HISTORY-INTEGRATED-J · Common Test for University Admissions (大学入学共通テスト)
HISTORY-INTEGRATED-J/11
History Integrated and Japanese History Inquiry
History: Integrated & Japanese History Inquiry · 2020 · Variant 1
Relative difficulty
Analysis source: National Center for University Entrance Examinations (DNC)
Analysis aligned to the official syllabus and assessment design.
4.0 / 5
100
60 min
Modern and contemporary Japan in relation to international order, with source-based questions requiring sequence, cause and viewpoint rather than date recall alone.
Cohort performance
Session statistics from official examination reports
Total marks
100
Duration
60 min
Session difficulty
4.0 / 5
Calculator policy
Scientific calculators permitted only where specified in the DNC implementation guidelines; programming functions and CAS are prohibited. En
Key examiner messages
Top priorities from the principal examiner before you revise
歴史総合・日本史探究 covers Japanese history in relation to wider East Asian and global change, from ancient and medieval society through early modern, modern and contemporary Japan. R7 tasks emphasize historical inquiry: chronology, causation, continuity and change, source criticism an…
The official direction of history questions is inquiry-based: sources are there to make students reason, not merely recognize textbook sentences.
For R7 social timing, practise this paper both as a single 60-minute subject and as the first or second subject in a 130-minute two-subject session.
Chronology questions can often be solved by identifying which institution existed: ritsuryo offices, shugo/jito, bakuhan domains, cabinet government or GHQ-era reforms.
The DNC Problem Evaluation Committee publishes per-subject reports after each January session, rating alignment with the Course of Study (学習指導要領), item difficulty balance, and whether items discriminate without exceeding syllabus scope.
Question difficulty map
How candidates performed on each question in this series
No data available in official reports
Assessment objectives
Skill and AO weighting from official examiner commentary
Skill weighting
Cognitive skills emphasised in official test design.
Source interpretation
Weight: 30100%Chronological reasoning
Weight: 2583%Causation and comparison
Weight: 2583%Contextual knowledge
Weight: 2067%
Method marks watchlist
Where working, steps, or method marks were commonly lost
No data available in official reports
Recurring mistakes across years
Themes examiners flag in multiple recent sessions for this subject
Chronology: Knowing facts but placing reforms, wars or treaties in the wrong order. — Create cause chains with dates only at anchor point…
Source interpretation: Treating a source as neutral description without checking author position. — Identify producer, audience and purpo…
Modern history: Separating domestic politics from diplomacy and economic change. — For each event, note one domestic cause and one intern…
Culture: Memorizing works and names without linking them to social background. — Attach each cultural movement to patronage, class, relig…
Statistics: Reading a graph trend but missing the historical turning point. — Mark the year where slope changes and ask what policy, war …
Question choice intelligence
Mean scores and popularity for optional questions (HKDSE electives)
No data available in official reports
Level exemplars
What candidate scripts at each grade level looked like
No data available in official reports
Grade & admission context
How marks relate to grade thresholds and entry standards
Official body
National Center for University Entrance Examinations (DNC)
Grading system
Per-subject raw scores (素点); universities convert to deviation values (偏差値, mean 50) — no national pass/fail grade
Scale band
0–100 raw
Scale band
Deviation 50 = mean
Scale band
University cut-off
Deep insights
What top candidates did
Techniques and approaches examiners rewarded in this series
Build period anchors
For each era, memorize five anchors: political authority, land/tax system, foreign relations, dominant production pattern and culture. This prevents source questions from floating without context.
Link Japan to the world
Modern items often ask how domestic reform, diplomacy, war, trade or social movements responded to external pressure. Study Meiji, Taisho, wartime and postwar Japan with international context attached.
Read sources for purpose
Ask who produced the source, when, for whom and why. A government decree, private diary, newspaper and later textbook will not carry evidence in the same way.
Use chronology as a filter
When unsure, eliminate options containing events impossible for the period. Institutional names, currencies, treaties and offices often reveal the era.
Compare social groups
DNC reports value understanding diverse actors. Track peasants, townspeople, samurai, women, workers, business leaders, parties and colonies, not only central government.
Practise data history
Use industrial output, trade, population and election graphs as historical evidence. Describe the trend first, then connect it to policy or social change.
