How to improve knowledge in readiness for GCSE History exams

Too Many Facts to Remember?

A common complaint I regularly hear from students and parents is this: there are too many facts to remember in History. Dates, names, battles, events, inventions... Indeed, History is a subject that cannot be mastered without a good bank of knowledge. And it needs to be good knowledge - specific factual detail such as precise dates and names - if you want to get those high grades. But don't worry! I have a simple, evidence-backed plan to get you on course for some solid historical knowledge in readiness for your exams.

Learn the Facts First

The first thing to say is that revising and remembering knowledge is impossible if you haven't learned the facts in the first place. Hopefully, this is where school and tutoring come in - your teachers and GCSE History Tutors are trained to introduce the historical material and teach the knowledge that you will need for your exams. It is this knowledge that you will need to work on outside of school if you want to be well-prepared.

Colour-Code Your Topics and Make Notes

However, a good plan is to make a list (or get one from your teacher/Tutor) of all the topics that could come up in your exams. Once you have this, you could colour-code each topic based on how secure you feel your knowledge is (green for I've got this, amber for I'm not sure, and red for I don't even remember learning this). With that done, you need to work through the topics you have highlighted as less than secure. For this, the best tactic is old-fashioned highlighting and note-taking. Ideally, you will need an official exam board revision guide, which you may be able to get from your school; otherwise, you can get one cheaply online. With your revision guide, read a paragraph first, then highlight the key facts and dates (if it's not a school copy), then note these down on a separate piece of paper. Continue doing this for a small chunk of a topic (usually 1-2 pages of a revision guide).

Test Yourself

Now comes the revision part. Cognitive research shows that the single best way to retain knowledge is to test yourself - as much as possible. So, before you even think about moving on to the next page of the textbook (or get the coloured pens out to make your notes look pretty), you need to close your notebook, pull out another sheet, and write down as much as you can remember from your notes without checking. This act of forcing yourself to remember something may seem frustrating, but it really helps move knowledge from the front of your brain (where it will quickly be forgotten) to the back (where it will hopefully stay).

Check, Repeat and Use Flashcards

Next, you need to reopen your notebook and check what you missed out. Then challenge yourself again to see if you can remember more. One other tool I would strongly recommend is the flashcard. Here I would write down simple questions and answers on either side. For example, "When was the NHS set up?" on one side and "1948" on the other. You should make a big old pile of these flashcards based on the notes you have been making. Then you need to get a family member or friend, or yourself, to test you.

Plan and Space Your Revision

It is also a very good idea to make a plan for when you are going to do History revision. Use a calendar, or make one yourself, and mark what you want to revise and when. Go back to your colour-coded list of topics and put down one or two half-hour slots a week to focus on revision. But here's the other important evidence-backed fact: once you have revised one topic, don't just abandon it until May next year. You need to space revision for every topic so that you come back to it to make sure that the knowledge is secure. For example, if you revise the Munich Putsch on Monday, test yourself again on it on Wednesday, then again the next week, and then again the next month. Gradually increasing the spacing between revising a topic helps the knowledge stick.

Explain, Don't Just Remember

The next piece in the knowledge retention puzzle is this: don't just remember the facts; practise explaining what they are and why they happened. When your friend asks you at break time, flashcard in hand, "When was germ theory?", and you impressively answer back, "1861," get them to then ask, "What was this?" and "Why was it important?" It is important to practise elaborating on knowledge (practising adding more information to the initial fact) because this helps you connect the ideas and makes you more prepared for writing about it in exams. Unfortunately, in your paper you won't be asked to just write down a list of dates and battles. You will need to explain the importance of things, what they caused, or how they relate to sources or interpretations. All the more reason, then, to practise doing this at home or with friends.

Practise Writing Exam Answers

The final piece of advice is to practise doing the thing you will be doing in May and June - writing exam answers. It sounds scary, but it is absolutely vital if you want to feel prepared and ready. You will be doing this in school and with your Tutors - but having a bank of printed past exam papers at home is a solid way to get yourself ahead. When you feel you have revised a topic to a good level (you'd mark it green on your confidence list), it's a good idea to find a past exam question that relates to it and practise answering a question.

At first you don't need to time it or spend too long making it perfect - just practise using your PEEL paragraphs and writing about the facts that are in your head. If you want extra support with essay structure and clear written arguments, a GCSE EnglishTutor can help alongside your History practice. Later on, you can push things further and try answering a whole paper in a timed fashion, but mostly it's just about practising putting your thoughts on paper. It's also a good idea to show your Tutors and teachers what you have written and get them to give you feedback on how to improve your answer.

Recap: My Top Tips

So, there's my guide for how best to improve your historical knowledge in readiness for your GCSE exams. Let's recap my top tips. 1: Make a list of all the topics and colour-code them based on how confident you are. 2: Make a plan for revision - when will you revise which topics? 3: Use a highlighter and pen to make notes on key facts (don't do too much - just 1-2 A4 pages at a time). 4: Test yourself by closing your notebook and trying to remember what you wrote down (do this again once you've checked what you missed out). 5: Make flashcards for key facts and get friends and family to test you (don't forget to go over topics you've already revised so you don't forget them). 6: Get your testers to ask you "why?" and "what was this?" questions to encourage you to elaborate on the historical facts. 7: Practise answering exam questions once you feel you have improved your knowledge on a certain topic. You can share your answers with Tutors and teachers to get feedback on how to improve your answers.

You've Got This!

With these evidence-backed tips, you should have a clearer idea of how best to tackle revision and get you on your way to success in your exams. All that is required is some planning, dedication, and hard work. You've got this - and you will get the grades you deserve!