Here are summaries of the 15-mark questions: 2011: Describe what the evidence reveals about people's life in this period in Sparta. In your answer refer to Source R and other ancient sources and writers. 2010: Explain the changes in Spartan society from the period of Lycurgus to the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC.

1. SURVIVING THE ANCIENT
TRIAL HSC
Maybe help for the real thing, too

2. So, what do you need to do?
 Generally, you should always read the question
TWICE:
 Once during reading time
 Once again just before answering it
 “Come on, Miss? Why do I need to do that?
Urgh…”
 So you can deconstruct it again just in case you
didn’t read it properly the first time!

3. Is that it?
 Well, no. That’d be too easy…
 Know your content!
 Pompeii and Herculaneum
 Sparta
 Deverell: Egypt and Akhenaten
 Avdicevic: Greece and Xerxes
 N.B.: This is not a day for us to
go over content (unless we
have time at the very end for
questions on the content)
Sometimes, this is how I feel

4. Key Terms used for Ancient
History
You should
already
know these
key terms,
but they can
also be
found at:
http://www.b
oardofstudie
s.nsw.edu.a
u/syllabus_h
sc/glossary_
keywords.ht
ml
 Analyse: Identify components and the
relationship between them; draw out and relate
implications
 Assess: Make a judgement of value, quality,
outcomes, results or size
 Describe: Provide characteristics and features
 Discuss: Identify issues and provide points for
and/or against
 Evaluate: Make a judgement based on criteria;
determine the value of
 Explain: Relate cause and effect; make the
relationships between things evident; provide
why and/or how
 Identify: Recognise and name
 Outline: Sketch in general terms; indicate the
main features of

5. Cities of Vesuvius – Pompeii and
Herculaneum (Source-based study)
Section I: Core Study:

6. Pompeii and Herculaneum
Examinable content:
1 Geographical context
• the physical environment: the geographical setting,
natural features and resources of Pompeii and
Herculaneum
• plans and streetscapes of Pompeii and
Herculaneum
2 The nature of sources and evidence
• the range of available sources, both written and
archaeological, including ancient writers, official
inscriptions, graffiti, wall paintings, statues,
mosaics,
human and animal remains
• the limitations, reliability and evaluation of sources
• the evidence provided by the sources from Pompeii
and
Herculaneum for:
– the eruption
– the economy: trade, commerce, industries,
occupations
– social structure; men, women, freedmen, slaves
– private buildings – villas, houses, shops
– influence of Greek and Egyptian cultures: art,
architecture,
religion
– religion: temples, household gods, foreign cults,
tombs.
– local political life
– everyday life: leisure activities, food and dining,
clothing,
health, baths, water supply and sanitation
– public buildings – basilicas, temples, fora, theatres,
palaestra, amphitheatres
3 Investigating, reconstructing and preserving the
past
• changing methods and contributions of nineteenth and
twentieth
century archaeologists to our understanding of Pompeii
and
Herculaneum
• changing interpretations: impact of new research and
technologies
• issues of conservation and reconstruction: Italian and
international contributions and responsibilities; impact of
tourism
• ethical issues: study and display of human remains
(From Ancient History Stage 6 Syllabus, p.32 - you already have

7. Looking at the Question
 When reading a
question, don’t forget to
take into account the
following:
 The directive (the verb
at the beginning, telling
you what kind of
question it is)
 The main focus of the
question
 Any limitations that have
been placed on the
question
 Source inclusions
For example: (From 2010 HSC paper)
To what extent has
research since the end of
the 1960s changed our
understanding of the
evidence from the sites of
Pompeii and
Herculaneum?
In your answer, refer to
Sources F and G and
your own knowledge.Notice: the
limitations occurred
within the main
focus!

8. Errr, what’s that mean?
To what extent has
research since the end
of the 1960s changed
our understanding of
the evidence from the
sites of Pompeii and
Herculaneum?
In your answer, refer to
Sources F and G and
your own knowledge.
 ‘To what extent’ – it’s
asking for…?
 ‘research…changed
our understanding of
the evidence’
means…?
 ‘since the end of the
1960s’ is looking into
what…?
 ‘refer to Sources F
and G’…well, that’s
just obvious!

