written by maddison leach, milana gusavac, and yifan shen. to get a band 6/how to get a... ·...

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Written by Maddison Leach, Milana Gusavac, and Yifan Shen.

Copyright © Art of Smart Education 2019

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Table of Contents How to Get a Band 6 in HSC Modern History

HSC Modern History Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World

3 Essential Steps to Memorise Everything for Modern History

How to Write a 10/10 Modern History Source Analysis

How to Play Devil’s Advocate to Write a Better Modern History Response

Top 15 HSC Modern History Historian Quotes You Need to Ace Your Responses


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HSC Modern History Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World As you’ve likely heard by now, NESA is in the process of overhauling practically the entire HSC syllabus, including HSC Modern History.

The biggest change to the Modern History syllabus is about to be encountered by students.

Gone are the days of the source based WWI study; the HSC Modern History students will begin their HSC Course with the new core study, Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919- 1946.

Sounds a bit vague, right?

So, are you wondering what exactly will you be studying, and how will it be assessed?

Let’s explore new HSC Modern History syllabus and help break down the Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World.

What’s the New Core Module All About?

Classes will spend 30 hours studying the new core, in which they will “investigate the rise of fascist, totalitarian and military movements after WWI.”

The syllabus is split into two parts: a ‘Survey’ (3 hours) and a ‘Focus of Study’ (27 hours).


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Part 1: Survey – WW1 Peace Treaties The Survey section of the syllabus acts to give students background context to the study, with an “overview of the treaties that ended WWI and their consequences.”

This will help students to understand and evaluate factors contributing to the development of political regimes in the countries examined in the Focus of Study.

Part 2: Focus of Study – Rise of Dictatorships after WW1 Next the module continues from this with the focus of study, starting with “the conditions that enabled dictators to rise to power” and the features of dictatorships in Russia, Italy and Japan.

This means that students will likely learn about social, political and economic issues that allowed dictatorships to emerge, the structure and ideology of these regimes, and how social and political life changed under them.

From here, the bulk of the syllabus resembles the old National Study of Germany: 1918-1939, with students studying Nazi Germany from 1933-1939 as a key example of Power and Authority.

In the study of Germany, students will thoroughly learn about how the Nazi Regime consolidated power, by studying party ideology, key individuals and the means by which authority in the totalitarian state was maintained.

Students will also look at how social and cultural life, particularly for minority groups, was impacted by the regime.

The Core Study concludes by looking at ‘The Search for Peace and Security,’ involving a comparative of the territorial and authoritarian ambitions of Germany and Japan in the 20th Century.

Students will also learn about the formation of the League of Nations and the United Nations, and the purpose and powers of these organisations in maintaining international peace and security.

How will I be assessed? The requirements for assessment for the new HSC Modern History Syllabus have changed.


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Internal HSC Assessment

This applies to the entirety of the new Year 12 HSC Modern History course, and the assessment for the Core Study will fit into the above requirements, however exactly how your school assesses you within these guidelines is up to them.

However, a source analysis style assessment is quite likely, as this will allow students to practice for trials and HSC.

External HSC Assessment NESA has provided a sample exam paper outlining what the 2019 HSC Modern History Exam will look like. You can check it out here.

Based on this sample paper, the Core Study takes up one quarter of the HSC exam, with a source-based, short answer section worth 25 marks. In other words, you’ll be provided with sources to analyse and use in your short answer responses about the Core Study.

This is what you’ll be assessed on for the Core Study in the HSC Exam:

The NESA sample paper suggests there will be 3-4 questions which can relate to both the Survey and the Focus of Study, with at least one question worth 10-15 marks.

In this section, you will be required to analyse and interpret sources, and apply your own knowledge in order to answer the questions.

The source booklet will contain a variety of primary and secondary sources in different mediums.


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Not all will directly relate to the study of Germany, meaning sources and questions may be also be about WWI peace treaties, the study of Russia, Japan and Italy, or the League of Nations and the UN.

Unlike previous years, the 10-15 mark question at the end of the section won’t necessarily be a source analysis question, however other questions throughout may ask you to analyse a source, or assess its perspective or value.

