I suck at History :(

Yes if your prediction is an A and you got a B and a C the issue is clearly exam technique, i am prepared to help if you wish?

Thank you all for your advice, are there any specific revision tips anyone can offer for when revising history? Most my revision is just summarising the textbook and exam questions



Sure, a lot of people say I need to work on exam technique but I am not sure how. Any help would be appreciated.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Thank you all for your advice, are there any specific revision tips anyone can offer for when revising history? Most my revision is just summarising the textbook and exam questions

I'm in year 13. In order to get into my dream course I need to get 3 As but I fear I will fail to get an A in history.

Don't get me wrong, I love history but I really flop writing good answers to questions for it. Last year I got a B and a C in the two history exams I had for AS History when I was predicted an A.

Anyone got any tips on how to write good history essays or have any good tips on revising history?

I would also be grateful to see examples of top mark history essays which easily can show me what to do to improve.

I cannot stress how badly I really need that A

Posted from TSR Mobile

There is a key to acing history. And it isn't that hard. Honestly, follow this and you'll do well.

The key is to

- make your point.

- To explain the point.

- Then to give an example,

Nothing too complex as it's only an exam.

So to pluck a random example out of my brain... If the question was: 'To what extent does the French Revolution account for Napoleon's rise to dominance?'

You would make a point; i.e. One of the many benefits that came with the French Revolution was the way in which it allowed men of low birth to rise rapidly to unprecedented positions within the military.

Then explain it a bit; so...: previously, under the Bourbon monarchy, only nobles of high birth could ever expect to gain prestigious rank. With the revolution the notions of liberty and equality came to the fore and these ideals were very much transposed onto the military - you get the point, just explain what you're saying.

Then! An example: This can best be illustrated by assessing quite how Napoleon came to be the Commander of the Interior. His actions at Toulon and later against the Parisian mobs paved the way for his being given such a prestigious position in the army at such a young age - etc.

So that would be one paragraph (make it a bit longer than that, I don't need to). The move onto another point, doing the same again. Make about 5 points. But at the start of each new point take it back to the question, so simply start the next paragraph with something along the lines of:

Another way in which Napoleon owed his rise to power to the revolution was that................. and write on.

The reason is this makes certain that you aren't straying from the question, this is a mistake a lot of people make. They start prattling on about irrelevant rubbish.

Don't dwell too long on the wording, an exam is about demonstrating your knowledge, not your lyrical prowess.

Write a basic introduction and conclusion (pretty much saying the same thing in each). And plan your points first, just jot down 5 relevant points at the start and stick to them, a paragraph each.

Well I hope you read this because it took 10 minutes to write! But there's my advice. Take it or leave it




Just look through old exam papers. Questions tend to repeat. If you can answer all the old exams, you'll be able to answer the new ones.

Do you have any essays you have written i could take a look at and give some advice on technique?