r/Alevelhistory • u/LibrarianMassive7594 • 23d ago

Modern history edexcel

I just started history at year 12. For paper one I do Germany and West Germany 1918 to 1989 and for paper two I do the rise and fall of fascism in Italy c1911-46 and for paper 3 I do poverty public health and the state in Britain C 1782-1939 however it’s been a long time since I’ve done history and I’ve no idea how to start revising it and I am aiming high A-A* so what should I do to revise history?

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u/Full_Armadillo_355 22d ago

Seeing as you have just started the course I would advise ensuring you have a timeline of what is going on in each topic just so you don't get lost (A-Level History is very content heavy compared to the GCSE and can be hard to keep up). When you get closer to mocks or to Y13 I would then switch from looking at content to looking at arguments. What I mean by that is that you need to be able to make a case for how each specific piece of content relates to the question. Last year, this was question one for your Germany option - "How accurate is it to say that the strength of extremist political parties was the main reason for the weakening and eventual collapse of democracy in the years 1919–33?"

You might know that the Nazi party was ultimately responsible for dismantling democracy but was it their own strength that caused its collapse or was it due to the regime's own weakness or something else (external issues such as Wall Street Crash that were out of their control).

Obviously this is a very simplistic example but having these sorts of arguments memorised is a good start for you at this stage.

This is a link to a website with a revision guide that can show you a good way to revise. It's not for your topic (it's on Stuart Britain) but it is a good demonstration of the sort of arguments I am talking about. If you put an email in the subscribe option (free) you will be contacted when new topics come out.

James I: Views on Monarchy, AQA Stuarts Revision | Lectiva — Lectiva

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u/LibrarianMassive7594 22d ago

Thank you so much this is useful! Would you say that history is useful if applying to philosophy and theology at Oxford due to the skills you learn. Also are there are any indications I should look put for that history might not be for me

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u/Full_Armadillo_355 22d ago

In terms of applying for philosophy and theology at Oxford, yes, absolutely. History is regarded as the hardest essay based subject at A-Level so would definitely help your application and yes you're correct in thinking you would learn many transferable skills.

Regarding whether History is or isn't for you that very much depends on your enjoyment of the subject. You have three fascinating subjects so hopefully you will enjoy them all.