how to write a modern history essay hsc

Press Enter to search

How to Band 6 your HSC Modern History Essay

Your ultimate breakdown to writing a Band 6 modern history essay from introduction to conclusion. Read along for our expert tutor's top 5 tips on acing your next essay.

12 days ago   •   7 min read

As the HSC creeps closer, many Modern History students find themselves baulking at the prospect of the dreaded 20-marker essay. But not you! Because you are going to read and discover the five fool-proof tips that will guarantee you a BAND 6!!

1. Understanding the scope of the question

This one might seem too obvious to mention, but you’d be surprised how many students trip on this hurdle. It’s one thing to read a question but it’s something else entirely to understand it, and failing to grasp the full scope of the question can send you completely off-course.

Similarly to your English essays, there are three things you should be looking for when reading the essay question:

• Content phrases: what does your essay need to talk about?
• Directive phrases : how do you need to talk about it?
• Limiting phrases : what are you not supposed to talk about?

To better understand what I mean, let’s use this past HSC essay question as an example.

Looking at the question’s content phrase, we can see that it requires you to talk about 1) the Chinese Communist Party and 2) achieving political stability.

Then, turning to the directive phrase, we see that it’s asking for an evaluation of this achievement - that means you need to make a judgement of whether this political stability was/wasn’t achieved, rather than merely explaining what happened.

Finally, the limiting phrase gives you a strict cut-off: do not consider any events after 1949. Understanding what not to include in your essay is just as important as knowing what to include. If you veer into limited areas, you’re just going to waste your time writing paragraphs that won’t earn you any marks - and will most likely lose you marks for failing to read the question properly.

2. Using a flow-on structure

Once you properly understand the question, it’s time to consider the structure you’re going to use to answer it. Think of an essay as a house you’re building: the paragraphs in your essay are bricks that you need to build on each other in order to culminate in your central thesis. Your essay is a story, and your marker should be able to predict how it’s going to end.

Some examples of how to do this are:

Pro-tip: put your strongest paragraphs first. That way, if you run out of time, you won’t be losing your best analysis.

3. Using cause-and-effect analysis

When your marker is reading your paragraphs, they’re looking for analysis rather than a story. Resist the temptation to share every detail you can remember about what happened at a historical event. Instead, every fact you write should be framed as either a cause or an effect of your paragraph’s central point.

Let’s say you’re writing an essay about the factors that led to the fall of the Romanov Dynasty and your first paragraph focuses on Rasputin. Do not write…

While this paints an accurate overview of Rasputin’s role in relation to the Romanovs before his death, it dances around the paragraph’s central question: in what way was he a central factor in their downfall? Instead, you could write it more like…

In this version, the combination of the ‘cause’ - Rasputin’s intimate involvement with the Romanovs coupled with his poor reputation - flow into the ‘effect’ of growing distrust of the Romanovs’ rule in Russia, which gives us the answer of how he was a factor in their downfall.

Knowing the facts is only half the battle. The key is demonstrating that you know how to create an argument with them.

4. Meaningfully integrating sources

It’s quite common for you to be given one or more sources as stimuli to accompany your essay question. It’s not enough, however, to merely mention these sources in passing when crafting your response; a meaningful integration is key to a Band 6 mark.

To meaningfully engage with a source, you need to explain how it enhances your argument. Always write as if your marker has absolutely no idea what that source is depicting and why it’s significant. This will demonstrate that you actually understand the source and aren’t just name-dropping it as a formality.

Let’s say you’re given this source for an essay about analysing how the Nazis rose to power in Germany between 1930 and 1939:

Rather than writing: “As shown in Source A, the Nazis utilised propaganda to influence the German public to sympathise with their ideals,” a response that meaningfully integrates the source could look something like this:

Even with photo sources that you can’t quote from, the same can be achieved by analysing the photo’s contents. A good rule of thumb is that if you can remove any references of the source from your essay without impacting the quality of your analysis, you haven’t integrated it well enough.

5. Including your own sources

Following the above steps is enough to write a solid Modern History essay, but if you really want to stand out from the pack and earn a Band 6, then you should enhance your analysis by incorporating your own sources. These could include secondary analysis by respected historians or primary sources from notable figures at the time.

Including sources outside of the prescribed stimulus shows that you’re capable of thinking critically about the topic you’re writing about rather than just regurgitating what you’ve learned in class. Just make sure that the sources you’re quoting are relevant to the question. While it does mean memorising a few extra quotes, the end result is worth it.

So there we have it! If you follow these five steps, Modern History essays are going to be a breeze.

Where do I find historical sources for Modern History?

The easiest way to find quotes is to simply google ‘[historical event/figure] historian perspectives’ or ‘quotes There are plenty of archives dedicated to collecting these. Even if this doesn’t yield direct quotes, many websites such as online encyclopaedias will provide citations that will take you to more direct sources.

If this doesn’t work, or you’re feeling particularly ambitious, searching the same query in Google Scholar will provide you with journal articles written by academics.

Do I really have to memorise ALL these dates for my Modern History Essay?

Yes and no. While it’s important to try and reference key dates in your writing to demonstrate your understanding of historical facts, it’s not the end of the world if you can’t remember a date down to the day or if you’re off by a year or two. The marker is more interested in your overall understanding than semantics. As long as you’re not claiming that WW2 happened in the 1920s or something equally egregious, you should be fine.

What’s the best way to study for Modern History?

Everybody studies differently, but there are some tried-and-true methods. For the nitty-gritty details such as dates, statistics, and names of significant historical figures and events, it can help to:

• Use flashcards
• Write out a timeline
• Quiz yourself/have somebody else quiz you

Whereas for the substantial content such as your cause-and-effect analysis, try:

• Teaching the concepts to somebody else - this will highlight gaps in your own knowledge
• Writing timed practice essays - as well as sharpening your analysis, this will help practise structure, time management, and question interpretation

Of course, another surefire way to improve your Modern History results is to get yourself a tutor!

