The best study tips for the HKDSE history exam

This year’s special arrangement means that, in Paper 1, you will only need to answer three of the four data-based questions in one hour and 45 minutes, instead of answering all four questions in two hours.

Paper 2 remains the same – two essay questions in one hour and 30 minutes. Paper 1 carries 60 per cent of the total marks, and the remaining 40 per cent are on Paper 2.

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Tsang says there is a high chance you will see the following topics this year.

Paper 1: the founding of the League of Nations in 1920; China’s revolution before 1949, post-war European cooperation after 1945; and Japan’s post-war development after 1945.

Paper 2: Hong Kong politics; Japan’s modernisation in the 20th century; the second world war; China’s post-1949 reform and revolution; the Cold War; and the start of the European Union.

“If students do not make crucial mistakes while answering the questions, it is possible to get at least a Level 5 result,” he says.

Make sure to brush up on your knowledge of the Cold War, as there's a high chance you'll see the topic on this year's paper.

Tsang says students often lower their guard on topics such as the second world war and the Cold War, as they tend to think that these topics are easy to handle.

Tsang cautions that the HKEAA has designed new question phrases to prevent students from reciting a memorised answer about European history. Students must digest and analyse what they have learned, rather than focusing only on recitation. So he stresses that it is important to carefully identify the key question phrases.

“Last year we saw the phrase ‘an irreversible trend’ in a question about the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC). Some students found it difficult because they couldn’t respond using only their memorised information,” he adds.

“Usually the tricky part comes from the adjectives. These question phrases require students to respond to keywords, instead of giving a model answer prepared in advance,” he explains.

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When writing the essay in Paper 2, Tsang says it is crucial not to jump into answering a question without giving relevant information to support the arguments.

You must start, of course, by writing a precise and clear topic sentence. Next, provide evidence that responds to the question in the form of several facts and examples. Thirdly, provide an explanation that also links back to the question before you end your paragraph.

Meanwhile, do not forget to write two or three reasons for each side of the argument.

Make sure to support your idea, write a precise topic sentence, and give clear pros and cons for each argument.

“In Paper Two, the common mistakes students often make are that they don’t write enough about the pros and cons of the topic in their essays,” Tsang says.

“Students’ essays often also lack well-explained comparisons. Verbs in the questions such as ‘change’, ‘improve’, and ‘enhance’ require students to compare the development before and after a historical event,” he says.

He adds that you should be able to achieve at least a Level Four result if you provide well-supported arguments with clear comparisons in every paragraph.

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In Paper 1, since you have one hour and 45 minutes to answer three data-based questions, divide your time accordingly. Tsang advises you to spend 35 minutes on each question, using the last five minutes in each case to focus on ensuring that your comparison is detailed, and proofreading your work.

“I suggest that students do not try to recite everything first. Instead, they should make concise notes of tables and timelines, while writing down the context of and connections between the historical events,” Tsang says.

“In fact, recitation could be quite useless in a history exam. It is more about your ability to understand the context and explain your answers clearly.”

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Tsang says revising for history is like untangling all the events and linking them back together.

“Take the 1932 Geneva Conference as an example,” he says. “It was not just a conference on disarmament and should be viewed from different perspectives. While it accounted for the failure of collective security, it also led to the unsuccessful negotiations in the League of Nations, the new arms race, and the onset of the second world war.”

Tsang has one final revision tip. He recommends revising for 30 minutes before bedtime, and for another 30-minute session the following morning to help strengthen your memory.