How to Ace a History Test
Acing a history test begins long before you walk into the classroom on test day. Clear, comprehensive notes from lectures are a test taker's best friend, so a wise student pays attention in class and takes copious notes. When the week of the test rolls around, he stretches his studying over several days and reviews the material systematically, so that he does not drown in names, dates, battles and treaties. History tests are about more than just facts, so it is important to practice making connections between ideas and identifying cause-and-effect relationships, instead of simply memorizing pages of details.
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Instructions
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Study in 45-minute sessions with 15-minute breaks in between. If you follow this routine, your attention level will be stronger, and you will retain more of what you review. In each 45-minute session, study your notes and the chapters in your textbook about a specific part of the material being tested. For example, if the test is on the Civil War, spend 45 minutes reviewing the causes of the war, another 45 reviewing the major battles and another 45 reviewing the important figures, rather than trying to tackle the entire topic as one subject.
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Spread your preparation over the week before the test, rather than trying to learn everything in one night. Save the night before the exam to review the things that gave you the most trouble in class or earlier in your studying. You will already have reviewed them once that week, so they should not feel too overwhelming the evening before the test.
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Memorize the reasons for events, not just the events themselves. Understanding why things happened will help you remember the facts from your history course more clearly. It will also help you with the essay portions of history tests.
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Study with friends one or two days out of the week before the test. Quiz each other on the facts, and explain reasons for events to each other. Not only will you reinforce your memorization, but you will also have the opportunity to gain understanding about things that confuse you.
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Outline answers for the essay topics most likely to appear on the test. If your teacher uses one of those topics, you will not have to spend time planning your essay. If he does not, you will have practiced making connections between events or discussing their consequences, which will help you answer multiple-choice questions and the other essay questions.
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During the test, answer the easiest questions first, so that you will have gained as many points as possible before you begin working on more stressful questions. Do not spend too much time on any given question. If you get stuck, skip that question, and plan to return to it later. Your goal is to answer as many questions as possible correctly.
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Read essay prompts carefully, and answer the question that they ask. If the prompt is "Compare and contrast the Civil War and World War I," do exactly that. Do not list facts about the Civil War that do not relate to World War I just to prove that you remember them, and do not compare World War I to World War II. Answer the question.
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Reread your answers if you have time, making sure that you have not omitted words, repeated thoughts or written illegibly. Correct any mistakes or places where you were unclear. Check your multiple-choice answers for careless errors.
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Tips & Warnings
Some people study better alone, and others study better in groups. Determine which system is best for you, and then follow it.
Do not worry if you reach the end of an evening of studying and find that you cannot remember any of what you just learned. Your mind will process the information overnight, and you may find that you remember much more of it in the morning.
Do not pad essays with unnecessary words or sentences to make them longer. Your teacher will not be fooled. It is better to write a concise essay that is slightly too short than a wordy, repetitive essay that meets the length requirements.
References
Resources
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