Want more personalized study guidance to help drastically improve your marks? A private tutor can make the biggest difference!

Written by KIS Academics tutor for HSIE and English, Adam Hughes. Adam is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts/Law at UNSW and is always happy to take on new students. You can view Adam’s profile here and request him as a tutor.

Spread the word

Hsc atar scaling report 2023 - how to maximise your atar in 2024, how to support your child through year 7 maths, keep reading, how to structure full-mark hsc legal studies responses, how to study for your hsc chemistry practical exam, subscribe to our newsletter.

Stay updated with KIS Academics Blog by signing up for our newsletter.

🎉 Awesome! Now check your inbox and click the link to confirm your subscription.

Please enter a valid email address

Oops! There was an error sending the email, please try later

The ultimate guide to HSC Modern History

Lauren Condon

Marketing Specialist at Atomi

Modern History is definitely one of those subjects that you kind of regret choosing at one stage or another… Don’t get us wrong, it’s a great subject with super interesting topics but there is just so much content and so many skills you have to perfect. But before you freak out too much, we spoke to our resident Modern History expert who gave us some killer tips on how to nail this subject. Here are the big four:

1. Create smart summaries to manage all the content

It’s no secret that there’s a sh** tonne of content in Modern History. I mean, each topic is big enough to be a subject on it’s own but you have to do four of them in one exam 😱 . That means it’s super important to find the best way to condense all that information and really pinpoint what is most important.

So when you’re writing your notes, you’re going to need to just keep writing summaries and super summaries of your notes. The more times you go over them, the more you will be able to pick out the most crucial bits of information and arrange all the content into a really punchy, memorable and useful summary that will actually get you through an exam. When you’re making these summaries, always keep the exam in your mind and ask yourself ‘What will I be using this information for?’ ‘How would I answer a question on this topic?’ or ‘How would I use this information to answer a question?’. You’ll be able to cut through a lot of the bull and end up with a really good grasp on each topic.

2. Focus on interpretation as much as memorisation

So yeah there’s a lot of content to memorise but of course, there’s a lot more to Modern History than just names, dates and facts (even though it doesn’t always feel like it!). So when you’re studying and doing practice exams, remember that you’re going to make judgements and propose explanations and assess the value of what you know. Don’t be afraid to draw on the ideas of some prominent historians or even have a go at putting your own opinion forward if you can back it up with some solid evidence and analysis!

When you finally get into that exam, you’ve got to think to yourself ‘Here are the facts… now, what are the different historians interpretations of these facts? And from all that… what is my interpretation of the facts?’. That’s a really solid approach and, if you pull it off, a straight path to a big fat band 6. 🙌 🙌 🙌

3. Perfect your modern skills before the exam

A massive part of getting those high marks in Modern is having solid skills in the essay writing and of course, the much dreaded source-based study.

When it comes to essays, you’re pretty lucky in that you can draw on your essay writing skills from other subjects. So just make sure you know the ins and outs of creating a really structured argument that uses the facts given to you but also makes a clear and logical argument based on those facts. No rehashing the historical event, thanks.

When it comes to source study, it’s definitely worth practicing how to interpret the nitty gritty elements of a source and focusing on its place in history. The big tip here is the more you know about the historical period the source comes from, the greater knowledge you’ll be able to show the markers and you’ll be able to interpret the source to a much greater depth.

The usefulness and reliability section is also a toughie and a good opportunity to lock down a Band 6. You want to work through a checklist of criteria (like perspective, timing, context, presentation etc.) and end up making a judgement about how reliable and useful it is for understanding that part of history.

4. Practice, practice, practice

It’s a bit of a cliché but some people seriously forget that you need to practice for a Modern exam just like you would practice for Maths or English. This is a big ask but try to get in the habit of writing practice essays for Modern to as many past questions as possible so you are in the swing of using all that knowledge and all those skills to write a killer essay that your marker will love. That way, you’ll be ready to tackle any kind of question and you’ll know how to pack an answer full of great evidence and a solid argument.

The other reason it’s super important to do practice papers for Modern is time management. See, the exam really is packed and you don’t have much time to answer a lot of big questions so your time management skills need to be up to scratch. Do the past papers and practice sticking to 40 minutes for each section so you can get consistently good marks which is always better than one great section, two average ones and one that kind of looks like 💩 .

Our love-hate relationship with Modern History really can be turned into a full blown romance if we just know how to tackle some of the trickier/intimidating parts of the subject. For all that content, rely on some smart summaries and you also need to prioritise interpretation and your modern skills. Cap it all off with some decent exam practice and you should be sweet to nail this exam. 💯 💯

Published on

October 17, 2017

Recommended reads

5 Exam tips for Biology

5 Tips for studying Maths in any year

Selecting subjects for year 11 and 12

What's atomi.

Engaging, curriculum-specific videos and interactive lessons backed by research, so you can study smarter, not harder.

With tens of thousands of practice questions and custom revision sessions, you won’t just think you’re ready. You’ll know you are!

Study skills strategies and tips, AI-powered revision recommendations and progress insights help you stay on track.

Short, curriculum-specific videos and interactive content that’s easy to understand and backed by the latest research.

Active recall quizzes, topic-based tests and exam practice enable students to build their skills and get immediate feedback.

Our AI understands each student's progress and makes intelligent recommendations based on their strengths and weaknesses.

Catalogue will be unavailable from 8:00 pm Thursday 2 May to 9:00 am Friday 3 May (AEST). We apologise for any inconvenience. 

