Subject choice advice (1 Viewer)

[shimmer205]

Hey everybody, just looking for some advice...

I have to drop a subject next year, probably modern history or beginners French, and would greatly appreciate any advice on which would be the wise choice. There isn't a major difference in my marks in the two subjects.

Has anyone got any idea how well these subjects usually scale?
I know you can't be sure, but anyone got much knowledge on previous years?

Thanks for your help!

 

[ttong]

Hey,

My suggestion is just to drop the subject you enjoy the least especially since your marks are both similar.

In terms of scaling, im pretty sure that modern scales better than french beginners.

Hope my input helps

 

[michael1990]

I would think Modern History would scale better than French Beginners. But i could be wrong.

I would just say, if you like one better than the other. It has been decided for you.

 

[forkyspoony18]

I agree, im pretty sure Modern History would scale better. Also, I found the HSC course is alot better and more interesting than the preliminary one.

 

[eliseliselise]

bonjour!!

ok. close your eyes and imagine life without french.

no croissiants.

no escargot.

no eiffel tower.

no arc de triomphe.

no fun vocab tests.

and say HELLOOOOOOOOOOOO to memories of the past, that cant be altered or changed, large amounts of reading and potentially dodgey exam papers.

i reckon that francais will reap greater rewards in a sense, as it's something you can use [i would have continued with japanese, but there wasnt enough for a class] whilst travelling, or working as a tour guide.

i think its unwise to mention scaling at this point, as scaling works in proportion to the mark you actually get. BUT on the other hand, why should you listen to some random on the internet who you have never met and doesnt do either french of modern..


follow your heart!

 

[x.Exhaust.x]

Wtf @ above post lol.

Modern History scales better than French Beginners. Pick the subjects you enjoy the most and drop the subject you tend to enjoy least. If I were in your shoes, I'd try the language .

 

[Aerath]

I could do without l'escargot. C'est tres degoutant. Mon dieu, non!
Anyways.....

 

[patty4848]

Hey there, I do modern history for the hsc now and i have some advice.
The thing about modern history is that you really have to be passionate about it to excel in it. There is alot of course content and alot of information to remember and if you choose it because it scales well, and not because you enjoy it, then you will struggle and scaling will not work in your favour anyway. Modern History will require alot of time reading and studying and you really need to put an effort in and enjoy the content you are studying, otherwise you will find you made a huge mistake dropping french. The best thing you could probably do is to keep both of them in the hsc, and if you are really struggling with one of them, then you can drop. I'm not going to tell you to drop one of them because of scaling (mind you i do know what the scaling is like on both subjects - I'm just not going to say because i don't want it to influence you). You need to choose what you enjoy. Good luck.

 

[lyounamu]

Guten Tag (if you like Germany history) or Здравствуйте (if you like Russian history)!!

Ok. close your eyes and imagine life without Modern History.

no Hitler (our abominably beloved Hitler by the way)

no fun essays (like 5-10 pages each, ranging from 1000 words to 300o words or even more!!!! how fun!!!)

no fun war stories (between Allies and the Central Powers & the casualties within) .

no old stories about teachers' past (what teachers did for fun, how they were conscripted, how they bravely fought German, Russian etc).

no excursions to museums or war memorials. (bludging classes, by the way, no point in going)

and say HELLOOOOOOOOOOOO to the language you don't understand/you will never understand. Excessive amount of dodgy listening and memorising of vocabulary and no teasing from you teacher on how bad you speak/listen/write/express yourself.

i reckon that modern history will reap greater rewards in a sense, as it's something you can reflect on if you struggle making decision (reflect back on what Hitler did to Jews or Stalin did to his own Russian men and women).

i think its unwise to mention scaling at this point, as scaling works in proportion to the mark you actually get. BUT on the other hand, why should you listen to some random on the internet who you have never met and doesnt do either french of modern..


follow your heart!

EDITED BY NAMU IN SUPPORT OF MODERN HISTORY

To Elise: By the way, your post is really great. I just had the urge to mimic your post. I hope that you didn't mind.

 

[Muz4PM]

Hey everybody, just looking for some advice...

I have to drop a subject next year, probably modern history or beginners French, and would greatly appreciate any advice on which would be the wise choice. There isn't a major difference in my marks in the two subjects.

Has anyone got any idea how well these subjects usually scale?
I know you can't be sure, but anyone got much knowledge on previous years?

Thanks for your help!

I have told people before and I will relay the message to you. Don't drop a subject right away. What you may not get in the Preliminary Year, you may find clicks in the HSC Year.

That being said, not having studied a language, I only assume that the HSC course builds on the basis of the Preliminary Course more than Modern History. So, my advice is to keep it until the end of the year, or the Year 12 half yearlies and reassess there.

 

[lyounamu]

Things you should consider (in order of importance):

1. Interest
2. Ability
3. Need (uni course, that is)
4. Scaling
5. Teacher & friends
6. You are forced to...

 

[gouge.away]

I had to make the sameish choice for my prelim subjects [but french cont.]. Figuring that consolidating research skills would be more beneficial, I went with modern because it complemented my other subjects [the humanities types] moreso than french. Though you may find that actually learning grammar may change the way you write in english.

But it really comes down to preference or what would be more pertinent to your future.
​

 

[joseph777]

Follow your dreams, my friend!

 

[russianROULETTE]

i would say keep them for a while to decide. then, if you're liking them as much as the other, go with your strengths. as someone who does both a history and a language, i would say that it's important to figure out what your strengths are.

if you're good at lots of essays and extended response questions, analysis of sources etc, go with modern.

if you're better at comprehending the text in front of you, have the ability to think creatively (may not seem like a language type of thing, but it is actually really important for both reading/responding and speaking) and respond in different text types, and come up with things to say on the spot (in languages you must understand the answer and respond with little or no hesitation), then choose french.