Thinking of doing Extension History in year 12 but not quite sure.... How is it? (1 Viewer)

[hsienerddd345]

Ok so I know without a doubt I have a passion for history and since the beginning of the year have considered doing history extension in year 12. I'm doing subject selections right now and so far have chosen: English Advanced, Standard 2 Maths, Legal Studies, Modern History, Ancient History (the only reason I did the 2 histories is because I couldn't choose between the two and decided to do both. I know I LOVE ancient history but I wanted to see whether I liked modern or not. and if i don't like modern well then i'm gonna drop it and do business studies xD) and SOR 2 which is a total of 12 units.
I don't want to drop SOR 2 in year 12 but at the same time I'm scared of taking a risk and doing 13 units. I definitely stress under pressure and am questioning whether I am capable of handling such a workload. Also I don't want to do SOR 1 and prefer to do SOR 2 since if I don't like it then I can always drop it. But I know for sure I won't be dropping SOR however only time will tell I guess.

But before I get myself into extension history I just have a few questions.

Q1: What exactly do you learn in history extension?

Q2: Is it hard?

Q3: Do you think it would be possible to juggle 13 units with extension history being one of my subjects?

Q4: Does anyone have any experience with extension history? If so, how was it?

Q5: Any tips on how to do well in this subject?



Also another question completely unrelated to history extension but just had to askkkk:

- Can I get a good atar with the subjects I listed before?

I know its not always about scaling but I just wanna know because the subjects I have chosen aren't the best scaling subjects and so I'm kinda doubting whether I can even surpass 90. But then again I could be wrong...

 

[_rakelt]

omg i loveD history extension

 

[_rakelt]

1. History extension is VERY different to your generic ancient/modern history. In modern history or ancient, you concentrate on what happened, and the aftermath (cause + effect). However, ext his is SUPER different as you concentrate on how a historical event has been altered and changed over time to be perceived as it was today. This can include technological advancements, bias of authors, differing morals etc. It sometimes can get philosophical too. It is DEFINITELY a very unique subject and the hsc test is quite different in that you are expected to write an essay on the spot using a lengthy extract. However, im sure your teacher will guide you through this with past papers.

2. Is it hard? It depends on yourself. I found it hard as I didn't have any friends to collaborate and work with. My class only had 6 of us and all of us was quite independent so I was shy to talk to my classmates and ask on their opinions sometimes lol. I found this to be a barrier, but also one that I overcame. In terms of the syllabus, I don't think it is necessarily hard but you are expected to broaden your thinking (especially with themes) and LINK TO THE STIMULUS. + Also need to have a good memory and write fast for hsc lol

3. Juggling 13 units? I think its possible but dont lose track. I did 12 units (inc ext his). However, I do warn you that I think its best if you concentrate on a smaller number of subjects rather than so many

4.Yes - loved extension his. I was struggling with it with the first topic (what is history?) as it was super abstract and philosophical.... so different to what you would learn in modern or ancient with a straight forward linear storyline. However, after looking over so many past exemplary essays and practicing your own (AND GETTING FEEDBACK!!!!) then you are on the pathway to a beautiful E4 lmao

5. Tips to do well? Brainstorm, have key points in mind, and most importantly.. cannot emphasise enough: practice and GET FEEDBACK. Your teachers feedback is so fken valuable you just have to. I was super shy to email my teachers and annoy them... and i hated seeing so much criticism on my work.. but it is all worth it!

And finally, ofc you can do well with those subjects. You seem like a very essay-based student so I think you will love ext his.

Goodluck!!!

 

[_rakelt]

ALSO! I dropped SOR 2 --> To SOR 1 and took up history extension : ) I think its a good idea to do so

 

[periodmami]

t is DEFINITELY a very unique subject and th

hi

 

[_rakelt]

hi

hihi

 

[sukssj]

just my personal opinion
Q1: What exactly do you learn in history extension?
We don't actually learn a lot, if any, history in history ext. What we do learn is the history of history and this is called historiography.
Q2: Is it hard?
I thought it was pretty hard because it's a completely new way of thinking
Q3: Do you think it would be possible to juggle 13 units with extension history being one of my subjects?
Yes, as long as you are consistent with studying and manage time well
Q4: Does anyone have any experience with extension history? If so, how was it?
I absolutely hated it but mostly because I was a lazy student who didn't like memorising stuff and genuinely couldn't get my head around the obscure and meta concepts. This is a very high content course and a lot of academic reading needs to be done which I found drier than the sahara desert.
Q5: Any tips on how to do well in this subject?
For the HSC you need to write 2 essays and you get one hour on each. Don't memorise an essay for the first question because they'll give you a long extract with which to respond to so make sure you memorise all your historians really well, know their perspectives and methodologies and quotes and also memorise themes that relate to the nature of history. The second essay is on a case study and is usually just a short question so I suggest writing out a killer essay on a general question about changing perspectives or something and just adapting it to the question. And most important of all - YOU NEED TO HAVE YOUR OWN OPINION ON HISTORY. What history is, whether truth can be achieved in history, whether objectivity can be achieved in history, what the purpose of historians are, what the purpose of history is, that kind of question where there are no right and no wrong answers. That was my downfall in ext because I didn't even understand the opinions of other historians, let alone have enough understanding to formulate my own. Build your understanding of what you think the construction of history is early on and as you progress through the year see how that links to other historians throughout time and their perspectives.

Honestly if you have a passion for history, it's likely you'll enjoy it so choose it and see what you think. Plus it scales pretty highly.