by Robert Alverson

Created on: March 13, 2008

History tests are no big deal. Even if you abhor history, and memorizing dates makes you queasy, you can still do well on a history test. The key is to play to your strengths, study the interesting parts and avoid scaring yourself.

First, find out the format of the test. Multiple choice history tests are in my opinion the worst. They tend to feature more rote memorization, which isn't fun, and doesn't teach you anything. In my experience, you will not encounter a multiple choice history test in college, with the one exception being short in-class quizzes. The more common exam style is a combination of elements: identifications, short essays, and essays.

Identifications generally consist of key terms or events. This is where many people lose points, because they forget the two parts of a good ID. First define the term, and then explain its significance in the period you are studying. This can generally be done well in a paragraph or two, and are there to test your recall. Don't spend time writing an extensive reply, it's generally not needed.

For ID heavy tests, look back through your notes and the readings for major events and concepts. Many professors won't necessarily pick just the obvious terms, so after you have the basics down, look a little bit more in-depth. Anything that is really obscure also would likely not be an ID. A good rule of thumb is anything that comes up more than once is fair game. That means if it's in the book, and the lecture, it has a fair chance of being an ID. If it's in one or the other, then it's less likely. If the teacher gives you a list of potential ID's use the index in the back of the book to find them. When you are doing this, be sure you still have an overall idea of what's going on, remember you will have to place this in context. Dates do play a larger role in ID's, so try to get those down as well.

Short essays are just somewhat more complicated identifications. The only difference is now you want to relate multiple terms to each other and place them in a historical context. Many people try to write too much for short essays. Don't try to cram every detail in; the key word here is short. Read the question and cover exactly what you need to, nothing more.

Study for short essays like you would for an ID, but emphasize the importance and connections to other ID's more than just the names and dates.

I hate to disappoint you, but essays are nothing like short essays. Essays are the best thing to have on a test. Even with a tight

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