AQA History- New Spec

I'm really struggling to structure my answers and with few materials in which to read I was wondering whether anyone had any advice? I'm aiming to achieve an A- what's the 'A' Grade way?
I study Tsarist Russia and the Making of Modern Britain but any advice would be amazing.

Reply 1

undercxver

The techniques I use:

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Summarise the content of each module on one sheet of paper and memorise this

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Condense events into 3 bullet points (linking with the point above)

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Make a list of significant events and their dates and highlight each one you manage to remember

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Do every single past paper question

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Plan your essays with bullet points within a minute

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Time yourself when doing essays

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Practice writing really fast

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If you're struggling with content then go through a revision book.

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If teachers tell you some sort of prediction I suggest you don't go by it and revise everything!

Do you need help with anything else?

Reply 2

kittyboxall

Original post by undercxver

The techniques I use:

•

Summarise the content of each module on one sheet of paper and memorise this

•

Condense events into 3 bullet points (linking with the point above)

•

Make a list of significant events and their dates and highlight each one you manage to remember

•

Do every single past paper question

•

Plan your essays with bullet points within a minute

•

Time yourself when doing essays

•

Practice writing really fast

•

If you're struggling with content then go through a revision book.

•

If teachers tell you some sort of prediction I suggest you don't go by it and revise everything!

Do you need help with anything else?

That's so helpful, thank you! I've also realised i struggle to quickly formulate an answer i feel confident with when reading the question- any tips?

Reply 3

undercxver

Original post by kittyboxall

That's so helpful, thank you! I've also realised i struggle to quickly formulate an answer i feel confident with when reading the question- any tips?

Okay so as you do the AQA exam board I know that you have the normal 12 marker and 24 marker.

I'm not too sure how the new spec works... is the the same sort of questions as before or is there a new way to it? :s:

Introduction:

Write a short introduction for your 24 marker, not the 12. Roughy explain the points you are going to discuss.

How many paragraphs should I write?

12 marker: From 3 to 4 paragraphs (excluding conclusion).
24 marker: From 5 to 6 paragraphs (excluding conclusion), though this may vary depending on how strong each point is.

What structure should my paragraph be in?

PEEL.

Point: What are you talking about in this paragraph?
Evidence: Provide evidence for what you are talking about.
Explain: Explain your evidence, what does it show?
Link: Create a link to be able to bring your essay together, this way your paragraph would sync with your next. (Neccessary for a Level 4 answer in a 12 marker and a Level 5 answer for a 24 marker)

Should I discuss significance?

Yes. Do not miss this out in a 24 marker, it should be included somewhere in your essay. Most suitable place to identify the most and least significant factor/point is in the conclusion.

Conclusion:

Summarise your points by discussing significance/success/impact. What's your opinion?

How can I achieve the top marks?

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Include historians views on this, just remember generic views - something almost everyone believes in. A good historian to use is Andrew Marr (I always use this historian in my essay).

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Discuss significance

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Make sure all points have a link, don't be jumping to a different topic in your essay or it won't flow.

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Read into what you are studying, and enjoy it. That way you get a taste of the subject and can write your essays in that sort of format.

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Don't forget to answer the question. So easy to forget what you are talking about. Keep looking back at what the question is sot you can address that rather than going off topic.