Hey can I talk to anyone who can help with Politics, History or Spanish A-Level?

I do a level history also in y13 if you need any help with that

Reply 3

hxdyy

1

Original post by HistoryCactus

I do a level history also in y13 if you need any help with that

Hey I did history for A-level last year and got an A* (191/200), what specifically would you like to know?

Reply 4

Original post by yb21

Hi, I need help with my A-Levels. I am in year 13 andsomehow struggling even though I am putting in a lot of effort. I am honestly feeling really stressed and am super scared. If anyone can help please reply.

spanish and politics here. what exactly do you need help on?

Reply 5

OP

Original post by hxdyy

Hey I did history for A-level last year and got an A* (191/200), what specifically would you like to know?

Hiiii omg congrats, I just need to understand how to analyse it seems I am always stuck on 16/20 and they highest I ever gotten was 17 and that’s after rewriting my essay twice or three times. I just don’t understand how to write a good essay 😭😭😭.

Reply 6

OP

Original post by lenny.o

spanish and politics here. what exactly do you need help on?

I have been stuck at 18-20 marks in my politics 30 markers and don’t know how to improve 😭. Whereas in Spanish my grammar needs working on and idk how to improve it. For example I still don’t understand when to use the subjunctive or when to use the imperfect or preterite. In terms of essays, I can’t write good intro and analyse well. Sorry that’s a lot 😭

Reply 7

OP

Original post by HistoryCactus

I do a level history also in y13 if you need any help with that

Hi, yes, it’s just that I usually get 16/20 and the highest I’ve ever gotten was 17 but I could never get that unless I rewrite my essay twice and just don’t understand why I have to write it twice to actually get that mark but I’ve never gotten higher than 17, I just don’t understand what the thought process has to be when writing essays. Oh, and don’t get me started on source questions there are awful.

Reply 8

GerardW4y

Hey, I can help with history and politics, predicted A* in both and got full marks in my mocks for 2 history papers and paper 1 of politics.

Reply 9

hxdyy

1

Original post by yb21

Hiiii omg congrats, I just need to understand how to analyse it seems I am always stuck on 16/20 and they highest I ever gotten was 17 and that’s after rewriting my essay twice or three times. I just don’t understand how to write a good essay 😭😭😭.

I'd say the most important thing to reach 18/19/20 is establishing a criteria. You need to create a basis for why you are arguing in this way. There are so many ways to answer a question in history so you need to justify why this is the way that you chose. The examiners love to see any attempt of a criteria even if it's done pretty badly but if you do this well it can massively increase your marks. Also I'd recommend just purely making essay plans rather than making general notes.

Reply 10

OP

Original post by hxdyy

I'd say the most important thing to reach 18/19/20 is establishing a criteria. You need to create a basis for why you are arguing in this way. There are so many ways to answer a question in history so you need to justify why this is the way that you chose. The examiners love to see any attempt of a criteria even if it's done pretty badly but if you do this well it can massively increase your marks. Also I'd recommend just purely making essay plans rather than making general notes.

Do you have any tips on how to effectively make and use criteria?

Reply 11

hxdyy

1

Yeah make your introduction purely setting a criteria. Most people's introduction is just restating the question which is a waste of time and won't give you any marks. Your first sentence should be how you are assessing this question. For example if you are talking about the effectiveness of a leader, how are you judging effectiveness. Their impact on economy? Living standards? Their long-term impact rather than short-term?. Then in each paragraph you write revisit your criteria. Does the paragraph you just write align with your criteria and so how does this make your argument stronger. This makes it easier to evaluate points as you actually have a basis to do so and aren't just bringing comparisons out of thin air.

Reply 12

OP

Original post by GerardW4y

Hey, I can help with history and politics, predicted A* in both and got full marks in my mocks for 2 history papers and paper 1 of politics.

How can I prepare myself for source questions I’m so bad at them

Reply 13

GerardW4y

Original post by yb21

How can I prepare myself for source questions I’m so bad at them

For politics, practice on current articles, pick out your three points for argument first, and use ChatGpt to generate you questions based on the articles you give. You can usually find two differing perspectives on the same issue quite easily, etc the Times + the Guardian and always comment on how the provience could affect their judgement. And further, ensure for each subtopic you have at least 6 examples of evidence memorised, preferably a 3v3 split for against and for. Practice honestly makes perfect, as overused as that is.

Reply 14

weeping-peppermi

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Original post by HistoryCactus

I do a level history also in y13 if you need any help with that

Wich option are you doing

Reply 15

HistoryCactus

Original post by weeping-peppermi

Wich option are you doing

I’m doing Britain in transition 1906-1957 and America the making of a super power 1865-1975

Reply 16

Original post by yb21

I have been stuck at 18-20 marks in my politics 30 markers and don’t know how to improve 😭. Whereas in Spanish my grammar needs working on and idk how to improve it. For example I still don’t understand when to use the subjunctive or when to use the imperfect or preterite. In terms of essays, I can’t write good intro and analyse well. Sorry that’s a lot 😭

Hiya, not sure if you’re year 12 or 13 but at the start of year 12, i was the exact same with essays. It’s a different writing style to what you’ve done in lower school and everyone botched their first. the key is maintatinf reasonable balance (do a paragraph per point, 3-4 total) but still state your agreement/disagreement at the end, don’t sit on the fence! only learned this recently but the intro is also key as you basically have to lay out and summaries everything before you expand in the main essay, so the intro should be a big chunk! something that is hard is knowing facts and figures to back up points, but with those it will get you top marks as long as you have the other stuff

Reply 17

Original post by yb21

I have been stuck at 18-20 marks in my politics 30 markers and don’t know how to improve 😭. Whereas in Spanish my grammar needs working on and idk how to improve it. For example I still don’t understand when to use the subjunctive or when to use the imperfect or preterite. In terms of essays, I can’t write good intro and analyse well. Sorry that’s a lot 😭

sorry that’s also a lot. politics essays is defo something you can become good at, but spanish i feel requires a certain proficiency with languages already. if it’s any help, our class also botched our first paper 1 assessments, but for that one it’s just a out doing practice questions and knowing vocab. it’s defo something you can practice and ace, and it is 50% of the a level (assuming you do AQA, if not ignore this). the speaking is all about knowing external knowledge, facts to discuss when shown a prompt, the actual speaking itself, unless it’s unintelligible, matters less. grammar is more important than pronunciation. as for the writing (paper 2), again it’s about evidence and arguments, but the difference is that you don’t have to balance it; you could argue fully in support or fully against the question, and it’s normally safer to do so you don’t end up scrounging for support for a contrived or not even true point. sorry for the big para, good luck

Reply 18

elareare

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Original post by yb21

I have been stuck at 18-20 marks in my politics 30 markers and don’t know how to improve 😭. Whereas in Spanish my grammar needs working on and idk how to improve it. For example I still don’t understand when to use the subjunctive or when to use the imperfect or preterite. In terms of essays, I can’t write good intro and analyse well. Sorry that’s a lot 😭

hii, i'm doing spanish a-level too (year 12 but i speak it to a high level alr)

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subjunctive is "coulda woulda shoulda", so only in hypothetical situations (if something WERE to happen,) or wishes (If i WERE a bird,)

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preiterite is the SIMPLEST way to express the past when something happened ONCE, (i DANCED) and there's precision in when it happened

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imperfect is when something is still ongoing, "i was dancing, i used to dance" or recurring (there is no definitive end)

these are quite basic, and i will type up this in more detail (it's 3am and i don't have notes to-hand). but i hope this helped a little. 🫶

(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 19