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2010 HSC Notes from the Marking Centre — Modern History

Contents

Introduction

This document has been produced for the teachers and candidates of the Stage 6 course in Modern History. It contains comments on responses to the 2010 Higher School Certificate examination, indicating the quality of the responses and highlighting their relative strengths and weaknesses.

This document should be read along with the relevant syllabus, the 2010 Higher School Certificate examination, the marking guidelines and other support documents that have been developed by the Board of Studies to assist in the teaching and learning of Modern History.

General comments

Teachers and candidates should be aware that examiners may ask questions that address the syllabus outcomes in a manner that requires candidates to respond by integrating their knowledge, understanding and skills developed through studying the course.

Candidates need to be aware that the marks allocated to the question and the answer space (where this is provided on the examination paper) are guides to the length of the required response. A longer response will not in itself lead to higher marks. Writing in excess of the space allocated may reduce the time available for answering other questions.

Candidates need to be familiar with the Board’s Glossary of Key Words which contains some terms commonly used in examination questions. However, candidates should also be aware that not all questions will start with or contain one of the key words from the glossary. Questions such as ‘how?’, ‘why?’ or ‘to what extent?’ may be asked or verbs may be used which are not included in the glossary, such as ‘design’, ‘translate’ or ‘list’.

Section I – Core study

Question 7

Most candidates had no difficulty with this question. Candidates gave reasons, from both the source and their own knowledge, for the difficulty of evacuating men from the trenches. Candidates are reminded to make explicit reference to the source.

Question 8

Candidates used information from both sources to explain why there was a change in soldiers’ attitudes to the war over time.

Stronger responses demonstrated a clear contrast between early enthusiasm of the soldiers and the later war weariness, with explicit reference to both sources and to candidates’ own knowledge.

In weaker responses, candidates used the information in both sources to describe conditions in the trenches without reference to a corresponding change in attitudes.

Question 9

In better responses, candidates focused on the terms ‘useful’, ‘perspectives’ and ‘reliability’, as well as the focus of the question, ‘different goals of Clemenceau, Lloyd George and Wilson in creating the Treaty of Versailles’. In weaker responses, candidates struggled with these terms, particularly ‘useful’ and they focused on context.

Section II – National studies

General comments

In better responses, candidates made a clear judgement and sustained that argument throughout, incorporating key features and detail. In weaker responses, candidates provided generalisations or a narrative.

The most popular options were Germany 1918–1939 and Russia/Soviet Union 1917–1941.

Question 11 – Option B: China 1927–1949

  1. In better responses, candidates argued that the initial aim of national unity by the Guomindang (GMD/Kuomintang) changed to self-interest with their desire to defeat the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) during the 1930s.

    In weaker responses, candidates narrated the events of the Nationalist decade and focused on the relationship between the GMD and the CCP. In these responses, candidates did not address the ‘to what extent’ aspect of the question. Most candidates discussed the events of the decade and showed how the GMD competed with the CCP for power.
  2. Most responses correctly showed that the main impact of Japanese imperialism was the shift in power from the GMD to the CCP. In better responses, candidates showed how and why this occurred, and discussed the different responses of Mao and Jiang in relation to the Japanese. These responses also showed how attitudes towards Japanese imperialism led to different internal policies such as relationships between the parties and the peasants, as well as highlighting how by the end of World War II, the attitudes of the peasants had firmed towards the CCP.

Question 12 – Option C: Germany 1918–1939

  1. Some candidates examined the influence of the German army on a range of successes and failures of the Weimar Republic between 1919 and 1933. In better responses, candidates established and supported a sustained argument which clearly assessed the influence of the German army. Some of these focused on the army alone, while others mentioned other successes and failures to support their argument. Some responses examined the successes and failures, but neglected to assess the influence of the army.

    In weaker responses, candidates provided a narrative of events in the period but did not address successes and failures or judge the influence of the army.
  2. Better responses included a judgement regarding the extent of Hitler’s role in Nazi Germany over the whole time period and evaluated, rather than described, this role. These responses dealt with different aspects of the Nazi state and made a judgement about his role for each and how it changed over time.

