stylusdef Posted February 16, 2008 Report Share Posted February 16, 2008 (edited) 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 February 16, 2008 by stylusdef Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davshere Posted February 16, 2008 Report Share Posted February 16, 2008 History: you either get it or you don't. I get it so I don't really have to do much studying. I just read the facts and they tend to stick. Look for links and cause and effect and it should be fine next time. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest andres91 Posted February 17, 2008 Report Share Posted February 17, 2008 Rewrite all your notes and then constantly go over them. Its the best way to remember things for me. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scade Posted February 17, 2008 Report Share Posted February 17, 2008 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. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhyDidIDoIt Posted February 18, 2008 Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 I usually read the text, review my notes and take a new set of notes just to get it all engraved into my brain ^^ Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck10112 Posted February 18, 2008 Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 I read the text (hopefully it's well hierarchially organized) then I take very general notes and try to memorize important facts based on those notes. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KFC Posted February 18, 2008 Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 I type up the notes and move them around so that it makes sense to me - (the teacher kind of teaches out of order, how confusingggg x_X). Then I skim over them and hopefully enough important stuff sticks to me haha. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
diabolicalangle Posted February 22, 2008 Report Share Posted February 22, 2008 i re-write all my notes, and then studt from them Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandrina18 Posted February 24, 2008 Report Share Posted February 24, 2008 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! 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 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PuLsE Posted February 24, 2008 Report Share Posted February 24, 2008 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. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyro Posted February 24, 2008 Report Share Posted February 24, 2008 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. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
YELHSA Posted March 4, 2008 Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 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! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanananananaღ Posted March 11, 2008 Report Share Posted March 11, 2008 Ummm! I personally study daily everything I take, that's by having spare notebooks for every subject and writing bullet points and summarizing the lessons. And also including refrences to the text books. Then when the test comes, I review the notes, and refer to the book if I think I need to. It helps BIG TIME! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
master135 Posted March 12, 2008 Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 I just read the textbook and notes on the night before. It mite not be the best way to study..but it usually works for me Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diahndra Posted March 13, 2008 Report Share Posted March 13, 2008 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... Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nelle88 Posted March 16, 2008 Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 You have to find your own very best way of learning. for me it is the best to write down everything It takes time yeah, instead of just taking the book and reading.. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draven Posted March 20, 2008 Report Share Posted March 20, 2008 I don't really study for history...I may read through some chapters, and underline a few important things...It's worked so far... Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chang9121990 Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 (edited) 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 April 2, 2008 by chang9121990 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
teddy>you Posted April 17, 2008 Report Share Posted April 17, 2008 I can't find like half my history notes Wish I'd organized myself a little better last year.. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 18, 2008 Report Share Posted April 18, 2008 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. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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