9. Now, for your own question…
 Try to break down
the following
question, looking at
the directive, main
focus, limitations
and source
inclusion.
(From 2012 HSC paper):
Using Sources A, B
and H, and your own
knowledge, explain
the different ways in
which archaeologists
have reconstructed
the past in the cities of
Pompeii and
Herculaneum.

10. Did you get…?
Using Sources A, B and H, and your own
knowledge, explain the different ways in which
archaeologists have reconstructed the past in
the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Yes, there were no limitations.

11. Okay then, what about these?
(From 2011 & 2013 HSC Papers, respectively:)
Discuss the challenges of conserving the sites of
Pompeii and Herculaneum.
In your answer, refer to Sources H and I and your
own knowledge.
With reference to the information and ideas
represented in Sources F, G and H, and your own
knowledge, explain how new research and
technologies since the 1980s have changed earlier
interpretations of human remains from Pompeii and
Herculaneum.

12. You should have got…
Discuss the challenges of conserving the sites of
Pompeii and Herculaneum.
In your answer, refer to Sources H and I and your
own knowledge.
With reference to the information and ideas
represented in Sources F, G and H, and your own
knowledge, explain how new research and
technologies since the 1980s have changed earlier
interpretations of human remains from Pompeii and
Herculaneum.

13. The sources for the 2013
question:
What would you
include for this
question?
Who/what would
you discuss?
With reference to the information and ideas represented in
Sources F, G and H, and your own knowledge, explain how
new research and technologies since the 1980s have changed
earlier interpretations of human remains from Pompeii and
Herculaneum.

14. Sample
answer…
The Board of Studies will
sometimes give sample
answers for questions on
their website
 This is one example for
the question given on the
above slide:
 With reference to the
information and ideas
represented in Sources F,
G and H, and your own
knowledge, explain how
new research and
technologies since the
1980s have changed
earlier interpretations of
human remains from
Pompeii and
Herculaneum.
 How much did you
include?

15. But what about the other
questions?
 You can still deconstruct the smaller-mark
questions
 You just don’t need to write in essay-style
format for the response
 For example (2012 HSC Paper):
 Using Sources A and B and your own knowledge,
explain what human remains reveal about the
causes of death in the eruption of AD 79. (4
marks)
 The sources were “Plaster casts of bodies in the
Garden of the Fugitives at Pompeii” and “Skeletal
remains from the seashore at Herculaneum”
What could you write about?

16. Sample answer:
 There is quite a lot you could have written for
the previous question, as shown below:
 What did you think to include?

17. And again…
(From 2014 HSC Paper:)
Describe types of economic activity which took
place in Pompeii and Herculaneum. In your
answer, use Sources C and D and your own
knowledge. (6 marks)
Should turn into something like this:
Describe types of economic activity which took
place in Pompeii and Herculaneum. In your
answer, use Sources C and D and your own
knowledge. (6 marks)
Don’t forget they are asking
about both Pompeii AND
Herculaneum!
What would you write
about?

18. Yet another sample answer…
The question again:
Describe types of
economic activity which
took place in Pompeii
and Herculaneum. In
your answer, use
Sources C and D and
your own knowledge. (6
marks)
 Does this answer
the question?
 How much would
you have included?
 Is it over the top for
6 marks? Yes…a
little. This would be
more like a 8-10
marks answer (it’s a
typed response, so
they forgot,
probably)

19. So, how are we feeling about
P&H?
Remember: revise all your content
 Look over PowerPoint slide handouts you have
received
 Look over all your notes you’ve taken in class
 Look over and complete chapter reviews from the
‘Cities of Vesuvius’ book, that you’ve all been lent
 Look over ‘Antiquity 2’, that you’ve all been lent
 Look over past papers and deconstruct questions,
skeleton planning what you would write about
 Dot points of what you’d include
 There are past papers going back beyond 2010 – when
there was a change in the HSC paper. You can look at all
of them!
 http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/hsc_exams/

