how to do well in history extension? (1 Viewer)

[sweetalmond]

So, what do you have to do in history extension to do well. I'm not talking so much about the project, but the essays, case study and final hsc exam.
My teacher says we should read widely. Should I summarise every article I read? I'm not sure, what I need to know or how to study for history extension. Like when does Post modernism and stuff come into the picture???
super lost,
if u could just tell me how you studied for this subject it would help greatly

 

[edwardf316]

Read about the historians you study in class and organise any summaries you make about them so they follow the key questions from the syllabus (YOU NEED TO KNOW THE SYLLABUS)
• Who are the historians?
• What are the aims and purposes of history?
• How has history been constructed and recorded over time?
• Why have approaches to history changed over time?

You will cover Post-modern historians later, don't worry about it yet if you haven't covered them.

P.S. I've noticed that you have posted a lot in this group asking questions about how to manage exthist. Although its understandable that your curious or nervous, let me just say that you need to relax. You've been doing the subject for 4 weeks and do not have an exam for 5-6 months

 

[Tink]

Hext isn't that hard of a subject at all; not if you keep on top of it. Work on the project, get it done, and that's half the course.

- Know your historians. Know them well.

- Start reading things with a pencil in your hand, underline obvious bias or overly used adjectives etc, it gets you in the hext mindset, questioning historians etc etc all those good things.

- It's like any other subject; have summaries.

- Definitely know your syllabus. Know the dotpoints you're focusing on in your case study as well. My class did Jesus Christ; I chose 3 out of 5 dotpoints to focus on. Choose 2-3 and know them well.

- Your teacher is amazing. Love thy teacher and thy shall succeed.

 

[Constantine]

Be judicial about what goes into your notes

For History Extension you will only be required two essays at the end of the day so I would not personally advise you to summarise every article you read because the amount of information you need and can use is limited, so be judicial and selective about which ones to learn. Maybe summarise the key points of the handouts and readings once a fortnight and that for me, was more than enough.

Do read a wide range of materials

I do agree with your teacher's advise to read wisely. Open up your minds about history writing and the 'history of history'!

History for us high school students has been traditionally learning about facts here and there and historical events rather than making your own interpretations as the HSC essay questions can be challenged depending on you. Henceforth HisExt requires a completely different approach and perspective so it might feel strange at first - thus reading a lot will definitely help.

The state library has some great stuff. I spent two whole days there during the holidays reading stuff and summarised them briefly and they were used throughout the year as the basis of my thesis and judgements.

Make a glossary of the key terms

This was something I regret not doing consistently. Throughout the course I came across some fabulous words and when used correctly in an essay, saved me heaps of time on further explanations. It also contributed to the so called B6 terminology and upgrades the markers' impression of your work. Even simply words like Thucydides and Herodotus being the inaugurators of history etc.

Know your historian according to the syllabus dot-points

In other words, make notes on the historians according to the syllabus. There's no point in knowing too much extra info. as what they can ask will always be related to the syllabus even if it's a mix-mash of them. Eg. the sources available to them, their contextual influence.

When in doubt, ask

Chances are your HisExt is super knowledgeable in the subject so use them well if that's the case. Ask what the previous top students did, take in that advice and go one step further. I harrassed my teacher for past top students' responses and major works to get an idea of the expectations and worked hard to ensure that if possible, exceed them.


Good luck!

 

[sweetalmond]

Thanks so much for your advice and tips. It was really helpful.

 

[Dachsy]

*Note that this is purely my opinion and I'm no HSC marker or history extension expert but I managed to get an E4 so this might help somewhat (?):

- Your teacher probably has already said this before, but mention context with everything.
- You'll eventually learn about postmodernism and you will likely find yourself mentioning postmodernism in the finals.
- Summarising articles is a good idea if you have the time (don't neglect your other subjects). I casually read some chapters of few historiography books so ideas could seep in. And I also grabbed quotes that were intriguing. Not entirely sure if this would be beneficial (different markers, different preferences) but maybe try to find a few sources that aren't/weren't widely discussed in class to add more originality to your essays?
- It's important to practice questions like the ones they set in the exam. Try to get hold of those questions with the long paragraphs and see how many links to historical concepts you can find. The more you practice, the better you get at identifying those links c:. Writing responses to obscure stimuli really forces you to think about the historical concept/historians and what they could mean. Needless to say, underline the key words/phrases and annotate the exam paper.

Since Hist Ext is less content based you don't need to study as much as, say Modern or English Extension. Just know the historians, their historical thought, their background and their context and you should be fine.
Good luck! I think you will do well seeing that you are taking initiative in this subject .

 

[Erique]

Everything said above has basically covered the gist of it. Might I add that Section 1 is not done well ROTE-learned. You need to understand each historian's methodologies. I best did this by constructing table headings with biography, methods of historical construction + language and style, as well as my personal opinion of the historian (this was a way of practicing argumentation). In Section 1, you will challenge, affirm, and make links between the stimulus > the historical methodology > and the other historians you have studied. Doing this reinforces a very firm structure for your essay.

Summarising articles will help, but only to an extent. What also helped me was arguing aloud as if I were presenting a seminar on why x y z historians are biased, or how their method of construction was shaped by their context.

Hope that helps!