    In weaker responses, candidates tended to write a narration. They described and outlined aspects of the Nazi state such as propaganda, social issues and fear, but tended to not make a judgement about how much of a role Hitler had, except that he was the leader of Germany. Some candidates substituted the word ‘Hitler’ for ‘Nazi Party’.

Question 16 – Option G: Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941

  1. In better responses, candidates made a clear judgement about the impact of the NEP and whether or not it was essential to the consolidation of power. Weaker responses contained narratives focusing on the reasons without making a judgement about the importance of NEP to this process.
  2. Better responses contained a clear judgement of the impact of the purges on the development of Stalinism over the whole period of the 1930s. Candidates demonstrated a clear understanding of Stalinism and showed how the impact of the purges developed over time. In weaker responses, candidates tended to write a narration and focused on the impact of the purges on society as opposed to their impact on the development of Stalinism.

Question 17 – Option H: South Africa 1960–1994

  1. In better responses, candidates focused on the changing nature of national resistance to apartheid and showed how the Sharpeville massacre brought about these changes. Most candidates saw Sharpeville as significant in radicalising national resistance. In weaker responses, candidates tended to write a narration of the events following Sharpeville rather than assessing its significance. Some candidates chose to deal with international resistance which was only of passing relevance.
  2. In better responses, candidates differentiated between repression and oppression and dealt with their effectiveness separately. Some responses were most effective as they compared both methods with other means used by the government, and made judgements as to their effectiveness. In weaker responses, candidates tended to combine repression and oppression and demonstrated little understanding of the differences between them.

Question 18 – Option I: USA 1919–1941

  1. In better responses, candidates made a clear judgement about the significance of Republican policies in causing the Great Depression. These responses included links between specific policies and the factors that led to the Great Depression. They also provided detailed, relevant historical information to support their argument.

    In weaker responses, candidates tended to provide a narrative or generalisation about each of the Republican presidents and/or causes of the Great Depression.
  2. (b) In better responses, candidates considered the impact economic difficulties had on workers in the 1930s in comparison to other groups – African Americans, women and farmers. They discussed the various categories of workers and/or how they were affected at different times. These students substantiated their argument with accurate, detailed information about the Great Depression and also the effect of the New Deal. Weaker responses tended to contain a generalised narrative about the Great Depression and/or the New Deal. Such responses did not incorporate historical information, nor did they consider the effects, as the question asked.

Section III – Personalities in the twentieth century

Question 19

General comments

Many candidates provided an ordered, relevant and accurate description, with better responses containing greater detail and a range of appropriate historical terms and concepts.

There was a range of responses to part (b) containing a clear judgement about how accurate the statement was in relation to the personality studied. However, some candidates made minimal reference to the statement and then wrote either a prepared response or another description of the personality’s life. When a statement is provided in the question, it is essential to respond to it throughout the response. Better answers had such discussion integrated into a well-supported argument.

Candidates are reminded to clearly identify the two separate parts of the question.

The most common personalities were Albert Speer, Leni Riefenstahl and Leon Trotsky.

Specific comments

Albert Speer

  1. In the better responses, candidates described in a detailed, ordered manner, the life of Speer up to 1981. In weaker responses, candidates tended to provide a description but with less detail. Other weaker responses contained a more generalised description or contained fewer aspects of his life.
  2. In better responses, candidates established a clear argument which was then sustained throughout the discussion. These arguments presented various perspectives but the common factor was an ability to articulate a view and then support it with a range of historical evidence. In weaker responses, candidates mentioned the statement but did not provide either a clear argument and/or evidence to support any claims. A number of candidates failed to address the question, debating the life of Speer as the ‘good Nazi’, or wrote a general narrative which made some attempt at argument.

Leni Riefenstahl

  1. Better responses contained a detailed and accurate description of the complete life of Leni Riefenstahl. Mid-range responses tended to lack either chronology or complete coverage of her life, often omitting early periods or later, post-1945 periods. In weaker responses, candidates simply listed or outlined some events of her life. These responses often contained inaccuracies.
  2. In better responses, candidates addressed the statement and then applied it to Leni Riefenstahl. In such responses, candidates made a clear judgement about the statement's accuracy and support the judgement by linking cause and effect. Accurate historical issues were clearly used to show how the statement related to Leni Riefenstahl.