20. Spartan society to the Battle of Leuctra 371
BC
Section II: Ancient Societies

21. Sparta
1 The geographical setting
– the geographical setting, natural features and
resources
of ancient Sparta
– significant sites: Sparta
2 Social structure and political organisation
– the issue of Lycurgus (the Great Rhetra)
– roles and privileges of the two kings
– government: ephorate, gerousia, ekklesia
– social structure: Spartiates, perioeci, ‘inferiors’,
helots
– role of the Spartan army
– control of the helots: the military, syssitia, krypteia
– artisans, helots
– educational system: agoge
– role and status of women: land ownership,
inheritance,
education
3 The economy
– land ownership: agriculture, kleroi, helots
– technology: weapons, armour, pottery
– economic roles of the periokoi (‘dwellers around’)
and
helots
– economic exchange: use of iron bars, trade
4 Religion, death and burial
– gods and goddesses: Artemis Orthia, Poseidon,
Apollo
– myths and legends: Lycurgus and the Dioscuri
– festivals: Hyakinthia, Gymnopaedia, Karneia
– religious role of the kings
– funerary customs and rituals
5 Cultural life
– art: sculpture, painted vases, bone and ivory carving
– architecture: Amyklaion, Menelaion, the Sanctuary
of
Artemis Orthia
– writing and literature: Alcman and Tyrtaeus
– Greek writers’ views of Sparta: Herodotus,
Thucydides,
Xenophon, Aristotle, Pausanias, Plutarch
6 Everyday life
– daily life and leisure activities
– food and clothing
– marriage customs
– occupations.
(From Ancient History Stage 6 Syllabus, p.43 - you already have
this!)

22. How it looks in the Trial and
HSC
 First 3 questions are general
knowledge questions about the
content
 Short-answer questions, adding up
to 10 marks in total
 Write between 2-4 sentences for
questions with 2-4 marks
 Write between 5-7 sentences for
questions with 5 marks
 Unusual to get a question with higher
than 5 marks in the first three
questions
 The 4th question is a discuss,
evaluate, explain, or assess
question
 Deconstruct it just like the 10-mark
question in Section I
 It will require knowledge about one
whole part of the syllabus, or one
particular group across multiple
parts of the syllabus
 Don’t forget – read the instructions
(about the writing booklets!)
 Do you have a PhD in wasting
time?
(From 2013 HSC
Paper:)

23. How do I study for it/answer
them?!
 Again, you need to constantly revise
all your content!
 There is no cheat, no simple, no right, no
wrong, no easy, no hard, no anything(!)
way of learning except your own way!
 All questions can come from all parts
of the syllabus, so you can’t just go “I
know all about ------, I’ll be fine”
 As stated previously, the 4th question
will take in a whole part of the
syllabus, or a group that can cross
into different parts of the syllabus
 Look at the 2015 paper: it discusses the
role of kings in Spartan society
 Social and political power
 Religious duties
 How the ancient writers interpreted what they did
 It crosses different parts of the syllabus!
 i.e., you’ll need to know everything for the
Sparta part of the syllabus
 Yes, yes…I know…. 
(From 2015 HSC Paper:)

24. Okay then, what about these
ones?
Have a go answering these ones
 What was the technology of the era?
 technology: weapons, armour, pottery
 Who were the gerousia?
 State who they were and what they did;
that’s what role means: what they did!
 The poetry of Alcman?!?!
 Yes, you need to look up those ancient
writers and keep an eye on them, so you
know what they wrote about and who their
audience included
 Good to include the ancient writers in your
long responses – if they are relevant
 You don’t need to do exact quotes if you
don’t remember them, just remember what
they wrote about!
 The role and status of women
 What would you write about?
 Social and political status: land ownership,
inheritance, education
 Religion, death and burial: goddesses, funerary
customs, festivals,
 Everyday life: marriage customs, occupations
(From 2014 HSC Paper:)
The picture was of
the
‘running/dancing
woman’ statue

