Modern History 2019 HSC exam pack

Section I

Students should:

• understand the key words of the question
• integrate relevant historical terminology into responses
• use the reading time effectively to plan their responses
• ensure they answer the question rather than giving a pre-prepared response
• use sources explicitly
• integrate sources into an argument.

Sections II–IV

Students should:

• have a clear understanding of key words in the question and recognise their different requirements, such as, ‘evaluate’, ‘assess’ and ‘explain’
• read the question carefully to ensure that they do not miss important components of the question
• use a plan to guide their response
• sustain their judgements throughout their responses rather than adding a sentence with a judgement at the end of each paragraph
• use relevant terminology to support their judgement throughout their response
• be explicit in integrating sources where appropriate
• engage with the question rather than presenting a pre-prepared response
• review syllabus content to ensure that the response is accurate and addresses syllabus requirements
• provide well-organised, cohesive and sustained information throughout the response.

Questions 1–2

In better responses, students were able to:

• accurately describe three common features of dictatorships
• provide a clear link between the visual source and Nazi ideology
• provide a clear example of Nazi ideology not derived from the source.

Areas for students to improve include:

• describing instead of listing the common features of dictatorships
• ensuring there is a link between student knowledge and the source provided
• using specific details about Nazi ideology and not using generalisations about women.

Question 3

In better responses, students were able to:

• make a clear judgement about the value of sources in relation to the question, such as ‘the source provides insight into the influence and ideas people were subjected to in that context and time’
• contrast the two sources, such as ‘one source is an example of propaganda used by the Nazis while the other is an example of a secondary source showing academic research and having the benefit of hindsight’.

Areas for students to improve include:

• explaining what makes sources valuable to a historian
• identifying how sources differ.

Question 4

In better responses, students were able to:

• integrate the source explicitly with their own relevant knowledge
• provide a range of their own reasons to support their judgement.

Areas for students to improve include:

• ensuring their knowledge is relevant to the question
• relying not only on the sources provided for their response.

In better responses, students were able to:

• integrate the key concepts and issues raised by the question into their response
• support their response with extensive, accurate and relevant historical knowledge
• develop and maintain a cohesive response throughout and reflect their interpretation of the question
• limit their responses to the specified time period and select the most relevant information pertaining to the question.

Areas for students to improve include:

• building a sustained argument rather than giving narrative and descriptive responses
• attempting to integrate their own interpretation of the question rather than simply restating the question at the end of each paragraph
• providing explicit and relevant historical detail to support their argument
• recognising that the syllabus does not require use of historians’ views and not attempting to mask their lack of understanding by making references to investigation rather than focusing on the question
• covering the whole time period given in the question
• having a better understanding of the syllabus for each aspect of the national study to avoid including irrelevant material in relation to the question.

Question 13 – Conflict in Indochina 1954–1979

In better responses, students were able to:

• make a clear and definitive judgement as to the significance of anti-war movements (a)
• detail how anti-war movements contributed to the United States’ withdrawal (a)
• use a sophisticated and sustained argument to make strong links between the anti-war movements and the United States’ withdrawal (a)
• use evidence to explicitly support the argument (a and b)
• demonstrate extensive historical knowledge on the impact of the war on civilians in Cambodia and Laos (b)
• link the conflict with the effect on civilians in both countries (b).

Areas for students to improve include:

• ensuring they address the anti-war movements if they are to argue other reasons for the United States’ withdrawal (a)​
• addressing the effects of war on Laotian civilians specifically rather than generalising and amalgamating effects into the experiences of Cambodian civilians (b)
• avoiding giving a narrative about the nature of anti-war movements and about historical events in Cambodia and Laos without addressing the question (a and b)

Question 14 – Conflict in the Pacific 1937–1951

In better responses, students were able to:

• respond to the question coherently, demonstrating a comprehensive understanding of the way in which the war affected civilians in occupied territories in South-East Asia (a)
• employ a range of extensive and accurate historical knowledge that supports their ideas, in particular noting the array of effects on civilians in different regions and countries (a)address the question with a sophisticated and sustained judgement regarding the significance of the A-Bomb to Japan’s defeat in the Pacific (b)
• detail specific factors for Japan’s defeat and explore the way in which they diminished Japan’s capacity to win the war (b)
• use specific detail to support their response rather than presenting a description or narrative of the course of the war culminating in the dropping of the A-bombs, or of events from different occupied areas (a and b).

Areas for students to improve include:

• making clear and direct links between the war and how it affected civilians in occupied territories of South-East Asia (a)
• addressing the effects of war on civilians in different territories specifically rather than amalgamating a range of effects in a homogenous experience for all civilians (a)
• making sustained judgements throughout the response that are more than generalised links back to the question, including being able to clearly express a level of significance of the A-bomb and/or other factors (b)
• using relevant knowledge about the A-bomb to signify its role in the defeat of the Japanese rather than describing its history or post-war impacts (b)
• using evidence to support their point rather than describing or narrating events/factors, noting that historical knowledge needs to be specific rather than generalised (a and b).

