The Pursuit of a Passion
For many students History is not just a subject to be slogged over in order to gain points in the Leaving Cert, rather it is a passion they continue to nurture long after all that stress and anxiety is forgotten, writes Yeats College teacher Paula Allen
History is a subject that attracts thinkers – those curious, imaginative students who hunger to understand the world, to understand the past, to understand why wars were fought, how heroes are made. Most of all History attracts students who want to know about themselves and understand where they came from. With that knowledge, those students can stride confidently into the future.
Higher Level
TIMING Timing is an issue in History. You have two hours and 50
minutes to complete the paper. This leaves very little time to make fancy essay plans.
To save time, the first thing you should do is identify the three essay questions you will answer as quickly as possible.
Circle the questions that appeal to you most – the ones you feel you have the most information on and are best able to answer in full.
Next, read through the documents, you have no choice here, so don’t dally! You should spend no more than 45 minutes on the document-based questions – this leaves you 40 minutes (per essay) to answer the three essay-style questions. (ONE from your Irish topic – TWO from Europe and the Wider World).
Aim to write 3 - 4 A4 pages on each of the long questions. ½