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March 29, 2024, 08:31:00 pm

Author Topic: HSC Modern History Question Thread  (Read 347903 times)  Share 

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stavvo

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Re: HSC Modern History Question Thread
« Reply #1290 on: May 01, 2019, 07:25:28 pm »
0
Hi guys :)
I'm a massive history nerd (hence why I'm doing the subject) and I'm also very good at remembering the content (key dates, figures, etc.) but I really struggle with writing good essays. My teacher is pretty vague when giving back feedback, always saying things like 'use more historical terms and try not to recount as much', even though I don't really recount and I focus more on answering the question.

Does anyone have any useful tips as to how to write a band 6 worthy essay under pressure? Or even just in general? Literally any advice will help (I think).

Thank youuuuuuuu

owidjaja

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Re: HSC Modern History Question Thread
« Reply #1291 on: May 01, 2019, 08:04:09 pm »
+5
Hi guys :)
I'm a massive history nerd (hence why I'm doing the subject) and I'm also very good at remembering the content (key dates, figures, etc.) but I really struggle with writing good essays. My teacher is pretty vague when giving back feedback, always saying things like 'use more historical terms and try not to recount as much', even though I don't really recount and I focus more on answering the question.

Does anyone have any useful tips as to how to write a band 6 worthy essay under pressure? Or even just in general? Literally any advice will help (I think).

Thank youuuuuuuu
Hey there,

Welcome to the forums!

The best way to ace history essays is to make sure you answer the question and have a strong judgement! Make sure it's in the first sentence so the marker knows what you're arguing. It doesn't have to be the most complicated thesis. Say the question was "To what extent did propaganda, terror and repression impact German society in the 1930s", you could literally say "Propaganda, terror and repression _____ impacted German society in the 1930s" and the marker knows what you're gonna argue. Make sure each point you bring up is relevant to what you're arguing. So if you're mentioning a statistic, relate it back to what you're arguing. This ensures that you're not just retelling a story and shows that you're still making a judgement.

I'd also recommend making linking tables so this helps you organise all your information. When I made linking tables, it almost became an essay plan so I knew what points I would make if I had a question for that syllabus dot point. You can mine in the Notes section to see how to set it out (or use if you're doing Conflict in Europe :) ).

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

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avocadinq

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Re: HSC Modern History Question Thread
« Reply #1292 on: May 01, 2019, 08:25:51 pm »
+4
Hi guys :)
I'm a massive history nerd (hence why I'm doing the subject) and I'm also very good at remembering the content (key dates, figures, etc.) but I really struggle with writing good essays. My teacher is pretty vague when giving back feedback, always saying things like 'use more historical terms and try not to recount as much', even though I don't really recount and I focus more on answering the question.

Does anyone have any useful tips as to how to write a band 6 worthy essay under pressure? Or even just in general? Literally any advice will help (I think).

Thank youuuuuuuu

Just to add onto owidjaja's reply: before writing your essay, aim to understand your teacher's feedback and what you can do to improve in the future when writing essays, whether that is addressing the question and so forth. Conversely, if you don't understand your teacher's feedback, organise an appointment with them and ask for more clarification in a polite manner.

In my opinion, the key to a band 6 worthy essay is writing practice essays based on past hsc questions (or making up questions based on the syllabus) and the syllabus. Through this way, you are able to consolidate your knowledge of that particular syllabus point and receive lots of feedback from others (eg. teachers, other students, atarnotes) of what can be improved on. While remembering the content is good for modern history, it's more about how you apply your content to the particular question. With a strong and clear judgement throughout your essay with adequate evidence, the marker is then able to follow your essay and reward you with the marks.

I'd also recommend looking for exemplar band 6 modern essays based on your topic on atarnotes for two reasons: it's free and it helps you understand what it means to write a band 6 essay. To address your teacher's feedback of using more historical terms, looking through essays and using it as a guide for writing your next essay when analysing evidence while answering the question.


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emilyyyyyyy

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Re: HSC Modern History Question Thread
« Reply #1293 on: May 06, 2019, 08:55:13 pm »
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Hi all,

How should I go about structuring this essay for the question: Assess the importance of the British and French policies of appeasement, in the growth of European tensions.

I get that I've got to make a judgement based on examples and whatnot of how appeasement contributed to WWII, but I'm struggling in structuring it! And also, what are some examples of French appeasement?

