Failing AS level History

Radmandy

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Since I started AS history, my essays have been graded D consistently and I am starting to get worried as I'd like a an A. My teacher's comments haven't been as helpful as I would like them to be and everyone else in the class is getting As and Bs which suggests its probably something that I'm doing wrong? Id appreciate some help or advice for doing essays at AS level history in order to secure high marks and any specific help from people who are doing/have done OCR History- French revolution and the rule of Napoleon (Y243) and/or British history (Y142).

Thanks in advance.

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TSR Mustafa

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I was getting Ds and then began to use counters and also counter counters in my essays. I'm on a different spec tho so not sure.
Got an A last year despite low grades in mocks for the first few months. I guess improving my detail and really grounding the structure helped a lot.

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Radmandy

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So there's still hope? lol.
The comments I receive about my work is vague and so I don't know how to start improving.

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evethompsxn

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Not sure if this is much help but I know that I was in the same position as you this time last year, it's ok, not the end of the world, I came out with a B so it was ok. Don't worry chumps

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Miss.Unknow

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I dont do the same topics as you but i would suggest you do past paper questions. Read the examiner report. How about you borrow one of your classmate's essays and compare them to you. See what they have and what you have. Remember historical knowledge is very important, make sure you know all the key terms and words, names and places, events that occurred etc. Do you use sources? If you do then find some sources online and evaluate them, link it back to your historical knowledge.
For revision i suggest you do colourful mindmaps..It REALLY helped me with my revision. If you are bored with reading, why not watch some documentaries on your topics! Maybe that will help. make a list/timeline of all the key events that have occurred and colour code them

Even draw pictures if you need it! Also make sure your History file/folder/book is organised so it'll be easier to find the information and review over you notes!
So many people get low marks at the beginning but the more you revise the higher results you will get! A level is all about working hard and revision!
I wish you good luck with your AS History!

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evethompsxn

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In terms of how to improve, I think the best way to go about it is ask your teachers how to improve and work on improving first of all paragraphs and then eventually whole essays. It's important to first recognise where you're going wrong :-)

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HonouraryHobbit

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Hi

I'm doing a y12 doing OCR History AS, and I've got the same problem!
Try talking over your essay with your teacher 1-to-1 to get a better understanding of where you went wrong and can improve, and make sure your class/textbook notes are really clear and you understand what you're writing about.
If you have/can get hold of a copy of the mark scheme, then that should help figure out what you're omitting in your essays

Good luck with it

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Radmandy

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(Original post by Miss.Unknow)
I dont do the same topics as you but i would suggest you do past paper questions. Read the examiner report. How about you borrow one of your classmate's essays and compare them to you. See what they have and what you have. Remember historical knowledge is very important, make sure you know all the key terms and words, names and places, events that occurred etc. Do you use sources? If you do then find some sources online and evaluate them, link it back to your historical knowledge.
For revision i suggest you do colourful mindmaps..It REALLY helped me with my revision. If you are bored with reading, why not watch some documentaries on your topics! Maybe that will help. make a list/timeline of all the key events that have occurred and colour code them

Even draw pictures if you need it! Also make sure your History file/folder/book is organised so it'll be easier to find the information and review over you notes!
So many people get low marks at the beginning but the more you revise the higher results you will get! A level is all about working hard and revision!
I wish you good luck with your AS History!

Thank you, this really helped!

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Radmandy

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(Original post by evethompsxn)
In terms of how to improve, I think the best way to go about it is ask your teachers how to improve and work on improving first of all paragraphs and then eventually whole essays. It's important to first recognise where you're going wrong :-)

I am going to ask about how to improve and hopefully it will be easier to understand where I'm going wrong.

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Radmandy

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(Original post by HonouraryHobbit)
Hi

I'm doing a y12 doing OCR History AS, and I've got the same problem!
Try talking over your essay with your teacher 1-to-1 to get a better understanding of where you went wrong and can improve, and make sure your class/textbook notes are really clear and you understand what you're writing about.
If you have/can get hold of a copy of the mark scheme, then that should help figure out what you're omitting in your essays

Good luck with it

I will be asking my teacher about how to improve and revising more content (It's probably why my essays are mediocre), thanks by the way!

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lidski

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(Original post by Radmandy)
Since I started AS history, my essays have been graded D consistently and I am starting to get worried as I'd like a an A. My teacher's comments haven't been as helpful as I would like them to be and everyone else in the class is getting As and Bs which suggests its probably something that I'm doing wrong? Id appreciate some help or advice for doing essays at AS level history in order to secure high marks and any specific help from people who are doing/have done OCR History- French revolution and the rule of Napoleon (Y243) and/or British history (Y142).

Thanks in advance.

Firstly I'm going to say I didn't do OCR History or any of the topics you're studying, but I am a university student studying history. When I started AS History I got E's for a solid 3 months, so don't feel disheartened, I only started getting B's and C's close to the exam, and then I put it all of my revision and on results day I managed to get two incredibly high A's. Even my teacher was shocked, which goes to show, sometimes your teacher actually knows nothing and you just have to trust yourself a little more. It doesn't really matter what you get in AS until you sit the exam. And take this fro me - I'm studying in a Russell Group and have being in the exact same position as you, so genuinely don't worry and just revise and if you have the drive to achieve an A I promise you you can get it

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ParadoxSocks

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I'm not a history teacher but if one of my students felt this way I would want them to talk to me. There's so much we can do to make you feel more confident. You're not even half way through yet so you have plenty of time to turn it around. Don't worry about your classmates. Everyone develops skills at different times and it's your personal development and confidence in the subject that you should be focusing on.

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DBR247

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(Original post by Radmandy)
Since I started AS history, my essays have been graded D consistently and I am starting to get worried as I'd like a an A. My teacher's comments haven't been as helpful as I would like them to be and everyone else in the class is getting As and Bs which suggests its probably something that I'm doing wrong? Id appreciate some help or advice for doing essays at AS level history in order to secure high marks and any specific help from people who are doing/have done OCR History- French revolution and the rule of Napoleon (Y243) and/or British history (Y142).

Thanks in advance.

Don't worry about getting low grades in your mock exams, there is plenty of time until the exams for improvement. Firstly, if you want to improve your grades speak to your teacher or lecturer as they can give you more specific feedback. I sat my AS exams with the WJEC doing the British History and Nazi Germany modules, so I couldn't advise for the French Revolution module. I would imagine you are doing British politics and if so I would recommend thinking how significant the legislation was and how it affects us today, as most of it still does and this will enthuse your knowledge. I found that with AS evaluating the significance of an event or act passed by government combined with a sound judgement significantly increased my marks. I constantly worried about doing badly last year especially with the British but ended up with an A, so I would certainly not worry about it at this stage.

Best of luck,

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