History A level

I wanted any advice on how to get a predicted grade from C in history A level to An A in France and revolution and challenge and transformation in Britain in one year.

Reply 1

username6164978

Original post by zara_276

I wanted any advice on how to get a predicted grade from C in history A level to An A in France and revolution and challenge and transformation in Britain in one year.

I took History A-level and got an A*. This is how to improve:

1) Make flashcards on key dates
2) Plan loads of essays and make your own essay questions up.
3) Create a list of 20 questions that you complete at the beginning of each revision session on the previous topic, this way you can ensure that you’re constantly refreshing your memory of previous topics.
4)Make mindmaps.
5) Read around, this is perhaps the most important thing - by doing this and expressing an interest in the subject, the content is more likely to stick with you.

Is your problem essay structure or remembering content?

If it’s essay structure and you’re doing Edexcel, a focus on criteria is vital. Criteria means the way you measure something in the essay (for instance, success). If this is the case I recommend reading some exemplar answers.

Hope this helps?

Reply 2

zara_276

Omg thank you so much, my problem is I feel I have missed out on a lot of content because my history teachers were changed twice and I just lost out on motivation and doing work, so I wanted to get back on track this year and improve my grades

Reply 3

lemonbunny

Hi, I'm doing History at uni and got 2 A*s. Independent learning is super important so find ways that are enjoyable to you (whether it is podcasts, animated educational content or reading books). Here are some tips for your classes:

- Have well-organised notes based on era, perspective and outcomes. Link various ideas with one another, or observe patterns throughout history. Think of the subject as linear, where events occur in a domino effect - find those correlations.

- Read up on the perspectives of the time whether it be through class, gender or ethnicity. Use these as criticisms in essays and to highlight issues in history (e.g.: "The exclusion of the working class in women's suffrage"). Google Scholar is extremely helpful.

- Have a few key persons or names that can strengthen your essays. You can further read biographies and criticisms of them.

- Make a bibliography or collection of historical sources. You can refer to these throughout your essays.

Let me know if this helps. Good luck!

Reply 4

username6164978

Original post by zara_276

The same happened to my friends who were in the other A-level history class. We did British Experience of Warfare, and one teacher was never at school to teach it, so she never taught them the content. Sometimes you have to take it upon yourself, but I’m sure you’ll do fine!

Reply 5

history tutor

I am writing an A-level textbook on France 1774-1815 right now. Do please ask me anything if you need guidance on that module. But as a general rule (and a minimum) go back over 4 years of past papers and make sure you have formulated an argument for each question on each paper. You will learn 1000 times more by trying to answer questions rather than simply reading material. Reading the books gives you the knowledge but it means nothing unless you can deconstruct that knowledge into a rational argument and you will only do that by practising them.