How is Modern History? (1 Viewer)

[strawberries122]

Soo, I'm in Year 10, and next year I have picked these subjects; English (Standard), Mathematics, Physics, CAFS, Legal and Society and Culture, but I want to change Society and Culture to Modern History.

Just wanted to ask some questions about Modern History to people who are doing it/have done it.

-Is it interesting?
-Does it scale well?
-Do you have to write a lot of essays?
-What are the main topics covered in the prelim and HSC course?
-Do you think I will be able to cope with it considering I didn't pay attention much during Year 7 - 10, so is there prior knowledge you're expected to have? I got an B for History on my report.
-Are there a lot of difficult terms to learn?
-Is it better than Ancient in your opinion?

Really appreciate anyone who will answer all of this.

 

[ohexploitable]

shit

i dropped it when yr12 started

 

[ohexploitable]

nah i guess it depends on the topic your school does

my school did slavery and anti-slavery movements which was pretty fucking boring

i wanted to do arab-israeli war, romanovs

 

[slyhunter]

Soo, I'm in Year 10, and next year I have picked these subjects; English (Standard), Mathematics, Physics, CAFS, Legal and Society and Culture, but I want to change Society and Culture to Modern History.

Just wanted to ask some questions about Modern History to people who are doing it/have done it.

-Is it interesting?
-Does it scale well?
-Do you have to write a lot of essays?
-What are the main topics covered in the prelim and HSC course?
-Do you think I will be able to cope with it considering I didn't pay attention much during Year 7 - 10, so is there prior knowledge you're expected to have? I got an B for History on my report.
-Are there a lot of difficult terms to learn?
-Is it better than Ancient in your opinion?

Really appreciate anyone who will answer all of this.

-Depends if you like history or not.
-Average (when compared with humanities though it's good)
-Yes
-Prelim: it's up to your teacher to choose topics from a group of them
HSC: you do WW1, two other topics as chosen by your teacher and one personality study
-No, you're basically retaught everything including source analysis skills
-No
-Yes

 

[cem]

Soo, I'm in Year 10, and next year I have picked these subjects; English (Standard), Mathematics, Physics, CAFS, Legal and Society and Culture, but I want to change Society and Culture to Modern History.

Just wanted to ask some questions about Modern History to people who are doing it/have done it.

-Is it interesting?
-Does it scale well?
-Do you have to write a lot of essays?
-What are the main topics covered in the prelim and HSC course?
-Do you think I will be able to cope with it considering I didn't pay attention much during Year 7 - 10, so is there prior knowledge you're expected to have? I got an B for History on my report.
-Are there a lot of difficult terms to learn?
-Is it better than Ancient in your opinion?

Really appreciate anyone who will answer all of this.

First off - I am completely biased as I am a Modern History teacher and HSC Marker but...

It is interesting but ... it may be that everyone else in your class finds the chosen topics interesting and you don't.
It scales well but that isn't a reason for choosing it - because it scales well for the top students and scales badly for the bottom students and holds its own for the middle - like most subjects
Essays - well you have two 25 mark responses (compared to Ancient's one), one 15 mark response, 2 10 mark responses and the remaining 15 marks comes from the Multiple choice and shortish responses - that section varies from year to year.
In the Preliminary year the Core topic is 'The World in 1900 including the causes of WWI. The rest of the course will be chosen by your teacher but you can talk to the teacher and/or students in Year 11 to find out what your school does. As for the HSC the Core is WWI and again electives to be chosen by your teacher.
You will be able to cope as you have the basic skills you have been taught in 7 - 10 like comprehending and analysising sources (although some schools even leave the full analysis of sources work to Year 11 anyway) - there is no prior knowledge
The difficulty of the terms you have to learn will depend on which options your school does e.g. if it does the US there would be fewer terms than say Germany or Russia where some foriegn language terms would be necessary.

Is it better than Ancient - that is a personal opinion question and you may find it better or worse but that would be your individual opinion.

I did both for the HSC waaaaaayyyyyyy back in the dim dark past and teach both and I can say right now there are times I prefer Modern over Ancient and then I will prefer Ancient over Modern.

 

[LoveHateSchool]

-Is it interesting? Yes
-Does it scale well? Better than ancient, only humanities that scales higher that I know of is Economics. Definitely alot better than SAC that you were originally going to do
-Do you have to write a lot of essays? No, I write much more in Economics and English.
-What are the main topics covered in the prelim and HSC course? Prelim is teacher's choice, we have done Decolonisation of Indochina, Civil Rights Movement in USA, Irish Easter Rebellion...other schools do stuff like Russian Revolution
-Do you think I will be able to cope with it considering I didn't pay attention much during Year 7 - 10, so is there prior knowledge you're expected to have? I got an B for History on my report.
Nah, no previous knowledge. The Yr 9 and 10 history course is FAIL boring Aussie history anyway. A B is pretty good, shows you have natural ability.
-Are there a lot of difficult terms to learn?
No, Communism is probably the hardest to explain, so nothing too hard.
-Is it better than Ancient in your opinion?
I have many friends that do both, the majority like Modern more. It depends on your history taste. Seeing what the ancient class learns at my school, I'm happy I'm doing Modern opposed to Ancient.

 

[strawberries122]

Another thing I wanted to ask is do they give you textbooks to refer to or just plain sheets printed out?

 

[slyhunter]

Another thing I wanted to ask is do they give you textbooks to refer to or just plain sheets printed out?

