Best tips for Memorizing Dates and Names in History — justgetblogging.com

History tuition in Singapore has become famous these days; much more as compared to how it was a decade or so ago. The prime reason for this is the changes that have been made in syllabus in recent years and moreover, expectations of students’ performance in exams have been increased by many folds. The biggest struggle for students in writing history essays is content memorisation; especially the nitty gritty details like the dates and the names in the chapters they study. History home tuition has become a good option for students to seek personalised help as home tutors would be able to analyse an essay in great detail during a one-to-one tuition session. So, here are some great tips that students can follow to make sure that they can cramp in those dates and names in the history book that they read over and over again! Firstly, students should develop the habit of taking a lot of notes. Many students think that memorising is about repeatedly reading the same information again and again until it registers in their brain. However, this is a very ineffective method as compared to simply rewriting that useful information. Writing notes is a lot more useful in memorisation than people think. All students have to do is write down the key dates and names they have to memorise in a separate piece of paper and keep repeating this process until they can write it down without referring to their textbook. However, it is also important how students write their notes. Notes should be short, succinct with some diagrams and highlighted areas, not an exact copy of their textbook. Similarly, notes should not miss out any key information. When students try to memorise these dates and names, they must remember to also write about the significance of them as simply remembering them is not enough. MEMORY TRICKS Secondly, students can try using certain memory tricks that generally work. Humans are generally very skilled at identifying and remembering patterns and this fact can be used to assist students in their memorisation process. For some students, numbers are easier to remember while other students can remember names very easily. Students who struggle with remembering numbers can use certain patterns to relate the different numbers that they need to remember. For example, world war 1 began in 1914 and ended in 1918 and had about 40 million casualties. One way to memorise this is by only remembering the number 1914 and using the last digit (4) to relate the other numbers to it (1918 is 1914 + 4 and 40 million can be remembered easily since the last digit is 4). Similar to how there can be patterns found between numbers, there are patterns that can be found within words too. This can include rhymes, alliterations and abbreviations that are easier to remember. ANALYSING THE REASONS Thirdly, for some students the previous tips may only help them remember the information for a short period of time. Students can instead use a more fool proof method although it may require much more time and effort. This tip is also more useful for students who wish to pursue higher studies in history. Historical events have all happened for a reason and are not just a random series of events or made-up stories. Thus, students need to look deeper into the historical event that they are trying to memorise. For example, if a war happened, students should try to understand who and what instigated and what significant role they had throughout the war. If an economic crisis happened, students should understand why it happened and how it was solved. By understanding why and how everything happened, students will be able to remember the names of the people and places involved much more easily. Moreover, seemingly independent historical events may end up being more related than students initially think. Thus, understanding one historical event can also help greatly for understanding other ones too. BREAK IT DOWN Fourthly, students need to break down historical events into multiple smaller significant events and organise them either based on the people involved or organise them chronologically. Making a chart of the events that happened will help in making everything look much neater and simpler as compared to paragraphs of information which may seem intimidating. Having a chart will also give students a visual representation of what happened in the event. This visual representation can act as a catalyst for students to remember the exact details. For example, during an examination a student might find it easier to recall details by remembering how their chart looks like while there is no such trick for students who try to memorise paragraphs of information. HELPING EACH OTHER Fifthly, students can try teaching their peers about what they have learnt. Teaching others is much more effective in memorising information than people think. When teaching others, students will be able to identify which parts they are familiar and confident that they know and which parts they still cannot remember or understand. Moreover, teaching others or even just saying the information out loud will help make their thoughts more fluent within their brain. Having this order will help students retain the information in their brain longer than simply mugging it. Teaching someone who also already knows the dates and names can also help a lot as when the student teaching momentarily forgets something, the student being taught can help remind them what they missed out. Helping each other out will not only make memorisation more efficient and effective, it will also help strengthen bonds between them! IN CONCLUSION History is a very important subject for everyone in general as it teaches us about the importance of good decision making and teaches us the difference between right and wrong based on everything that man has done in the past. Studying it as a subject to pass the exams is not enough; students need to understand the purpose of studying the subject and apply the values that they learn in real life as well! Related

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