HELP- How Do You Revise For History?

Hello everyone,

I am currently trying to revise for history (Edexcel) and I have just realised... I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO REVISE. I have got a timeline of the Cold War in my room and I am trying to learn facts but I'm finding it really hard to try and remember all the facts from all four topics that we have done (Superpower Relations and the Cold War, Early Elizabethan England, Crime and Punishment and Nazi Germany) and to get into the mindset of revising history because there is just so much to do!

If anyone has any tips or strategies that they could suggest I would be SO grateful- Thanks for helping a girl out :biggrin:

EDIT- Forgot to mention that I am currently studying at GCSE (IDK if that makes a difference or what)

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 1

999tigger

19

Original post by I'mCookieMonster

Hello everyone,

I am currently trying to revise for history (Edexcel) and I have just realised... I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO REVISE. I have got a timeline of the Cold War in my room and I am trying to learn facts but I'm finding it really hard to try and remember all the facts from all four topics that we have done (Superpower Relations and the Cold War, Early Elizabethan England, Crime and Punishment and Nazi Germany) and to get into the mindset of revising history because there is just so much to do!

If anyone has any tips or strategies that they could suggest I would be SO grateful- Thanks for helping a girl out :biggrin:

EDIT- Forgot to mention that I am currently studying at GCSE (IDK if that makes a difference or what)

Yes it makes a difference it is GCSE, thanks for updating.

Phase 1 is have a revision timetable, so you are organised.
phase 2 is learning the material, which is notes, timelines and for History, hen mind mapping is ideal. You can supplement that with flash cards and watching youtube vids. You might also buy the revision note books.
Phase 3 is exam practice and technique where you put it to test. Do timed exams and they force you to remember. You dont have to write in longhand just do bullet point answers, but cut your time by 50-70%.

Practice, read marks scheme , see what you missed. Practice again. It will come together as long as you are consistent.
Practice a different subject every night.

Reply 2

I'mCookieMonster

OP

15

Original post by 999tigger

Phase 1 is have a revision timetable, so you are organised.
phase 2 is learning the material, which is notes, timelines and for History, hen mind mapping is ideal. You can supplement that with flash cards and watching youtube vids. You might also buy the revision note books.
Phase 3 is exam practice and technique where you put it to test. Do timed exams and they force you to remember. You dont have to write in longhand just do bullet point answers, but cut your time by 50-70%.

Practice, read marks scheme , see what you missed. Practice again. It will come together as long as you are consistent.
Practice a different subject every night.

Hi! Thank you so much for replying. I havent looked at this forum in the last couple of weeks but your advice is really helpful. I actually already have a revision timetable and I try to complete 3-4 subjects (revision) each night. Thanks again!

Reply 3

LarissaAlves

11

I agree with everything suggested above!

If you want to practice more questions, you can try seneca learning, which is free and has Edexcel courses, but sadly not all of them
Super Power Relations and the Cold War - https://app.senecalearning.com/classroom/course/4cb62f70-25d5-11e8-997c-45e9415ece8c/section/8a08bb90-25d5-11e8-997c-45e9415ece8c
Nazi Germany - https://app.senecalearning.com/classroom/course/41857c40-325b-11e8-9e12-b76930b9a46c/section/7a6fa530-325b-11e8-9e12-b76930b9a46c

There is also quizlet but I don't know if they have specific questions for the Edexcel exam board.

Reply 4

luccia

10

Wow I also do history edexcel and I do all the topic so you do bar crime and punishment; I do medicine through time instead. So what I find helpful to do is sort of make 3 batches of revision for each topic. For each topic I have done key dates on flashcards, mindmaps on the content (revision guide) and lastly sentence starters for each of the three exams. I’m at the stage now where I just read over everything and hope for the best.By doing this since the mocks in December, I jumped 2 grades in the recent mocks to a high 8.I understand time is in short supply so I would highly recommend getting the revision guides (if you don’t already have them) and making even more condensed notes and testing yourself. Recall is the best for history.In the exams you will not get penalised for not using dates, so I wouldn’t prioritise learning dates. Good luck ! :smile:

Reply 5

I'mCookieMonster

OP

15

Original post by LarissaAlves

I agree with everything suggested above!

If you want to practice more questions, you can try seneca learning, which is free and has Edexcel courses, but sadly not all of them
Super Power Relations and the Cold War - https://app.senecalearning.com/classroom/course/4cb62f70-25d5-11e8-997c-45e9415ece8c/section/8a08bb90-25d5-11e8-997c-45e9415ece8c
Nazi Germany - https://app.senecalearning.com/classroom/course/41857c40-325b-11e8-9e12-b76930b9a46c/section/7a6fa530-325b-11e8-9e12-b76930b9a46c

There is also quizlet but I don't know if they have specific questions for the Edexcel exam board.

