← History Extension syllabus

NSWHistory Extension

The History Project

3 dot points across 3 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How do the annotated bibliography and process log evidence genuine historiographical research, and what makes them analytical rather than merely descriptive records?

Students compile the annotated bibliography and process log of the History Project, documenting and evaluating sources historiographically and recording the development of the investigation
A deep dive into the two documentary components of the History Project, the annotated bibliography and the process log. How to evaluate sources historiographically rather than summarise them, and how to record research decisions and changes of direction so the process evidences a genuine, reflective inquiry.
6 min answer →

How do you choose a History Project topic and frame a focus question that allows a genuine historiographical investigation?

Students select an area of changing historical interpretation and frame a focus question that enables an individual historiographical investigation
A practical answer to the foundational task of the History Project, choosing an area of changing historical interpretation and framing a focus question that is historiographical rather than narrative. How to test a topic for a real debate, identify historians on each side, and avoid the most common scoping errors.
6 min answer →

What are the components of the History Project, and how do the historical process and the essay demonstrate historiographical understanding?

Students plan, research and present the History Project, comprising the historical process elements and a sustained essay responding to the focus question
An answer to how the History Project is built and assessed, the historical process elements, the proposal, annotated bibliography and process log, and the essay that argues the focus question. How to evidence research, reflection and a sustained historiographical argument using named historians and the concepts of Constructing History.
6 min answer →