Understanding History Thematically

It is a common habit among students of GCSE and A-level history to think of history in a linear fashion. i.e. that event A led to situation B, with the consequence C. Answers to test questions can be a perfectly adequate recounting of the events in the order that they happened. However, in order to obtain an A grade, it is not enough to produce knowledge. You must be able to demonstrate understanding. The way you demonstrate your understanding is by engaging with the question, which requires skills of evaluation and analysis.

Timelines are a perfectly good study tool, particularly if a student is often getting their dates confused. However they should primarily be used to reinforce knowledge, as they can be misleading as a basis for understanding. Looking at a timeline can lead a student to the mistaken idea that an event was caused primarily by the event immediately before it on the timeline. Whilst prior events obviously play an important role, we must take a whole range of factors into consideration when answering history questions. A chronological answer, one that merely describes the relevant events in order, no matter how accurate, will not be awarded top marks.

The key issue when breaking the habit of linear thinking, is to avoid confusion and keep answers clear and succinct. This is why I highly recommend grouping information into key themes when revising or making essay plans. Themes may include such things as economic, ideological, political, social, and any others that may be relevant to the topic. By separating into themes, it becomes easy to give our essays/answers a logical structure. The introduction can be used to establish what the themes are, whilst the main body of the essay can focus in on each theme, one at a time. The student can then go into greater depth on complicated issues, whilst keeping the essay coherent by always referring back to the established themes.