dont worry about the "not sticking" thing. It's history. Every useless fact links to another. Get the idea/concept/gist going and you just gotta have stamina to blab about it whilst not going off track. when all the content boils down, that's all it really is
*caramel adele* said:
i dont get modern. it seems to be the hardest subject out out of all of them. for the cold war, for example, how ae you supposed to condense a whole term/semester's work into one 30mark essay? it just seems too hard.
and the questions they could ask can cover any timeperiod within what you are studying.
how do u kno what to study for?
modern is my hardest subject. if i don't do well in it i think i might cry.
i think there are three reasons why they are making you (and me, previously) study craploads of narrative history
1. you got a HSC yr to fill. Let's torture them...
2. You really have to understand a large section of the period in order to place individual events and situations in proper context.
3. they need to have a large set of topics/concepts/events to examine you on!! Haha
now, the only part you should focus on in those 3 things are obviously 2 and 3. Nobody expects you to be able to recite the Cold War topic in your textbook off by heart.. If anything, they DONT want you to do that. Briefly read through that topic. You should be at the very least familiar with the topic. Try to see the big picture of what's going on.
LOOK at the past q's for your topic/elective. No, you wont get the same q's. Yes, they can be predictable but it will SHOW you how they strcture their questions. We can't unpick what they will examine in 2005, but you CAN grab the gist of what they want from you in general. In the conflict studies, the general overview of a q would be to examine you on, say, an individual event and link to the developing wider conflict emerging in the region. This is one example.
Now, you don't go off running and study tiny events. The question to ask yourself is: Have I read enough overall to really UNDERSTAND the conflict as a whole? If that is all set then you just need to consolidate knowledge and when you are in the exam, you will understand enough to be able to tie it into an essay.
I'm at the end of this spiel and reading over what I said above, I'm not very clear am I? Lol. Sorry. BAsically, what I am trying to say is to focus on getting your head around the topic. Reading and memorising make seem more effective but I think by this point, you should be reaosnably familiar with the topic. It's more effective to comprehend what you are studying by thinking it through.