S2 - Exams and Revision

Guidelines

To the left you can see the official guidelines produced for students sitting the history oral exam in English. As you know, you will be given two themes to consider in the oral. Importantly, one of those themes will definitely be focused on one of the six themes that are marked by a cross. I have included the (vague) outlines from the official syllabus at the start of each of my 13 Matu units of study. You can download and view the official syllabus here. 

As in 11e, at the end of every unit there will be a test and an evaluation of the general quality of the work you have completed in that unit. On occasion, individual assignments will also be graded, but you will not know about this in advance.

We will also be introducing the assessment format favoured by the IB for all students, whether you choose to do the Double Diploma or not. The skills of essay writing and source analysis are critically important but neglected by the Matu. 
S2 end of year exam - Oral
  • Six topics examined - Matu 3 to 8 - 12 questions in total.
  • The oral is 15 minutes. – c7 minutes on each topic - 15 minutes to prepare.
  • One question from S1 (Matu 3, 4 and 5) and one question from S2 (Matu 6, 7 and 8).
  • Each question will be divided in two parts, the first part will be concerned with an historical source. The second part will be one of the questions below.
  • Importance of structure, coherence and good factual knowledge. 
 
 You need to be able to speak for approximately five minutes on each of the following topics. The revision booklet opposite can be downloaded and contains summaries of all the units. 
S1
S2
Explain how Switzerland was transformed by the French invasion of 1798.
To what extent were France and Europe changed under the leadership of Napoleon?
Compare and contrast the experience of imperialism in two countries you have studied.
To what extent were economic factors the main cause of the 'New Imperialism' in the late 19th century?
Why was Britain the first country to have an industrial revolution?
Explain how Britain was transformed by the industrial revolution.
Evaluate the role of imperialism as a cause of the First World War.
Explain why the First World War is considered to be a total war.
Why did Italy finally become unified by 1870?
Explain the role of Bismarck and Prussia in unification of Germany.
Why was the Tsar able to survive in 1905 but not in February 1917?
Why were the Bolsheviks able to come to power in 1917 and hold on to power in the years which followed?
Book an oral practice

Come prepared to talk through one of the questions above or allow me to choose for you.
Revision websites

https://www.johndclare.net/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zs2tdxs/revision/1
The little sister of internationalschoolhistory.net
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