No matter what way you want to look at it, learning about History could be one of the most frustrating things in school if you aren't good at straight memorization. Of all the classes I've had to take in high school and college, history to me is always the one that gives me the most trouble. There will never be a class that you will take that will require more memorization then any History class. With math you need to learn formulas, with languages you need to learn key words, and with English you need to learn how to formulate ideas and put them into one central focus. History is just like all of those, only you have to memorize everything. This can be hard on some people; however there is an easy way to manage these problems. There are three points that stand out to me as far as preparing for a history exam; reading the chapters, learning the key words, making comparisons.

1. Reading the chapters - The first part of memorization to me is getting some background information on the topic. Reading, to me, is that background that you need to learn the information. Read everything you are supposed to read and get a little idea of what kind of history you are going to be learning about. Who are the power players? Why are we learning about this specific portion of history? You shouldn't be focusing on memorizing just yet, but just getting a feel for who is involved in the chapters you may be reading.

2. Key words - This, once again to me, is the most important aspect of preparing for a history exam. You need to learn everything there is to know about the big players. You don't need to memorize every single person, only the important ones. Who is important and who isn't? That's up for you to decide. If you're not sure, learn the person or event. After you are done reading, sit down and write down some of the key words, people, or events. What is the origin of the word? Why is this person / event important? What was the impact?

3. Making comparisons - Chances are your history exam will have some form of an essay on it. You need to be ready to make comparisons to the people you just studies and learned about. What makes this person and better leader then another? What makes this dynasty better then the other one? Reasons why certain people failed. Anyone can memorize a list of definitions, but learning how two different things relate to one another is key.

In conclusion, history exams are often challenging your memorization. If you can effectively find a way to do part two of my three parts to study, you should be okay when it comes time to take the exam. If you fail to study and just read it over one time, you won't do as well as you could. You get what you put in, put that little bit of extra in to really learn your history.

Learn more about this author, Kevin Cavanagh.
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