So, what do I need to know? At the end of the Power and Authority Study, students should have a thorough knowledge of the features of the Nazi Regime and what life was like in Germany between 1933-1939.

You should have understanding of the totalitarian regimes that developed in Russia, Italy and Japan, and be able to draw comparisons between the nations studied.

The impacts of WWI peace treaties, as well as the subsequent formation of the League of Nations, and later the United Nations as part of the peace process is also important to know.

In addition, it would be beneficial to know a variety of primary and secondary sources relating to the study, and have strong source analysis skills to apply in the HSC exam.

Ultimately, students should be able to form a “critical perspective” on the exercise of power and authority between 1919 and 1946, and be able to support this view with relevant and detailed historical information.


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The 3-Step Guide to Memorising Content for HSC Modern History History is known as being a content heavy subject so it’s not surprising that there are lots of facts, names and dates to remember.

When trying to remember all these facts, reading your notes over and over can get quite boring, so we’ve come up with some fun and easy ways to memorise content and facts for HSC Modern History.

Why is memorising the facts important? In 1946 Professor Edgar Dale created the concept of the ‘Cone of Retention’ which was the idea of how we remember facts. He broke this theory into two stages:

Active — This was where a person completed a task as part of their learning e.g. doing the thing, role-plays and participating in discussion. This is why it’s very important to be involved at school and ask questions.

Passive — This is where you don’t participate in anything rather you observe something e.g. watching demonstrations, listening, reading. You’ll see that these are often the activities you participate in during class time.


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What does this look like in application?

If you’ve looked at the above diagram you’ll notice that people learn more when they are actively participating.

This shows that to be remembering lots of facts, especially for a content heavy subject like modern, you need to be actively learning.

And so, we’ve created 9 ways to help you remember facts, figures, dates, events and names in HSC Modern History!

Step 1: Know what type of learner you are Now that we’ve established why memory is so important for HSC Modern History, you’ll need to know what type of learner you are as each person processes information differently.

If you find watching documentaries easier than reading, then you’re probably audio or visual rather than rote.

For this article we’ve made the learning styles slightly simpler and broken it down into three categories.

1. Audio — People who learn best from hearing and speaking

2. Visual —People who learn best by seeing and reading

3. Kinesthetic — People who learn best by touching and doing


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Chances are you learn from a combination of these styles so don’t just stick to your style – try out study techniques from the others too.

Step 2: Write your notes With so much content for history, it’s important to know the basic facts and what syllabus points they fall under.

You should try to write your notes before/as you are learning the content.

Notes are super important as they are used as reference points for all future study and essay writing, so make sure to spend that little bit of extra time and make sure yours are perfect.

Step 3: Repetition The best way to learn facts is to actively repeat them until you know them by heart.

However repetition can be boring and difficult to do over and over so below we’ve created some fun study techniques to help you memorise facts and figures in modern history.

Visual:

1. Timelines

These are great for visual learners as they allow you to see the order at which events occurred.

When you first start learning a new topic, timelines are great to make as they allow you to conceptualise the order of events — especially if you are going backwards and forwards in time during school lessons.

For example, just like the one on World War I below!


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2. Mind Maps

These are another visual tool that allow you to see facts associated with an event.

Mind maps are great for essay planning and when you need to connect events in a way that might not have been as straightforward as in a timeline.

They’re great for conceptualising key themes and ideas in Section II of your exam.

3. Venn Diagram

This is another visual aid that is useful when comparing two events

This would be particularly helpful when when comparing/ contrasting home fronts and total war.

Verbal:

1. Reading notes out loud

This helps you remember facts better as it is an active task rather than passive.

Repeating notes weekly will help you memories all the content for modern history.

Don’t do this in a library or around other people as chances are you’ll get a) a few funny looks and b) some annoyed friends/family members.

You’re 50% more likely to remember something if you speak it aloud instead of simply reading it inside your head.


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2. Tell the dog

This technique involves telling a person who doesn’t know the content of the HSC in a way that explains key dates and events simply so they understand.

