How do you learn history essays?

Dwellingdweller

Hey all I'm studying some history here, and I was wondering how you like to learn off your history essays! I usually just read over them, make some notes, then come up with a wee acronym to remember the essay by.. but I don't think it's too effective. So how do you learn off yours?

hiyakeano

i usually just remember like the 'key word' for each paragraph..like par 1 (education), par 2 (economy), etc.. you find that the information does come back to you in the exam! :P although i do usually try to memorize the intro

Canard

I try to split it into topics, e.g Nazi propaganda is press/radio/books/sport/rallies/indoctrination/anti-semitism Welfare state is health/education/housing/social welfare, but that doesnt really work for essays that arent so clearly split...which can be a problem!

bscm

I used flash cards. Got a few titles and made bullet points of information for each essay.

Started off with introduction (several bullet points explaining what I was to discuss), paragraphs 1-5/6/7 etc (several bullet points for each paragraph), and a conclusion (again more bullet points summing up what I had said). Ended up with 5-12 cards per essay. Really helped because the bullet points could be applied to several different essays and I found it easier to remember random facts than pages upon pages of writing. In the actual exam I started writing part of an introduction that I could recall, and remembered subsequent information as I continued writing. They were also a lot easier to stick into a bag/folder and revise on the go.

Jolly Red Giant

Have a look at these - see if you can make any use of them -

http://leavingcerthistory.net/revision/revision-handouts/

_pure_mule_

I just read it and write until I know it off by heart and keep writing it out every few days! Very time consuming but I find that way the most effective:) just wondering if anyone here has any history essays they would be willing to swap.. I have about 10 a1 standard essays if anyone wants to exchange essays with me:)

snoreborewhore

Patchy~ wrote: »

I try to split it into topics, e.g Nazi propaganda is press/radio/books/sport/rallies/indoctrination/anti-semitism Welfare state is health/education/housing/social welfare, but that doesnt really work for essays that arent so clearly split...which can be a problem!

That's exactly what I do. It's basically an essay plan I learn off for each essay. So say for example my Nazi Propaganda essay would be:
1. Intro - Definition of propaganda, why Hitler used it
2. Goebbels - his tasks, burning of books, reich chamber of commerce..
3. Youth Movements
4. Nuremberg Rallies
5. Film/Leni Riefenstahl
6. Conclusion.
I do the same for every single essay I get - regardless of it's complexity. I always quickly jot my plan down in an exam before I write an essay as it helps refresh my memory!
Simples!

Canard

^Exactly! Only realized how handy that is recently but it works great

JonnyMcNamee

snoreborewhore wrote: »

That's exactly what I do. It's basically an essay plan I learn off for each essay. So say for example my Nazi Propaganda essay would be:
1. Intro - Definition of propaganda, why Hitler used it
2. Goebbels - his tasks, burning of books, reich chamber of commerce..
3. Youth Movements
4. Nuremberg Rallies
5. Film/Leni Riefenstahl
6. Conclusion.
I do the same for every single essay I get - regardless of it's complexity. I always quickly jot my plan down in an exam before I write an essay as it helps refresh my memory!
Simples!

That's exactly the way I do it too, although I use alot more short, concise and fact-jammed paragraphs to maximise points on an essay! That a1 standard essay still alludes me however :rolleyes:

snoreborewhore

JonnyMcNamee wrote: »

That's exactly the way I do it too, although I use alot more short, concise and fact-jammed paragraphs to maximise points on an essay! That a1 standard essay still alludes me however :rolleyes:

Ah the elusive A! Still haven't seen one myself either

Dwellingdweller

snoreborewhore wrote: »

That's exactly what I do. It's basically an essay plan I learn off for each essay. So say for example my Nazi Propaganda essay would be:
1. Intro - Definition of propaganda, why Hitler used it
2. Goebbels - his tasks, burning of books, reich chamber of commerce..
3. Youth Movements
4. Nuremberg Rallies
5. Film/Leni Riefenstahl
6. Conclusion.
I do the same for every single essay I get - regardless of it's complexity. I always quickly jot my plan down in an exam before I write an essay as it helps refresh my memory!
Simples!

Did that today in my history mock, worked great thanks

snoreborewhore

Dwellingdweller wrote: »

Did that today in my history mock, worked great thanks

Awesome! No problemo, seems to be a favourite among many!

JonnyMcNamee

snoreborewhore wrote: »

Ah the elusive A! Still haven't seen one myself either

One day it will be ours, don't worry