A/A* History students tips

For those of you who got an A/A* in A-Level History, do you have any tips & tricks to help with the NEA, revision for the A-Level, or the actual exams

Do good research, read examiners reports, practice essay writing, understand how to answer source questions and check mark schemes.

Don't over-complicate things with the NEA, speak to your tutors when you need them because they want you to do well in it and they can help! Balance your NEA with exam revision, don't prioritise one over the other. If you keep on top of your work and do quizzes at the start of the year of content, it'll stick more in your brain, so when it comes to actual revision the content is less hazy and you can focus more on actual exam technique.

What exam board are you doing, do you know?
I did my A Levels a few years ago now, so it may be a little different, but I'll try and help as much as I can!

Thank you for your answer. How did you find the NEA?

Sorry for the late response. My school is doing AQA.

No worries
So my coursework was quite different to what you've got (I was given questions and we were told what sources were expected of us etc.), but here's what I'd suggest:

Approach this as you would any other essay, don't overcomplicate it! The only difference is using other people's arguments and sources to back up your points. So for PEE, you could do like Point - an historian's argument, and in the evidence, use a primary source. Don't feel like you have to overload it with sources though, the whole thing is to test your ability at formulating and sustaining your own argument. Use historian's points to back you up, use primary evidence to back you up, and use your own knowledge to back you up (you don't need to cite things that are common knowledge, i.e. events and that sort of thing).

I can't say how many sources to use, because it will entirely depend on your question and your argument. All I can say is don't use too many that your own argument gets lost, but use enough to back yourself up!

For more guidance on words/pages, and even the amount of sources, I'd definitely speak to your tutor! They can help you and offer some advice, and will get to know your argument as the year goes on. Also, for basic stuff check the AQA website! There's this link which should be useful: https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/history/as-and-a-level/history-7041-7042/subject-content/component-3-historical-investigation-non-exam-assessment-a-level-only

Hope this offers some help at least! Good luck!