Command word playbook
How to match each command word to the expected response style
No data available in official reports
Time traps
Sections where candidates spent disproportionate time relative to marks
No data available in official reports
Syllabus traceability
Topics linked to questions and mark weighting in this session
Ancient and medieval state, society and culture
Official topic weighting
Early modern governance, economy and foreign relations
Official topic weighting
Modernization, imperialism and social change
Official topic weighting
Postwar and contemporary Japan in the world
Official topic weighting
MCQ trap analytics
Commonly chosen wrong options from examiner commentary
No data available in official reports
Topic heatmap across years
Mark concentration by topic and exam year for this subject
Mark intensity
Modernization, imperialism and social change
Postwar and contemporary Japan in the world
Ancient and medieval state, society and culture
Early modern governance, economy and foreign relations
Difficulty trend
How session difficulty has shifted across recent years
Paper comparison
Marks and duration breakdown across papers in this session
History Integrated and Japanese History Inquiry: for one subject / when taking two subjects Document interpretation, chronology, cause-effect, maps, tables and visual sources
Marks you can still earn
Where valid approaches outside the mark scheme may still gain credit
No data available in official reports
Practise what examiners flagged
Target weak topics from this report inside the Revui app
Ancient and medieval state, society and culture
Official topic weighting
Practise in RevuiEarly modern governance, economy and foreign relations
Official topic weighting
Practise in RevuiModernization, imperialism and social change
Official topic weighting
Practise in RevuiPostwar and contemporary Japan in the world
Official topic weighting
Practise in RevuiSelf-diagnostic checklist
Key actions before you sit this paper — copy and tick off as you revise
- 1Message
歴史総合・日本史探究 covers Japanese history in relation to wider East Asian and global change, from ancient and medieval society through early modern, modern and contemporary Japan. R7 tasks emphasize historical inquiry: chronology, causation, continuity and change, source criticism an…
- 2Message
The official direction of history questions is inquiry-based: sources are there to make students reason, not merely recognize textbook sentences.
- 3Message
For R7 social timing, practise this paper both as a single 60-minute subject and as the first or second subject in a 130-minute two-subject session.
- 4Message
Chronology questions can often be solved by identifying which institution existed: ritsuryo offices, shugo/jito, bakuhan domains, cabinet government or GHQ-era reforms.
- 5Message
The DNC Problem Evaluation Committee publishes per-subject reports after each January session, rating alignment with the Course of Study (学習指導要領), item difficulty balance, and whether items discriminate without exceeding syllabus scope.
- 6Pitfall
Chronology: Knowing facts but placing reforms, wars or treaties in the wrong order. — Create cause chains with dates only at anchor point…
- 7Pitfall
Source interpretation: Treating a source as neutral description without checking author position. — Identify producer, audience and purpo…
- 8Pitfall
Modern history: Separating domestic politics from diplomacy and economic change. — For each event, note one domestic cause and one intern…
- 9Pitfall
Culture: Memorizing works and names without linking them to social background. — Attach each cultural movement to patronage, class, relig…
- 10Pitfall
Statistics: Reading a graph trend but missing the historical turning point. — Mark the year where slope changes and ask what policy, war …
- 11Strength
Build period anchors: For each era, memorize five anchors: political authority, land/tax system, foreign relations, domina
- 12Strength
Link Japan to the world: Modern items often ask how domestic reform, diplomacy, war, trade or social movements responded to e
- 13Strength
Read sources for purpose: Ask who produced the source, when, for whom and why. A government decree, private diary, newspaper a
Teacher briefing pack
One-page session summary for tutors and classroom review
2020 2020
History: Integrated & Japanese History Inquiry
歴史総合・日本史探究 covers Japanese history in relation to wider East Asian and global change, from ancient and medieval society through early modern, modern and contemporary Japan. R7 tasks emphasize historical inquiry: chronology, causation, continuity and change, source criticism and c
歴史総合・日本史探究 covers Japanese history in relation to wider East Asian and global change, from ancient and medieval society through early modern, modern and contemporary Japan. R7 tasks emphasize historical inquiry: chronology, causation, continuity and change, source criticism an…
The official direction of history questions is inquiry-based: sources are there to make students reason, not merely recognize textbook sentences.
For R7 social timing, practise this paper both as a single 60-minute subject and as the first or second subject in a 130-minute two-subject session.
