2014 Notes from the Marking Centre – Modern History
Introduction
This document has been produced for the teachers and candidates of the Stage 6 Modern History course. It contains comments on candidate responses to the 2014 Higher School Certificate examination, highlighting their strengths in particular parts of the examination and indicating where candidates need to improve.
This document should be read along with:
- the Modern History Stage 6 Syllabus
- the 2014 Higher School Certificate Modern History examination
- the marking guidelines
- Advice for HSC students about examinations
- other support documents developed by the Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards NSW to assist in the teaching and learning of Modern History in Stage 6.
Section I – World War I 1914–1919
Question 4
Candidates showed strength in these areas:
- using the source to name one feature of trench warfare and how it made it difficult to break the stalemate.
Candidates need to improve in these areas:
- making a clear link between the feature named and the difficulty in breaking the stalemate.
Question 7
Candidates showed strength in these areas:
- using Sources A and D and own knowledge to outline strategies and tactics that were used to break the stalemate on the Western Front
- either using own knowledge to add value to the information contained in the sources or clearly differentiating own knowledge from the information contained in the sources.
Candidates need to improve in these areas:
- ensuring that their answer outlines strategies and tactics rather than giving a simple discussion of weapons
- ensuring that they refer to both sources.
Question 8
Candidates showed strength in these areas:
- making a judgement about the usefulness of Sources C and E for a historian studying the nature of trench warfare
- understanding of ‘perspective’ and, to a lesser extent, ‘reliability’.
Candidates need to improve in these areas:
- making a more explicit judgement of usefulness by using the terms of the question, ie usefulness, reliability and perspective rather than content, origin, motive and purpose
- avoiding simplistic generalisations such as ‘Source E is useful and reliable because it is a primary source’
- ensuring that both sources are given appropriate consideration in their response
- providing a judgement rather than a description of the sources or being distracted by unusual images, eg the skeleton of a goat in Source C
- providing too much context or background rather than answering the question.
Section II – National Studies
Questions 9–17
Candidates showed strength in these areas:
- making a judgement or assessment
- presenting a sophisticated argument or explanation as the question requires
- using very specific, relevant and accurate historical information.
Candidates need to improve in these areas:
- providing a sustained judgement or assessment rather than a narrative response or generalisation
- integrating specific historical detail to support the response
- making reference to the statement where it is part of the question.
Section III – Personalities in the Twentieth Century
Question 18
Candidates showed strength in these areas:
- providing a detailed, relevant and accurate description (Q.18 (a))
- using a range of appropriate historical terms and concepts (Q.18 (a) and (b))
- making an assessment with a logical and cohesive argument (Q.18 (b))
- evaluating the significance of the personality studied (Q.18 (b))
- making specific reference to the statement where it is part of the question (Q.18 (b)).
Candidates need to improve in these areas:
- responding to the question rather than relying on prepared answers (Q.18 (a) and (b))
- making an assessment rather than generalisations (Q.18 (a))
- ensuring that information is relevant to the parameters of the question (Q.18 (a))
- avoiding narrative and descriptive responses (Q.18(b))
- making reference to the statement where it is part of the question (Q.18 (b)).
Section IV – International Studies in Peace and Conflict
Questions 19–25
Candidates showed strength in these areas:
- addressing the question asked with a clear judgement
- using appropriate terms and concepts
- providing detailed and accurate historical information
- presenting a sustained and detailed assessment.
Candidates need to improve in these areas:
- avoiding narrative or descriptive responses that do not make a judgement
- making reference to the statement where it is part of the question
- including relevant historical knowledge rather than generalisations.
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