history or geography?

so i’m choosing my gcses next year and i’m stuck between geography and history. i think that history is a lot more interesting but harder for me, especially since there’s so many dates to remember and key figures so i think i’d struggle with that. also the analysis part is kind of hard for me to grasp but i do get one of the highest grades in the year for history (somehow). geography is easier for me, but it’s so painfully boring. it’s also hard to remember exactly what the formations and processes are and stuff like that but overall it’s easier and i get high marks for geography as well. i would love to study law in the future and i feel like history would fit better with the subjects i’d like to study at a level, english literature and law. both would, but history especially i think. however it’s such a high workload and the information is somewhat complex for gcse and i can’t imagine how it would be like for a level, and for geography the content looks straight forward albeit boring.

Reply 1

Sighhh4

8

Original post by sippinonsoju

so i’m choosing my gcses next year and i’m stuck between geography and history. i think that history is a lot more interesting but harder for me, especially since there’s so many dates to remember and key figures so i think i’d struggle with that. also the analysis part is kind of hard for me to grasp but i do get one of the highest grades in the year for history (somehow). geography is easier for me, but it’s so painfully boring. it’s also hard to remember exactly what the formations and processes are and stuff like that but overall it’s easier and i get high marks for geography as well. i would love to study law in the future and i feel like history would fit better with the subjects i’d like to study at a level, english literature and law. both would, but history especially i think. however it’s such a high workload and the information is somewhat complex for gcse and i can’t imagine how it would be like for a level, and for geography the content looks straight forward albeit boring.

LOOOOL I was in the same boat I found geography so boring but I was rlly good at it but I liked history more so I took it at gcse. Personally gcse AQA history isn’t bad and the content is ok bc for me I did medicine and Germany and something else I can’t remember. I ended up getting an 8 (a*).

LMAOO my geography teacher begged me to do it at gcse she literally said you’ll get a 9 but honestly it was soooo boring and if u acc like history and revise you’ll be good!! So ultimately I think pick the one u find more interesting. I also picked history for a levels and icl it’s pretty hard but it’s ok if u study and make timelines etc

Reply 2

Sighhh4

8

Original post by Sighhh4

LOOOOL I was in the same boat I found geography so boring but I was rlly good at it but I liked history more so I took it at gcse. Personally gcse AQA history isn’t bad and the content is ok bc for me I did medicine and Germany and something else I can’t remember. I ended up getting an 8 (a*).

LMAOO my geography teacher begged me to do it at gcse she literally said you’ll get a 9 but honestly it was soooo boring and if u acc like history and revise you’ll be good!! So ultimately I think pick the one u find more interesting. I also picked history for a levels and icl it’s pretty hard but it’s ok if u study and make timelines etc

basically If ur looking for a free good grade (8-9) take geography bc compared to history it’s a walk in the park but if u want something a bit more challenging and interesting pick history but it’s a bit harder to get a rlly good grade BUT nonetheless doable esp cuz u said you’ve been getting high grades

Reply 3

sippinonsoju

OP

2

Original post by Sighhh4

LOOOOL I was in the same boat I found geography so boring but I was rlly good at it but I liked history more so I took it at gcse. Personally gcse AQA history isn’t bad and the content is ok bc for me I did medicine and Germany and something else I can’t remember. I ended up getting an 8 (a*).

LMAOO my geography teacher begged me to do it at gcse she literally said you’ll get a 9 but honestly it was soooo boring and if u acc like history and revise you’ll be good!! So ultimately I think pick the one u find more interesting. I also picked history for a levels and icl it’s pretty hard but it’s ok if u study and make timelines etc

thank you for the reply!! i’m leaning towards history atm. have you got any tips on how to remember dates and such?

(edited 10 months ago)

Reply 4

Sighhh4

8

Original post by sippinonsoju

thank you for the reply!! i’m leaning towards history atm. have you got any tips on how to remember dates and such?

For gcse I used the aqa CGP book bc it rlly condensed things down and I could read and understand the general idea of the time period - then i went online on websites like get revising or revisly and searched for specific timelines people had already made on my topics and learnt the dates and the context behind them. (Using dates impresses the examiner)

For gcse If I remember right you have to analyse sources a lot so watch yt videos on how people do this and try to nail down how to ACTUALLY write an essay bc they ask for specific things in the question like comparing sources or why u think it’s effective(?im not sure if this is correct bc I did my gcses like 3 years ago) and its important your structure is very good to secure high marks bc if you don’t structure correctly you could move down in bands and not get the highest mark u could for silly errors.

For a level it’s different but you’ll learn ab that if u end up choosing it. Also ask your history head of department what topics you’ll be studying for gcse and do some independent research to see if you think you’ll find it interesting + same with ur geography teacher bc they can explain their subject best !! Good luck don’t stress which ever u pick I’m sure you'll do well regardless

Reply 5

*LifeHappens*

12

Original post by sippinonsoju

so i’m choosing my gcses next year and i’m stuck between geography and history. i think that history is a lot more interesting but harder for me, especially since there’s so many dates to remember and key figures so i think i’d struggle with that. also the analysis part is kind of hard for me to grasp but i do get one of the highest grades in the year for history (somehow). geography is easier for me, but it’s so painfully boring. it’s also hard to remember exactly what the formations and processes are and stuff like that but overall it’s easier and i get high marks for geography as well. i would love to study law in the future and i feel like history would fit better with the subjects i’d like to study at a level, english literature and law. both would, but history especially i think. however it’s such a high workload and the information is somewhat complex for gcse and i can’t imagine how it would be like for a level, and for geography the content looks straight forward albeit boring.

Here are some things I would consider:

- Since you want to do english lit and law, those are essay based subjects, history is super helpful for that as it's purely essay based and idk which exam board you're doing, but the one at my school has an entire topic on studying crime (this relates hugely to law)
- For history, main bits are practice and making really summarised notes on each topic (when I say summarised, I mean like one A4 page summarised!), getting a good textbook is also important, so you have something to always refer to so do your research there.
- In terms of geography, it's very straightforward as you said, it's really easy once you understand the technique of approaching the tests, so it might be more achievable as a gcse
- Geography can get really boring, so it could affect your motivation and willingness to study it, so think about whether it really is worth it
- When I was picking my gcse subjects a couple months ago, I made a pros and cons table for the subjects I was debating to pick, this really helped me weigh up whether it's worth it or not

At the end of the day, gcses don't give a huge impact, but always pick something that you feel would benefit you (i.e.: would you enjoy it/find it interesting? Are you willing to work hard for it? Would it give you skills that might be needed for a levels/university?)
I hope that helps and good luck with your options!

Reply 6

TheRaptorTrex

history, its just better

history or geography?

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