HSC Modern History exam - Q&A

Questions and answers for the HSC Modern History exam

Historians' quotes and other evidence

It is not necessary to use quotes from historians to obtain a Band 6 – if you look at any of the HSC Modern History marking guidelines, they do not specifically reference historiography.

The only time must integrate quotes is when you have been given a stimulus source – you must use that to answer the question. It is your choice whether you choose to underline or highlight it. You should try to make your use of the sources as clear to the marker as possible.

You do not need to memorise a whole string of quotes; paraphrasing a historian, or using even a single word can have more impact, as you are showing the marker you are making it part of your own writing. 

You do not “lose” marks for mixing up historians, but you won’t gain marks, either.

Do NOT just drop in a quote like a shopping list; it is critical that you integrate it. That means you muse weave it into your argument. Look at examples from The Writing Revolution (Hochman & Wexler, 2017) such as their “Because/But/So.”

Another way to use historians is the idea of “springboards” and “punching bags”. Use a historian’s idea to launch your own argument (springboard), or take it down with your own argument (punching bag). This shows you integrating their ideas into yours, which is much more powerful than just a quote.

Back to HSC History

• Ignite has moved to Jeddle. Click here to view our most up-to-date resources.

MODERN HISTORY

Welcome to the home of ignite's hsc modern history resources, core module.

National Studies

Peace and conflict, change in the modern world, the most comprehensive resources for the hsc modern history syllabus, subscribing for a school click here ., extension i, designed for the current hsc modern history syllabus, comprehensive band 6 notes on all course topics, short answer questions with exemplar responses, band 6 extended responses by state rank achievers, essay structures and question breakdowns, source question guides with exemplar responses, exam-friendly and directly usable material, regular updates for all hsc-related content, a snapshot of our team, ignite's team of modern history resource producers comprises several students who achieved a state rank in nsw for the course. they know exactly how to achieve full marks for each section of the exam and want to share that knowledge with you..

Take a Sneak Peek...

Conflict in Indochina (Topic 3) – Ignite HSC – Free Sample

Power and Authority in the Modern World

Usa (1919 - 1941), russia and the soviet union (1917 - 1941), japan (1904 - 1937), conflict in indochina, conflict in europe, the cold war, conflict in the pacific, civil rights in the usa, cultural revolution to tiananmen square, the changing world order, the nuclear age.

Apartheid in South Africa

Core module, national studies, peace and conflict, change in the modern world, designed for the new hsc modern history syllabus, comprehensive band 6 notes on all topics, essay structures, plans and question breakdowns, exam-friendly and directly usable materials, regular updates, ignite's team of modern history resource producers consists of several state rank achievers in nsw. our team knows exactly how to achieve full marks for each section of the exam, and we want to share that knowledge with you..

POWER AND AUTHORITY IN THE MODERN WORLD

Russia and ussr, the pacific, our mission.

IGNITE has set out with the goal of becoming the leading HSC resource provider in NSW. Our hope is that students can use our carefully constructed resources to deepen their engagement with their HSC courses while learning the practical exam skills that are needed to convert knowledge into marks. We have put together a team of talented analytical minds, including former state-rank achievers, university graduates, and practicing teachers, so that students of all abilities can benefit from the information provided. We have already seen thousands of students excel by using our resources to enhance both understanding and exam performance, and so it is our mission to ensure that these valuable sources of information continue to reach and benefit students across the state.

IGNITE has set out with the goal of becoming the leading HSC resource provider in NSW. Our hope is that students can use our carefully constructed resources to deepen their engagement with their HSC courses and learn the practical exam skills that are needed to convert knowledge into marks. We have put together a team of talented analytical minds, including former state-rank achievers, accomplished university graduates and practicing teachers, so that students of all abilities can benefit from the information provided. We have already seen thousands of students excel by using our resources to enhance both understanding and exam performance, and so it is our mission to ensure that these valuable sources of information continue to reach and benefit students across the state.

THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE RESOURCES FOR MODERN HISTORY

Current hsc modern history syllabus, band 6 notes for all topics, essay question analysis and breakdowns (inc. sources), exam-friendly and practical, ignite's team of resource producers is composed of an experienced head of department, accomplished university graduates, and multiple students who achieved a state rank in nsw for their course..

Russia and the Soviet Union

IGNITE has set out with the goal of becoming the leading HSC resource provider in NSW.  Our hope is that students can use our carefully constructed resources to deepen their engagement with their HSC courses and learn the practical exam skills that are needed to convert knowledge into marks. We have put together a team of talented analytical minds, including former state-rank achievers, accomplished university graduates and practicing teachers, so that students of all abilities can benefit from the information provided. We have already seen thousands of students excel by using our resources to enhance both understanding and exam performance, and so it is our mission to ensure that these valuable sources of information continue to reach and benefit students across the state.

• English Advanced
• English Standard
• English Extension I
• Modern History

• Modern History - HSC
• State Library of NSW
• Research Guides
• HSC & Tertiary Students

Writing and citing

• About the guide
• Finding Books
• Starting your research
• Newspapers and primary sources
• Journal articles
• Film and media
• Useful websites
• History Extension

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander visitors  are kindly advised that this website includes images, sounds and names of people who have passed.

All users  should be aware that some topics or historical content may be culturally sensitive, offensive or distressing, and that some images may contain nudity or are of people not yet identified. Certain words, terms or descriptions may reflect the author's/creator's attitude or that of the period in which they were written, but are now considered inappropriate in today's context.

Key to library resources

You may need to install  Adobe Digital Editions  before downloading ebooks.

