Should I choose history or geography for my gcse options

Guys, I'll be choosing my gcse options soon and I'm so confused.
Idk if I should do history or geography.some say to do history and some say to do geography. Which is easier?
Please help me I'm confused

Reply 1

zafi-123

It really depends on personal preferences, for example I got a grade 9 in my history GCSE, not only was I good at it but I enjoyed it. History is an essay based subject, so if you are into writing then that is for you. However, if you’d don’t like writing long essays, then opt for Geography. In my experience , majority of people take that. Also, history is very interesting but it definitely isn’t for everyone. :smile:

Reply 2

bbhvvikrrjvejvd

Original post

by Esmé14

hi! so there are a few things to consider.
first of all, all gcses are the same difficulty, so please don’t trust those who say otherwise!
however, some gcse’s have different amounts of content, which may be harder to revise for.
from what i’ve heard, (aqa board) geography has a lot of content and requires a lot of attention to access top bands (8-9), but it is only difficult if you have no interest in learning it and dont understand the content.
i have done history (igcse edexcel board) (for paper 1: cold war + civil rights, paper 2: china + vietnam). in my opinion, history is extremely straight-forward and easy, but this is only if you enjoy it. the content that i have learnt all links together, making it fluent. also, the exam technique is easy to grasp and i believe history is therefore an ‘easy’ subject.
out of the two, i would do history. why? because content wise, it is easy to grasp.

i would ask your teacher’s what exam boards/topics your school is studying for history and geography. have a look at the content. ask people in the year 11 how they are finding the subjects.

do you think you would enjoy the subject and content that is being taught? pick a subject that you will enjoy, because it is didficult to revise for someone you do not enjoy at ALL.

lastly, both are essay writing subjects (aqa geography has multiple 9 markers and includes many case studies!)

i hope this helps!!

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 3

fhfvhhvbvwrhvbo

Original post

by Esmé14

Hi, I am currently a Yr11 who does both Geography and History
I will try and break this down for you but it will vary as this is just my opinion!
Geography:
Involves lots of case studies and examples and you'll need to remember these to get higher level answers
Involves lots of writing but not much as history
Geography involves fieldwork too and thats something to keep in mind
Not as essay based as history but still requires developed answers, but you'll usually get a mix of 1,2,3,4,6 and 9 markers, sometimes 12 markers but they are 9 markers with 3 marks for SPAG
I do AQA for geography BTW

History:
IMO more interesting but thats subjective
Very essay based
Exam technique is VERY important, not structuring your answers often will lead to marks getting dropped
You have to have knowledge of specific events and the specific consequences and effects ect.
Questions will ask you things between specific times e.g How did the Nazi party get reorganised between 1925-1929
so not using events within that time frame won't be credible
You get a mix of 4,8,12,20 markers (the 20 markers are 16 marks with 4 for SPAG
I do exdecel for history

Hope this helps, lmk if you have any other questions!!

Reply 4

cargoesbroom

Hey, I do both History and Geography GCSE! I personally think that both subjects are very interesting but I will give you some advice here. Do not listen to people who just say "Pick this subject" without any reasoning because that is their opinion and perspective. I want you to think about what YOU like. Would you prefer to study about the natural world around us such as coastal landforms and rivers, alongside economic, social, and environmental issues in our modern world? Or would you rather learn about the past, and the links between historical events? History has a lot more content and writing in short amounts of time, it's a lot more fact-based, whereas geography is more about understanding, and remembering ways of how, for example, rivers erode or how landforms are shaped. I can understand that it is overwhelming, it is the biggest academic decision you have made so far. Do not stress though, because you can always change your subject/s if you dont like them in the first 1-2 weeks of Year 10. Good luck! 🙂

Reply 5

PinkMobilePhone

Chat Forum Helper, Life & Style Forum Helper

Are those your only options? We were also told we had to pick one or the other, but I protested and asked to do Business Studies and Spanish instead, and was granted permission to do those instead. So I didn't do either History or Geography.

If there are other subjects you would prefer, have a word with your school about it.

Otherwise, if you have to pick one or the other, then choose whichever sounds the most interesting to you.

Reply 6

ekhsaa_18

Original post

by Esmé14

It’s based on what you like overall. If you like writing essays and learning about the past then pick history. If you like learning about why things are the way they are and processes then the pick geography. For me personally the main reasons why I tell younger years to pick geography is because it’s a mix of both essay and knowledge. Plus most of the content in it is common sense especially in human/economic geography. Most pick history because it’s “interesting” but if you like research and that stuff then go for history

Reply 7

Muttley79

Original post

by PinkMobilePhone

Are those your only options? We were also told we had to pick one or the other, but I protested and asked to do Business Studies and Spanish instead, and was granted permission to do those instead. So I didn't do either History or Geography.
If there are other subjects you would prefer, have a word with your school about it.
Otherwise, if you have to pick one or the other, then choose whichever sounds the most interesting to you.

Many schools 'push' students towards the useless Ebacc as it forms part of League tables.

Good schools are flexible and no uni requires the Ebacc as it's not a proper qualification.

Reply 8

hans2345

Geography has a lot more short questions, like 1-, 2- and 3- markers, with a maximum of 9-markers (2 per paper). On the other hand, history is typically only essays, with the minimum mark being 4-markers, going up to 16-markers. Also 4-markers may not seem like a lot but are 1/10 of the exam in history compared to 1/20 in geography. Geography papers (due to having more short questions) have around double the amount of marks. Also, geography has 3 papers while history only has 2. However, geography tends to have a lot of trips (even required for fieldwork). Of course, it is up to your personal preference. Do you prefer history or geography? Do you prefer essays with your opinions or just factual knowledge? In general, I find that more science-oriented people prefer geography while more humanities-oriented people prefer history.

Reply 9

PinkMobilePhone

Chat Forum Helper, Life & Style Forum Helper

thread moved

Reply 10

Riley_GDG

Original post

by fhfvhhvbvwrhvbo

Hi, I am currently a Yr11 who does both Geography and History
I will try and break this down for you but it will vary as this is just my opinion!
Geography:
Involves lots of case studies and examples and you'll need to remember these to get higher level answers
Involves lots of writing but not much as history
Geography involves fieldwork too and thats something to keep in mind
Not as essay based as history but still requires developed answers, but you'll usually get a mix of 1,2,3,4,6 and 9 markers, sometimes 12 markers but they are 9 markers with 3 marks for SPAG
I do AQA for geography BTW
History:
IMO more interesting but thats subjective
Very essay based
Exam technique is VERY important, not structuring your answers often will lead to marks getting dropped
You have to have knowledge of specific events and the specific consequences and effects ect.
Questions will ask you things between specific times e.g How did the Nazi party get reorganised between 1925-1929
so not using events within that time frame won't be credible
You get a mix of 4,8,12,20 markers (the 20 markers are 16 marks with 4 for SPAG
I do exdecel for history
Hope this helps, lmk if you have any other questions!!

We do the same exam boards for both!
I also took both for GCSE, and I've chosen History for A-level purely due to my interest in the content 🙂
I was never a big fan of Geography since I found it more boring, but I actually do better in it grades-wise, it all depends on your personal preference with content and where your skills lie imo.

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