Chronology: Knowing facts but placing reforms, wars or treaties in the wrong order. — Create cause chains with dates only at anchor point…
Source interpretation: Treating a source as neutral description without checking author position. — Identify producer, audience and purpo…
- Total marks
- 100
- Duration
- 60 min
- Session difficulty
- 4.0 / 5
- Calculator policy
- Scientific calculators permitted only where specified in the DNC implementation guidelines; programming functions and CAS are prohibited. En
Session analysis
歴史総合・日本史探究 covers Japanese history in relation to wider East Asian and global change, from ancient and medieval society through early modern, modern and contemporary Japan. R7 tasks emphasize historical inquiry: chronology, causation, continuity and change, source criticism and comparison of documents, maps, statistics and visual materials. National Center for University Entrance Examinations (DNC) emphasises modern and contemporary japan in relation to international order, with source-based questions requiring sequence, cause and viewpoint rather than date recall alone.. Priority revision: Ancient and medieval state, society and culture, Early modern governance, economy and foreign relations, Modernization, imperialism and social change, Postwar and contemporary Japan in the world. For each era, memorize five anchors: political authority, land/tax system, foreign relations, dominant production pattern and culture. This prevents source questions from floating without context.
Updated 2026-07-03
Paper breakdown
History Integrated and Japanese History Inquiry: for one subject / when taking two subjects Document interpretation, chronology, cause-effect, maps, tables and visual sources
Top chapters
Exam structure insights
Marks by syllabus topic
Revision priority from official test-design weighting.
Mark accessibility
Estimated difficulty spread based on official design.
Modern and contemporary Japan in relation to international order, with source-ba
Paper structure
Official paper breakdown for this subject.
History Integrated and Japan
100·10·100%
Official syllabus scope
歴史総合・日本史探究 covers Japanese history in relation to wider East Asian and global change, from ancient and medieval society through early modern, modern and contemporary Japan. R7 tasks emphasize historical inquiry: chronology, causation, continuity and change, source criticism and comparison of documents, maps, statistics and visual materials.
Difficulty verdict
Rated 4/5 for January sessions. Modern and contemporary Japan in relation to international order, with source-based questions requiring sequence, cause and viewpoint rather than date recall alone.
What examiners measure
1. Place Japanese historical events, institutions and movements in chronological order. 2. Explain causation and change using political, economic, social and international contexts. 3. Interpret primary and secondary sources, including documents, diagrams and statistics. 4. Compare historical viewpoints and identify evidence supporting each interpretation. 5. Connect Japanese developments to East Asian and global relationships.
Where the marks are
Highest-weight syllabus areas: Ancient and medieval state, society and culture; Early modern governance, economy and foreign relations; Modernization, imperialism and social change; Postwar and contemporary Japan in the world.
Examiner notes & key calculations
- The official direction of history questions is inquiry-based: sources are there to make students reason, not merely recognize textbook sentences.
- For R7 social timing, practise this paper both as a single 60-minute subject and as the first or second subject in a 130-minute two-subject session.
- Chronology questions can often be solved by identifying which institution existed: ritsuryo offices, shugo/jito, bakuhan domains, cabinet government or GHQ-era reforms.
- Modern Japanese history frequently tests connections among industrialization, party politics, imperial expansion, social movements and international treaties.
- Source reliability depends on purpose. A law shows official intent; implementation evidence may require statistics, petitions or local records.
- When a table gives exports/imports or production values, compute shares and direction of change; the strongest historical explanation accounts for the pattern.
- Continuity/change questions usually require both halves: what changed in authority, economy or society and what older structure persisted.
- Paper 1: History Integrated and Japanese History Inquiry · 100 marks · 60 min for one subject / 130 min when taking two subjects · Document interpretation, chronology, cause-effect, maps, tables and visual sources.
Exam tips
Paper format
- Duration
- 60 min for one subject / 130 min when taking two subjects
- Total marks
- 100
- Weighting
- 100%
- Question types
- Document interpretation, chronology, cause-effect, maps, tables and visual sources
- For each era, memorize five anchors: political authority, land/tax system, foreign relations, dominant production pattern and culture. This prevents source questions from floating without context.
- Modern items often ask how domestic reform, diplomacy, war, trade or social movements responded to external pressure. Study Meiji, Taisho, wartime and postwar Japan with international context attached.
- Ask who produced the source, when, for whom and why. A government decree, private diary, newspaper and later textbook will not carry evidence in the same way.
Common mistakes
Chronology
Knowing facts but placing reforms, wars or treaties in the wrong order.
How to avoid: Create cause chains with dates only at anchor points, then rehearse before/after relationships.
Source interpretation
Treating a source as neutral description without checking author position.
How to avoid: Identify producer, audience and purpose before accepting the statement as evidence.
Modern history
Separating domestic politics from diplomacy and economic change.
How to avoid: For each event, note one domestic cause and one international factor.
Analysis is paraphrased for study purposes. Always verify against the official examiner report and mark scheme.