What is plagiarism and how to avoid it

Referencing: APA style

Referencing: Harvard style

• << Previous: History Extension

• Search forums
• Looking for HSC notes and resources? Check out our Notes & Resources page
• Secondary Education
• Modern History

Modern History Essay Guide

• Thread starter enoilgam
• Start date Sep 15, 2011

Prelude Over the past couple of months, quite a few people have been emailing and PM me about modern and how to write a band 6 calibre essay. I have looked around on the forums and I can’t seem to find a Modern History essay guide. So I’m writing this one to give people an idea of what they need to do, based on what my teachers told me (both were HSC markers, one of whom has been a senior marker for 15 years). As a general note, this guide is mainly designed for students who are struggling with essay writing. However, I have added a section with some advanced techniques for students who are looking to improve from a low band 6 to a high band 6. Throughout the guide, I use the practice question “Assess the significance of the Eastern front to the defeat of Germany in 1945” as the basis for my examples. Also, big thanks to LoveHateSchool for helping me edit the guide. General points Language Never EVER write in first person - this is the cardinal sin of modern essay writing. Markers hate this and you will lose marks if you use first person. Also, always use formal language and avoid colloquialisms. Whilst most people know this, some colloquialisms are difficult to pick up on. For example, the word “things” as in “Hence, these things demonstrate that....” is an example of colloquial language. Pay careful attention to your grammar. Although it isn’t marked directly, good grammar adds to the clarity and readability of your response. Poor grammar on the other hand can prevent you from effectively conveying your ideas to the marker. If your response hasn’t been effectively communicated, then you will lose marks. As such, poor grammar can indirectly cost you marks. Arguments Don’t make your arguments emotional or personal. HSC markers will not respond to bleeding heart essays. They respond to logical analysis supported by fact and historiography. The holy grail of essay writing is balancing clarity and simplicity with a sophisticated argument. An argument which has great depth and complexity is much easier to understand if you write it clearly and in a well organised and structured manner. You don’t want the marker to have to read over your paragraphs a few times because your argument isn’t clear. Practice With essays, practice makes perfect. Writing practice essays can greatly help improve your essay writing skills. In year 10, essay writing was my weakest area, but by the end of year 12 it was my strongest as I constantly wrote practice essays and had them marked by my teachers. Whilst it may seem obvious, having them marked is of vital importance, as the feedback is what helps you identify areas in need of improvement. Writing an essay and not having it marked is near useless in my view. Time management It is recommended that you write 1,000 words (approximately 8 pages) for sections II, III and IV of the exam. Don’t spend all your time on one section whilst neglecting the others. Some students devote all their time to one essay and not enough on the others. It is better to get 20/25 in all sections then to get 25/25 on one section and only 15/25 for the rest. Time management is essential with the Modern exam. You are required to write around 3,500 words in three hours which is no mean feat. You need to ensure that you are not spending more than 45 minutes on each section. Answering the question My teachers both told me that the most common mistake which modern students make when writing essays is that they don’t answer the question. When writing essays, most people merely give a description of the question. For example, in the practice question, most students would describe what occurred on the Eastern Front as opposed to analysing the impacts which it had on the war. According to my modern teachers, by providing a description, you are unlikely to get above a band four for your response. In a modern essay (and all essays for that matter) there isn’t a right or wrong argument. A marker cannot deduct marks from you simply because they disagree with your argument. What they are looking for is whether you support your arguments with strong analysis and appropriate evidence. In my example you may choose to argue that the Eastern front was of no significance in determining the outcome of the war. Although the vast majority of markers would disagree, if your answer is supported by strong evidence and analysis, you will do well. At university, I wrote an essay for criminal law and the marker dedicated a whole page in his comments to saying how much he disagreed with my argument. However, when giving me my marks he stated "Even though I vehemently disagree with your thesis, this is irrelevant for the purpose of determining your marks" Another important point is that you should NEVER take a pre-prepared or memorised essay into the exam. Unlike english or SOR, its near impossible to mold your essay to the exam question (unless the topics are very similar, which is unlikely). For example, if you memorise a response on the Conflict in Europe regarding the North Africa campaign, and the questions ask for the Eastern Front and Appeasement, your memorised response will be useless. Moreover, even if your pre-prepared response is from the same syllabus point as a question on the exam, it will still be difficult to mold your response unless the questions are asking you to do virtually the same thing. Structure With modern and all essays in general, structure is extremely important. However, most students don’t use it at all. As my modern teacher used to say, even an essay with strong analysis and factual evidence will struggle to get a band 5 if it is poorly structured. Generally speaking, an essay should be structured like this: • Introduction • Body Paragraphs • Conclusion Introduction For the introduction, you state what position you are taking in relation to the question (otherwise known as your thesis statement) i.e. “The Eastern front had a significant impact on the defeat of Germany”. You should also state the reasons/points for your position (for example, “The Russian front had a significant and detrimental impact on German supplies, manpower and moral. Furthermore, Germany’s defeat in the campaign also had several strategic ramifications which harmed them greatly in the later stages of the war”). These points will form the basis for each section in the body of the essay. In a modern essay on the HSC, you should aim to have around 3 to 4 points/reasons (5 is excessive, however if you can get enough detail in then it will probably benefit you) Body In the body, you discuss in detail the reasons/points which support your argument. You devote each section (usually a single paragraph) of the body to dealing with ONE point/reason. For example, in the Russian Front essay, you would dedicate one section (paragraph) to discussing the impacts which the defeat had on Germany’s manpower, then another section on supplies, etc. Your paragraphs in the body of the essay should have topic/linking sentences. A topic sentence goes at the beginning of each paragraph when you are introducing a new point/reason. It should give the marker a preview of what you are going to discuss in that paragraph. For example “Germany’s defeat on the Eastern Front greatly depleted their manpower, which was a significant factor behind the Allied Victory of 1945” Linking sentences on the other hand go at the end of a paragraph where you are concluding a point/reason. They need to link your ideas in a paragraph back to the question, for example “Hence, the loss of manpower on the Russian front and at Stalingrad crippled the German war machine and greatly precipitated Germany’s downfall in 1945.” You will notice that linking sentences are similar to topic sentences. That’s because a paragraph/section is meant to be