fresh Poster
  • *
  • Posts: 1
  • Respect: 0
Re: HSC Modern History Question Thread
« Reply #1317 on: March 09, 2020, 09:06:58 pm »
0
Hi everyone!

I have a modern essay to complete in less than 2 weeks and I was wondering what to focus on with this essay question:

Did ideology limit or support the effectiveness of Soviet foreign policy between 1917 and 1941?

ANYTHING WILL HELP ME PLSSS

LoneWolf

  • MOTM: March 20
  • Trendsetter
  • **
  • Posts: 174
  • 2020!
  • Respect: +8
Re: HSC Modern History Question Thread
« Reply #1318 on: April 16, 2020, 11:22:35 am »
0
STRESSING about trials
Can some kind saint offer some feedback on my intro?

Analyse the conditions which allowed dictators to rise to power in the interwar period.

the interwar period was a complex time when many factors coalesced and contributed to the interwar period. There was no single cause for the dictatorships which arose, rather, any factors contributed to this. The economic conditions, both in existence and developing, contributed to the emergence of dictatorial powers as some 'would be' dictatorships seized the opportunity to exert their leadership. Flowing on form this is the undeniable importance of personalities. This is evident as , men who offered simple solutions to complex problems were successfully ably to tempt the masses to follow their lead. The effect of the WW1, had placed an indelible mark upon Europe, plunging it into what Mark Mazower called the 'dark continent' as the glory of war was expressed while violence and nationalist fervor had become commonplace All these factors coalesced and played inextricable roles in enabling the rise of dictatorships.

Please rip it to shreds, its horrid!
Business Studies
Economics
Modern History
English
Maths

Justin_L

  • MOTM: July 20
  • Moderator
  • Trendsetter
  • *****
  • Posts: 190
  • Respect: +235
Re: HSC Modern History Question Thread
« Reply #1319 on: May 08, 2020, 11:07:56 pm »
+4
STRESSING about trials
Can some kind saint offer some feedback on my intro?

Analyse the conditions which allowed dictators to rise to power in the interwar period.

the interwar period was a complex time when many factors coalesced and contributed to the interwar period. There was no single cause for the dictatorships which arose, rather, any factors contributed to this. The economic conditions, both in existence and developing, contributed to the emergence of dictatorial powers as some 'would be' dictatorships seized the opportunity to exert their leadership. Flowing on form this is the undeniable importance of personalities. This is evident as , men who offered simple solutions to complex problems were successfully ably to tempt the masses to follow their lead. The effect of the WW1, had placed an indelible mark upon Europe, plunging it into what Mark Mazower called the 'dark continent' as the glory of war was expressed while violence and nationalist fervor had become commonplace All these factors coalesced and played inextricable roles in enabling the rise of dictatorships.

Please rip it to shreds, its horrid!

Hey LoneWolf,

Hope I can give some useful advice despite the time since posting. I'm going to assume this is the Core Study, and break it down according.

First off, your thesis doesn't flow particularly well. "The interwar period was a complex time... which contributed to the interwar period" This sounds confusing and doesn't answer the question. I know this wasn't what you were trying to say, but repeating "interwar period" makes the argument sound quite circular.

"when many factors coalesced and contributed" What factors? Be specific, your thesis is what will shape your argument. The fact that you can't name specific factors says to me that you don't actually understand what you're talking about. An alternative thesis could be something like "The interwar period was a complex time, in which factors a and b collected and coalesced, resulting in the rise of dictators such as x and y"

"The economic conditions, both in existence and developing, contributed to the emergence of dictatorial powers as some 'would be' dictatorships seized the opportunity to exert their leadership."  Don't narrate, just introduce it. State your argument, eg. "Key factors such as poor economic conditions, cult of personality, nationalism and use of force were vital in the rise of dicatorships".

Your main issue is that your paragraph is analysis, not introduction. The role on the introduction is to introduce what you'll be talking about. There should be no historian quotes or flow on arguments, it should be a short, snappy taste of what your essay will be about.

Hope this helps! Feel free ask for more feedback by posting below or you can PM me anytime to chat about anything history.
Да здравствует революция государственного модератора