This is great as it highlights what you don’t know/need to study more as well as being an active learning task which helps you remember more.

Kinesthetic:

1. Fill in the blanks exercise

For this technique you will need to create your own worksheet but leave key dates/ themes out.

The following week fill the worksheets out with correct information without looking at study notes.

This is once again a form of active learning and will help with remembering dates, facts and figures.

2. Rewriting notes

While I personally do not recommend this technique, some students find this very helpful.

If you are writing notes you should be using a technique like ‘look/cover/write/check’ rather than mindlessly copying notes.


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By doing it from memory rather than zombie copying you are ‘switching on’ the connections between short and long term memory.

3. Tables

This is a great technique as it allows you to compare and contrast information as well as having it all neatly set up for future references.

When creating tables they should be made by hand and grouped according to dates, events and/or historians.

Another great and simple table is a pro/con list of historians and historiography surrounding an event.

4. Flashcards

Create these by yourself using memory techniques such as ‘look/cover/write’ and then have someone else quiz you.

This is a really great technique as it is an active task but in itself has two sections the creation of the cards and the verbal dialogue that occurs when answering the questions.

If you’d like to do it digitally, we use StudyBlue by Evernote (free, iOS) is a fantastic app for flash cards!

Try combining a few techniques to give you an interesting and varied study approach.

Remember to give most, if not all, of these techniques a go as they are all active tasks which is largely improve your memory and help you get better marks in an exam.

Let us know down below which techniques you will be trying and which you already incorporate into you study routine.


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How to Write a 10/10 HSC Modern History Source Analysis Not sure what makes a HSC Modern History historical source useful or reliable?

Not sure how to actually get 10/10 marks for a source analysis in HSC Modern History?

We’ve got you covered with a step by step guide to writing a 10/10 HSC Modern History source analysis!

Step 1: “What is the question asking?” The first thing you need to do is find out what the question is asking.

A typical HSC question will ask ‘Assess the usefulness of Sources X and Y to a historian studying _____”.

It is the end of that question that is important as it will normally be straight from a syllabus dot point.

Skeptical? Let me prove it to you – check out these previous HSC questions below and their corresponding syllabus dot points!

HSC Modern History Exam 2014:

How useful would Sources C and E be for a historian studying the nature of trench warfare? In your answer, consider the perspectives provided by the two sources and the reliability of each one.

• Syllabus Point: The nature of trench warfare and life in the trenches dealing with experiences of Allied and German soldiers


How useful would Sources E and F be for a historian studying the impact of total war on civilians in Britain and Germany? In your answer, consider the perspectives provided by the TWO sources and the reliability of each one.

• Syllabus Point: Total war and its social and economic impact on civilians in Britain and Germany



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How useful would Sources A and D be for a historian studying recruitment and propaganda in Britain and Germany? In your answer, consider the perspectives provided by the TWO sources and the reliability of each one.

• Syllabus Point: Recruitment, conscription, censorship and propaganda in Britain and Germany

Step 2: ‘Checklist Analysis’ – O.M.C.A.P.U.R Many students struggle with source analysis questions for HSC Modern History, so we’ve included a great acronym to help you remember what to discuss and in what order!

Depending on the source, addressing each of the above points should require 1-2 sentences.

So 1-2 sentences for origin, 1-2 sentences about motive, and so on. This means you should have at least 7-14 sentences in your final answer.

To help you out, we’re going to give you an example of how to analyse a source using OMCAPUR.

Example:

Source D from the 2014 HSC Past Paper


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Origin – what is the origin of this source?

• Is source primary or secondary?

• When was the source created?

• Who created the source?

Example answer:

Source D is a primary source created during World War 1 by the Australian Government as part of the recruitment effort.

Motive – what was the motive behind the source?

• Why did the author create the source?

• Was it to document an event, write a historical summery on an event, give their opinion and/or to sway an audience?

• Why was the source created?

Here you can also bring in bias if appropriate.

For example, a propaganda poster is created in order to influence public opinion on a matter according to an agenda. The source would be highly biased, as it was not created based solely on neutral facts.