somewhat circular in nature, as it begins and ends with one point which supports your argument. These sentences are really easy to add to your essays, and can boost your marks significantly. My modern teacher told my mate that they would have added 3-4 marks to his trial essays, as he didn’t include them. PEEEL One good method of structuring internal body paragraphs is the PEEEL method. There are a few different variations of this method out there, but most are extremely similar. This is how it was taught to me: P - Point (Topic sentence) E - Explain (Explain your point with fact) E - Elaborate (Elaborate on your facts to form an analysis) E - Example (Provide an example to support your explanation and elaboration. Usually in modern, this is where you might use historiography) L - Link (Linking sentence) It is important to note that this is just one method of structuring body paragraphs – you don’t have to use this method. Personally, I rarely ever used this technique, as I preferred a more free flowing design for my paragraphs. However, it is an excellent method to employ if you are struggling to put body paragraphs together, which is a common problem for many people. Conclusion In the conclusion, you sum up your argument. You restate your thesis and your points/reasons in order to show the marker that you have proved your argument, e.g. “Thus, in summation, the Eastern Front proved to be a decisive factor behind Germany’s defeat in WW2. The loss of manpower, supplies and morale along with the strategic ramifications of the defeat proved to be too difficult for the previously undefeated German’s to overcome and ultimately led to their demise at the hands of the Allies in May 1945.” It is important to note that no new ideas should be introduced at this point in your essay. Historiography Historiography is often poorly understood by most students and it is often not used properly or effectively. This has been noted on multiple occasions in the Notes from the Modern History marking centre which are released yearly following the final HSC exams. One of the main issues with this aspect of Modern essay writing is that many students often believe that historiography only includes quotes from historians. Whilst quotes are one aspect of historiography, it can also include the opinions of a specific historian, or a general viewpoint overall. For example, a statement such as “Many historians believe that Speer lied at Nuremburg and had far more knowledge of Nazi war crimes than what he stated in his testimony” is an example of historiography. Another key issue with historiography is that students often use it ineffectively to the point where it becomes counterproductive. People often overload their essays with pointless quotes, which reduces the quality and effectiveness of their essays. Remember, if your essay is a pastiche of quotes, then you aren’t providing the markers with your own analysis. Within any essay, historiography should primarily be used to SUPPORT your answer and analysis. As my modern teacher told us, one strong quote backing up your analysis is worth more than five just thrown into a paragraph. Part B of the personality section This part of Section III is widely regarded as being the most difficult question on the exam paper, especially when the question involves a quote. However, with practice and a proper approach, it can be mastered. Answering the question The main mistake that students make with this section is that they fail to address the issue in the question, as they simply provide the life story of their personality. In my view, the key to avoiding this is through proper structuring and careful thought before writing your response. When faced with a quote for this question, I often found it easiest to go chronologically. In order to do that, I broke down my personality’s life into several sections. For Albert Speer, I looked at his early life/rise to prominence, his time as arms minister and Nuremburg/later life in the vast majority of my essays When you are looking at each stage of their life, make sure that you don’t give the marker the personality’s life story. This isn’t answering the question. You need to assess how the question applies to your personality. For example, with the question “do people shape events or do events shape people” you need to look across the personality’s life and see which part of the statement is true. For example, in Speer’s early life/rise to prominence, events shaped him. So in this paragraph/section of your response, you would explain and discuss how events shaped him. This structure can radically improve your ability to effectively answer the question, especially if you struggle with this section as much as I did initially. HOWEVER, this structure is not absolute and there are many other methods which can be employed to answer this question. Whilst I used it for most questions, I also used other methods in certain situations (such as when a quote was not used for the question). Length of the response Another key issue with this section is the amount which you are supposed to write for parts A and B. The recommended limit is 1000 words (8 pages). Going off the marks allocated, you should spend 400 words on A and 600 on B. However, this isn’t absolute. As is sometimes the case, section B will require a lot more detail then A. In that case, you could do 300 on A and 700 on B. However, 300 words is the minimum amount you should be spending on A. Advanced essay writing techniques In order to access the higher marks (i.e. 23+/25); you need to show the markers a highly sophisticated and well sustained argument. In order to do this, there are a variety of techniques which can be employed. Two techniques which can be used will be discussed further below. In my view, achieving a 24 or 25 in an essay is extremely difficult and requires a high level of proficiency in both the course content and essay writing. As such, writing practice responses and having them marked is highly important in developing the level of proficiency needed to achieve these marks in an essay. Counter-arguments A counter argument refers to a technique where a writer includes and discusses evidence/opinions which disagree with their thesis and then shows why they are deficient or incorrect. For example “According to the Historian X, Albert Speer was a good Nazi because of Y. However, this view is deficient because it fails to consider Z”. Obviously, this is a highly simplified example and you would probably need a little bit more detail in an essay. The use of this technique adds a great deal of sophistication to an essay and can make your essays stand out to the markers. This is because it demonstrates that you have highly developed analytical skills and a strong understanding of the course, as you are able to identify flaws in certain arguments and counter them. Thesis, anti-thesis, synthesis This refers to a technique where two contradictory views are examined in detail. Following this, the writer will then suggest a new point which combines both these views. For example “Historian X states that the policy of appeasement was the most important factor in causing the start of WW2. However, Historian Y contends that it was the German and Italian Dictators who were responsible for the war. Hence, when analysing both of these views, it can be argued that both were key factors in precipitating the war”. Again, this is a highly simplified example and you would need a far greater deal of sophistication in a real essay. Similar to the use of counter-arguments, this technique can also make your essays stand out to a marker. This is because it demonstrates that you have a deep enough understanding of the course to be able to form your own view from two separate and distinct arguments. Questions If anyone has any questions about this guide, modern essay writing or the subject in general, please feel free to send me a PM or make a post in this thread (I'll try to check it regularly). Also, if anyone thinks that I've missed anything or wants to add something, feel free to post your suggestions.  

