stage 1 history assessment type 1: folio essay vietnam war sally mangan/cardijn college 1

Sally Mangan/Cardijn College 1

GUIDE TO WRITING A SUCCESSFUL ESSAY

Stage 1 HistoryAssessment Type 1: Folio EssayVietnam War


Step 1: Choose my Question In this task, you have the choice of

essay question you wish to respond to. It is of your benefit that you choose the essay you feel most comfortable with

In the following slides, the expectation of each essay question will be elaborated on…

CHOOSE WISELY


OPTION 1:

Discuss the Vietnam War in relation to the causes, nature and the consequences of the war on each of the societies it affected

In this option, the three body paragraphs would address the cause, nature and final consequence of the war. In each paragraph you would need to reflect on each society it affected; South Vietnamese/ North Vietnamese and US/Australia


OPTION 2:

‘Major battles are not without their consequences.’ Discuss the consequences of a major battle of the Vietnam War. Argue your case in relation to the causes, nature and the consequences of the war on each of the societies it affected.

You have the option to choose your own battle here, but it would be HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you choose the Tet Offensive, or Long Tan, as we have studied in task.

Tet Offensive – reflect on North Vietnamese and the US

Long Tan – Vietcong/ NLF and Australian forces


OPTION 3

‘It is often the tactics that determine the nature of a conflict.’ To what extent to you agree. Argue your case in relation to the nature and consequences of the war on each of the societies it affected

In each paragraph you would be expected to explain a tactic that was specific to the Vietnam War: Operation Barrell Role, Agent Orange/ NAPALM, Search and Destroy, Guerilla tactics… and then argue to effect this had on each particular society.

This task requires a substantial amount of independent research and an ability to direct your own learning


Where to next?

Now, you need to begin to plan your essay.

Any successful essay is ACCURATELY structured. This is significant in your ability to achieve your performance standards… which I will explain later…


Paragraph Structure

Structure

What it means

T A topic sentence – you need to make reference to your essay question, the point you will discuss, and the effect of this point on the society

E Elaboration – here you need to explain in detail key concepts and ideas which strengthens your argument. Acknowledging other people’s ideas here is integral

E Evidence – it is important here that you accurately in text reference ideas from scholarly sources is a MUST

L Linking Statement – a final concluding statement which summarises your argument… ideally your linking sentence is a reworking of your topic sentence, and you need to strongly emphasise the point’s effect on society.


And now…

Now, I will demonstrate to you the accurate way to structure a paragraph

I will also highlight the performance standards reflected in the text, so you have a strong understanding of how this task will be marked

For examples sake, I will use question one…


The use of key terms

and subject specific

language

Discuss the Vietnam War in relation to the causes, nature and the consequences of the war on each of the societies it affected

TOPIC SENTENCE

The ‘Domino Theory’ and spread of communism in South East Asia was the most significant cause for the Vietnam War.

This makes direct reference to the

question and tells the marker the point of

the paragraph

This demonstrates

your understanding

of the key causeAlso uses

subject specific language


R1- Role of

individuals

R1 – Role of individuals

KU2 –shaped by internal/ external

forces

ELABORATION KU2 – identify and

explain concepts

The ‘Domino Theory’ was the basis for the US and Australian occupation of

Vietnam. The idea that if one national ‘fell’ to communism in Vietnam, that

the rest of the region would fall, was thought to be a direct effect for

Australia’s involvement, and the US anti-communist agenda. The Communist

North, led by Ho Chi Minh, originally were looking for free elections to unite

Vietnam after the Geneva Agreement in 1954, where Vietnam was split along

the 17th parallel (Phillips, 2001). However, the US resisted this and argued

that elections would not suffice to ensure fairness in government. So, the US,

supported by Australia as an ally, sent army intelligence officers, and then

troops to ‘protect’ democracy in South Vietnam (Classroom Video, 1990);


EVIDENCE

“To the US government the war was less about Vietnamese independence than it was a conflict between communism and the capitalist free world” (Phillips, 2001, pg 83).