Question 15 – Conflict in Europe 1935–1945

In better responses students were able to:

• demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the conflict in North Africa in relationship to other factors/theatres and the contribution of this campaign to the outcome of the war (a)
• demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of Allied strategies and their contribution to victory in Europe, particularly in contrast to Axis strategies and actions (a)
• engage in a broad exploration of the outcome of the war (a) or victory (b), while maintaining a focus on the key issue presented in the question, namely the conflict in North Africa (a) and the Allied strategies (b)
• engage with all relevant key issues raised in the question, rather than just a few. For example, engaging with both the North African conflict in relation to the outcome of the war (a), and the significance of Allied strategies in relation to the victory in Europe (b)
• provide extensive evidence to support the argument, both with regards to breadth and depth.

Areas for students to improve include:

• engaging with all the issues raised in the question, rather than just an aspect of the question (a and b)
• demonstrating a deeper understanding of the issues/factors leading to said outcomes/victory, and having this understanding permeate throughout the response (a and b)
• avoiding simply providing evidence alongside argument, but rather, using the evidence to support the argument
• demonstrating broad, comprehensive  and specific knowledge of the topic (a and b).

Question 16 – The Cold War 1945–1991

In better responses, students were able to:

• make a clear judgement as to how the arms race shaped the Cold War (a)
• identify and discuss the events of the arms race using detailed, accurate historical information to support their argument throughout (a)
• clearly show links between events of the arms race and the shaping of the Cold War
• cover a significant amount of the time period (1962–1991) (a)
• make a clear judgement as to who was more significant – Reagan or Gorbachev (b)
• address both Reagan and Gorbachev and assess the significance of both comparing the two throughout the response (b)
• provide varied examples of actions and policies of both leaders and link them with the ending of the Cold War (b).

Areas for students to improve include:

• avoiding narrating the story of the arms race and the Cold War 1962–1991, and ensuring that they clearly link the arms race to the shaping of the Cold War (a)
• establishing a clear position with regard to the question from the outset and sustaining their argument throughout the response (a)
• addressing the significance of both Reagan and Gorbachev rather than just one of them (b)
• avoiding simply narrating the actions and policies of the two leaders and ensuring they link them to the end of the Cold War (b)
• providing detailed, relevant and accurate historical information in support of their argument (a) and (b).

Question 17 – Conflict in the Gulf 1980–2011

In better responses, students were able to:

• identify and discuss the consequences for Iraq of the 1991 defeat of Saddam Hussein and make a clear judgement as to how significant they were, using detailed, accurate historical information to support their argument (a)
• identify and discuss the events of the conflict in the Gulf, using detailed, accurate historical information to support their argument, and make a clear judgement as to how international involvement shaped the conflict (b).

Areas for students to improve include:

• avoiding the narration of the story of the 1991 defeat of Saddam Hussein (a)
• establishing a clear position with regard to the question from the outset and sustaining their argument throughout the response (a and b)
• providing detailed, relevant and accurate historical information in support of their argument (a and b).

Question 18 – The Arab-Israeli Conflict 1948–1996

In better responses, students were able to:

• make a clear judgement as to how significant the Arab–Israeli Conflict was for Israeli and Palestinian communities during that precise period (a)
• use detailed, accurate historical information to support their argument throughout (a and b)
• clearly show the link between the attempts at peacemaking and the Arab–Israeli conflict during that precise period and make a clear judgement as to the success of these attempts. (b).

Areas for students to improve include:

• avoiding the narration of the story of the Arab- Israeli Conflict with no reference to specific time periods (a and b)
• establishing a clear position with regard to the question from the outset and sustaining their argument throughout the response (a and b)
• providing detailed, relevant and accurate historical information in support of their argument (a and b).

In better responses, students were able to:

• supply detailed historical information related to the question (a and b)
• use a range of relevant historical terms and concepts (a)
• be selective in the material used to ensure that the question was fully answered (a)
• draw out relationships between the different elements in the question (b)
• make a judgement in response to the issues raised in the question (c)
• use the source information and not analyse for reliability or usefulness (c)
• have a clear, logical paragraph structure, with a supporting point for the judgement and integrate the source with their own knowledge as evidence throughout the response (c).

Areas for students to improve include:

• being more succinct in the response
• focusing on answering the question not just writing everything they know related to the content point
• ensuring they make and sustain a valid link between the two ideas in the question using the key word (b)
• making explicit reference to where the source has been used by either stating ‘In Source A …’, paraphrasing Source A or ‘(Source A)’.