ArtemisOrthia

Premium member.

This is a fabulous explanation of what to do  

ArtemisOrthia said: Brilliant. Thank you so much for taking your time to construct this amazing guide. n_n I know it will come to help for many future Modern History students. Edit: FFS must spread more REP D: D: Click to expand...

cem said: This is a fabulous explanation of what to do Click to expand...

wow, thank you so much for this!  

Thankyou!  

amazing!  

Points are pretty good, but most are obvious if you've been writing essays for a long time. Dr. Phil Cummins came to our school a few weeks ago (if you went to the history extension lectures, he's the guy who was speaking about post-postmodernism and shit). He wrote up a pretty good way to structure paragraphs in an exam. Use this method for each argument: 1) Identify the topic 2) Establish the factual context for the topic and the application of the relevant issue 3) Examine the evidence for 4) Examine the evidence against 5) Resolve the evidence using benchmarks/criteria and developing the central argument put forward in the introduction section/paragraph 6) Link to the next topic. Note: 2 and 3 should be quotes, facts, historians, etc. 5 and 6 should be your own opinion/verdict (be open minded) He said it can be used in any exam, but looking over the ideas, it looks like its a mainly history extension thing since it requires constant allusion to historians and historiography. Maybe it helps, maybe it doesnt. Cheers  

fakermaker said: Points are pretty good, but most are obvious if you've been writing essays for a long time. Dr. Phil Cummins came to our school a few weeks ago (if you went to the history extension lectures, he's the guy who was speaking about post-postmodernism and shit). He wrote up a pretty good way to structure paragraphs in an exam. Use this method for each argument: 1) Identify the topic 2) Establish the factual context for the topic and the application of the relevant issue 3) Examine the evidence for 4) Examine the evidence against 5) Resolve the evidence using benchmarks/criteria and developing the central argument put forward in the introduction section/paragraph 6) Link to the next topic. Note: 2 and 3 should be quotes, facts, historians, etc. 5 and 6 should be your own opinion/verdict (be open minded) He said it can be used in any exam, but looking over the ideas, it looks like its a mainly history extension thing since it requires constant allusion to historians and historiography. Maybe it helps, maybe it doesnt. Cheers Click to expand...

Hey, do you know a site/web I can find some Cold War historians?  

ckp341 said: Hey, do you know a site/web I can find some Cold War historians? Click to expand...

This stuff is great! Thanks! Just what i needed to help me get back on track for the modern hsc!  

great ghosts

you are all things lovely. thanks a million for this! :3  

What a brilliant guide, thanks a lot enoilgam. Anyway, ive got a couple of questions. About the length of the answers, they expect us to write approximately 8 pages or 1000 words. Yesterday in the english exam, i had few minutes to spare so i actually counted my pages, and each page has about 200 words which is more than the average because of my small handwriting. Now i know that markers dont spend a lot of time on each essay, so they dont have time to count my words. However, when they see that ive written around 5-6 pages, would they think that i havent answered the question properly or ive mismanaged time?  

The word count is just a recommendation - it isnt absolute. The marker wont pre-judge an essay by its length, they will judge it based on what they read. When a marker reads the paper, it will be obvious whether it is detailed enough to score a band 6. So if you have written 1000 words on 4 pages (some people can believe it or not) the marker will notice. With modern and any essay, quality is more important then quantity - so the markers arent going to give word count much of a glance unless a person has written a really negligable amount.  

enoilgam said: The word count is just a recommendation - it isnt absolute. The marker wont pre-judge an essay by its length, they will judge it based on what they read. When a marker reads the paper, it will be obvious whether it is detailed enough to score a band 6. So if you have written 1000 words on 4 pages (some people can believe it or not) the marker will notice. With modern and any essay, quality is more important then quantity - so the markers arent going to give word count much of a glance unless a person has written a really negligable amount. Click to expand...

enoilgam, excellent guide.  

Exotic said: Thanks for the reply. Now, for the quotes. My modern teacher told us to neglect quotes, historians and historiograpy and focus more on content and its analysis. However here i see most students actually pay a lot of attention to historians and their thoughts. So do i have to incorporate quotes in my responses if i want to get a high mark? Im aiming for a band 5 at least. Click to expand...

megabakedpotato

Hey mate, great guide. What HSC mark did you achieve in Modern History last year?  

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 0, Guests: 0)

HSC Free Resources

Modern History Free Resources

Find the HSC Resources you need.

Our extensive library of handy and helpful HSC Modern History resources including past papers with worked solutions, study guides, study notes, essays written by students, assignments and many more, to help you prepare for the HSC

Study Notes

Discover an extensive library of HSC Modern History resources like past trial papers, study guides, assignments, study notes, essays created by students and many more.

Multiple choice quizzes

Make the most of your study sessions with our Practice Multiple Choice quizzes. Stay confident and prepared with our quizzes.

Forum section is a place to get help with any of your subjects, clarify any misunderstandings.

Join the Email list

Subscribe to our email list, where you could access free helpful resources, tips, advices, events and many more.

HSC Articles

Want to access to helpful HSC resources? We publish many articles, written by experienced past HSC students.

Donate your Resources

You can become a hero by simply helping out other students. That way you can help students in the future.