Up to your teacher I'd guess. We get a combo of both.

 

[ArtemisOrthia]

Okay first off, bear in mind that both CAFS and Society and Culture have 'major projects', CAFS being the IRP and Society and Culture being the PIP (I don't do either of those subjects, so you'll have to ask around what both those projects entail in year 12. Though, with your current mix of units Modern or Society and Culture would do nicely. Also, if you decide with Modern there is also the possiblity of picking up History Extension year 12 (which is a fantastic course as well!) n_n

In terms of your questions:
-Is it interesting?
It depends on the person, but yes I find it to be extremely interesting, both the preliminary and HSC course. Nice variety of topics to study, which gives for a broader scope of learning and experiences.

-Does it scale well?
It comparison to other Humanities, yes. But in terms of all the subjects, its about average.

-Do you have to write a lot of essays?
Yes. But both Society and Culture and Modern have huge contents and strenuous essays. In the HSC exam, you are required to compelte two 25 mark essays, two 10 mark essays (one being a source analysis) and one 15 mark essay, along with multiple choice and short answer. Sounds like a lot, but it's actually not too bad. I find it much better structured than Ancient.

-What are the main topics covered in the prelim and HSC course?
This you'll have to check the Syllabus. There's a HUGE range of topics to chose from for both Preliminary and HSC. Usually in year 11, teachers will ask what students want to study and go from there, though in year 12 they do stick to what they'e taught previously. Best way to determine this, is to ask current year 12 students / or the teachers what is being taught, then you'll have a better idea. Oh, and you have a historical investigation in year 11, pretty much an assignment where you chose the topic and the question, its very much 'your-choice' and has a lot of freedom.

-Do you think I will be able to cope with it considering I didn't pay attention much during Year 7 - 10, so is there prior knowledge you're expected to have? I got an B for History on my report.
Yes. Virtually nothing carries over from years 7-10. Well, I lie. Skills such as source analysis are still imperative, but teachers will run over that. And if you can remember what a primary and secondary source is, you're set! n_n

-Are there a lot of difficult terms to learn?
Depends on the topics. We study Germany this year, so a few German words, easy to learn, difficulty is the spelling.

-Is it better than Ancient in your opinion?
Varies from person to person. I like Ancient more, less war based. Modern (especially year 12) has been greatly based on World War I and World War II, and the constant conflict grows unbearable to sit through lesson after lesson.

In the end, it is up to you. Best thing is to have a look at the syllabus talk to some current year 12's at your school (they can tell you what's been taught, and how well!). Also remember to keep in mind the major projects you'll have from CAFS and Society and Culture, and the possibility of picking up that extension unit in year 12. Good luck with your decision.

 

[strawberries122]

Also, what kind of essays? What kind of questions? Are these essays meant to be done in class or at home, or both?

 

[ArtemisOrthia]

Best to look at some past HSC questions if you want a feel for the type of questions that will be asked. Nothing out of the ordinary, assess, evaluate, account, explain, all those higher order questions.

Depends on the internal assessment tasks. Some might be take home, others in class. The essays Cem and myself were referring to were those done in the HSC exam itself, so that will be done at school, and so will half yearlies and trials which should have a similar structure.

 

[ArtemisOrthia]

Another thing I wanted to ask is do they give you textbooks to refer to or just plain sheets printed out?

My teacher uses a combo of both. For the CORE we had a set text book, plus handouts and as such. Though many teachers will photocopy several sources and compile them in a mega-booklet for you. Mainly because, sections require the study of Historians and their opinions, thus that requires different sources. Best way to find out is to ask current year 11s and 12s at your school to what the teachers prefer to do.

 

[enoilgam]

- Depends if you like modern
- Modern scales extremely well. Excluding extension subjects, modern consistantly scales in the top 5-6 of all 2 unit subjects (Generally, physics, chemistry and english scale better, whilst two unit and economics scale marginally higher, but sometimes they scale lower)
- You will need to write heaps of essays for modern
- The topics covered in prelim and HSC differ from school to school. Generally, year 12 topics are far more interesting then year 11 topics
- The difference between yr 7-10 History and Modern is enormous. I wouldnt worry if you havent done extremely well in it thus far
- Modern History is really about "terms" and that sort of thing. Its more about your analysis of the issues which arise out of historical events etc. For example, a HSC Modern essay on the Russian front of World War 2 would probably be "Analyse the significance of the russian front to Germany's defeat in WW2". They will never ask a question like "Explain the events which occured on the Russian front"
- I havent done ancient, but its really down to personal choice.

At my school we used a textbook, but I know quite a few schools dont use one. If yours doesnt, buy the excel modern textbook, it is really thorough and detailed.

 

[strawberries122]

What are some good tips to writing an good essay for the course?

 

[slyhunter]

What are some good tips to writing an good essay for the course?

You will learn everything you need in Prelim; that's what it's for. Stop worrying.

 

[ArtemisOrthia]

Ahaha, bit early don't you think? n_n

But,
Don't NARRATE the history! Make sure you infuse argument into your essays, by the use of sources and Historians.
Have a careful and strict structure.
USE sources to enhance arguments.
Keep to the question, don't go on long irrelevant rambles - only wasting time.
Remember to REFER to the sources when the question asks.
Remember to use OWN knowledge when the question asks.

That's just some generic stuff, changes a tad depending on the Section you're writing for, but that's just some overall stuff. My brain is on holiday mode and doesn't want to think anymore. n_n