History is full of facts, dates, and happenings, so you may be dizzy when you try to study it. You may find history to be a boring subject, and when studying for a history exam, some may even feel dizzy. Use these tips to get good grades in this subject.
Steps
Step 1. Study the material as soon as you receive it, take notes and look at the notes of others
Then, three days before the exam, look at the material. As you do this, ask yourself, "If I were the teacher, what kind of questions would I put into the assignment to disorient the class?" Study with this in mind. This type of approach works well in study groups; everyone can ask a question
Step 2. Get organized
Once you have your list of possible questions prepared, start planning each topic as if you have a week to write it down.
- Prepare a sketch even if you don't usually follow it. Don't worry about the introduction. Just write broadly how you could put all the information in the best order. Keep this style for each question. If you find that you can't formulate an answer for every question, take the information from someone else's notes, then quickly find a friend to ask.
- Some tests, such as history exams that take a long time, require two things: that you write a coherent essay and that you include facts like dates and places.
- Practice writing sentences that contain the main information of the paragraphs you have planned, so when the time comes, you will be able to do so.
Step 3. How to review:
the day before the exam, take all the material back and review it. It allows you to better remember all the work you have done.
It's about the broad outlines you made. Compare them to someone else's notes
Step 4. Do not study on exam day, especially if you are nervous and anxious
Do something else; go out for lunch or watch television for recreation. It will prevent you from studying too much and confusing information, which would otherwise make you worried. If you need to study, just take a look at the guidelines you wrote and cover the hardest facts, but don't go back to reviewing them again.
Step 5. Take the exam
History exams usually have several questions to choose from.
- Read the whole list of questions and decide which ones you would be able to answer best. Mark the ones you will respond to.
- Start working on the easier ones, as you want to enter as much information as possible - don't waste precious minutes straining on things you don't know.
- Read each question carefully and make a pattern in the margin of the draft sheet (if allowed). Work from the outline. Ignore the grammar and spelling for now.
- Address each question systematically, but keep an eye on the clock. You may find it helpful to decide in advance how many minutes to spend on each question.
Step 6. Double-check your answers
Resume each question and correct everything, check punctuation, etc. It is probably not a good time to change the dates or places of events, unless you are sure you were wrong. If you are unsure, please leave your first answer.
Step 7. If you run out of time, be sure to give yourself at least four minutes to double-check the assignment
Bring an alarm watch or something to tell you that the time is almost up.
- When you have less than four minutes and you still have 2 or 3 sentences to write, add a note to the teacher: "For lack of time please look at the rest on the guideline." Then copy the guidelines from the draft, making sure you write down all the most important facts.
- It is often better to show that you know the facts and have followed a logical pattern to write them down than to end the essay suddenly.
Advice
- Read the chapters of your textbook aloud. Repeat each little part for at least 3 times, then write it down and see what you remember.
- Start studying early. It is difficult to learn everything in one night.
- When studying terms (definitions) for a history exam, the best way to remember information is to understand the term in context or to understand how it relates to other terms and facts.
- Make a list of the key people and places for each event on a timeline.
- Look at the big picture. Make sure you are aware of the plot of the story: why was event X in year Y important? Why are you learning this first?
- Consider starting a study group with other students in the class. Working together will help you understand the material better.
- Draw a blank timeline. Fill it in with major events without looking at your notes or book, then consult the original timeline to see how much information you entered is correct. Repeat the exercise until all the information is correct.
- Find a tape recorder to record yourself as you slowly read each paragraph. Listen to the recordings several times.
- Make a timeline for the historical period you are studying, using class notes and textbooks.