Recently added Modern History Resources

• Modern History Pass Cards (EXCEL)
• Source Analysis Assessment Cover Sheet
• Modern History Head Start Lecture Slides
• Rise of the Khmer Rouge Essay
• Indochina Peace & Conflict Essay
• Nazi Soviet Non – Aggression Pact – Essay
• Modern History Study Guide (EXCEL)
• Stephen Bik & Black consciousness movement – Essay
• Impacts Bolshevik consolidation of Power – Essay
• Impact of the Nazi regime – Essay

AceHSC Team

Helping students succeed since 2016 + Making studying easier.

From Essays to Coding, This New A.I. Can Write Anything

Posted: April 30, 2024 | Last updated: April 30, 2024

Sign up to Morning Brew for free today here: <a href="http://cen.yt/morningbrewcoldfusion2---">http://cen.yt/morningbrewcoldfusion2---</a> About ColdFusion ---ColdFusion is an Australian based online media company independently run by Dagogo Altraide since 2009. Topics cover anything in science, technology, history and business in a calm and relaxed environment. GPT-3 certainly is something.ColdFusion Merch:INTERNATIONAL: <a href="https://store.coldfusioncollective.com/AUSTRALIA:">https://store.coldfusioncollective.com/AUSTRALIA:</a> <a href="https://shop.coldfusioncollective.com/If">https://shop.coldfusioncollective.com/If</a> you enjoy my content, please consider subscribing!I'm also on Patreon: <a href="https://www.patreon.com/ColdFusion_TVBitcoin">https://www.patreon.com/ColdFusion_TVBitcoin</a> address: 13SjyCXPB9o3iN4LitYQ2wYKeqYTShPub8--- New Thinking Book written by Dagogo Altraide ---This book was rated the 9th best technology history book by book authority.In the book you’ll learn the stories of those who invented the things we use everyday and how it all fits together to form our modern world.Get the book on Amazon: <a href="http://bit.ly/NewThinkingbookGet">http://bit.ly/NewThinkingbookGet</a> the book on Google Play: http://bit.ly/NewThinkingGooglePlayhttps://newthinkingbook.squarespace.com/about/--- ColdFusion Social Media ---» Twitter | @ColdFusion_TV» Instagram | coldfusiontv» Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/ColdFusionTVSources:https://arxiv.org/pdf/1712.00676.pdfhttps://www.technologyreview.com/2020/08/22/1007539/gpt3-openai-language-generator-artificial-intelligence-ai-opinion/https://medium.com/towards-artificial-intelligence/crazy-gpt-3-use-cases-232c22142044https://www.zdnet.com/article/what-is-gpt-3-everything-business-needs-to-know-about-openais-breakthrough-ai-language-program/https://towardsdatascience.com/will-gpt-3-kill-coding-630e4518c04dhttps://www.technologyreview.com/2020/07/20/1005454/openai-machine-learning-language-generator-gpt-3-nlp/https://slate.com/technology/2020/09/language-ai-gpt-3-free-speech-harassment.htmlhttps://fortune.com/2020/09/29/artificial-intelligence-openai-gpt3-toxic/Einstein interview: <a href="https://twitter.com/maraoz/status/1285466920268029952?s=20//Soundtrack//Hiatus">https://twitter.com/maraoz/status/1285466920268029952?s=20//Soundtrack//Hiatus</a> - Cloud CityWinter Flags -Winter FlagsBurn Water - Nostalgia DreamsSworn - SorryCroquet Club - Only You Can TellVesky - RemembranceBrock Hewitt - PeacefulCahb - SecretsBurn Water - Dissapear» Music I produce | <a href="http://burnwater.bandcamp.com">http://burnwater.bandcamp.com</a> or » <a href="http://www.soundcloud.com/burnwater»">http://www.soundcloud.com/burnwater»</a> <a href="https://www.patreon.com/ColdFusion_TV»">https://www.patreon.com/ColdFusion_TV»</a> Collection of music used in videos: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOrJJKW31OAProducer:">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOrJJKW31OAProducer:</a> Dagogo AltraideWhy are you still reading?

More for You

7 Things Stroke Doctors Say You Should Never, Ever Do

10 Movies That Flopped at the Box Office But Are Truly Worth Watching

The Wendy's Chili Fact You Need To Know Before Ordering

UN experts say North Korea missile landed in Kharkiv

US Navy Most Feared Jet Shoots Off From Aircraft Carrier Like a Rocket

Map reveals best places to live in the US if nuclear war breaks out

30 Random Bits of Trivia We Cooked Up With a Secret Ingredient (Factual Accuracy)

50 actors who didn't live long enough to see their final films

Grace Jones’s Career in Photos

Student loan forgiveness for public-sector workers will be temporarily paused. Here’s what you need to know

These 'Essential 8' habits slowed biological aging significantly, study shows

We Ordered 7 Fast-Food Breakfast Sandwiches to Find the Best One

New England Patriots Give Rising Star Largest Contract Since Tom Brady

The films everyone should see at least once before they die, according to critics

'American Idol': Watch Emmy Russell bring Katy Perry to tears with touching Loretta Lynn cover

More Than 8,000 Pounds of Frozen Pizza Recalled in 7 States

Lawrence: New Trump docs transcripts reveal lies detailed in case's indictment

How Your Afternoon Naps Can Affect Your Lifespan

55 Easy Graduation Desserts Worth Celebrating

What should you do if the US stock market suddenly drops by 25%? Here’s the late founder of the Vanguard Group’s sage advice for investors

5 Tips for Modern History Essay Success

Friday 4th, March 2016

Jake Silove

Whether you’re a creative genius or a Mathematics savant, click here for free online tutoring!