    In mid-range responses, candidates applied the statement to Leni Riefenstahl. However, they lacked the supporting evidence to show either how she was swept along by events or what actual advantage was achieved. Rote-learned responses with some attempt to address the statement effectively fitted into this range.

    In weaker responses, candidates tended to simply repeat the statement and make unsupported references to Leni Riefenstahl, tending to quote historians without effectively linking them to the argument. These responses also lacked detail or a range of historical concepts.

Leon Trotsky

  1. In better responses, candidates gave a detailed, ordered description of the full life of Trotsky. All major events of his life were well covered using accurate and relevant historical information. Some mid-range responses tended to contain a limited description of the life of Trotsky, often omitting certain significant events or periods, or providing a shallow outline of these events or periods. Candidates in weaker responses had a very limited description of some events or merely an outline of these events. These responses lacked both order and detail.
  2. In better responses, candidates engaged with the statement, initially addressing it, then providing a judgement while applying it to Trotsky. These responses were supported by accurate and relevant historical information. Better responses demonstrated candidates’ ability to clarify judgements with supporting evidence, showing cause and effect. Historiography, while effectively used, was not essential for the top mark range.

Ho Chi Minh

  1. In better responses, candidates provided a detailed and chronologically accurate description of Ho’s life. This included brief references to early childhood, through the different periods of Ho’s life up to his death in 1969. In weaker responses, candidates tended to give detail on Ho’s early life and then finish in 1945.
  2. In better responses, candidates made a clear judgement about both parts of the statement in relation to Ho’s life. This judgement was supported by detailed and accurate historical knowledge. Historiography could have been used to support the judgement. In weaker responses, candidates provided a narrative of events in Ho’s life or had difficulty with chronology. There were a number of responses which finished in 1945.

Mikhail Gorbachev

  1. In better responses, candidates provided a detailed, ordered description of Gorbachev’s life, containing relevant and accurate historical information. In mid-range responses, candidates tended to focus on segments of Gorbachev’s life and contained less detail and/or were less ordered. In weaker responses, candidates had serious omissions, presenting only a generalised description with limited use of historical information.
  2. In better responses, candidates made a clear judgement about both parts of the statement in relation to Gorbachev’s life. In mid-range responses, candidates simply provided a chronological account of Gorbachev’s life with a simplistic attempt to relate to the question in the conclusion. This question required a judgement about the statement, supported by a sustained, logical and well-structured argument.

Nelson Mandela

  1. In better responses, candidates presented a detailed and well-structured description of the life of Mandela. Historical information which was provided was accurate and relevant, demonstrating significant knowledge. In mid-range responses, candidates lacked the depth of detail or omitted sections of Mandela’s life. In weaker responses, candidates tended to provide simple narrative of some events in Mandela’s life without historical detail.
  2. Better responses included a clear judgement about the statement in relation to Mandela. Candidates could take whatever position they liked with the statement, and better responses argued a variety of judgements in a sustained and logical fashion. Many of the mid-range responses contained a chronological account of Mandela’s life with a simplistic attempt to relate the statement to the question in the introduction and the conclusion. Weaker responses included a descriptive narrative of Mandela’s life without addressing the question.

Section IV – International studies in peace and conflict

The most common options in this section were: Conflict in Indochina 1954–1979, Conflict in Europe 1935–1945, The Cold War 1945–1991 and Conflict in the Pacific 1937–1951.

General comments

Better responses included sophisticated arguments, backed up with factual detail and occasional relevant historiography. Weaker responses tended toward description and narration, often from prepared extended responses.

Specific comments

Question 21 – Option B: Conflict in Europe 1935–1945

  1. Better responses contained a sophisticated and sustained argument to assess the significance of the Battle of Stalingrad and the Russian campaign in leading to the allied victory in the European War. These responses linked the Russian campaign to its impact on Germany and later developments in the war. Weaker responses either included a narrative account of the events on the Eastern Front, or demonstrated only limited historical information that might incorporate some historical terms.
  2. In better responses, candidates broke down the term ‘civilians’ into ‘Jewish civilians’, ‘Gypsy civilians’, ‘Slav civilians’, ‘homosexual civilians’, etc and assessed the impact of Nazi racial policies on those groups during the European War. This then made possible a sophisticated and sustained response to the question. Weaker responses tended to describe Nazi racist policies since 1933, and did not focus on the specifics during the period of the European War. Other weaker responses focused on the wider issue of the impact of the war on civilians, including in Britain. The weakest responses contained limited historical information or did not address the question.

