What kinds of things should I be doing to get an A/A* at history gcse?

I'm in year 11 now and I've been getting mostly Bs in history but I'd really love to get an A or even an A*. My teacher has mentioned that I need to include more historical detail in my essays which I'm going to address but what other sorts of things should I be doing to revise and prepare? My teacher has also mentioned something about independent study but I don't really know what she means by that. Does it mean read around the subject in my own time from my own sources or just consolidating the work done in class? How much detail should I be going into in my exams and how is the whole thing structured? Thank you :smile:

Reply 1

username1601611

3

I got an A overall in my gcse (A in the source paper and on Germany, A* on medicine through time), as you already know detail is important for where own knowledge should be shown. I found flash cards very helpful and went through them frequently and answered questions based on the cards to test myself. Don't worry too much about it, it honestly does not require you to read around the subject that much at gcse but make sure you know the structure of your answers in source papers like point, evidence (referring to the source), explain with cross referencing the sources and saying if the source is reliable or not using the background (who wrote it/when/if this makes it biased).
My teacher would stress the point of cross referencing and reliability of sources because if you do this for every question you're pretty much guaranteed at least an A :smile:

Also to revise I found posters/mind maps for each period/individual very helpful, hope this helps :tongue:

Reply 2

username1601611

3

Also don't forget to bring in your own knowledge when talking about the sources to explain :smile:

Reply 3

Valyrian

18

I found that in my History GCSE the key to A* is fluffing up every paragraph with as much as you can :lol:

Also when I was revising I would stick up key dates and information ALL over my room and remembered it every single day

Reply 4

inr31

Original post by Jodie99

I'm in year 11 now and I've been getting mostly Bs in history but I'd really love to get an A or even an A*. My teacher has mentioned that I need to include more historical detail in my essays which I'm going to address but what other sorts of things should I be doing to revise and prepare? My teacher has also mentioned something about independent study but I don't really know what she means by that. Does it mean read around the subject in my own time from my own sources or just consolidating the work done in class? How much detail should I be going into in my exams and how is the whole thing structured? Thank you :smile:

GCSE history is very blunt and unsubtle. You need to state whether you agree, disagree or whatever your opinion is on the essay question in the INTRODUCTION. You must also make a judgment in your conclusion, this means you have to say exactly what you think/believe and why. Justify this using the arguments you should of debated earlier on in your essay, never make up a new point in your conclusion.

Revision wise: you will have a source based paper and a question paper. The source based paper is probably the most difficult. The key with sources is to state the obvious, say exactly what you see on the page and then link that to historical context. There will be a section of info in front of the source called 'background information' use it, this is vital. Ask yourself constantly why they are telling you this specific info, it must obviously link to the exam. There will be an essay question based on all the sources, try to use them all and refrain from referencing the sources in the order shown in the exam booklet. I would say for revision practice looking at different source based questions, this is key.

For the second exam, you will have a 'question based paper,' there will be one or two sources but the focus is mainly on the 8 or 10 marker questions. Try to spend less time on the 4 mark questions, dont just write everything you know, write what they ask you to write, nothing irrelevant. I know it's tempting to off load everything you have learnt for the past months but timing is key, don't burn yourself out.

History is such a great topic, especially at GCSE. Enjoy it now because next year it will reach a whole different level of difficulty. You'll be fine, in fact the fact that you're worrying about the exam now - months in advance- shows your conscience and ready to succeed. You'll be fine, confidence is key. Don't loose your nerve especially in essays, be confident in what you write.

Best of luck :smile:

Reply 5

Jodie99

OP

11

Thank you to everyone for the advice, it's all so helpful and re-assuring. I appreciate you all taking the time out to write me such great responses, they really helped clarify things for me.

Reply 6

essaymasterhelp

4

Simple trick. Go for facts and you will get A* grades. It's very easy as it has been before from experience

Original post by Jodie99

I'm in year 11 now and I've been getting mostly Bs in history but I'd really love to get an A or even an A*. My teacher has mentioned that I need to include more historical detail in my essays which I'm going to address but what other sorts of things should I be doing to revise and prepare? My teacher has also mentioned something about independent study but I don't really know what she means by that. Does it mean read around the subject in my own time from my own sources or just consolidating the work done in class? How much detail should I be going into in my exams and how is the whole thing structured? Thank you :smile:

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What kinds of things should I be doing to get an A/A* at history gcse?

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