History Revision Information

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Created: Tuesday, 05 June 2012 11:55

Written by Super User

 History Revision Tips

History Exam Preparation Guide

1. Look at the website for your syllabus, and look at the past papers, mark schemes and the specification. GCSE (OCR History B: Modern World) can be found here: www.ocr.org.uk/qualifications/type/gcse_2012/hss/history_b/documents/
   A Level (OCR History A) can be found here:
   http://www.ocr.org.uk/qualifications/as-a-level-gce-history-a-h106-h506/.
   You can even download these documents onto your smartphone, tablet or computer.  There are also apps available that will test your knowledge, particularly for Germany revision, and the First and Second World Wars.
2. Practice exam papers and essays.  Ask your teacher to give you some feedback.  Look at your marked work and see where you have gone wrong in the past. Try to improve past work.
3. Look for sources, especially GCSE and Year 12s studying Churchill, at political cartoons, which you can put into context, evaluate and look at sources as evidence.  Other sources you can look for are paintings, newspaper archives, textbooks, History books (Leicester Central Library has an excellent collection of books), ebooks.
4. Attend the revision sessions - see the class teacher for more details.
5. Read your textbook/ exercise book/ notes.  Make a list of any areas that you do not feel confident on and ask your teacher for help understanding them.
6. Keep an eye on the news and television programmes for relevant content.  GCSE: look for information on the Causes and Events of the First World War, the Causes of the Second World War and changes to British society 1939-1975 (including culture; music, film and fashion, immigration, women’s rights, teenagers, and education).  AS: Churchill 1920-1945 and Germany 1919-1963.  A2: Russian Rulers between 1855-1964 (Alexander II and III, Nicholas II, Lenin, Stalin and Khrushchev).  You can also find lots of information on the internet, particularly the BBC website which has really good news archives and thorough History pages.  Search the web in general for websites that will help you, and there are lots of documentaries available on YouTube.
7. Ask your teacher if there is any extra reading or worksheets available- and read it.
8. There are revisions guides for GCSE available at the school shop.  
   Year 12: this is a good revision guide for Germany, available from Amazon, http://www.amazon.co.uk/My-Revision-Notes-Dictatorship-Democracy/dp/144415222X/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1361793998&sr=8-6.
   Year 13: this is a good revision guide for Russia, again available from Amazon, http://www.amazon.co.uk/Revision-Notes-OCR-History-1855-1964/dp/1444177761/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&qid=1361794169&sr=8-18.
9. Do not leave it to the last minute- begin revising now so that you have plenty of time to address misconceptions, problems and ask for help. GCSE students- keep up with your homework, remember that this is beginning your revision for you, but do not think that it is sufficient on its own.
10. Parents: discuss the topics with your children.  Ask them to tell you about the things that they have learned, or to explain to you what their work is about.  Offer to proof read their work for spelling, punctuation and grammar mistakes which they may be penalised for.  Encourage them to follow the tips above.  If you have any questions, or would like more guidance about what you can do to support your child, please contact Ana Hall at the college.