The Student Room Group
Competition - post a photo you've taken of nature >>
Competition - post a photo you've taken of nature >>
Competition - post a photo you've taken of nature >>

General A level History help (OLD SPEC)

Scroll to see replies

Original post by kate3
I'm going to start writing my coursework in a week, the topic is Russia 1854-1940 (?) and I literally know nothing about Lenin or Stalin or The great purges, are there any good websites for this? Also, are there any examples of coursework online? I need to see what the writing style and source analysis is like because my teacher hasn't told me D: I would appreciate any help so much :smile:
Firstly what is the question exactly and I may be able to help with writing style ? and secondly a good book to read is the schools history project book: Communist Russia under Lenin and Stalin
Reply 121
Avatar for _M_ll
_M_ll
10
Original post by AndrewGrace
Not doing the coursework but which individuals are on this list? and I would suggest choosing the two or three you seem most interested in writing about, doing some research and then choosing one


Okay but there's more than fifteen people haha you want me to research them all? People such as Cecil Rhodes, Nasser ,Kitchener,Gladstone, chamberlain
Original post by AliKhan96
Okay but there's more than fifteen people haha you want me to research them all? People such as Cecil Rhodes, Nasser ,Kitchener,Gladstone, chamberlain


No no of course not haha, I would suggest either Rhodes, Gladstone (perhaps Disraeli if he's on the list?) or Chamberlain, research those 3 and then decide
Reply 123
Avatar for _M_ll
_M_ll
10
Original post by AndrewGrace
No no of course not haha, I would suggest either Rhodes, Gladstone (perhaps Disraeli if he's on the list?) or Chamberlain, research those 3 and then decide

Yes he is, okay thank you . Are you doing this coursework to?
Original post by AliKhan96
Yes he is, okay thank you . Are you doing this coursework to?

With Gladstone and Disraeli being prime minister the natural choice would be one of those two but don't disregard the other and no no but my A2 course covered the late 19th century so I have an understanding of the British empire
Reply 125
Avatar for _M_ll
_M_ll
10
okay thank you i will research all of the ones you said, thank you
Reply 126
Avatar for _M_ll
_M_ll
10
okay also i could choose a significant event that took place but i was going with an individual as thats what most people are doing, is that a correct choice?
Reply 127
Avatar for _M_ll
_M_ll
10
in your opinion who contributed more to the british empire and is better to write about disraeli or gladstone im tor between the two.
Original post by AliKhan96
in your opinion who contributed more to the british empire and is better to write about disraeli or gladstone im tor between the two.


I would definitely go for an individual as opposed to an event, the latter appears to be to be too limited in scope. Disraeli was an 'imperialist' and so definitely did more to expand the empire, and the Purchase of the Suez Canal would make for an excellent paragraph. Gladstone on the other hand was committed to maintaining the empire, but often inadvertently had a hand in its expansion i.e. Egypt. It is your choice (I would probably go for Disraeli)
Do you have any advice on how to get an A* at history at A2? I got an A at As but I want to boost the grade to an A*. I find that the A2 course is much more focused on note taking rather than getting spoon fed which I was somewhat in As. How crucial is historiography in getting an A*? My history teacher has recommended getting quotes from major historians to back up my points. Advice would really be appreciated, thank you :smile:
Original post by mctruffle
Do you have any advice on how to get an A* at history at A2? I got an A at As but I want to boost the grade to an A*. I find that the A2 course is much more focused on note taking rather than getting spoon fed which I was somewhat in As. How crucial is historiography in getting an A*? My history teacher has recommended getting quotes from major historians to back up my points. Advice would really be appreciated, thank you :smile:


Historiography is absolutely crucial for getting the A* grade, but showing a fleeting knowledge of a couple of quotes really won't cut it. You are going to have to display a thorough understanding of the historiography (orthodox, revisionist, liberal etc viewpoints) and how it has developed over time. Then, obviously it has to be integrated into your argument to support it, without it looking like your argument has been constructed from the historiography.
How would you advise getting to know the historiography?
As a generic piece of advice i would simply say read the historiography, make notes r.e quotes, viewpoints and development overtime for each subtopic of your course. Perhaps little revision cards might be a good place to start?

Without knowing what topics you are studying i would be incapable of directing you to specific resources
Sorry, I'm pretty tired and I'm not thinking completely straight. I'm studying Nazi Germany on WJEC and Post war austerity in Britain and foreign policy. I've just bought Shirer's Rise and Fall of the Third Reich and my coursework is going to be on the Munich Agreement.
Apologies i haven't studied either topic, however a quick google search has thrown up some results

http://www.britishempire.co.uk/students/postwarbritishhistoriography.htm (for post war Britain may be of use)

http://alphahistory.com/nazigermany/historiography-of-nazi-germany/ (nazi germany)
Thank you very much, I expect we'll be doing more on the Nazi historiography as we progress to the coursework. I'll do some notes on the website and read some of the books on British historiography.
It's not a problem! and yes i would assume so, although perhaps you could ask your teacher if he/she would run through it/give you some pointers outside of class? demonstrate a willingness to do well and they will be more receptive to any requests. In the meantime notes and reading are an excellent place to start, and remember a quick google search can answer alot of questions.
Would you recommend creating worksheets from my notes which would be easier to revise from?
Definitely, a worksheet will enable you to put yourself in a position where you are testing yourself (initially with and then without) your notes and for some people this is often a better a method of revising than just simply reading your notes
Hey, back again. :smile:
I got my history essay back today and it was decent but not quite what I wanted. My history teacher recommended I do mini conclusions at the end of each paragraph and link the topic of that paragraph back to the title question. I'm not quite sure what she means though, would it be something like:

"Though ...... was an important factor, the majority of opposition was often more influenced by ............."

My essay structure and exam technique has never been perfect and I tend to not put too much emphasis on it and scrape by. I've heard the PEEL technique is useful for gaining access to the higher marks but I'm not quite sure on how to effectively use that either.

Thanks for the help you lot have been giving me recently, my essays have definitely improved in quality :smile:

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you