Thanks :)

owidjaja

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Re: HSC Modern History Question Thread
« Reply #1294 on: May 06, 2019, 10:42:26 pm »
+2
Hi all,

How should I go about structuring this essay for the question: Assess the importance of the British and French policies of appeasement, in the growth of European tensions.

I get that I've got to make a judgement based on examples and whatnot of how appeasement contributed to WWII, but I'm struggling in structuring it! And also, what are some examples of French appeasement?

Thanks :)
Hey there,
It's a bit difficult to provide an example of French appeasement since France usually goes along with what Britain does (although they're a bit more wary of appeasement than Britain so they relied on the Maginot Line).

When I got a question on appeasement in Trials, the way I structured it was:
Paragraph 1: Increasing tension with dictatorial powers between Germany and Italy
Paragraph 2: Appeasement's impact on Stalin's decision to sign the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
Paragraph 3: Appeasement was ineffective in preventing the war (here was where I talked about Czechoslovakia)

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

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Re: HSC Modern History Question Thread
« Reply #1295 on: May 11, 2019, 01:38:19 pm »
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Hey everyone!
For Russia I need to do a generic plan that is based on the area of 'ideology'. Anyone know of the paragraph topics for this?
Hopefully I'm not just answering my own question, but I was thinking of:
P1) Early socialist and political reforms (i.e Land and Workers Decrees, self-determination of Russian occupied nations, censorship, Cheka etc)
P2) Treaty of Brest Litovsk
P3) Civil War
P4) NEP (and link that to War Communism)
P5) Might briefly touch on the Power Struggle

Can I please have any thoughts or adjustments to this structure?

Thanks!

fun_jirachi

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Re: HSC Modern History Question Thread
« Reply #1296 on: May 11, 2019, 05:29:08 pm »
+2
Hey everyone!
For Russia I need to do a generic plan that is based on the area of 'ideology'. Anyone know of the paragraph topics for this?
Hopefully I'm not just answering my own question, but I was thinking of:
P1) Early socialist and political reforms (i.e Land and Workers Decrees, self-determination of Russian occupied nations, censorship, Cheka etc)
P2) Treaty of Brest Litovsk
P3) Civil War
P4) NEP (and link that to War Communism)
P5) Might briefly touch on the Power Struggle

Can I please have any thoughts or adjustments to this structure?

Thanks!

Hey there!

That's a pretty damn good plan :)
Ideology was most prominent in the early formative stages of the Bolshevik regime, so you've got the most important bits. Obviously, some events are a load easier to write about (Early socialist and political reforms (directly opposing the Kerensky and Tsarist regimes), Civil War (the first test of these new implementations), NEP (a seemingly direct contradiction to Marxist theory)) and these are the ones I'd recommend focussing on in essays unless the question directly asks you about the other two ie. Assess the impact of the treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Having something for everything is a good idea, but probably limit yourself to three, or four at maximum ideas with you can just go on about with detail and argue about well, instead of 5 small paragraphs that you're just using for the sake of it.

Otherwise, nice plan :)
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emilyyyyyyy

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Re: HSC Modern History Question Thread
« Reply #1297 on: May 14, 2019, 08:50:13 pm »
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Hi all,

For this question: What was the impact of the air war on the course of the European conflict in the period 1939 to 1945? I'm going to write about the Battle of Britain, London Blitz and bombing of Germany, but I'm finding it difficult to be concise and add judgement.
Does anyone have advice (particularly on how to 'judge' the impact of air war)

Thanks!

avocadinq

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Re: HSC Modern History Question Thread
« Reply #1298 on: May 14, 2019, 09:50:55 pm »
+4
Hi all,

For this question: What was the impact of the air war on the course of the European conflict in the period 1939 to 1945? I'm going to write about the Battle of Britain, London Blitz and bombing of Germany, but I'm finding it difficult to be concise and add judgement.
Does anyone have advice (particularly on how to 'judge' the impact of air war)

Thanks!

Although, I didn't study your particular option - I'll give some more general tips in the hopes that it is helpful.

In terms of being more concise, try not to narrate events but instead give a super brief overview of what happened before linking your evidence to your overall judgement. Sometimes I get 2 different highlighter colours for evidence and explanation, and if there is more of one colour than the other in my paragraphs, I continue to edit and make it more concise that way.

