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A-Level HistoryTSR Wiki > Study Help > Subjects and Revision > A Levels > A-Level Subject Guides II > A-Level History
A-Level HistoryBackground information about studying HistoryHistory A-level enables you to study a range of topical events varying from the Troubles in Ireland, to Russia, and to the Tudor era. There is a certain emphasis on gaining a thorough understanding of certain important events, mainly in modern History. (You can also do Early Modern History: you study Norman Conquest, Angevin Empire, The Crusades and English Civil War...is way better than modern!) Many students find themselves passionate about History and it's intensity is very well respected. How will it differ from GCSE?DifficultyMany people find the step up to A-level to be quite a bit more difficult than GCSE. Some aspects rely on your source skills a lot more and you need to work to build these skills up. Also, as it is a essay subject there will be a lot more writing and reading involved in it, so if you struggle with those you may find yourself struggle. You don't need to have studied History GCSE to be able to do it at A-level either, as you will build the skills up throughout the course anyway. WorkloadThe workload for History can be very intense, whether it's with writing essays to doing further reading to support your class work. It is quite a step up from GCSE but don't let it put you off, you will get used to the increase in workload and it is managable as long as you don't leave it all to the last minute. Personally I disagree with this I find that history has the least workload of all my subjects. I also disagree with this. I think it must very much depend on the school. I do three other essay based subjects and get the least work for history. Required Individual StudyThere is lots of Individual study you could do for History, and you should probably do some to help with your course. A lot of it is reading around the subject, it helps strengthen your knowledge. If you are passionate about History you may find you want to do as much reading as you can anyway, I just wouldn't not do any all year. How is it assessed?ExamsAt AS for Edexcel both units are assessed by examination. You have two papers around 2 hours in length and these can either be sat seperately in January and June or both in June. At A2 for Edexcel one of the units is assessed by examination and can either be sat in June or January of year 13. CourseworkFor Edexcel the only coursework is one of the A2 units, which is a personal project completed throughout the year. Some centres do not offer it - instead you do a synoptic model that is stupidly tough PracticalsHistory is more of an essay subject and you wouldn't expect to do much practical work other than presentations. Field trips and excursionsHistory is a subject that potentially has lots of field trips. Some schools offer the chance to go to conferences on particular subjects and others do trips to places where you are studying and museums etc. In History they help you to deepen your understanding of the subject and contextualise it, which is always helpful. Where can I go with a History A-LevelUser OpinionsUsername: timewarp What I like about studying this subject: I love History. For AS we do the troubles in Britain and Ireland, which although may not be as exciting as wars and other things that have happened it is still really interesting and brings it home when you think that this was next door to us and how long it went on. Also we do Russia 1881-1952 which is also incredibly interesting with the Tsars and Stalin etc. I've been lucky and got two really interesting areas for our units which is what I think helps me to enjoy it as much as I do. What I dislike about studying this subject: Some parts of what you study are complex and can be hard to get your head around and there are lots of essays, with the source based ones being quite difficult to do but other than those things there aren't many things I dislike! :D
Username: tknight7 What I like about studying this subject: The Tudors was a great module to learn. Essay format is easy to pick up (compared to psychology anyway.....) Workload is pretty light imo, just need to read quite a bit. Links in really well social sciences - I did psych and economics, and politics at AS, and was able to cross-reference knowledge from all areas! What I dislike about studying this subject: At my sixth form, 4 of the 6 modules were 1800's Europe, which got REALLY boring. I really struggled with my synoptic module exam - couldn't get the format right, even after a whole year of pratice, which ended costing me my place at uni for 2009 :( I came to the realisation that history just repeats itself - really depressed me :(
Username: Akbar2k7 What I like about studying this subject: History was my forth subject I have only done it at AS, however it was a great experience. History is the real big picture it shows the human systems of the past you learn about economics, politics and psychology.I am at heart a science person but history a refreshing break from facts and figures it gave a human perceptive to things and naturally added to my understanding of our world. What I dislike about studying this subject: Well I am a science person and I found it painstakingly hard to perfect my essay technique ,it was not straightforward revising for an art. Maybe this was due to my lack of GCSE history.
What I like about studying this subject: What I dislike about studying this subject: Also See |
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