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history GCSE?

i have been forced to take history GCSE, as if i don't i will not be able to take my preferred choices, i do not like the subject and am not particularly good at it, i am generally in the top 15 of my class of 32 in year 9.

What can i do to improve my history, what skills do i need? how much should i worry about this? can i by any chance get at least an A and maybe even an A*?

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Reply 1

Lizy

Hello,
I have just finished my History GCSE and can give you some advice :smile:

If you really hate history though, I would suggest trying to change it because I has so many students in my class who ended up dropping the GCSE because they thought it was 'boring' or 'too hard'.
To improve your history, I would suggest that you buy a revision guide specific to your examboard and take notes from it/review it at least once in a week from when you start. You could also try reading books around the topics you'll be studying to give you more background information which can sometimes be useful for the knowledge paper. I would advise GCSE bitesize history for a more laidback way of improving your understanding and knowledge of the topics. When you start the course you'll improve naturally if you do all the work set, listen and work in class and also start extra work around mock time (december).
I think you can get an A, if you're prepared to work hard. GCSE History is not impossible! :smile:

Reply 2

kelefi

Thanks a lot, i have no option but history, but your advice has helped a LOT, im prepared to put in all the effort needed, and i do not care if it is too hard or too boring, what matters to me is i get As and A*s, during the lessons or after the lessons, is there any way i can improve my understanding, or are there any useful ways to get more marks?

Reply 3

Lizy

Its okay

I'm glad to help! You can PM me through-out your course for any help/advice you need in the 2 years. Well you seem determined and hard-working so I'm sure you'll get the grade you want. Well the revision guide will help a lot as it tells you the info you need to know and how to answer the questions to the best possible ability. Like I said, reading books about the era you study will improve your understanding further. Examiners love to see linking and prioritising too :smile:

Reply 4

kelefi

thanks a million, it is really assuring to know someone is there who i can count on to help :smile:

Reply 5

Lizy

its okay honestly, I know how it feels to need help re-assurance :smile:

So feel free to PM me when you wish

thanks

JohnDclare
This website is useful for AQA and OCR, not sure about edexcel.
There is a section called Advice to Students (right column, second down) which will help you get the grades you want

Reply 8

carpe diem 123

Aim to do at least 100 past questions. I found its all about the exam technique.

Reply 9

wolf-pack

Original post by N0body

JohnDclare
This website is useful for AQA and OCR, not sure about edexcel.
There is a section called Advice to Students (right column, second down) which will help you get the grades you want

Johndclare!!!! HALLELUJAHHHHH what a lifesaver that man was :wink:

Reply 10

brendonbackflip

Original post by kelefi

hah wut?

Anyway, it's hard to say how to do better when we don't know how you're bad at it. However, there's three things which can make a good history answer, which is context (knowledge), structure and timing. Structure and timing are really easy to get right, particually if you practise. Do lots and lots and lots of past questions and it'll become second nature. Also exam boards generally reuse questions from past exams, or use similarly worded questions (in my NAZI Germany paper 4/6 questions I'd practised beforehand) so you'd be stupid not to do that. Context is a little harder, particually if you hate what you're learning, due to learning one and a half year's worth of facts - make nice notes, review your knowledge regularly, PAY ATTENTION IN CLASS, revise properly for any mock exams and tests in class, and it's actually not that bad. If there's something you don't understand, don't forget about it; ask the teacher to explain (though as a whole it's quite easy to understand).

Hope I helped. :smile:

Reply 11

Niyi Aderounmu

I've been hearing that some people in work hard get A's/B's in mocks and coursework but when it came to the exam they got a D/E.

Reply 12

kelefi

hey everyone, i cant begin to show how much i appreciate this!
now im ready for History.

Reply 13

beth1995x

I've just finished GCSE History and got A* in it, my teacher told us that to be good at history all you need is good english skills and to add to that I'd say you need a good memory!

Reply 14

Changing Skies

I originally didn't choose to do GCSE history. But due to one of my options being full, I had the choice of Spanish and History. I went for the latter.

At first I was so annoyed, I really had no interest in it at all. But once I started it, it became one of my favourite subjects! I really enjoyed it :smile:

With History, most of it is memorisation. The source paper I had to do however, practically required no revision as it tested you on your analytical skills. I came out with 48/50 on that paper with about an hour of revision. For me, it was a pretty easy A* and I'm now doing it at A level! :smile:

You may surprise yourself, just remember that it's also good to improve the structure of your answers and just fulfill the criteria with detailed and perhaps ambiguous answers :smile:

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 15

kelefi

just had my first history lesson a while ago, and cant believe it...

IT WAS AMAZING!

i couldn't believe i didn't take it for GCSE first!!!

Reply 16

***OpenSky***

Original post by kelefi

hi there.
i did GCSE history last year and i am now doing it for AS.

my teacher was terrible, and i had to find a way of working that got me through the material we didnt cover in class.
i brought a good revision guide (CGP books are great for GCSE- I fully recommend them especially the history one) made notes from the book and worked through all the questions.

i also made timelines for each period of history i was studying (american west and medicine through time) and although this sounds kind of lame i stuck them on my wall.
Honestly, it really does help to just be looking at facts to absorb them. i did this when i started revising for the second year exams.

Depending on your course- you will have exams at different times during the two years.
I had my exams all in the final may/june exam period in the second year of GCSE's, so i had lots of time to prepare.
is this your situation??

if it is you'll be at an advantage as you have much longer to get your head around the subject.

First of all,as long as you concentrate in lessons and do the work youll pick up the skills.
you need essay writing (your english lang/lit will cover this so dont worry about this) and the skill of commenting on the reliability of sources (these can be pictures/letters/newspaper/poster etc)

this isnt as hard as it first seems- and a lot of it is common sense. if your like me you will try to overthink things, thinking answers are harder to find than they actually are.
a lot of the time simply pointing out the obvious is enough.

your teacher should give you plenty of practise over the two years for exam questions- and for some reason exam questions dont differ a lot over the years.
in my summer exam i had questions almost identical to the past paper.

you should have a course work essay too which contributes a little to your overall grade.
this tends to be done in the very start of year 11- so you dont have to worry for a good while yet.

im sure youll be ok, if your good at english and are prepared to do some of your own work and revision youll be fine. :biggrin:

you never know, you may actually enjoy it in the end

Reply 17

Simx95

History gcse needs a lot of revising and good memory. I got an A in history and I can tell you that you have to pay super attention to your teacher. If you are doing english lierature at gcse, it helps a lot with your history because it helps you to be analytical and helps the structure of your essay in history. Altough, what annoyed me the most was the coursework where we had limited amount of time about stalin, lenin, trotsky,communism, the tsar(prefer russia to vietnam case study). If you are doing Edexcel, the last unit is quite tough because you have to compare throughout all your question paper to get a C and you have to answer an extension task which last question is 16marks.

on the otherhand, in history you can choose which questions you answer based on your exam centre. Found it very useful!!!!!!!!!! Good luck, just prepare to work hard.

Reply 18

Alix23

I love GCSE history. Main piece of advice to make it more interesting and help your general understanding is do extra reading. Both non-fiction and novels set in the era are good, and there's some great stuff out there. If you do Weimar/Nazi Germany then Erich Maria Remarque is a great author, I'm currently reading The Road Back (sequel to All Quiet on the Western Front).

Reply 19

elparody

This year I got my results for my gcses I did full coarse in history I got a d but in short course I got a b but I did that extra exam can I still get the certificate of short course history ? Or

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