Okay I am seriously bad at ancient history exams and I really don't know how to study for the essay (Julio-Claudians).
Anyone have some pointers!? I don't know where to start :/
Thanks!
Best way to study for section 4 is to make essay plans. Grab all the essay questions from the past 5 years or so and make an essay plan for each question.
Make sure to include:
- What essay do you want to write? A factors essay? A thematic one? An events essay?
- A sample introduction (with your judgement)
- Your paragraphs. What main topic do you want for each paragraph? Include dot points of all the things you want you say. Make sure to keep relating all your points to your judgement. Do open book so that this part is easier
- Sources. Think about all the sources you think are appropriate. As my teacher would say, its best to have all WAMA (Written, archaeological, modern and ancient) sources. Archaeological evidence is definitely the go to. I don't do Julio-Claudians, but there should be some good archaeological evidence that you can use. But if not, there are always the written sources too. Have a mix of modern and ancient writers to beef up your response.
- If possible, try to link all your paragraphs together. You can have this plan within the paragraph plans or have a separate dot point.
Essay plans are meant to be short so this should take around 10-15 mins. This will make you more prepared for the exam. Typically the questions in section 4 are quite flexible.
Although, if possible try writing at least one full from one of your essay plans. Just to have an idea how long it is and see what areas you can improve on.
Hope this helps