Preparing for the Social Studies 11Provincial Exam

Know What You Are Facing

• The exam has two parts:

• Selected response questions – these are usually multiple choice, but can also include true and false or matching.

• Essay questions – there are two of these and you must answer both of them.

How To Study

◎ Know the language of the course.

◉ Use flash cards to study names and terms.

◉ Do not waste time studying terms and names you already know!

Karl Marx

The creator of Communism (Marxism).He believed in materialism – only things you can touch and feel are real.He wanted a world where everyone was equal.

How To Study

use timelines to get events in the right order.

• Predict and Practice Essay Questions

• These are the big questions that make you think and combine information.

• These questions will come from the themes of the course:

1. Autonomy & International Development2. Politics and Government3. Society and Identity4. Human Geography

Writing the Test - Essays

Writing the Test - Essays

◎There are two essay questions.

◎Write both of them.

◎If you are short of time, it is better to write two mediocre answers than just one good one.

Writing the Test - Essays

• Always plan before you write.

• Never just write off the top of your head.

• Above all, your writing needs a thesis. This is a one sentence answer to the question.

Essay Planning with Charts

• The kind of chart you should use depends on the question.

• If a question asks you to cover a time period – like from 1914-2000, use a chronology chart or a time line to make sure you use information from the whole time period.

Essay Planning with Charts

• “The most important influence on Canadian government policy during the 20th Century was the United States.” Assess the truth of this statement making reference to events throughout the time period 1914-2000.

• When assessing something over a time span, you could use this diagram.

Essay Planning with Charts

• “Assess how much Canada changed as a result of World War I.”

• Social, Political, Economic, Religious, Military, and Geographic.

• “SPERM-G”

• Not all of these categories might relate to any given question, but if several do, then making a chart that includes them will help you write a thorough paper that doesn’t miss important material.

Social  Results

Political  Results

Economic  Results

Religious  Results

Military  Results

Geographic  Results

Essay Planning with Charts

• “To what extent is global warming a problem for Canadians?”

• Any question that asks you to look at two sides of an issue could use a Pros and Cons chart

PRO,POSITIVE

CON,  NEGATIVE

• Write in essay format. This will ensure that you are organized.

• Introduction (with thesis).

• Body (at least 3 points per paragraph).

• Conclusion.

Writing the Essays