German Nationalism: Essay Exam skills

A PowerPoint designed to teach students how to write an essay under exam conditions in response to historical sources. (In Queensland this is done once a year and students are given half of their sources one week before the exam, the remainder are unseen sources. The question is unseen until the assessment date.) The lesson will help build student assessment literacy as they become familiar with the criteria which they will be assessed with.

The lesson begins with tips for how to write a thesis statement (aka historical argument / hypothesis). Students are shown an example introduction (from QCAA’s sample IA1) and they must identify the thesis statement.

Students are then shown the example question used by the QCAA. As a class we discuss what we believe the task statement is asking the student to do. We unpack the words ‘to what extent.’ The PPT then goes through each of the criteria one at a time. The syllabus definition is provided along with what is required to get top marks. On the next slides this is followed by a look at a body paragraph which has been written with the criteria in mind (words which demonstrate this skill are highlighted). Sometimes an additional example from the subject report (these have been written by actual students.) This is followed by tips for engaging with sources, preparing for the exam etc. A recommended structure is provided for the introduction, body paragraphs and conclusion is also provided.