25. How would you go at these
ones?
What would you suggest for these questions’
answers?
 1-2 sentences on the ephorate – it’s a 1
mark question!
 Ahhh, another ancient writer!
 What did Tyrtaeus write about?
 Who was his audience?
 Was it complimentary, or unflattering towards
the Spartans?
 How was the land organised?
 Who owned it?
 What was the kleroi?
 How did it tie in with the helots?
 How did it tie in with women?
 It’s only 5 marks, though, so you wouldn’t write
more than half a page (medium-sized writing)!
 This question focuses on religion – one
section of the syllabus
 You need to discuss different gods and
goddesses – Artemis Orthia in particular
 You need to mention the different festivals –
especially what ritual took place at the Temple
of Artemis Orthia (cheese stealing…)
 You need to mention what the religious role of
the kings were within the festivals – they had
one!
 You need to mention archaeological work as
well as the ancient writers – they are evidence!
(From 2012 HSC Paper:)

26. A sample answer
An example from the Board of Studies:
 From the previous slide, for the question:
 What does the writing of Tyrtaeus indicate about society in this
period?
 As it’s a 4-mark question, there is only the need for four
sentences.
 Could you have written something like that, or something
different/more?

27. Deconstruct these 15 markers!
Did you get:
 2011:
 Directive: ‘what’ (‘describe’)
 Main focus: ‘what does the
evidence reveal about
people’s life’
 Limitations: ‘in this period’
 Sources: ‘Source R’ – and
other ancient
sources/writers
 2010:
 Directive: explain
 Main focus: the role of kings
in Spartan society
 Limitations: no real
limitations, except it’s during
the time period
 Sources: ‘Source 14 (not
available) – and other
ancient sources/writers
(From 2011 HSC Paper:)
(From 2010 HSC Paper: yes, the marks are different; take it as
worth 15)
N.B.: The
directive can
occasionally
join in with
the main
focus

28. Here’s hoping for some good
answers!
Just remember this:
 Section II isn’t as hard as Sections III and IV
(Personality and Historical Period)
 “What?! Are you kidding me, miss?!”
 It’s true!
 You get four questions to answer of varying difficulty, rather
than two you MUST answer (personality) or answering one
of two questions (historical period)
 You get one source given to you that can help with one or
more of the questions for inspiration
 The Section II content is actually broken down into ‘bite
size’ parts, rather than larger parts like Sections III and IV
 You can do it! We have faith! 

29. Personalities in Their Times
Section III:

30. General tips about the
Questions
 You answer two questions that amount to 25
marks:
 A 10 mark question
 A 15 mark question
 The 10 mark question is usually a ‘describe’
question
 The 15 mark question is usually an ‘assess’ or
‘evaluate’ question
 It’s also usually drawn from Part 4 of the syllabus
(‘Evaluation’), drawing on information you have learnt
about to do with that section, but also the rest of the
parts as ‘background information’
 It requires some historiography – use of historians’
points of view that support the success or failure of
your personality towards a particular part of their

31. For example:
2014 paper
2013 paper
What are the main focuses?

32. There can be exceptions…
 Have a look at (b)…
 What is the directive of
(b)?
Directive: ‘Why’
But, what does ‘Why’ mean?
‘Why’ can mean ‘assess’ or ‘evaluate’, believe it or not…
So, what is it really asking?
‘Assess the reasons why Xerxes invaded
Greece.’
2015 paper

33. What can help me?
 If you’re not sure
about a question in a
past paper, sometimes
there aren’t sample
answers. 
 But there are marking
guidelines usually
available. 
 This is the example
guideline for the
question given on the
previous page: Why
did Xerxes invade
Greece? In your
answer, refer to the
above quotation and
other sources.
 How can this help you
make a skeleton plan
for an essay?