Question 22 – Option C: Conflict in Indochina 1954–1979

  1. In better responses, candidates presented a sophisticated and sustained argument that evaluated the effectiveness of numerous strategies and tactics implemented by the opposing sides during the Second Indochina War. Candidates supported their arguments with accurate, historical evidence and dealt with both sides equally in these responses. In weaker responses, candidates merely provided a narrative of the Second Indochina War. Many weaker responses included limited historical information or did not address the question or describe events leading up to the war.
  2. In better responses, candidates provided a sophisticated and sustained account of the rise to power of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. The arguments were supported by accurate historical evidence, and demonstrated an ability to discuss the internal problems within Cambodia under Sihanouk and later Lon Nol, as well as the impact of the war in Vietnam on the rise of the Khmer Rouge. Better responses covered the whole period up to the Khmer Rouge gaining power. In weaker responses, candidates narrated events in Cambodia or provided limited historical information. Candidates did not address the question in weaker responses, instead writing about the Khmer Rouge in power.

Question 23 – Option D: Conflict in the Pacific 1937–1951

  1. Better responses clearly focused on the extent to which the Battle of Midway was the most significant turning point in the Pacific War. These responses included a sustained and sophisticated argument which made a clear judgement on the role of Midway and linked it to other factors. Argument was supported with detailed, relevant and accurate historical information and focused substantially on the significance of Midway and its impact as a turning point, before analysing other factors. In better responses, candidates often recognised the debate concerning its significance. In weaker responses, candidates tended to provide a largely narrative account of Midway and other turning points, and lacked analysis as ‘to what extent’. In these answers, the role of Midway may have been superficially addressed but reasons for Allied victory became the focus of the response.
  2. In better responses, candidates provided a sustained assessment of the impact of the Pacific War on the home fronts in both Australia and Japan, supported by detailed analysis and accurate historical information. Candidates assessed the impact equally on both the Australian and Japanese home fronts and analysed economic, political and social impacts. Weaker responses were often written in a narrative style and were uneven, focusing more on the social impacts on the home front in Australia and neglecting Japan.

Question 24 – Option E: Arab–Israeli Conflict 1948–1996

  1. In better responses, candidates sustained a sophisticated argument through to 1967, while maintaining the link to the 1948 crisis. In mid-range responses, candidates attempted a sound argument on the significance of the crisis in 1948 to the continuing conflict between the Palestinians and Israelis to 1967, but they were largely narrative rather than supporting an argument. In weaker responses, candidates described events from 1948 to the 1967 war and in some cases, narrated events from before 1948 in an attempt to establish the foundations of the conflict, rather than addressing the question.
  2. Most candidates showed thorough knowledge of the peace processes between 1987 and 1996. In better responses, candidates made a clear judgement about the support and opposition that existed to the peace process during the period. Mid-range responses demonstrated a sound argument and kept to the time frame of the question and dealt with significant events pertaining to the peace processes in terms of support and opposition. In weaker responses, candidates largely did not identify the supporters and opponents.

Question 25 – Option F: The Cold War 1945–1991

  1. In better responses, candidates addressed the question with a sophisticated and sustained analysis linking the creation of the Berlin Wall in 1961 to later developments of the Cold War. They made a clear judgement about the extent to which the construction of the Berlin Wall symbolised the ideological divide between the superpowers and linked their argument to other factors. In weaker responses, candidates described the construction of the Wall or narrated a series of Cold War crises. Candidates in some of these responses confused the Berlin Wall with the Berlin Blockade and described the development of the Cold War. Overall, many candidates struggled to address the ‘to what extent’ component of the question.
  2. In better responses, candidates addressed the question with a sophisticated and comprehensive evaluation of the successes and failures of Detente. They incorporated accurate and relevant historical information to support their argument and provided equal evaluation for both the US and USSR. Mid-range responses contained a sound argument of the successes and failures of Detente but lacked evaluation. In weaker responses, candidates merely presented a chronological narration of the events and/or treaties of Détente.

20110126

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