Miss Colley’s absolutely brilliant , interesting and amazing top tips for exam success!

1. Miss Colley’s absolutely brilliant, interesting and amazing top tips for exam success! Learning Objectives: To develop exam technique in order to ace the exam. To expand our knowledge and share ideas – ‘cos we are awesome! To enable Miss Colley to be a very happy teacher when you hand in your first ever essays 

2. You sourcey devil! – How to be awesome at source analysis • 1) Use Sources A and B and your own knowledge. • “Explain how far the views in Source B differ from those in Source A in relation to the removal of power of President Diem.” • 12 marks What should we do next…?

3. Top Tips  • Colour code – SIMILARITIES and DIFFERENCES. You will need to compare these. • Analyse the sources. READ THEM ALL! Don’t just straight in. • In pairs, read, highlight and annotate the sources… you have 10 minutes! Off you go! • SCRIBBLE all over the sources – KNOWLEDGE IS KEY!

4. What do you know? • 1) Use Sources A and B and your own knowledge. • “Explain how far the views in Source B differ from those in Source A in relation to the removal of power of President Diem.” Differences Similarities

5. CONTEXT: • What was happening in the wider context of the Cold War? • Can you name key dates/individuals? Spend another 3-5 minutes adding this to your source analysis. Use a different colour if necessary!

6. Your Question 1 Hitlist • Comparison of sources – USE THE INFORMATION IN FRONT OF YOU  • Balance • Own knowledge – BE SPECIFIC • Context – what else was happening at this time? • Written communication – have you answered the question?

7. Source Question Take 2 • Use sources A, B and C and your own knowledge. • “How far was President Kennedy committed to protecting South Vietnam?” • 24 marks How does this differ to Q1?

8. Get to it! • Analyse source C – use the same technique again. • Highlight/colour code • Annotate • Context • Own supporting knowledge • 5-7 minutes!

9. Pearls of Wisdom  • Your own knowledge is SO important here. 24 marks = much more reliant on knowledge. Just using your own knowledge will get you 11 marks! • Introduce the sources too… 16 marks + • BALANCE is key. • Select specific pieces of evidence to back up your argument. • PLAN you NEED to be planning before you write an A-Level essay. You need a FOCUSED clear argument. • JUDGEMENT – answer the question!

10. Use sources A, B and C and your own knowledge. • “How far was President Kennedy committed to protecting South Vietnam?” In groups create a PLAN for how you would answer this question. What key points would you include? BE SPECIFIC.

11. Homefun • Answer question 2 (both part 3 and 4) at home. • These are both purely KNOWLEDGE based questions. • You have the mark scheme to work with – use this to help you! • These will be collected in on the first lesson back after half term. • DO NOT FORGET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

12. The Rules  • Answer both 12 and 24 mark questions. • Try your VERY best. • Remember this is your first try at this sort of exam question – just give it your best shot. • SELF and PEER assess your essays BEFORE you hand them in. Use the mark scheme to help you do this. • Come and see me if you need help!! • Treats and biscuits await those of you who hand essays in on time 