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How to approach the history exams


ephika

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Higher Level History requires a great deal of reading, perhaps more so than any other subject. Therefore, when revising, it must be important to have some kind of approach, so that the material doesn't overwhelm you. I have exams in May 2010, and I'm not really sure how to approach revision. What do you think is best: revise one topic after another according to the syllabus, or study them in a chronological order? I'm leaning toward the latter alternative.

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I would make notes on each individual topic and then group the topics that are in the same decade or so together. Last year, I got really aggravated because we would learn one thing, which spanned like 20-30 years and then we'd go back and start another topic so that nothing was in chronological order, but life/history doesn't work like a timeline. It's more like a time-infinity sign. It would be easier for you to go by topics but be aware of years for the major stuff.

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I agree with sweetnsimple in that the best way to revise is to organize notes and information based on the syllabus topic.

The syllabus really is your best guide. Although HL history asks you to know a lot of information, it also helps to look at how the exams are structured. You only have to answer certain questions about each topic. To prepare for my HL History exam I picked the topics I was most likely to answer questions about on the exam. I tried to study 1-3 extra topics for each section. The IB exam really allows you to play to your strengths, so I recommend that you select the topics that you are the most interested in and focus on those so you can write in-depth essays which showcase your specific knowledge and understanding of the topic. Don't forget to examine different perspectives on each historical topic. TOK it. It works out well. I know they have updated the syllabus for M10'ers, and I haven't' taken a good look at it, so I can't point you in the direction of some good topics, but if you pick things you're interested in, the reading is easier to do. Just make sure you study enough material so if the questions about the topics you studied are weird, you can answer other questions.

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