Prepare for a History Exam

History is full of facts, dates, names and places. It can make your head swim when you try to study for it. You may feel history is a boring topic, and while studying for history exams, some may even feel overwhelmed. Use these steps to prepare for a history exam, starting with step one below.

Steps

  1. Study the material as you get it, of course, and take notes, and look at other people's notes.
    • Review all the material three days before the test. As you do so, ask yourself, "Hmmm, if I were Professor, what kind of essay question would I ask to stump the class?" Study with these questions in mind. This kind of thing works well in a study group; everyone can make up a question.
  2. Plan. Once you have the list of all possible questions, begin planning each topic as though you had a week to write it.
    • Make an outline, even if you usually don't bother. Don't bother with an introduction. Just outline how you would set down that information in the best possible order. Do this for all the questions you've made up. If you find that you can't generate an essay for each question, you need to get information from someone else's notes--find a friend, quickly.
    • Some tests, like long history exams, require two things: that you write a coherent essay and that you include facts like dates and places.
    • Practice writing sentences that work this vital information into your planned paragraphs, so when the time comes you'll be ready to do this.
  3. How to study again--The day before the test, get all your material together and review again. This reinforces everything you've done so far.
    • Look over those outlines you made. Try to compare notes with someone.
  4. The day of the test, don't study, especially if you usually get nervous and have "test anxiety." Do something else; go out to lunch or watch television to get your mind off it. This keeps you from over-studying and really twisting the information around, making yourself scared in the process. If you must study, just look over your outlines and review any hard facts, but don't put yourself through another review again.
  5. Take the exam. History exams always have several questions from which to choose.
    • Read through the whole list first, and decide which questions you feel most comfortable with. Mark the ones you're going to answer.
    • Start working on the easy ones first, because you want to get as much information down as you can-don't waste precious minutes sweating over something you don't know.
    • Read each question carefully and make an outline in the margin or (if you're allowed) on scratch paper. Work from the outline. Ignore grammar, spelling etc. until later.
    • Go through each question methodically, but keep track of time. You may find it helpful to decide ahead of time how many minutes you can devote to each question.
  6. Recheck your answer. Now go back and proofread, check your punctuation etc. This is probably not a good time to change facts dates or places) unless you know for sure that you wrote the wrong thing down. If you're not sure, leave your first answer.
  7. If you're out of time, make sure you look up at least four minutes before the exam is over. Bring a beeper watch or something to let you know time is nearly up.
    • When you get down to less than four minutes and you have more than 2 or 3 sentences to write, make the following notation: "Short of time; please accept outline." But sometimes your professor may not accept that, so make sure a few days or a week before the test, you make sure by asking them. Then copy your outline from the scratch one you made, making sure to include any relevant facts.
    • Often it is better to show you know the facts and you have a logical plan for writing than to just stop abruptly.

Tips

  • Read chapters of your textbook out loud to yourself. Repeat each little section over again about 3 times,then write it down from memory and see what you remember.
  • Start studying early. It's hard to learn all you'll need to learn in one night.
  • When you study terms (definitions) for a history exam, the best way to make the information stick is to understand the term in context, or understand how it relates to other terms and facts.
  • Make a list of key people and places for each event on the timeline.
  • Look at the big picture. Make yourself aware of the texture of history: Why was event X at time Y important? Why are you learning this in the first place?
  • Draw a blank timeline. Fill in the major events without looking at any notes or books, then consult the original timeline to see how much you got right. Repeat this until you get this right.
  • Consider forming a study group with other students in the class. Working together will help all of you understand the material better.
  • Find a recording device to record yourself as you read over each paragraph slowly. Listen to your recording several times.
  • Make a timeline for the period of history you're studying, using your class notes and textbooks.
  • Don't copy out all the information from textbooks etc. Best way is to use flashcards. Put a question on one side and then answer other side to test yourself. You could also get someone to use these cards to test you; therefore revision is much more fun rather than writing for ages without absorbing anything. Putting post its and timelines up around your room/desk is also a great way for history, as you could walk around while revising instead of at a desk.
  • Summarize the main points of your notes by simplifying them and filtering out unnecessary information, then study the summary. (You should still study your primary notes, but studying the simplified version of your notes might help you remember basic information and will make it easier to study the primary ones.)
  • Find a study buddy and ask him/her to make a practice test for you and evaluate it. The same way you can make one also for the study buddy.
  • Make a timeline and don't open your books just before the exam starts and revise at least 3 hours before.

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