Example answer:

The motive behind Source D is to aid in the recruitment of Australian soldiers to help the war effort. The text of the source “will you help us keep that promise” is used to sway the audience into feeling an obligation to assist the British forces, and is intended to encourage Australians into joining the war effort.

Content – what content is presented in the source?

• What is in the foreground?

• What is in the background?

• How are the figures positioned?

• What kind of symbolism has the composer used?

• What do these symbols represent?


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• Tell the reader what the source contains.

Example answer:

The foreground features a kangaroo, using a native Australian animal to symbolise Australia as a nation. The background features troops in active battle, symbolising the war effort. The position of the text between these two features symbolises the connection between Australia and Britain, heightening the obligation the audience feels to Britain when observing the source.

Audience – what is the intended audience of the source? This links to motive, as you must answer who the intended audience of the source is which is often considered when creating a source.

• Who is the intended viewer?

• In what context would they arise?

• Where would they be likely to view this?

• What would they be doing with the information?

If it is a historian it is likely that the audience is the general public or an academic circle.

If the source is a diary entry it is highly likely that the intended audience was either solely to author or their family.

Considering the audience is very important, as it will also reveal elements of bias that may be present in the source.

Example answer:

The intended audience is the Australian public, as encouragement to join the war effort is not limited to only men who are eligible to become soldiers. Families of eligible men were also targeted to encourage their family members to volunteer. It is likely this source was presented in newspapers, posters and flyers.

Perspective – what perspective is presented in the source?

• What opinions or belief statements are evident in the article?

• What is the source’s or the composers’/’s context?

• Would another source/composer have a different point of view depending on his/her background experiences?


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• What opinions does the source/composer paint for a reader?

• What facts were missing?

• What words and phrases did the source/author use to present the information?

• Why is the source presented in such a way, or why does the author present it in such a way?

This considers whether a source is objective or subjective.

Perspective is extremely important as it helps establish your two most important arguments of the paragraph reliability and perspective.

Example answer:

The perspective presented in Source D is pro-enlistment, presumably coming from the Australian Government. The phrasing presented in the source is of very high modality to sway the audience’s opinions and emotions.

Reliability – is it a reliable source of information?

• Is the source consistent with data available about the topic?

• Are there other sources which could validate the information given from this source?

• Does it have scholarly credibility? Where was it published? How was it published?

• Does the source fulfil an agenda? (i.e. was the source produced for an opinion/stance, or was the stance a product from the source?)

For a source to be considered reliable it must contain accurate historical information.

This means that a source can be written in a completely subjective manner and still be considered reliable, as all facts are accurate.

Example answer:

This source is a reliable depiction of efforts to recruit Australian soldiers to the war effort. While the source is obviously geared to sway its audience’s opinion and encourage them to enlist, and in that sense is not an objective source of information, it does give reliable information on the nature of propaganda during WWI in Australia.

Usefulness – is this a useful source of information?


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All sources a useful whether or not they are reliable. In order to concisely answer whether a source is ‘useful’, consider the three R’s:

• Is the source relevant to what is being asked?

• Has the source revealed an insight into the question?

• Is the source reliable in providing the information required to answer the question?

Example answer:

Source D would be an extremely useful piece of information for historians studying the nature of propaganda and the recruitment effort of Australia during WWI. It gives great insight into the way propaganda was used by the government to recruit soldiers by giving a reliable depiction of the recruitment effort.


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How to Play Devil’s Advocate to Write a Better Response for Modern History I’m going to give you a dose of perspective on your Modern History Essay.

Imagine you are sitting in a hard chair in the middle of the HSC marking centre marking yet another Modern History essay on why Albert Speer was a bad person.

They all say Albert Speer was bad because ‘he was a Nazi’.

Now imagine you read another 20 essays arguing the exact same thing. Then, another 30.

Then you read one Modern History essay that says that Albert Speer is a complex and multi-faceted individual who was later known to be the ‘Apologetic Nazi’.

It steals your attention.

This is why playing devil’s advocate will get you extra marks for your Modern History Essay.

Why challenge the status quo? To play the devil’s advocate is to take the unpopular opinion.