34. Where to from here?
 Keep on looking at past papers for the personality
questions
 Deconstruct different types of questions to get
proficient at them
 You won’t have to think too hard when you’re sitting the
exam if you get a ‘trick’ question, like the previous ‘Why…’
 Make sure you know how to describe different aspects
of your personality’s life, making links between parts
1, 2, and 3 if there are any
 Make sure you know how your personality was
affected by those before them, and affected those
after them, so you can assess/evaluate their legacy
(not so much their legacy, but other aspects, in the
Trial HSC)

35. Historical Period
Section IV:

36. Generally speaking…
 You get a choice of two questions
 You answer ONLY one of them
 This might sound silly, but we have had students in the
past answer BOTH!
 We can only mark the first one that they attempt!
 The questions come from different parts of the
syllabus that you learn about
 Makes it a bit easier to study…but…don’t count your
chickens!
 Just because you study the heck out of one part doesn’t mean
that the question from that part doesn’t need information from
the other part/s
 The questions will either be an ‘assess’, ‘evaluate’ or
an ‘analyse’ question – know your terms! 

37. So, what does it look like?
As stated before:
 Two questions
 Each from different
parts of the syllabus
 You only answer ONE
 You need to
deconstruct the
question you choose
and make a plan
 Find the directive, main
focus, limitations (if
there are any), and
choose historical
sources that you know
of to help strengthen
your argument
From the 2012 HSC paper

38. For example:
For your historical period,
deconstruct the question! 
Did you get:
 Directives: ‘Why’, ‘Analyse’,
‘Assess’
 Main focuses: ‘importance
of building programs for the
kings’; ‘Egypt’s relations
with its vassal rulers’; ‘the
contributions of TWO Greek
leaders to the victory’; and,
‘Athens’ changing relations
with her allies’
 Limitations: ‘during this
period’; ‘during the Persian
Wars’
 Sources: ancient and
modern historians that have
written about the time
period/persons being
written about, etc.
From the 2014 HSC paper

39. The marking guidelines
provided…
How can these help you
study?
These were provided for the questions on the previous
page.
What kinds of skeleton plans could you make from
these?

40. How are the nerves now? 
Just remember the following:
 Using the words from the question, key verbs for the
topic, and syllabus content relevant to the question
will give you a greater likelihood of achieving a Band 6
(or a higher band than you expect!)
 Practice writing responses to questions – past papers
and whatever you can get your hands on
 Create skeleton responses
 Make essay plans
 Check things over with your teacher if you want feedback
(how can we provide feedback if you never show us
anything!)
 Attempt the question – even if you have no idea! Write
as much as you know about the topic that is relevant
to the question; it’s better than knowing you’ll be
getting 0

41. So, what do you have to do
now?
Before the exam:
 Find the best way of revising the syllabus content for you
 Do you need to rewrite notes, make visuals/mind maps, create flashcards,
etc.?
 Look over ways of writing a Band 6 (or higher than expected) response
 http://www.artofsmart.com.au/how-to-ace-your-ancient-history-extended-
response/
 Apparently you can study Ancient History for the HSC in a week…
 http://www.artofsmart.com.au/7-day-hsc-study-plan-for-hsc-ancient-history/
 The Sydney Morning Herald even offers advice:
 http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/hsc-study-guide-2014--ancient-
history-20140518-38i0z.html
 The Board of Studies offers student packs to see what other students
have written in the past:
 http://arc.bostes.nsw.edu.au/standards-packs/SP06_15020/go/2006/ancient-
history/index.html
 GET A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP! SERIOUSLY! 

42. So, what do you have to do
now? (cont’d)
In the exam:
 Read the questions carefully during reading time
 Go through deconstructing the question/s before writing
anything on that question
 Make sure you know what they’re asking of you
 Read through the question TWICE!
 Make a plan as to how to answer the question on the first
reading; do a second reading to ensure the plan is answering
what the question is asking
 Use key words from the question to start your answer!
 The best answers in the HSC use the words FROM the question
within their introduction as well as throughout the rest of the
response where appropriate
 Take a deep breath when you get nervous, and look over the
question/your answer so far, and keep on plodding along…

43. You can do this!  Just study smart and productively! 
And remember…