You have been told that studying history is important. Educators have mentioned that studying history is crucial for analytical decision-making, avoiding past mistakes, and for individual and collective progress. There are hundreds of other reasons for studying history. One of the reasons that applies to you may simply be to pass the course and get your degree. But whatever it is, our first tip in studying history is, to come up with a good reason on why you need to study history, to motivate yourself!

* You have to motivate yourself because reality is you need to budget several hours in studying and concentrating in history.

* Scan your assigned textbook first. Read the starting and ending paragraphs to have an idea of the important issues and questions. Read the chapter summaries if the book contains them to guide your reading of the whole chapter.

* If you cannot understand the textbook, get another book in which you can understand the writing style of the author. This will help you read and understand the assigned textbook faster, hence saving valuable time. Most importantly, this will help you keep your patience and not put off studying history!

* Next, learn how to take notes. Be critical and pay special attention to primary sources and evidences than opinions. There is no need to write in complete sentences. Use keywords to give you a quick grasp of the important ideas. Experiment with what works for you. Use different colored pens or subheadings.

* Pause regularly to recall, make sense and connect different ideas. This not only improves your memory but also your understanding of the text.

* Note down the critical role a person or group of people played in history. Also, note down critical events. What made them important? What made these events inevitable? What could have changed history?

* History is based on actions of real people. So consider the perspective and motivations behind their actions. Determine the critical issues and debate during that period in history. Be able to explain the issues well.

* Remember the purpose of studying history. Why are these important for you to learn? Keeping the purpose of your study in mind, helps you determine the key points you need to note down and evaluate.

* What were the cultural attitudes and values during that time? How are they different from today?

* Common mistake in history essay writing is not reading the question carefully and understanding what is being asked. So take time to read the question and understand its significance. Do not just quickly write historical facts. Remember, your teacher is evaluating your critical thinking and not your memory and transcribing ability.

* Also to get good marks, you need to write clearly. Make sure to check your spelling and grammar. Read your essay twice and revise when necessary.

Practice this tips and feel more confident about your analytical thinking and writing ability. Hence, studying history also teaches you how to learn more effectively and think more rationally, the sign of an educated man!



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