Study Skills 101

The key to academic success especially in history is excellent study, exam and revision skills and being prepared in exam conditions for any kind of exam questions on your topic. How do I build these study skills I hear you ask, isn`t it a bit of a mystery? No, it is no mystery and it really is quite simple.

I call it an exam and study skills toolkit, sounds like construction, in a sense excellent exam, study and revision skills is a lot like construction. You need a foundation of knowledge, this will continuously and constantly be developed and built upon thoroughout your course.

What is the exam and study skills toolkit I hear you ask? I am about to explain.

To do well in your history exam you need to build up your history subject content and make it more manageable, bitesize and accessible, so that you can remember it for your exams; you will need to use the following tools which will be discussed in more detail in the homework article and in a video on YouTube.

1. Key (terms) concept diary (see homework article and YouTube video)

2. Historical timeline (see homework article and YouTube video)

3. Mind maps, summary sheets/bullet points/cue cards (see homework article and YouTube video)

4. Cross-reference, this is particularly significant for your source paper in A level, however can be used for all history study. You can produce a cross-reference planning table where you will outline different historians` interpretations (see below) and you can include quotes from sources. Then provide a brief mini-conclusion of the view.

5. Interpretation summary, briefly explain succinctly the different interpretations in different coloured pens.

6. Evaluation/significance grid, outline the strengths, weaknesses and significance of different social, political and economic factors and smaller events in the lead up to bigger events. E.g. where the Stresemann years truly `golden`? Evaluate the political, economic, foreign policy, culture and society of this era. Then briefly suggest which is the most significant and why.

7. Pool all your information and research together in a bundle with an overview and summary list at the beginning and end of each topic.

8. As we approach the exams, you will begin to include essay mapping into each bundle, this will be covered in the essay mapping article and YouTube video. 7.