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How do you study for tests?


stylusdef

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Yesterday, I got my latest history test back. Considering the amount of time I put into studying for it, I expected to do better. I know that I did some really unnecessary mistakes because I was stressed during the test, but the real problem is that I don't really know exactly how I should put together my answers to score on the 20 point questions (those when you have to analyze things from a broader perspective or whatever :) ). I've come to realize that I spend too much time on learning irrelevant facts that most certainly will not be on the test.

Do you guys have any tips on what you should think about while studying history to get the "bigger picture"?

Have a nice day! :)

Edited by stylusdef
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I normally don't study for tests that much. Instead I try to do a lot of reading during the year. In my opinion if you really want to get good results in history (the top IB criterion) you can't just stick to your textbooks. It depends a bit on your teacher how you should prepare. Our teacher supplies us with copies from different history books of rather high quality (university level history texts), reading them helps. I normally read one or two books suggested by my teacher in the areas where I'm interested.

You can study history in two ways (imo), one is bad and one is good. The bad one involves remembering a lot of dates and facts, not really connecting them into anything. Other involves understanding the different historical situations and causes, effects etc. of them, supporting your ideas by facts. I think that if you actually pay attention to understanding the stuff, remembering the facts comes automatically.

To get high marks in your essays you should first try to understand the event, and the stuff I've outlined above. Then you might want to take time and find information about different historical interpretations of the events. Imo historiography is a great way of impressing your audience. Although you should try to get historiography into your essays only when relevant, not to make it seem as if you're just showing off.

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Yesterday, I got my latest history test back. Considering the amount of time I put into studying for it, I expected to do better. I know that I did some really unnecessary mistakes because I was stressed during the test, but the real problem is that I don't really know exactly how I should put together my answers to score on the 20 point questions (those when you have to analyze things from a broader perspective or whatever :D ). I've come to realize that I spend too much time on learning irrelevant facts that most certainly will not be on the test.

Do you guys have any tips on what you should think about while studying history to get the "bigger picture"?

Have a nice day! :D

Theway i'm studying history is really bad, but I can't do elseway..

like for the last exams I study two important topic (beginning of the cold war and civil wars)

I did essays about and I learnt them by heart.

for the source based paper I studed the cold war.

Horrible...I know :(

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What I usually do is go through and highlight important text throughout the passages, not necessarily dates but the main points, so that when I review for tests I can just skim through and remember what was in the text. It also helps to study with other people so you can test each other on different points.

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I just make sure I pay attention and get the main details when I read stuff for the first time and go over it in class. This to me is the most important part, if I pay attention in class I get the information much better. Also, I found it helps if I read the next chapter we are going to go over in class before we go over it. This way I have a basic understanding of the events and such and can concentrate on the larger picture in class.

To study I just do a broad review of everything that will be on the test by skimming over the sections in the book and pulling all the relevant information out of my head while reviewing one part if I need to. It's not much, but it's always worked well for me.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I started off my history year pretty slow. Mainly because all I did was read my notes. Yes, reading notes and books is a good way to study but I'd have to say the best way would be to give yourself practice questions and answer them. If that doesn't work, ask your teacher for sample papers. Try not to bank on any specific questions either because you migth get screwed in the end. For example, let's say it's a paper 2 - dictators. Dont' just rely on there being a stalin and hitler question. Know other dictators from other regions. A good one would be Castro. But yup, read your notes for sure but also do practice papers!

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for me, i have to rewrite rewrite rewrite... because the moment i walk out of every test the information just disappears- like that! i keep it all in one study bible and can almost recall the page by heart in the exam room. my long term memory is horrible, but short term just amazes me...

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  • 2 weeks later...

It's quite helpful to study with a friend or a group of people...

You can ask them to test you with more general questions like "explain xxx's policy on xxx and why he did this and that"

If you feel you have general picture of what happened and a few relevant facts to support it then you should be fine.

I think IB History isn't about memorizing every single date/event like AP History...

it's more about getting the general trend and be able to support your ideas with a few relevant events.

So memorizing all the details won't help.

You need to constantly ask yourself "what is the importance of this event" when studying.

And don't just ask the question, EXPLAIN it to yourself.

If you find that you're struggling to see why a certain event is important, be sure to ask for help from your classmates or the teacher!

Edited by chang9121990
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  • 3 weeks later...

Our class does not use a textbook. Our teacher makes power-points that we copy all period, as well as discussing the material in class. We usually have a short quiz (3-5 questions) every now and then to test what we know. Our tests are like the paper 3, I think. We just write essay outlines, which are like essays, except there is no emphasis on how well we right, just how well we remember the facts and argue our position. We also have a website, with all the power-points. Our subject is IB 20th century history, and History of the Americas. http://ccarter333.wordpress.com/ is the website for the senior 20th century class, and http://ccarter444.wordpress.com/ is for the history of the Americas class. I basically study my notes and the power points, as well as teach the info to my peers, so I learn it well, and they almost learn it.

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