AH! That is perfect- I have had a look on quizlet in the past and have found it to be very helpful and now I will have a look on seneca learning. Thank you so much :smile:

Reply 6

I'mCookieMonster

OP

15

Original post by luccia

Wow I also do history edexcel and I do all the topic so you do bar crime and punishment; I do medicine through time instead. So what I find helpful to do is sort of make 3 batches of revision for each topic. For each topic I have done key dates on flashcards, mindmaps on the content (revision guide) and lastly sentence starters for each of the three exams. I’m at the stage now where I just read over everything and hope for the best.By doing this since the mocks in December, I jumped 2 grades in the recent mocks to a high 8.I understand time is in short supply so I would highly recommend getting the revision guides (if you don’t already have them) and making even more condensed notes and testing yourself. Recall is the best for history.In the exams you will not get penalised for not using dates, so I wouldn’t prioritise learning dates. Good luck ! :smile:

Thanks for the tips, I have already made mindmaps for Elizabeth and Crime and Punishment and I have also made a timeline for the Cold War (IK dates arent that important but I struggle to order the events chronologically and so it does help to see them all in order) and I also like your idea of sentence starters- cos structure seems to be uber important. Although I do not have the revision guides simply because they can be so expensive when you order lots of them but I have textbooks from the school and online bits that the school has on subscription and I find that it is fine just to have that.

Best of luck on your exams too! xx

Reply 7

collinschimuti

1

Bring the paper I do it for you as you do other things

Reply 8

Elsbels12xx

5

I am the same as you actually and I have found that making revision cards with questions on one side and answers on the other helpful because you can quiz yourself or get others to quiz you ! Also you can learn it in small parts with revision cards ! I also use Seneca learning which is free and it’s really good and helpful !!
Hope any of this helps you and good luck 😘

Reply 9

JarethBlackStar

3

Original post by I'mCookieMonster

Hello everyone,

I am currently trying to revise for history (Edexcel) and I have just realised... I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO REVISE. I have got a timeline of the Cold War in my room and I am trying to learn facts but I'm finding it really hard to try and remember all the facts from all four topics that we have done (Superpower Relations and the Cold War, Early Elizabethan England, Crime and Punishment and Nazi Germany) and to get into the mindset of revising history because there is just so much to do!

If anyone has any tips or strategies that they could suggest I would be SO grateful- Thanks for helping a girl out :biggrin:

EDIT- Forgot to mention that I am currently studying at GCSE (IDK if that makes a difference or what)

My way of studying history was to take four or five main points from each event and put them on a flashcard, event name on one side, four bullet points on the other side, and then try to memorise, one by one, like that, first try and guess the event from the bullet points and then move on to remembering the bullet points from the events. Then, to remember the dates, I would take another set of flashcards and put events on one side and the date of the event on the other side, then do the same as above, guess the event from the date, then guess the date from the event. This worked for me but some people are different.
Then once you have like 75% of these memorised then put them into practise questions, using the flashcards at first and then trying to do it from memory.
I did History at GCSE and A level and passed both with this method but don't forget to get the structure down as that is important as well.

Reply 10

I'mCookieMonster

OP

15

Hey, Thank you both so much for replying! @JarethBlackStar @Elsbels12xx

In the end I found flashcards to be fantastic and put dates on one side and what happened on the other (like you both mentioned) and was basically stood outside the exam hall flicking through them and thanking my past self for being so organised! Seneca was also a HUGE help as I found that when I wasn't really in the mood to do revision that was too hardcore, I could just quiz myself and test what I already knew as well as identifying places where I needed to improve. Quizlet was also a good website for learning those dates and the trusty timeline that was in my room was also brilliant (10/10 would recommend if you have the time).

Since then I managed to score an 8 in History (believe me I was so shocked but it just goes to show that proper revision does pay off)!!!!! Thanks to everyone for replying to this thread- it means a lot that you are all so willing to help someone in need and I hope that others who are struggling and currently doing History at GCSE or A-Level will be able to look at this thread and find some new methods of learning the content.

Thanks again! xx

Reply 11

TabbyP2018

1

Original post by I'mCookieMonster

Hello everyone,

I am currently trying to revise for history (Edexcel) and I have just realised... I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO REVISE. I have got a timeline of the Cold War in my room and I am trying to learn facts but I'm finding it really hard to try and remember all the facts from all four topics that we have done (Superpower Relations and the Cold War, Early Elizabethan England, Crime and Punishment and Nazi Germany) and to get into the mindset of revising history because there is just so much to do!

