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What to expect from studying history?

History is a popular choice amongst students. Students who have a particular interest in English will most likely enjoy history. Junior cert and leaving cert history both involve essay writing and critical thought. However, like most secondary level subjects, history consists of a lot of memorisation. Dates, figures and events are of supreme importance so if you want to answer questions well, you’ll have to remember these things. History can be deceptive in this respect, junior cert history does not represent the leaving cert experience well at all. You can afford to not study a lot in junior cert history as the level of detail required to do well is minimal, simply by listening during classes and a bit of revision you’ll do fine. This is not the case when it comes to the leaving cert. The history exam is split into roughly three sections, case studies, long essay questions and finally the Research Study Report (RSR). The case studies test your contextual knowledge of a period, your ability to analyse historical sources, answer questions based on a document and other questions of that nature. The final part of the case study question also involves a short essay based question. Students get a choice of long essay questions, having to do a select few but a tutor or your teacher can go into further detail. Finally, there is the RSR… 

The struggles of the Research Study Report

The RSR is where many students struggle the most for a multitude of reasons. Firstly, picking the topic to write about is a big challenge for many students, it can’t be too general, has to hold your interest, has to be of historical significance and there has to be a well…point to it.  Your paper has to be analysing something, questioning something that has happened in history. It cannot be a summary as that contributes essentially nothing. This is why history students can struggle with the RSR, the rest of the leaving cert tends to be formulaic, and memory-based but the RSR requires a lot of thought and planning behind it. Multiple drafts and weeks of research and preparation are not uncommon. This is where a student stands to benefit the most from a tutor. They can help so much in choosing a topic, giving advice on researching, citing and so much more. Once you finally write the paper you’ll want someone who genuinely wants you to do well to read over it. History teachers are amazing but sometimes they don’t have the time to help everyone adequately, the RSR is approximately 1500 words, that’s a lot of essays to correct well for a teacher. How else can a tutor help history students?

How can a history tutor help you?

We’ve already discussed how a tutor can help you with the RSR but there are many other ways they can help you. Studying history on a leaving cert or university level can be stressful but a tutor can help mitigate this with the most important factor when it comes to history, experience. Experience in studying history and writing good essays is critical. When you have a tutor behind your back who can guide you to the best sources, advise you on essay writing techniques, and the best ways to analyse a source, you can feel more confident in your studies. Tutors also have the benefit of providing structure, discipline and providing a safe environment for advice, encouragement and learning that a school cannot provide to the same level. 

The benefits of online lessons

History notes intensive subject, there is a lot of text and not a large visual aspect to it. This is why it's the perfect subject for online learning. Notes, lectures and sources can be transferred easily online and there really is no need for an unnecessary journey for in-person tutoring for history! This saves you both time and stress. The added benefit of learning history online is the availability of tutors, you’ll be able to find the perfect history tutor for your level from across the country. Superprof provides the tools and the filters to find this perfect tutor quickly! Good luck and happy learning.