[Lucy96]

Hey, I'm in year 11 currently studying GCSE History and I've always really enjoyed it and found it very interesting. I plan to carry it on next year in Sixth Form, and although I don't find it very difficult at the moment, I would just like to know whether it is a lot more complex and difficult?

Thank you for any help

[Malevolent]

I would say it is a step up from GCSE, there is a lot more to remember with dates and facts and such, also you need to be pretty good with your essay techniques though that should improve as the year go on. I wouldn't say its complex but you need to keep on top of all these dates and such or you will be swamped down later in the year. Keep on top of it all and you should enjoy history but that may depend on which exam board your doing

[Lucy96]

(Original post by johnharris19944)
I would say it is a step up from GCSE, there is a lot more to remember with dates and facts and such, also you need to be pretty good with your essay techniques though that should improve as the year go on. I wouldn't say its complex but you need to keep on top of all these dates and such or you will be swamped down later in the year. Keep on top of it all and you should enjoy history but that may depend on which exam board your doing

I think I should enjoy it, I seem to remember History dates and facts a lot more than other subjects for some reason, and yeah hopefully I'll be okay when it comes to doing an essay and the techniques required! Thank you very much for the help, it is much appreciated

[Malevolent]

(Original post by Lucy96)
I think I should enjoy it, I seem to remember History dates and facts a lot more than other subjects for some reason, and yeah hopefully I'll be okay when it comes to doing an essay and the techniques required! Thank you very much for the help, it is much appreciated

If you can remember the dates and such well then your halfway there haha! Just need to practice the essays and technique and you will get there.

[RPM1]

There is A LOT more to learn and I think you'll find you have to do more essays as well. But don't let that put you off, it's so so so interesting! For example, i did the Arab-Israeli conflit and Weimar Germany in AS, and then American history (a broad outlook) and Britian and the challenge of fascism in A2. It would be silly for me to tell you it's as easy as GCSE, because it's not, but you should definitely do it if you liked history at GCSE Good luck with it all!

[KatieTheFish]

I think the main difference is the sheer volume of information you have to learn. With all subjects at A level, your level of analysis and essay writing has to be more sophisticated and the same goes for history but I think there is a lot more to learn for history than for any other subject. It's definitely my most difficult A level but if you enjoy the subject, then don't let this put you off, just be prepared to put a lot of work in.

[snailsareslimy]

In my opinion (I got an A at AS, with 98% in 1 paper):
- GCSE to AS isn't too much of a jump, but AS to A2 is
- If you have a bad teacher, be ready to self teach... No blagging will help you now
- If you're a good essay writer, and have a good vocabulary and grammar, it'll be much easier to get good grades
- Make sure you like private research, writing essays and analysing sources because this is what you'll spend your time doing
- Also make sure you can memorise a lot of material: the notes will be endless, historiography will be the bane of your life (10-20 for each topic if you're serious about getting a good grade (at A2, at AS you'll need less)
- You must enjoy learning about history because if you don't you will hate it with a strong passion and you will fail. Badly. Check what exam board and modules your school does; do they sound interesting?

Pick it if you love it and you're a natural essay writer, the chances are you'll get at least a B if you put the work in. I also actually found English Lit and History go quite nicely together so I'd definitely recommend it too

[Lucy96]

(Original post by RPM1)
There is A LOT more to learn and I think you'll find you have to do more essays as well. But don't let that put you off, it's so so so interesting! For example, i did the Arab-Israeli conflit and Weimar Germany in AS, and then American history (a broad outlook) and Britian and the challenge of fascism in A2. It would be silly for me to tell you it's as easy as GCSE, because it's not, but you should definitely do it if you liked history at GCSE Good luck with it all!

Okay thank you for the advice, much appreciated Yeah I don't expect it to be at the same level, that'd be crazy hehe Thanks again

[Lucy96]

(Original post by KatieTheFish)
I think the main difference is the sheer volume of information you have to learn. With all subjects at A level, your level of analysis and essay writing has to be more sophisticated and the same goes for history but I think there is a lot more to learn for history than for any other subject. It's definitely my most difficult A level but if you enjoy the subject, then don't let this put you off, just be prepared to put a lot of work in.

Ah right, interesting Thank you very much

[Lucy96]

(Original post by snailsareslimy)
In my opinion (I got an A at AS, with 98% in 1 paper):
- GCSE to AS isn't too much of a jump, but AS to A2 is
- If you have a bad teacher, be ready to self teach... No blagging will help you now
- If you're a good essay writer, and have a good vocabulary and grammar, it'll be much easier to get good grades
- Make sure you like private research, writing essays and analysing sources because this is what you'll spend your time doing
- Also make sure you can memorise a lot of material: the notes will be endless, historiography will be the bane of your life (10-20 for each topic if you're serious about getting a good grade (at A2, at AS you'll need less)
- You must enjoy learning about history because if you don't you will hate it with a strong passion and you will fail. Badly. Check what exam board and modules your school does; do they sound interesting?

Pick it if you love it and you're a natural essay writer, the chances are you'll get at least a B if you put the work in. I also actually found English Lit and History go quite nicely together so I'd definitely recommend it too

I like to think my vocabulary and grammar are okay so I hope that'll be an advantage! And yeah, my first GCSE exam had A LOT of content, but it wasn't too bad And I do like it so that's also on my side. I've also decided to do English Literature too so that's great haha Thank you very much, that was very helpful

[linney]

I found the volume of notes and extra reading the hardest. For one section there were 60 pages of notes to be done and unless you do it when set, kiss your A goodbye. Overall I got an A in AS and an A in my coursework, something I put down to essay technique (I do Eng Lit and Classics so essays are my life...) and dedication to do the work when set. You definitely cannot cram for the exam like in GCSE but once you've made the notes and have the essay structure down (source questions in particular are a massive jump) you should be okay!

I think how well you do also depends on module choice and whether you can find it enjoyable - we did Fascism last year which was great, but the Britian 1945-1990 module made me want to die. This year the Cold War is equally dull (and hard) and the coursework question - on the economic realities of the emancipation of Russian peasantry 1863-1963, well...I think it's pretty obvious how much fun that was....


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[MalleusMaleficarum]

From GCSE to AS, the gulf isn't huge. If you do alright at GCSE, you'll be fine with AS. A2, however, is genuinely difficult.