Chapters
Are you sitting for SPM this year? Is the Sejarah (History) subject a little challenging to score? Have you been wondering, how to improve your scores?
You might have studied the chapters in your textbook and made your own notes to help you retain the information from your Sejarah textbooks and you manage to answer all your exam questions within the given time but when you receive your results, you are not scoring A.
Don’t get frustrated and give up. There may be many reasons for this. One of the most common reasons is that students do not provide the complete answer to the question asked based on the marks allocated to the particular question.
Even though the answer given by the student is not wrong, it is incomplete, which deters the student from scoring A+ for Sejarah.
Therefore, it is important to find out how to score full marks for each question in the exam paper. In this article, we will focus on the marking scheme of the SPM Sejarah paper 1 and paper 2 in order to help you gain a better understanding on how marks are allocated and calculated.
SPM Grading System
The SPM grading system is standardised and serves as an accurate guide to how each student has performed. Because of this, the SPM exam results reflect your performance in the upper secondary level of form four and form five.
In order to better understand the marking scheme of the Sejarah paper, it is best to look at the current grading system for all SPM subjects as shown below:
Score / Grade / Level
90 – 100 : A + : Cemerlang Tertinggi
80 – 89 : A : Cemerlang Tinggi
70 – 79 : A – : Cemerlang
65 – 69 : B + : Kepujian Tertinggi
60 – 64 : B : Kepujian Tinggi
55 – 59 : C + : Kepujian Atas
50 – 54 : C : Kepujian
45 – 49 : D : Lulus Atas
>40 – 44 : E : Lulus
0 – 39 : G : Gagal
TH : TH : Tidak Hadir
Students must take note of this grading system in order to understand their results for their subjects. Getting to know the SPM grading system will help students see for themselves where they stand in their academic performance. This will lead them to set their own goals or target to improve their future grades based on their current results.
It is essential for students to start preparing early and avoid cramming at the last minute. If you are not getting good grades for Sejarah at the moment, it is ok. Do not give up. Start studying and revising. The earlier you do this, the better prepared you will be.
At the start of the school year, take some time to examine old exam papers, taking note of their structure and content. At first, the exam will appear long, difficult and complex. However, as your studies progress, you will definitely become more confident, both with the content and questions. Eventually, the exam paper will become much less daunting than it seems in the beginning.
How is the SPM Sejarah Paper Graded?
Assessment Format
Paper 1
Subject Code: 1249/1
Exam Format: Objective
Time: 1 hour
Full Marks: 40
Contains 40 multiple-choice questions
All questions must be answered
Each question carries 1 mark
Paper 2
Subject Code: 1249/2
Exam Format: Subjective
Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Full Marks: 100
Contains 2 parts, which are Section A and Section B.
Section A : Contains 4 structured questions
All questions must be answered
Each question carries 10 marks
Section B : Contains 5 essay questions
Candidates have to answer 3 questions only
Each question carries 20 marks
The marks are broken down as follows:
Paper 1 = 40
Paper 2 = 100
Total marks = 140
The calculation for the final SPM Sejarah is as shown below:
x 100%
Getting to Know the SPM Sejarah Syllabus
Since we have a clear understanding of the SPM grading system and the marking scheme for the SPM Sejarah examination, let's get to know the SPM Sejarah syllabus.
The current syllabus is based on the Secondary School Standard Curriculum (Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Menengah - KSSM) which was implemented in stages in 2017 in order to replace the Middle School Integrated Curriculum (Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Menengah - KBSM), first implemented in 1989.
Please keep in mind that students will be tested based on what they have learned in both form 4 and form 5 for the SPM Sejarah examination.
KSSM Sejarah syllabus for form 4 has been compiled under the theme of Nation Building starting from nationalism in Malaysia before the Second World War, the struggle of the people towards the independence of the homeland and the independence of the Federation of Malaya.
KSSM Sejarah syllabus for form 5 on the other hand, has been compiled under the theme of Malaysia and the future starting from the strengthening of national sovereignty, the formation of Malaysia, the prosperity of the country and Malaysia on the world stage.
KSSM Sejarah aims to provide an understanding of society, Malaysia and the world. This effort can foster and strengthen self-identity and the spirit of loyalty to the country and shape Malaysians who are not only knowledgeable but also aware of our history.
KSSM Sejarah also aims to create a spirit of unity, a sense of belonging, and national awareness and strengthen the feeling of love for the country.
How to Score in Paper 1?
Read the question and all the options carefully. Students must understand what the question is asking in order to answer correctly. Rule out the options that you are sure are wrong. Then, choose the most suitable answer among the four options. You can familiarise yourself with the exam format and question patterns by looking for Sejarah reference papers in order to practice answering similar questions.
How to Score in Paper 2 - Section A?
Many students are prone to answer only part of the requirements of the question asked. They tend to give general answers based on logical thinking without relating to historical facts when it comes to section A of the Sejarah paper 2. The lack of knowledge when it comes to concepts and terms of historical events is clearly reflected in the mediocre quality of answers provided in the exam.
Furthermore, students usually provide limited facts which are incomplete and the language used is inaccurate or fails to capture the examiner’s interest.
In order to score well in section A, students must provide facts accurately based on the requirements of the question. For the Higher-Level Thinking Skills (Kemahiran Berfikir Aras Tinggi - KBAT) questions, students should state accurate facts with in-depth descriptions and appropriate examples.
KBAT is the ability to apply knowledge, skills and values in reasoning and reflection to solve problems, make decisions, innovate and be able to create something. KBAT includes critical thinking, creative and reasoning skills as well as thinking strategies. Students who are able to communicate using good language and make accurate inferences will definitely score well in this paper.
How to Score in Paper 2 - Section B?
Most students do not have a good grasp of historical facts which causes them to give general answers. Even though they have read the textbooks, they do have a clear understanding of the historical facts, terms and concepts. Therefore, many students are unable to give effective answers to questions which requires them to state the concepts of history or historical facts and events.
There are also occasions where students’ answers reflect some facts that they are able to remember but these facts lack in-depth explanation. Answering based on logic alone and poor use of language to communicate their arguments and reasons in section B leads to many students failing to score well in SPM Sejarah.
In order to score well in section B, students must be able to state and explain facts accurately based on the requirements of the question. Students should demonstrate the ability to not only remember facts but also describe them well.
There are plenty of resources available such as YouTube videos and dedicated websites with good practice questions and notes to help students ace the history subject for SPM. Students must keep an open mind and put in the required effort rather than give up on the subject because they find it challenging.
As for the KBAT questions, students should provide sufficient facts and back up these facts with in-depth explanations and relevant examples. Another vital point to score is having excellent command of language to be able to explain each fact effectively and in detail.
If you are unsure of how to tackle SPM Sejarah, you can always opt to hire a private tutor from Superprof. While there are many tips like using mind maps or acronyms to help make the learning process easier which can point you in the right direction to study Sejarah, having a private tutor to guide you will make a big difference.
By hiring a private tutor from Superprof, Sejarah lessons will be planned to suit your learning style and comfort. If you find it difficult to cope with the subject, the tutor will pace the class according to your learning speed. Find the right tutor for you with Superprof today!
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