To put it simply, it would look like this:

Charlie: Albert Speer was a bad person.

Bob: Albert Speer was not a bad person as you may think he was. Why are you so certain that he was a bad person?

Charlie: Because of reasons A, B and C. Why do you think he was not a bad person?

Bob: Because of reasons X, Y and Z.

Charlie: Wow, I have never considered reasons X, Y and Z before!

More than 5,000 students study HSC Modern History. Most of them will be Charlie. You want to be Bob.

Playing Devil’s Advocate for your Modern History Essay is a great exam strategy and will help you on your way to a Band 6 response!


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5 Reasons Why You Should Play Devil’s Advocate:

1. Sets you apart from the rest of your cohort Your Modern History essay will be different from your peers and therefore is more likely to catch the marker’s attention.

This means they’ll devote more time to reading your response and you are more likely to get better marks.

2. Allows you to test your argument skills It tests your ability to argue as you have to convince the marker why the point you are making in your Modern History essay is true.

This also includes the most important persuasive tool —evidence.

As a bonus, this shows that you have thought extensively about the question.

The marker will ultimately think that you are someone who has a deep understanding of the subject and has great insights on it.

3. Gives you the opportunity to interpret your sources to a greater extent For example, everyone might be using Leni Riefenstahl’s film(s) as evidence for her support of Nazi Germany, but perhaps you can show how some parts of this support are simply the byproduct of demonstrating her cinematographic skill.

This opens the window for you to delve deeply into a source.

As a result, this showcases your unique analytical skills in your Modern History Essay.

4. Gives you the opportunity to critically evaluate sources An example of this is a quote used by NESA in a past HSC Modern History paper: “History is always written by winners”.

This statement is often an accepted part of history, but it doesn’t need to be that way —give the marker a reason to see why this quote isn’t true.

5. Makes you think critically


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Being able to articulate a point and see both sides of an argument is something that is going to benefit you later in life, so why not master the skill as early as possible?

So, how do you go against the grain?

Let’s jump in!

Step 1: Identify the different sides of the question All Modern History essay questions will require you to take a side.

Questions are often directed to one side of the argument through their wording.

Examples of this are seen where phrases like ‘to what extent’ and ‘how successful’ are used.

Here’s the 2010 HSC Modern History Personality question:

So, what are the two sides to this question?

1. Some people ARE swept along by events, and these people DO use these events to their advantage; or

2. Some people ARE NOT swept along by events, and these people DO NOT use these events to their advantage.

Let’s re-frame these statements with Albert Speer in mind:

1. Albert Speer WAS swept along by events, and Albert Speer DID use these events to his advantage; or

2. Albert Speer WAS NOT swept along by events, and Albert Speer DID NOT use these events to his advantage.

Note: The key word here is ‘how accurate’, as stated in the question. Not only you are to choose a side, but you need to provide a judgement regarding the statement. That is, you need to address to what extent is this statement accurate.

Step 2: Choose a side The most common consensus is that Nazis are bad —Albert Speer was a Nazi, therefore he was bad.


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Side 1: ‘The Good Nazi’ However, Albert Speer was known as ‘The Good Nazi’ or ‘The Apologetic Nazi’.

Essentially, Albert Speer was swept along with the Nazi wave, and he used these events to his advantage in becoming the Reich Minister for Armaments and War Production.

Albert Speer’s own writings (for example, Inside the Third Reich) establishes that he was not concerned with anything more than architecture and design, rather than being involved in racial and labour policies.

Side 2: ‘The Bad Nazi’ How would we challenge this? We take the view that he was ‘a bad Nazi’.

What does that look like? We would then claim that Albert Speer was not swept along with the Nazi wave, and that he did not use these events to his advantage.

Therefore your argument in response to the question is that ‘to a significant extent, the statement above is not necessarily accurate after analysing Albert Speer on a critical level.’

Step 3: Plan your argument It is critical that you substantiate your claim.

Our central focus would be that Albert Speer was NOT swept along with the Nazi wave and DID NOT make use of the Nazi wave for his own benefit.

Let’s deconstruct this thesis with two central points and some further questions.

