[Anaphase]

I received my History mock exam mark a few weeks ago and, this may sound a bit pretentious, I was more than a little disappointed to find that I hadn't gotten the A* that I had been expecting. I discussed my mark with my teacher, who said that I didn't always answer the questions properly - which is obviously something I have to work on - and that my Weimar and Nazi Germany section was quite a bit weaker than the rest.

I was wondering, aside from any general tips on how I could improve my grade, if there were any sites that are specifically focussed on post-WWI Germany that I could have the links to?

Thanks in advance,
- Anaphase

[Mrs Faithorn]

Don't be downhearted about not getting A* at this stage. The whole point about Mock Exams is that you (and your teacher) can use it as a learning experience. Besides, your final grade will include your coursework results (which your Mock result may not) and this will normally boost your overall, final grade.

What I will say (as a GCSE examiner) is that in order to get A* you need to perform consistently well in every element of the Exam and that for most Exam Boards you need to get at least 10% above the borderline mark for an A.

• So in revising between now and the Summer exam you should certainly try hard to ensure that there are not any significant weaknesses in your knowledge and understanding of any part of your course.
  
• Also get as much practice as you can in answering past Exam questions - preferably under Exam conditions.
  
• Work hard to ensure that you understand how best to focus what you know directly on the questions asked. (Too many candidates know the subject material well, but write descriptive answers and fail to link what they say directly to the question).

The best website to help you revise post WWI Germany is this section of Mr Clare's excellent site on Modern World History.
If you look at the home page of his site, you will see that there are also other things there to help you to revise and to do well. Look under the 'How do I ...' and 'Other Services' headings.

If we can be of more help between now and the exams then just say so. Otherwise .... the best of luck!

[Miss Buxton]

An A*/A grade student:
• Has read and fully understood the question.
• They have worked out what you are going to say in the conclusion before you actually start writing the introduction.
• Their answer is planned.
• The introduction must state clearly what you believe are the main factors and this must be supported by the argument in the following paragraphs.
• Their conclusion should be a sustained judgement on the key issue in the question.
• They can give a fully developed, focused and balance answer.
• They use the context, content and provenance of sources to decide upon utility, reliability and accuracy.
• They use their knowledge to put the source in context and answer the question.
• In utility questions they fully explain limitations and positive value with reference to content and provenance.
• In deciding reliability they evaluate the provenance of the source and use their own knowledge to question the contents and context.
• They can judge an interpretation by analysing both the purpose of the author and the content/nature of the source.
• They write a conclusion, which gives a final, sustained judgement on the source or sources.

[Little miss sunshine]

omg please dont say u r really worried about getting an A not an A*. i was predicted a B and we had a test the other day and i got an E. im the one hu needs help!!

[Mrs Faithorn]

Don't worry too much at this stage, Little Miss Sunshine. There's still quite a while to go until the exams in the summer and in my experience students can make fantastic progress in that time.

Try to make up a revision plan as soon as you can (maybe with your teacher's help) and get as much practice as possible in answering past exam questions. Listen very carefully to all the advice your teacher gives you over the coming months and try hard to put that into practice.

We are always prepared to help you too as far as we can and we have a dedicated Exam Revision section where you can ask questions. So ... fire away!

[Miss Buxton]

Little miss sunshine, on Feb 26 2006, 09:53 PM, said:

omg please dont say u r really worried about getting an A not an A*. i was predicted a B and we had a test the other day and i got an E. im the one hu needs help!!

To achieve a Grade B you should:

Have more balance and focus to your answers, your answers are more developed.
Use the context, content or provenance (origin) of sources to decide upon utility, reliability and accuracy. Use your own knowledge to put the source in context and answer the question.
In utility questions you fully explain limitations and positive value with reference to content or provenance.
In deciding reliability you evaluate the provenance of the source or use your own knowledge to question the contents and context.
Judge an interpretation by analysing the purpose of the author or the content/nature of the source.

Write a sequence of developed paragraphs with detailed knowledge and understanding.
Organise the paragraphs in a way that makes sense.
The most important feature of a your answer is that it must be read logically. There must be no paragraphs that are out of place and you much have spent some time planning before you start writing.



I hope this helps Little Miss Sunshine.....

[HistoryCB]

Hi - I was just wondering, along the lines of mock exams for SATs and similar tests. I find this website great to revise & inquire about certain things - do you know of any similar websites for the rest of the 'Humanities' subjects such as: Geography and R.E (etc..).

Don't worry if you don't know of any - it was just a question on my mind.

[Mr_Stacey]

I don't know of any in other subjects that work in quite the way we do here. However, when this question has come up before people have recomended the following sites:

BBC Bitesize - Good for revision, although doesn't allow you to ask questions
Homework High (from Channel 4) - for various subjects 11-16 year olds
SOS Teacher (from the BBC) Key Stage 3, GCSE and A Level, with a good range of subjects

Glad you find this site so useful though!

[Neo_b1]

Hey! I did my History GCSE two years ago - in my mocks I got D, but in my exam I ended up gettin A*, so don't worry!

Probably being your first taste at doing an exam paper under strict exam conditions, I wouldn't stress out too much about such grades.