Revising for a level history

OP

I’m doing Tsarist Russia and England during the civil war - so I need to know dates of kings, important events, dates of policies, all that sort of stuff

Reply 3

The A-level kid

14

Original post by taliaa3

I’m doing Tsarist Russia and England during the civil war - so I need to know dates of kings, important events, dates of policies, all that sort of stuff

With dates the main thing is repetition, repeating it to yourself over and over but making sure you are linking it to the main thing. E.g. King Henry 1889 (this is a random date and king btw it's not factually accurate) So you would say to yourself Henry 1889 continuously. This is how I learnt dates for History. For history I only learnt the dates that are important for key events only. So pick the ones that you believe are important and learn those ones. Maybe do quizzes to test yourself. It's important that you quiz yourself after to make sure you're remembering what you've just put to memory. Keep what your learning brief and to the point. Hope this helps.

Reply 4

OP

Okay, thank you so much. I’ll try doing some quizzes, maybe they will help :smile:

Reply 5

Original post by taliaa3

I’m doing Tsarist Russia and England during the civil war - so I need to know dates of kings, important events, dates of policies, all that sort of stuff

LOLL we did tsarist Russia and making of modern Britain. I couldn't get higher than a U for the life of me despite a 6 at GCSE. dropped it. and ama just staying an extra year. teacher did not like me at all for some reason and kept kicking me out of the class for no reason.

Reply 6

OP

I find some aspects of it interesting by my teacher is so boring in the way he teachers, which makes me dread the lessons

Reply 7

angelinahx

21

Really? You have to know dates? What exam board are you doing?

My teacher literally told us that dates aren't really significant, and so spending an inordinate amount of time revising them isn't really going to make an impact on your grade. This is because A-level History isn't a fact-based class, as is the case with a lot of other history classes in other programs, it's an analysis class. Now, facts are, of course, vital components in your analysis, but if you focus on the facts alone, you won't get higher than a C (if even that). In A-level History, you need to draw longer lines, and discuss the context of those facts and the concepts surrounding them. Why or why not that fact is to be understood this or that way. You can't simply just look at the facts, you need to go further and actually analyse those facts. I think a lot of people take history and think they just have to remember years and random facts, but that is wrong. With facts alone, you have just the foundation. You're supposed to build a house. A lot of people forget parts of the house and end up with a roofless house without windows.

Now, if you can remember specific dates, that's great - use them and impress the examiner! Spending time solely revising dates though probably isn't worth your while, according to my history teacher.

Reply 8

Original post by taliaa3

I find some aspects of it interesting by my teacher is so boring in the way he teachers, which makes me dread the lessons

oh definitely, in Russia I quite enjoy the likes of Rasputin - in Britain the Media and rise in consumerism and social change such as gangs and riots are all so interesting.
just everything else is not xD

will miss the class - such good banter. wished my drama class could be the one to go! love my media class though.
shame like 98% of the college dislikes me though so I am use to it.
thinking about either changing to health and social care or philosophy.

OP

Oh nice @JRimmer27

She is correct in saying this but you do get more marks if you use dates and facts correctly. Main thing is applying knowledge to the questions and using analysis.

Original post by angelinahx

Really? You have to know dates? What exam board are you doing?

My teacher literally told us that dates aren't really significant, and so spending an inordinate amount of time revising them isn't really going to make an impact on your grade. This is because A-level History isn't a fact-based class, as is the case with a lot of other history classes in other programs, it's an analysis class. Now, facts are, of course, vital components in your analysis, but if you focus on the facts alone, you won't get higher than a C (if even that). In A-level History, you need to draw longer lines, and discuss the context of those facts and the concepts surrounding them. Why or why not that fact is to be understood this or that way. You can't simply just look at the facts, you need to go further and actually analyse those facts. I think a lot of people take history and think they just have to remember years and random facts, but that is wrong. With facts alone, you have just the foundation. You're supposed to build a house. A lot of people forget parts of the house and end up with a roofless house without windows.

Now, if you can remember specific dates, that's great - use them and impress the examiner! Spending time solely revising dates though probably isn't worth your while, according to my history teacher.

Reply 11

OP

@angelinahx I think we are with aqa + yes, I know that. My teachers also emphasise one Sam technique, analysis and all of that. But my Russia teacher is very persistent with us knowing a lot of dates, as apparently without them we won’t get anywhere.

Reply 12

Original post by taliaa3

@angelinahx I think we are with aqa + yes, I know that. My teachers also emphasise one Sam technique, analysis and all of that. But my Russia teacher is very persistent with us knowing a lot of dates, as apparently without them we won’t get anywhere.

to actually say something related to the question. in history you do need facts (dates for example) to show you actually have knowledge of the topic - but the way you set your answer and your analysing and evaluating skills will be marked much more higher than just points being supported with facts linked to the question. honestly why I dropped it and the fact it was causing stress which is good for the likes of my psychosis and health. at least I can for first year just focus on my drama/theatre studies A level which I quite like the syllabus!

Reply 13

OP

Good luck with your new studies :smile:

Reply 14