Albert Speer was NOT swept along with the Nazi Wave.

• What was the context through which Albert Speer lived?

• What events motivated Albert Speer into joining the Nazi Party?

• What were Albert Speer’s personal ideologies, and moral standings?

Albert Speer DID NOT make use of the Nazi wave for his own advantage.

• What responsibilities did Albert Speer hold in the Nazi Reich Ministry?

• What actions did Albert Speer commit to during his position of power?


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Let’s see how the first two questions are important in delineating our central thesis and statements.

What was the context through which Albert Speer lived?

• German economic depression as a result of the World War I and the Treaty of Versailles;

• Upper-middle-class family, well educated;

• Wanted to become mathematician, pursued architecture for better financial prospects;

• Apolitical as a young man.

What events motivated Albert Speer into joining the Nazi Party and rising to power?

• Persuaded by his students to attend NSDAP Party Rally in 1930; joined the NSDAP in 1931;

• Speer visited Berlin to help NSDAP in 1932 Reichstag elections;

• Met NSDAP Official Karl Hanke; recommended to Joseph Goebbels to renovate NSDAP Headquarters as a contractor;

• Requested to design 1933 Nuremberg Rally; approved by Führer Adolf Hitler; no longer a contractor but officially ‘Commissioner for the Artistic and Technical Presentation of Party Rallies and Demonstrations’;

• Requested to redesign Reich Chancellory in Berlin; skills and expertise has him trusted by Hitler;

• Becomes part of Hitler’s ‘inner circle’.

There are many benefits in playing devil’s advocate for HSC Modern History.

Give it a go in your upcoming exam and make yourself stand out from 5000 other students!


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Top 15 HSC Modern History Historian Quotes You Need to Ace Your Responses Using historian quotes in HSC Modern History is an easy way to boost the quality of your writing and to snag some extra marks!

Using and evaluating quotes in HSC Modern History allows you to demonstrate some of the key skills of HSC Modern History in your responses.

These HSC Modern History skills include:

• Communicating historical understanding

• Presenting well-reasoned and supported judgements

• Discussing and evaluating different interpretations of the past

But not sure how to find or use these historian quotes for HSC Modern HIstory?

Don’t worry – in this article, we’ll break down everything you need to know about using historian quotes in your HSC Modern History responses.

Why should you use HSC Modern History historian quotes? In your HSC Modern History responses, you are making a historical argument in response to the given questions.

Referencing historians gives your work authority and strengthens the historical argument that you are making. The inclusion of historians’ quotes shows markers that your claims are well-reasoned and persuasive.

Think of it this way; you wouldn’t write an English essay without quoting your text, the same applies for HSC Modern History.

Where can you find HSC Modern History historian quotes? Finding these quotes can be a difficult task, especially when you don’t know where to look. Lots of research and reading into the topic you are studying will provide you with a large variety of quotes and even primary sources that you can utilise.

Here are some ways you can get started:


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1. Your Teacher:

When in class, chances are you’ll start to notice that several historians are mentioned consistently by your teacher. When historians are mentioned in your class, jot down their names, and with some quick research you should be able to find out their main historical interpretations and significant works

2. Historical Documentaries:

Most documentaries feature a range of historians, often discussing key events or people. This can be a great opportunity to write down some quotes, and identify both the leading historians in your topic, and what the main historical interpretations are

3. Your Textbook:

In addition to being full of helpful, and syllabus-relevant information, textbooks can also be a great place to find quotes from historians. Often, source boxes will provide both primary and secondary quotations. Textbooks are thereby a great place to start researching for quotes. They will give you an overview of the main arguments and interpretations and introduced some historians who’s quotes and arguments you can use to support your own.

4. Scholarly writings:

Reliable online sources such as academic journals are an invaluable source of secondary research for Modern History HSC. When looking online, focus on reading extended passages of work, rather than looking for individual quotes out of context. Researching entire argument presented by a piece of historical writing will increase your understanding of the syllabus content, and help you form your own historical arguments.

Tip: When choosing quotes, choose one that can fit into multiple dot points. This way you’ll be able to use it in more question types and have to remember less quotes!

