GCSE History Exam Technique?

Basically I got A* full marks on all my coursework pieces for OCR GCSE Modern World History. I'm doing Treaty of Versailles, League of Nations, all that stuff, and then in depth study of Russia.
On my mock last year I got an F. I was so shocked and admittedly I was going through a very very stressful period in my life but I can't let that happen again. I was surprised it was so low - it's quite a dramatic dip!
I have my mocks next week and I really need to prove to my history teacher that it was just one slip up and that it won't happen in my summer exams. I've been revising alot and even borrowed the text book from school to make extra notes; i'm trying real hard for this exam but does anyone have any extra tips for history exam technique?
Ideally, I want to come out of this course with an A/A* particuarly as History is something I'd be interested in studying further. I want to take A Level History, plus it's also something I'm possibly interested in continuing to degree level. Seen as I'm already on my way with the coursework, I want to make absolutely sure my exam grade is the best it can be :smile:

Thankyou.

Reply 1

xoJessicaAnn

OP

14

anyone?

Reply 2

autumnwinters

heyy i'm doing the same course as you and everything, well done for your a*s on coursework! i have major trouble with writing history essays, but here are a couple of sites i use which help me a lot:
http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/gcselinks/source.html
http://www.educationforum.co.uk/revisiontips.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/examskills/
i personally find bitesize revision things too simple, but they have really useful exam tips...
please can you give me any tips on writing history essays?? i love the subject, i know everything about what we've done but i always lose so many points on essays... what do you do...

Reply 3

xoJessicaAnn

OP

14

autumnwinters

heyy i'm doing the same course as you and everything, well done for your a*s on coursework! i have major trouble with writing history essays, but here are a couple of sites i use which help me a lot:
http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/gcselinks/source.html
http://www.educationforum.co.uk/revisiontips.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/examskills/
i personally find bitesize revision things too simple, but they have really useful exam tips...
please can you give me any tips on writing history essays?? i love the subject, i know everything about what we've done but i always lose so many points on essays... what do you do...

Thankyou so much for the tips :smile:

For the coursework, I just made sure I explained everything in as much detail as I could and also another great thing to improve your mark is to open or end your essay with a quote.
For example,
One of my pieces of coursework was:
“Explain the nature and purpose of the ‘Hitler Youth’ movement",
So my last line of the essay was: As Hitler dictated, “He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future.”

And for my second piece of coursework the title was:
“Explain the reasons for Nazi policies towards women”,
So I opened my essay with this quote: “Women have been among the strongest pillars of Hitlerism from its very inception … Hitler has a fascination for Germany’s weaker sex …” - A New York Times journalist, 1932.

The structure of your essay is also very important. For say, a 10 mark question in the exam, my teacher advises us to do 3 reasons well explained in 3 seperate paragraphs, a paragraphs on links (as you cannot get top marks without links) and then a conclusion paragraph. But then again, my teacher is absolutely brilliant.

It's just a fair bit of extra research and an obvious keen interest in the subject. If your describing something, give examples of 'role models' or something. It's just doing that little bit extra really.

Reply 4

autumnwinters

thanks, and good luck!

Reply 5

Rajsab

9

hey got my aqa hist exam in june
can anyone help me with the structure for the diff type of questions ?
thanks :smile:

Reply 6

Sharif Chowdhury

9

Original post by Rajsab

hey got my aqa hist exam in june
can anyone help me with the structure for the diff type of questions ?
thanks :smile:

Sure I can, I somehow got full marks in both exams so I reckon I got the technique right. The key is doing just a tad more than you need to as a sort of insurance.

4, 6, 10 markers:
4 - Minimum: 4 points. Recommended: 4 points briefly explained
6 - Minimum: 3 Well explained points Recommended: 4 Well explained points
10 -Minimum: 2 points for, 2 points against and judgement OR if they give you the bullet points explain why each is important remembering to use at least two examples for each. Make sure to specifically compare the bullet points with eachother in order to nail the "how far" part of the question
Recommended: 3 points for, 3 points against and judgement OR if they give you the bulletpoints make 2 points and 1 counterpoint for each bulletpoint and weight them up at the end.

for the 9/8 marker that comes right at the start of the paper after the source question make 4 well explained points (3 minimum).

Source Questions:
"What is the message of X" Begin with "The message of X is Y." This can be shown by *insert detail from cartoon that portrays message*. Repeat with another detail from the cartoon. Furthermore use 2 examples of things that actually occurred that support the message.

"Why was this published in *year*" - Begin with "X was published in *year* because Y". Then use a detail from the source that backs up your reasoning. Repeat with another detail. In between the details from the sources explain the context of the source and why it would have an effect on the publishing of it.

"Does this source surprise you" - "It does surprise me because X": Use at least 2 details from the source combined with contextual knowledge as to why it would surprise you. AND "It doesn't surprise me because Y" same as above but make sure you get both sides else you won't get into the top band.

The source questions can be worded differently but the key thing to remember is to answer the question in your first sentence. Do not begin with context and do not begin with detail. Simply state your answer and THEN start backing it up. As soon as you state the message of the cartoon, provided it's correct, you're guaranteed marks.

Reply 7

Cursory

3

youre such a life saver thank you!!!

GCSE History Exam Technique?

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