Section III - Personalities (2 Viewers)

[HelenaJean]

Agrippina the Younger

The old girl came good in the exam i must say. Loved the questions

A) describe Agrippina's Juilo-Claudian backgroud (10 marks)
B) Discuss the basis of Agrippina's power (15 marks)

They were fun to answer i found, her family tree is hectic as shit and i love it and as far as her power goes you could suggest any number of guesses so long as you back them up (i went with family vs behaviour).

 

[A-Nonentity]

Xerxes,

Administration was the best 10 mark, I am confident of getting 10/10 for that

Xerxes Military achievements was a bit annoying and the last time i practiced it was when i was actually studying him and I was pretty vague on the revolts and i didn't mention the Davea inscription but i did assess it so hopefully that will save me a bit? idk haha

 

[1981Grant]

This was the question that had me stumped and absolutely flabbergasted. I was expecting something along the lines of democracy or contributions to "Golden Age" and they had to choose a boring-ass question instead. Anyways, I just wrote some BS how he wanted to spread democracy through his military campaigns and to what extent it was successful. I also elaborated on his military failures in causing the Peloponnesian war or some shit - the question said "discuss" right? I chucked in ancient historians like Plutarch and Thucydides there and here to support my bullshit.

Our class didn't focus on any of his military achievements apart from the Peloponnesian Wars, which I wouldn't even call an achievement considering he failed. The building program one was doable but sort of unexpected, I was expecting something on his early life.

 

[wild_rose]

completely vague. I struggled to write enough... and i basically wrote a story
how much did you write for both the a and b sections ?

I did one booklet for the first and 1 and half for the second- I was really pushing it- I wanted to avoid sounding like I was retelling but it's impossible isn't it! I also found it hard to use as many sources and quotes as I wanted to.

 

[therealmiggles]

^ This, Caesar did hardly anything before 60BC. I just talked about Pirates, Spain and a tiny bit on Gaul before realising it was before 60 BC... I still managed to write 3 and a bit pages, so i'm happy with that.

(B) Was pretty easy, not sure if I understood the nature, I just went on about how they benefitted him and gave examples of reforms that did that, then went on about how this made his reforms modest and didn't impress anyone as they were just old reforms on a larger scale.

Majority of teachers didn't think that the first Caesar question about his military career before 60 (or lack thereof) was worth 10 marks. It would have been had it said 'what paths to power did he take to gain his military career' and then there would have been so much more to talk about.
I was so scared I read the question wrong or that it was a misprint! I kept thinking 'but he only went to Spain!'

 

[thelighthorse]

Majority of teachers didn't think that the first Caesar question about his military career before 60 (or lack thereof) was worth 10 marks. It would have been had it said 'what paths to power did he take to gain his military career' and then there would have been so much more to talk about.
I was so scared I read the question wrong or that it was a misprint! I kept thinking 'but he only went to Spain!'

My teachers are putting in a complaint about that question to the Board -- hopefully it'll be worked out for all of us. It's putting us Caesar kids at a severe disadvantage compared to the rest of the state, because I seriously don't know how you could feasibly earn 10 marks in that question.