As for incorporating judgement, introduce it in your very first sentences of not only your introduction but also your topic/linking sentences and conclusions. An example of this would be air war played a (insert adjective here) impact on European conflict in the period of 1939 and 1945, depending on your judgement - whether air war played a substantial or perhaps a limited role. There is no right or wrong answer in judging the impact so as long as you support your judgement with lots of evidence. Speaking of evidence, ensure that you link it to either your judgement or a reason that supports your judgement. A good idea is to hand in essays to your teachers to get more feedback of your overall essay writing skills and being more concise in general.
« Last Edit: May 14, 2019, 09:54:52 pm by avocadinq »
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owidjaja

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Re: HSC Modern History Question Thread
« Reply #1299 on: May 14, 2019, 10:07:17 pm »
+4
Hi all,

For this question: What was the impact of the air war on the course of the European conflict in the period 1939 to 1945? I'm going to write about the Battle of Britain, London Blitz and bombing of Germany, but I'm finding it difficult to be concise and add judgement.
Does anyone have advice (particularly on how to 'judge' the impact of air war)

Thanks!
Hey there,

To add on what avocadinq said, look at how the event impacts both short term and long term. I'd like to use statistics to talk about how the air war impacted the war on a short term and then at the end of the paragraph talk about how it impacted the war overall. For example:

Short term: The RAF was able to fight over home territory so they had time to refuel and stay in the air longer --> since the RAF had access to more resources --> Britain's victory prevented Hitler from launching Operation Sea Lion

Long term: Hitler's defeat was a turning point in the war because stopped Britain from being invaded and forced Hitler to move his resources to the east (open the Eastern Front).

When it comes to the Blitz and the bombing of Germany, I would talk about how it impacted morale since both countries had different reactions to the bombings. It can get a bit overwhelming with the amount of statistics you find, but the best way to prevent yourself from just regurgitating statistics is to add an assessment after that piece of statistic. If you find yourself repeating "this reinforces how the air war played a significant role in WW2" then it's a sign that you're not really adding much to the argument.

Just an extra pro tip, if you have time to add another paragraph, you could definitely talk about the role of the air war on the Eastern Front/North African campaign ;)

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

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Gavan_Ja

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Re: HSC Modern History Question Thread
« Reply #1300 on: May 29, 2019, 10:10:38 am »
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Hey everyone,

For my Conflict in Europe exam, I need to prepare two essay plans for the following questions:

Assess the social and economic impacts of the war on civilians in Britain, Germany and the Soviet Union
OR
Evaluate the view that the battle of Stalingrad was the most significant turning point in the course of the European war.

Does anyone have a structure in answering these two questions?

Cheers :)

owidjaja

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Re: HSC Modern History Question Thread
« Reply #1301 on: May 29, 2019, 08:13:07 pm »
+2
Hey everyone,

For my Conflict in Europe exam, I need to prepare two essay plans for the following questions:

Assess the social and economic impacts of the war on civilians in Britain, Germany and the Soviet Union
OR
Evaluate the view that the battle of Stalingrad was the most significant turning point in the course of the European war.

Does anyone have a structure in answering these two questions?

Cheers :)
Hey there,

I did the first question in the HSC last year and the way I structured my essay was:
Paragraph 1: Social impacts on Britain
Paragraph 2: Economic impacts on Britain
Paragraph 3: Social impacts on Soviet Union
Paragraph 4: Economic impacts on Soviet Union

(Are you sure that it's Britain, Germany and the Soviet Union? I thought that syllabus dot point said Britain and you had to pick either Germany or the Soviet Union, so my school did the Soviet Union)

As for the second question, I would personally partially agree to that because the Battle of Stalingrad inflicted severe losses on the Wehrmacht and prevented the Germans from accessing Russia's raw resources in the Caucuses, and also enabled Russian victory in the Battle of Kursk, but I wouldn't say the Battle of Stalingrad was the most significant. I'd say the Battle of El Alamein was also a significant turning point because it forced Germany to divide their resources and enabled the Allies to launch Operation Husky after their victory. And so my structure would be:

Paragraph 1: Short term impacts of Battle of Stalingrad on the war (i.e. prevented the Germans from accessing resources, severe losses on the Wehrmacht --> prevented Germany from further progressing into Russia)
Paragraph 2: The Battle of Stalingrad helped with the victory at the Battle of Kursk (i.e. Russia was able to sustain large losses because of high population density/US Lend Lease Scheme --> further placing Germany in a defensive spot)
Paragraph 3: Battle of El Alamein was also a significant turning point because the Allies were able to launch Operation Husky and attack the 'soft underbelly of Europe' after their victory in El Alamein (i.e. El Alamein forced Germany to split their resources but were encircled after the US launched Operation Torch)

Again, this is my personal opinion. You might have a different opinion. If you want to do a partial judgement or maybe even disagree with the question, check with your teacher if they'll allow it. (Pretty sure markers don't like it if you disagree with the question but the question did say 'evaluate').

Hope this helps!
« Last Edit: May 29, 2019, 08:15:07 pm by owidjaja »
2018 HSC: English Advanced | Mathematics | Physics | Modern History | History Extension | Society and Culture | Studies of Religion I

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Gavan_Ja

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Re: HSC Modern History Question Thread
« Reply #1302 on: May 30, 2019, 09:07:22 am »
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Hey there,

I did the first question in the HSC last year and the way I structured my essay was:
Paragraph 1: Social impacts on Britain
Paragraph 2: Economic impacts on Britain
Paragraph 3: Social impacts on Soviet Union
Paragraph 4: Economic impacts on Soviet Union

(Are you sure that it's Britain, Germany and the Soviet Union? I thought that syllabus dot point said Britain and you had to pick either Germany or the Soviet Union, so my school did the Soviet Union)

As for the second question, I would personally partially agree to that because the Battle of Stalingrad inflicted severe losses on the Wehrmacht and prevented the Germans from accessing Russia's raw resources in the Caucuses, and also enabled Russian victory in the Battle of Kursk, but I wouldn't say the Battle of Stalingrad was the most significant. I'd say the Battle of El Alamein was also a significant turning point because it forced Germany to divide their resources and enabled the Allies to launch Operation Husky after their victory. And so my structure would be:

Paragraph 1: Short term impacts of Battle of Stalingrad on the war (i.e. prevented the Germans from accessing resources, severe losses on the Wehrmacht --> prevented Germany from further progressing into Russia)
Paragraph 2: The Battle of Stalingrad helped with the victory at the Battle of Kursk (i.e. Russia was able to sustain large losses because of high population density/US Lend Lease Scheme --> further placing Germany in a defensive spot)
Paragraph 3: Battle of El Alamein was also a significant turning point because the Allies were able to launch Operation Husky and attack the 'soft underbelly of Europe' after their victory in El Alamein (i.e. El Alamein forced Germany to split their resources but were encircled after the US launched Operation Torch)

Again, this is my personal opinion. You might have a different opinion. If you want to do a partial judgement or maybe even disagree with the question, check with your teacher if they'll allow it. (Pretty sure markers don't like it if you disagree with the question but the question did say 'evaluate').

Hope this helps!

Thanks so much for this! So basically with your question regarding Soviet Union, Germany and Britain the syllabus point has changed so that there is no option for what you decide to talk about so you have to do Britain, Soviet Union AND Britain. In that case would I just do a paragraph on Germany as well as Britan and USSR?

Cheers

owidjaja

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Re: HSC Modern History Question Thread
« Reply #1303 on: May 30, 2019, 01:52:58 pm »
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Thanks so much for this! So basically with your question regarding Soviet Union, Germany and Britain the syllabus point has changed so that there is no option for what you decide to talk about so you have to do Britain, Soviet Union AND Britain. In that case would I just do a paragraph on Germany as well as Britain and USSR?

Cheers
Hey there,

Thanks for the clarification! I'd probably combine social and economic in one paragraph and do one paragraph per country. I just think 6 body paragraphs would be way to much.

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

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Re: HSC Modern History Question Thread
« Reply #1304 on: June 06, 2019, 10:13:02 am »
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Hey there,

Thanks for the clarification! I'd probably combine social and economic in one paragraph and do one paragraph per country. I just think 6 body paragraphs would be way to much.

Hope this helps!

All good! Do you happen to know of any key things to include in my USSR paragraph?

Thanks for your help!