Cold War Essay Predictions (1 Viewer)

[Beckleman]

Hi all, what do you think might be this year's essays on the Cold War? Also, would two body paragraphs (approx. 600 words) be enough to get a band 5?

 

[jimmysmith560]

Consider Question 20 from the sample Modern History HSC paper for the new syllabus:

To what extent were Soviet policies under Gorbachev responsible for the end of the Cold War? (25 marks)
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Answers to this particular question may include:

Soviet policies under Gorbachev directly contributed to the end of the Cold War. Perestroika, glasnost and new thinking in regard to foreign policy significantly impacted the move towards peace and the eventual collapse of the USSR. Despite the significance of policies under Gorbachev other factors, especially economic conditions and the unsustainability of Cold War arms production, also played an important part. US policies under Reagan in the corresponding period also directly contributed to the end of the Cold War.

• Gorbachev – rises to power in 1985 in a period of economic crisis and need for internal reform, perestroika – restructuring and glasnost – open discussion, unsustainable military spending, withdrew troops from Afghanistan and stopped following the policy of Brezhnev to intervene wherever communism was under threat. New thinking in regard to foreign policy resulted in more open communication.​
• Eastern Europe – move towards self-determination, collapse of the Berlin Wall.​
• Reagan – established a position of strength, built up arms, ‘Star Wars’ defence systems, clear foreign policy agenda in response to Gorbachev.​
• Summit meetings – arms agreements moved US and USSR towards ending the Cold War.​
• Economic cost of Cold War was too great to continue for USSR. Western economic success allowed US to maintain spending.​

As you can see, in the case of this question, there is a multitude of concepts that you may wish to explore/cover as part of your response, which may suggest the need for a longer and more extensive/comprehensive response. Another thing to consider is the value of this question. This question is worth 25 marks and thus contributes 25% to your total mark on the exam. While quality should indeed be the priority, insufficient quantity may limit the quality of your response. In the case of a band 5 goal, I believe that 600 words may not be sufficient to provide a response that falls in the band 5 range, meaning that my suggestion would be to slightly increase the length of your response (to approximately 700 words for example).

I hope this helps!

 

[Beckleman]

Consider Question 20 from the sample Modern History HSC paper for the new syllabus:

To what extent were Soviet policies under Gorbachev responsible for the end of the Cold War? (25 marks)​

But since this was basically a question from the 2019 paper, do you think it would still come up?

 

[vishnay]

But since this was basically a question from the 2019 paper, do you think it would still come up?

something that was tested so recently probably won't come up

if u wanna be sure tho check past papers and look for any time they have repeated a question in the past and look at the time difference between the first time and second time they used the question

 

[jimmysmith560]

But since this was basically a question from the 2019 paper, do you think it would still come up?

The version of this question that was included in the 2019 paper is as follows:

Who was more significant in ending the Cold War: Reagan or Gorbachev? (25 marks)
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The main difference between this question and that of the sample Modern History HSC paper is that the sample question encouraged a response that is more focused on the Soviet policies under Gorbachev while still requiring that you cover one or more of the points highlighted above, whereas the 2019 question implies the need for a direct comparison between Reagan and Gorbachev with respect to ending the Cold War.

To answer your question, it is highly unlikely that 2 identical questions are included in different HSC papers. However, there may be variations of a particular question, as seen with that of the sample paper and that of the 2019 paper. If this ends up being the case, you will need to ensure you address the specific needs of the question without being influenced by other versions of the question that you may have attempted prior to the exam. Additionally, as mentioned by vishnay, it is less likely for a particular component that was assessed in a recent HSC paper to be assessed in the subsequent paper.