Modern History is one tough bugger of a subject. Between memoring statistics, learning content and just trying not to fall asleep, often the actual essay writing component falls through the gaps. Whilst we have a FREE essay marking thread here , I thought I would share my top tips for a successful History essay, based on the essays I’ve marked and the ones I wrote in my HSC year!

Not using enough specific, accurate, relevant and detailed examples

Remember that this is a history essay. You can’t just say things and assume that the marker believes you; you have to back up EVERY substantive sentence with a statistic. That can be a date, a number, a quote, literally anything at all. Even if you can’t remember the EXACT statistic, say something like “More than 40%” or “In early 1915”, or even use a historian (“According to historian Richard Evans…”).

The point of the essay is to build up your fact-base so that you can draw whatever conclusions you want. Saying that the Allies won WWI is about as useful as saying Germany invaded America in 1918; explain HOW the Allies won WWI, on what date you think they defeated Germany, how many tanks they used at the Battle of Marne, how many political prisoners did they take? For a list of EVERY SARDE you need for the WWI section, click here .

Remembering a billion statistics is extremely difficult. If you want a really great method to retaining a huge amount of numbers and quotes, click here for a guide explaining how to utilise worksheets to your advantage. However, to achieve a top level response you really DO need to memorise hundreds of facts. An essay will not be strong without hard evidence supporting it.

As difficult as this seems, it really is an achievable goal for all of you. If you put the work in, and study smart, you’ll be writing out top level responses in no time!

Not maintaining a thesis throughout

This is probably one of the most difficult things to get right in a history essay, or in any essay for that matter. My main recommendation is to, for your own benefit, write out what your thesis IS in one or two sentences. This doesn’t need to necessarily be included in the essay itself: just have it there for you to refer to. As you’re writing the essay itself, try to constantly refer back to your thesis. If you go an entire paragraph without referring to your thesis, you may as well not include the paragraph. Use sentences like “this supports the notion that…” and “This solidifies the idea that…” etc. etc.

Your topic sentence (ie. The first sentence of each paragraph) should introduce the general idea of the paragraph. The concluding sentence should directly link it to your thesis, and also perhaps allow for a quick introduction of the link between your current paragraph and the next. These things are really difficult to get right, and in this case practice makes perfect. Try going through a past essay you’ve written and highlighting the sections that directly refer to your thesis. If you are going too long without a highlighted section, rethink the way you are approaching your thesis (or maybe re think your thesis!).

Explaining what happened, without drawing meaning from events

It is really easy to spend an entire paragraph explaining what happened 100 years ago in Germany or Indo-China. However, that won’t get you a very high mark in a history exam. What you want to be doing is spending a sentence or two explaining the events, and then a few sentences explaining their IMPORTANCE to your thesis/the time period etc. Saying that there were 478 Tanks at the Battle of Cambrai is all well and good, but where you get the marks (other than knowing the statistic) is by linking that to the question: For instance, the success of the tanks at Cambrai display the tactical advantage Britain had over Germany due to highly developed technological equipment, which would eventually lead to the end of the war.

Again, try going through and highlighting sections where you are just stating what happened. Whilst obviously this is a necessary part of any history essay, if you’re finding that more than half of the essay is “tell” rather than “theorise”, try rethinking the way you are constructing your essay.

Building a simplistic thesis

So many of the essays I mark start with quite a simplistic thesis in their introduction, and then go on to build quite a complex one throughout their essay, ending in a good conclusion. Writing out your thesis beforehand, like suggested above, and constantly referring to it is the best way to mitigate this. However, not having a simplistic thesis in the first place is the best way to get a top level response in this course!

It is never a good idea to attribute an entire thing (ie. Collapse of Weimar republic, fall of German armies in WWI etc.) to a single cause. A thesis saying that “WWI ended because of Tanks” is obviously simplistic and, as all history thesis’ attributing events to a single cause are, just plain wrong. A thesis should be complex, incorporating a number of different factors. Think through your thesis in depth. Some students attribute, for instance, the fall of the Weimar republic entirely to the Treaty of Versailles. However, they then go on to discuss the role of the Great Depression, which evidently has nothing to do with the Treaty. It would have been smarter, therefore, to have initially said that Versailles was a large factor, compounded by the Great Depression. Think through your thesis carefully before you start your introduction, or even leave your introduction until the end so you are confident with you thesis when you write it!

Plan your structure at the beginning of your essay. If a question asks about Social, Political and Economic factors, you already have your structure; One paragraph on each! If it is a more complex question, you should still plan (at the start of the exam period) how you are going to set out your answer so that it flows logically.

There are two main ways to structure an answer: Thematically or Chronologically. I would say that, the majority of the time, structuring it by theme works far more successfully. However, obviously answering a question like “outline the significance of the events leading up to the breaking of Stalemate” should be answered chronologically, simply because it’s easier for you.

The best way to prep for in-class essays is with essay plans. Go through each potential question and just write out the structure of your paragraphs: What the order will be, what statistics you will use, what your thesis is going to be etc. It is in Thesis, and Structure, that students often lose the most marks!

I hope this list helped you! If you have any questions about Modern History in general, click here , and if you want your essay marked FOR FREE, click here .

You must be logged in to leave a comment

No comments yet…

What does it actually mean to “study smart”?

How to study in high school - the 'dos' and 'don'ts'

Spare 5 minutes? Here are 7 quick study strategies

How to get more out of your textbook

The benefit of asking questions in high school

Your Year 12 study questions answered!

Sponsored by the Victorian Government - Department of Education

Early childhood education: a career that makes a difference

Early childhood education is seeing growth like no other profession – creating thousands of jobs available over the decade. With financial support to study at university and Free TAFE courses available, there’s never been a better time to become a kinder teacher or educator.