Wide reading and research is the best way to find a range of quotes that you can incorporate into written responses. Try not to obsess too much over remembering quotes. Demonstrating an understanding of another historian’s argument through paraphrasing and analysing it to support your own claims, is just as effective as directly quoting.

How to use HSC Modern History historian quotes in a response Quotes are used to support an argument and should be used to back up the claims you make in your Modern History responses.

One way to think about incorporating quotes is to adapt them into the PEEL essay writing technique.


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P – Point

E – Explanation/Expand

E – Evidence (this is where you add your quote/s)

L – Link

The point (your topic sentence) should provide your judgement and argument in response to the question. Once you’ve made your point for that paragraph you should always back it up with evidence to support.

By making an argument which is supported with evidence from the interpretation of primary sources and references to established historians, you are showing the marker that you argument is well-reasoned and developed.

Take a look at this excerpt from a paragraph in response to the question “To what extent was Lenin responsible for the success of the Bolsheviks in the period 1917-1921?” from the Russia National Study.

In this paragraph, the use of quotes supports the historical claims being made.

They show that the judgement is reasoned by adding depth and demonstrating how the view of historians’ aligns with the main point of the paragraph. When used in conjunction with the


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interpretation of primary evidence such as the statistics in this paragraph, secondary sources make written responses more persuasive.

Ready to start adding quotes to your HSC Modern History writing? Here are some key historians’ quotes to get you started!

National Study

Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941:

“Russia did not go Bolshevik because the masses were Bolshevik from the start . . . She went Bolshevik because the old order collapsed.”

Norman Stone

“The tragic reality lit up that Bolshevism was not interested in listening to the political arguments of ordinary people. . . It became clear that the Bolshevik’s gave notice that they would continue to maintain political control on no other terms than their own.”

Christopher Read

“Stalin had luck on his side. Had Lenin not died Stalin would probably have been sent to the provinces. His death allowed Stalin to infiltrate his supporters into the political police and eventually use them against his opponents.”

Martin McCauley

On Stalin’s USSR: “The ideological nakedness of the regime was covered up by the creation in the form of hero worship, which now reached pagan proportions.”

Peter Kenez

USA 1919–1941:

“[The New Deal] failed to resolve the most important problem of the era; chronic unemployment”

Jim Powell

“The economy produced more than it consumed, because the consumers did not have enough income. Thus the unequal distribution of wealth throughout the 1920s caused the Great Depression.”


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Catchings and Foster (Economists)

Tip: As experts in their field you can use economists to support your argument if it’s arguing about money and/or the economy.

“Nothing did more to turn the stock market crash of 1929 into a prolonged depression than the destruction of business and public morale by the collapse of the banks”

William Leuchtenburg

“Roosevelt had given the American people renewed faith in their country and its way of life.”

David Kennedy

Studies in Peace and Conflict

Conflict in Indochina 1954–1979:

“Withdrawal of public support proved the undoing of an Executive that believed it could conduct limited war without engaging the national will of a democracy”

Barbara Tuchman

“[The peasants] sympathised with neither Diem nor the Vietcong, only leaning to the side that harassed them less.”

Stanley Karnow

“Diem was opposed by virtually all elements of South Vietnamese society… what he did have was complete support of Colonel Lansdale and…the political savvy in the CIA’s covert-action war chest”

John Wood

Conflict in Europe 1935–1945:

“The major factor in British victory in Battle of Britain was due to the lack of clarity of the German campaign compared to Dowding’s certainty of purpose.”

A.J.P. Taylor

“Operation Overload didn’t go according to time but went according to plan. Taking longer than expected worked to Allies advantage as Germans lacked tanks when battle resumed in open country.”

Liddel Hart


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Conflict in the Pacific 1937–1951:

“…combined presence of these two strong headed imperialist at the center of power was to lead the Japan to war”

Sir John Keegan

“The crux of the matter was Japan’s need for oil in order to conclude the war in China successfully.”

J.M. Roberts


written by maddison leach, milana gusavac, and yifan shen. to get a band 6/how to get a... ·...

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