studying 4 ancient history! (1 Viewer)

[charmed_cuties]

i was wondering if n e 1 got n e tips 4 studying ancient history
wen i do rextra readings on ancient history i get everything but i want to further develop my knowledge so i am able to communciate well wen sitting in the hsc ancient history exam.

 

[Sickle]

There's realy no trick to studying ancient. But my teacher loves to make us summarise any information he can find then he gives us his summary to copy out and sometimes other people summaries as well. So we end up with sometimes 5 different summaries of one text.

It's a pain but when exams come around all you have to do is read it.... I record most of my summaries and play them back to myself over and over again. I should have done that for my half yearlies, then at least I would have gotten a better mark.

So summarise and summerise and just keep reading it over.

 

[charmed_cuties]

okies thanks 4 that point i'll just summarise as much as possible!

 

[kelz]

what works for me is MIND MAPS, make a mind map up of the different chapters and just put points of things in there. then when it comes 2 revision time or even before that, you just read the mind map and you'll remember everything.

 

[ay_caramba]

okay im gonna sound like a retard (which i am) but i just *read*... read my textbooks, read sheets from class and any other thing i can get my hands on (and i do this for every subject) why? coz well, partly because im too lazy and also coz i tend to copy out *everything* if i start taking notes .. but hey, it works for me
i guess u just have to find whatever works well for u (some of my friends have weird techniques, like recording their notes on tapes and listening to them)
i guess in ancient, its a good idea to get a variety of opinions (look at what different sources have said, rather than just accept one view) source analysis blah

 

[*girl04*]

* listen in class ( like seriously listen) coz alot of the time your teacher will say stuff the textbooks doesnt say and if you can throw this stuff into the internal exams it goes down good

 

[Lundy]

Originally posted by ay_caramba
okay im gonna sound like a retard (which i am) but i just *read*... read my textbooks, read sheets from class and any other thing i can get my hands on (and i do this for every subject) why? coz well, partly because im too lazy and also coz i tend to copy out *everything* if i start taking notes .. but hey, it works for me
i guess u just have to find whatever works well for u (some of my friends have weird techniques, like recording their notes on tapes and listening to them)
i guess in ancient, its a good idea to get a variety of opinions (look at what different sources have said, rather than just accept one view) source analysis blah

That was my study method through most of year 12. When I started summarising, I would end up writing shitloads because I was worried about leaving parts out that might be important. So I just didn't bother. I went ok. During stuvac, I decided to try making summaries again. I found dot pointing worked the best. Because I realised that I knew and understood everything already, so I only needed really short summaries to refresh my memory. And it paid off, somehow.

 

[incubuskid]

Summarise everything into each of the dot points and find as many quotes (from a variety of sources) as you can to back up wot you've said and you should be sweet as

 

[cayte]

I agree, key quotes are so important. Have a few beauties that are versatile (ie, cover more than one key point) that you can commit to memory.
You can also pretty well anticipate what most of the questions will be, so do some practise essays. Boring as shit, I know, but they can help clarify things in your mind. And in the externals, sometimes you are lucky enough to be able to just churn out information that you have already processed, rather than having to spend time doing it in the exam.
I also think that having a genuine passion for this subject is a huge help in the end. Find something you love about each topic. Really, it's all gossip. Brilliant course.

 

[charmed_cuties]

o okies, thanks 4 the pointers, i actually do combination of everything at the moment to continually refresh my memory on recent topics thati finished

 

[shelley]

ok ill chuck in my two cents (btw got band 6 for this last yr), first summarise your notes under the sections giving in teh syllabus, all questions come from teh syllabus

BUT u can summarise till teh cows come home..THE BEST WAY TO STUDY FOR ANCIENT IS TO WRITE ESSAYS, hand em in and get feedback..one it'll make sure ur wruiting speed improves (make sure as it gets coser to teh exams, u start doin it in time limits) and if u can get your teacher, or if your teach is a prick someone like myself (and im sure others would be happy to look your essays over ) to give you feedback!!!!!!! The hardest part of ancient is getting the bits outta your head and onto the paper! and practice does help!

 

[CEW]

I find the best way to study for me is to go through all of the primary sources for a topic and summarise what they say, finding good quotes etc. and then to go through the historians books adn look for any descrepencies, noting both sides of the argument.

I find this helps me remember as i read about the same events at least 6 times, in all of the different textbooks.

From these notes you should go through them, sorting out all the major points and then adding one or two key quotes to go with this point.

By the time you have completed this much study on one topic or event you should have it down and be able to write a good, comprhensive essay detailing not only the course of events but also recent historiography. The historiography is what will get you the marks.

If you haven't been provided with enough texts by the school just go to your local library and you are likely to find the historians books there. Then you can just photocopy the relevant chapters and you have it as referral.

If you don't enjoy doing all of this then answering questions about events from study guides can be good and then going through and finding the different opinions of historians.

By the way for the Greek World 500-440 i have the most argumentative (and therefore useful) historian is Anton Powell.

Hope this all helps.

Claire