Flashback to 2016, when I was eager albeit highly naïve (when it comes to the demands of VCE, anyway) year 11, excited to begin ¾ History. I hadn’t done ½, I’d just done well in year 10. Basically, I went in completely blind. Revolutions is one of the hardest subjects in VCE, not just because of the content (which is substantial), but because it requires you to think critically more than any other subject. Going in without the prior experience of ½ is daunting- but doing well is possible with just these 5 strategies. I ended up getting 100% on every sac, and although things didn’t go as well in the exam (42 study score), without these strategies I implemented, I don’t think I would have /passed/, let alone get above 40.
1. KEEP. UP. WITH. YOUR. CONTENT.This is one of the most important things in revs- if you don’t know what’s basically going on, you won’t be able to write anything. The content in Revs is demanding and never ending. I would make sure that I had notes of the weeks content by Sunday every night no matter what. These weren’t just notes I had written in class; I rewrote and condensed the notes I wrote in class into small ‘study cards’ (I used my debating cards lmao). Condensing notes is incredibly effective, because it forces you to consider what the key events are, and what are just trivial factoids. Furthermore, it meant I had gone over the content 3 times in the week I had learnt it: Once learning it in class, twice when writing notes, and Thrice when condensing. These study cards served as excellent flash cards when exam time came around as well 😊. I typically set mine out as follows:
[EVENT]
[KEY QUESTION] *
[TIMELINE OF THE IMPORTANT DATES AND FACTS]
[ONE OR TWO HISTORIAN QUOTES] **
*The key question is a way of thinking about your notes in the context of a question that might be asked on the exam, or even just a historical debate. They could either be as simple as ‘What was the significance of X?’ or a bit more ‘edgy’ for lack of a better word such as ‘Was Robespierre a Martyr or a Monster?’
**I usually picked 2 quotes that contradicted each other, that way you have a historian debate you can refer to in a pinch.
For particularly big events such as the Fall of the Bastille, I would have a separate card purely for the significance of the event.
However, none of this works if you don’t make it a habit. Learn your content properly at a steady pace. Cramming before a SAC will rarely work in History, and it won’t work in the exam, and plus it’ll make you miserable. Learning content as you go means you have more time to come up with interesting opinions and revising at the end of the year becomes a heck of a lot easier.
2. Make Friends!For real. History is like Literature in that collaboration is EVERYTHING. I was the only year 11 in my class, so this was a challenge for me, but seriously get into a study group and brainstorm, it’s worth the initial awkwardness. This can be anything from debating the significance of an event, to planning out an essay together, to debating the morality of revolutionary leader X. I had a friend who I would skype frequently just to yell about a new idea or angle I had on the meaning of an event or another reason why Robespierre was DOING HIS BEST AND NOT THAT BAD (…I had an obsession). History isn’t a subject just about facts, its about interpretations of events, and your writing will improve when you’ve experienced multiple interpretations.
3. Challenge everything and everyone.History is not about facts, its about how we interpret the facts. There’s usually an orthodox view of the meaning of an event, for example in the French Revolution, Robespierre is universally viewed as a power-hungry tyrant. Go against the orthodox. Be Devil’s advocate. Challenge every assumption that is presented to you. This doesn’t mean just challenging your friends in class; go against authorities on the subject. I used to argue a LOT with my own History teacher (friendly, of course), and I would go through books by Historians like Simon Schama and find things to disagree with them on. Remember, everyone’s operating with the same facts (…usually), it’s the interpretations that are different. I basically had the attitude of ‘so what if this bloke’s got a PhD and I’m some dumb 17-year-old-I think he’s wrong about this’. The examiners don’t care about what historians have to say about an event, they already know that. They care what YOU think. By challenging everything you will eventually find your own unique interpretation that will STAND OUT on the exam.
4. Write. Then Write more. This point has two parts to it. The first deals with the content of what you write, the second deals with how you literally write.
-ContentThe best way to improve your writing is to just do it. Don’t write practice paragraphs or sentences, just straight up try and write a 10-mark question and see how you go. Get it marked, then rewrite it and it remarked. What’s crucial here is that at every stage, you write down what went well and what didn’t. That way you have list of dos’ and do nots accumulated. The history writing style is very direct and to the point, and can take a while to get used to, but honestly the best way to combat the hurdle from 6/10 to 10/10 is just going in blind and slowly unclearing the fog with each subsequent practice piece.
-HandwritingHandwrite everything. The time constraints on the history exam are incredibly unforgiving. You have 30 minutes for each section, which means you need to learn how to write fast and neatly in a very short space of time. Your SACs are preparation in this regard, but timed practice while handwriting is critical- you want to finish the exam. Unfortunately, writing fast leads some of us (me) to writing illegibly. I’m 90% sure that I didn’t get the study score I expected because my handwriting was utterly abysmal. Write in dark pen (easier for examiners to see) and don’t make my mistake: IMPROVE YOUR HANDWRITING. If it’s really that abysmal, double spacing is always an option.
5. Read widely.This is pretty self-explanatory, but it’s worth mentioning. If you are getting all your information from your textbook and your teacher, you are doing History: Revolutions the wrong way my friend. I borrowed basically every book on the French and Chinese Revolution in my school library, spent hours on Google Scholar and Academia reading academic articles, I even went to Monash Library and the State Library for extra information. The key here is that you’re not reading the entire book- just bits that seem interesting. As I was learning content I would often flip to the index and see what a bunch of historians had to say about the event we were learning about now. This isn’t just about finding fancy quotes, its also about comprehensively understanding the general context of historiography surrounding the revolution, as well as informing your own interpretation. Even YouTube videos or documentaries for when you’re completely burnt out can be great*
*Except the Crash Course video on the French Revolution which is appallingly false lmao…
I can and have gone on for way too long, but I think this is a good foundation to start from.
If you have any other questions totally contact me! I’m also offering tutoring- email me
[email protected] I did the French and Chinese Revolutions, but I’m fairly familiar with America and Russia 😊
No matter how you go at the end of the year, ENJOY THE SUBJECT!! History was my favourite subject and learning about the weird and wonderful and somethings awful things humans do made all the work that this subject requires far less taxing 😊
Good luck to everyone~~~~
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