C1 – informed argument

KU1 – shaping of

internal/external factors

C2- use of subject specific conventions… ALL IN TEXT

REFERENCEING


LINKING SENTENCE

Evidently, the cause of the Vietnam War was not to restore Vietnam to a unified state, but, more importantly from a pro-capitalist perspective, to ensure Vietnam would not be the would not be the first ‘Domino’ to fall in the South East Asian region .

Making a link to the

question

Key term as outlined in

topic sentence


References

Phillips, S (2001) ‘The Vietnam War 1: Escalation 1945-1968’, in The Cold War, Heinemann Publications, Melbourne, pp78 – 222

Australians in Vietnam, 1990, Film, Classroom Educational Video


The Performance Standards Knowledge and Understanding Reflection Communication

A Comprehensive and relevant explanation of how particular societies in selected periods and places have been shaped by both internal and external forces.

Insightful and well-informed identification and explanation of historical concepts.

Well-informed and insightful understanding and appreciation of the role of particular individuals and groups in history.

Well-structured and coherent communication of well-informed and relevant arguments.

Consistent, clear, and appropriate use of subject-specific language and conventions.

B Well-considered and relevant explanation of how particular societies in selected periods and places have been shaped by both internal and external forces.

Well-informed identification and explanation of historical concepts.

Well-informed understanding and appreciation of the role of particular individuals and groups in history, with some insight.

Structured and mostly coherent communication of informed and relevant arguments.

Clear and appropriate use of subject-specific language and conventions.

C Considered and relevant explanation of how particular societies in selected periods and places have been shaped by both internal and external forces.

Informed identification and explanation of historical concepts.

Informed understanding and appreciation of the role of particular individuals and groups in history.

Generally coherent communication of informed and relevant arguments.

Mostly appropriate use of subject-specific language and conventions.

D Recognition and basic understanding of some aspects of how particular societies have been shaped by both internal and external forces.

Basic awareness and some description of historical concepts.

Some awareness and recognition of the role of particular individuals and groups in history.

Basic communication of aspects of an argument.

Some appropriate use of subject-specific language and conventions, with inaccuracies.


The Learning Cycle


Effective Reading Strategies The nature of subject like History is

that there is a lot of reading. When you are reading text books, websites, newspaper articles etc, its important to remember these effective reading strategies. Whilst it takes time in the beginning, it saves you time later!


Effective Reading Strategies THE FIVE POINT READING PLAN Predict What do you already know about this subject? What do you

expect the text to talk about? Go to the Index at the back. Pick out the key words or names you need to follow up. Look at the information about the authors of the text and the date when the book or article was first published. This may help you to understand the authors' point of view and where their work fits in with other publications in the same field.

Skim the contents page before you begin reading. It will give you an overview of what the book covers and what the authors thought was important. Move quickly through the first and last paragraphs to get a general idea of the content of the text.

Scan Look for specific information, including your keywords and their synonyms.

Analyse When you have found relevant paragraphs, read them more carefully. Be an active reader. Ask questions like, 'What is the author saying?' 'How can I use this information?' 'Does this agree or disagree with other readings?' 'How does this information relate to my experience?'

Note Take careful notes.


These add formality and structure to your writing, and link your ideas logically…

Using sentence starters…

Connectives - build logical cohesion in your writing• Additional - Firstly, Next,, Also, Moreover,

Furthermore• Comparative - In contrast to this, however,

yet, on the contrary OR likewise, similarly, in the same way, equally

• Causal - As a result, Due to, Therefore, Thus, Consequently

• Concessional - In spite of this, Having considered one side, Despite…

• Exemplary - For example, So, It is evident that

• Summative - Overall, Having considered all arguments


Task:

Working in pairs/ threes, re-write the TEEL structured paragraph above

Using the Performance Standards, figure out how you could improve on this paragraph to increase the grade band…

stage 1 history assessment type 1: folio essay vietnam war sally mangan/cardijn college 1

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