If anyone has any tips or strategies that they could suggest I would be SO grateful- Thanks for helping a girl out :biggrin:

EDIT- Forgot to mention that I am currently studying at GCSE (IDK if that makes a difference or what)

Hi,
I am also studying for GCSE History; the techniques that I find most useful is to make bullet-point notes (I use MonkeyMonkey Revision - a website made by one of my teachers - as it has all the information for our course, and by the sound of it you study mostly the same topics). I then condense these into several mind maps per topic. Finally, these are made into flashcards with a question or 2 on one side and the detail answer on the other. depending on the topic, it can be useful to make extra notes on the main people/factors/events involved.
Hope this helped!
Good luck :smile:

Reply 12

I'mCookieMonster

OP

15

Original post by TabbyP2018

Hi,
I am also studying for GCSE History; the techniques that I find most useful is to make bullet-point notes (I use MonkeyMonkey Revision - a website made by one of my teachers - as it has all the information for our course, and by the sound of it you study mostly the same topics). I then condense these into several mind maps per topic. Finally, these are made into flashcards with a question or 2 on one side and the detail answer on the other. depending on the topic, it can be useful to make extra notes on the main people/factors/events involved.
Hope this helped!
Good luck :smile:

Hi!
Thank you so much for replying to this thread! I hope your reply will help other people going through History GCSE- it is a bit of a tricky one to get your head around at first but I promise it will all be ok in the end!

Best of luck with your GCSEs, and if you need help with anything history related I could (probably) help you out, as someone who has been through it and got a decent grade!

xx

Reply 13

mb2003

3

Hey, I got a 9 in my GCSE this summer, and I did the exact same topics as you except I did American West instead of the Cold War!

Crazy as it sounds, the mistake I made early on in the course was spending too much time on the memorisation side of things and less on actually answering the questions. It's true that there is an insane amount of content and you have to spend a lot of time covering it all - but if you have impeccable knowledge but can't structure your answer or do what the examiners want to see, then it's little use! Make sure you read model answers and practise essays fairly often, and hand them into a teacher for feedback.

In terms of memorisation, Quizlet was a lifesaver for me. I first made really concise notes, making sure I wrote down only the bare essentials (obviously I memorised some stats and facts as well, but I didn't overdo it). After that, I made flashcards from the notes and just tested myself over and over.

All the best! If you have any questions or want feedback from your essays, hmu any time :smile:

Reply 14

Roseofyork

4

I agree I take OCR history but the principal is the same, when doing lots of revision, I suggest making sure that past just putting a subject in a revision timetable, put exactly what you are going to do for that session.
When doing history, I would suggest doing a few sessions of mémorisation then a few of practice questions. I don’t know what your exam looks like, but especially the longer questions, try to do them in the time without notes and see how far you get. When you have done this, you could take it to your teacher to mark, most are happy to help out and do so. Keep repeating and see how much your answers improve with time.

Reply 15

lost.soul

14

Original post by luccia

Wow I also do history edexcel and I do all the topic so you do bar crime and punishment; I do medicine through time instead. So what I find helpful to do is sort of make 3 batches of revision for each topic. For each topic I have done key dates on flashcards, mindmaps on the content (revision guide) and lastly sentence starters for each of the three exams. I’m at the stage now where I just read over everything and hope for the best.By doing this since the mocks in December, I jumped 2 grades in the recent mocks to a high 8.I understand time is in short supply so I would highly recommend getting the revision guides (if you don’t already have them) and making even more condensedreall notes and testing yourself. Recall is the best for history.In the exams you will not get penalised for not using dates, so I wouldn’t prioritise learning dates. Good luck ! :smile:

Really, you wont be penalised for not using dates? As in, you wont lose marks?

Reply 16

luccia

10

Original post by lost.soul

Really, you wont be penalised for not using dates? As in, you wont lose marks?

My history GCSE days are over (thankfully) but if I remember correctly, you wont lose marks for not using dates. Although I think you can lose marks for using incorrect dates.

Reply 17

lost.soul

14

Original post by luccia

My history GCSE days are over (thankfully) but if I remember correctly, you wont lose marks for not using dates. Although I think you can lose marks for using incorrect dates.

thank you!

Reply 18

IBW

4

Quizlet Decks for learning the timeline and dates is a must. Talking from experience

Reply 19

cruzgal89

6

Well am taking history too dear friend..so i understand what your facing.....My advice or strategies you can call it, which am using too is just do more effort on this subject..which means try to love the subject and study most of the time....Of course it has lot of stories..years..peoples i do'nt know leaders who are boring..but you can do it if you mean to :smile:

HELP- How Do You Revise For History?

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