With 3 books prescribed for class 12, history is indeed a content heavy subject. In this article, I’ll highlight some preparation strategies essential for the final exam. In subsequent articles, I’ll be focussing on the art of writing answers. The tips mentioned here are meant for ambitious students who really want a perfect score. Less ambitious students can safely skip some of them.
1. I do recognize the fact that the dynamism of the syllabus makes it a bit difficult to learn everything. That’s why it’s important to strategize. Often, students face a time crunch while preparing for history. I also experienced a similar time crunch. Hence, it’s advisable to start with chapters that are easier and have a greater scope for 8-markers. In the ancient India book, they generally ask 8- mark questions from chapter 2 or chapter 4. In the medieval India book, an 8-marker is usually asked from chapters 7, 8 and 9. As regards the last book, questions can be asked from almost any chapter.
Note- These are simply estimates drawn from my personal study of past year question papers. It does not mean that the remaining chapters are any less important.
2. Try to frame your own questions from every paragraph or topic. This trick helps in retaining stuff. I’ll seriously advise you to remember answers in points. It does not mean that you need to cram everything. You should try to reduce an entire point into one subhead and remember that. Thus, for example, if you’re studying about Harappan trade, then you can make points like this- 1. domestic trade; 2. trade with Mesopotamia; 3. Trade with Oman; 4. Evidences and so forth.
3. Do not simply skip over the boxes. Even though no direct questions are asked from boxes, they are particularly helpful in supplementing your answers.
Eg- Say you’re answering a question about the fiscal system of Mughal Empire. You can include points from the boxes- the methods of land measurement, the means of revenue collection (Kankut, Batai, etc.). This will help in expanding your answer while making it impressive as well.
4. There’s another purpose that boxes serve. They help in answering the passage based questions. And the best part is that passages are really scoring. But keep in mind that only some questions would be asked directly from the passages. The others would be asked from the rest of the text but would be based on the passages. Of late, CBSE has started asking some really interesting questions that require you to read between the lines. Thus for example, from the Dronacharya-Eklavya passage in chapter 3, they asked about the instances of guru-shishya parampara. That’s why I’ll suggest you to know things beyond the text.
5. Sometimes flowcharts and diagrams can be really helpful in learning concepts. You could use flowcharts to learn the various books of Akbarnama and Ain-e-Akbari. Likewise a flowchart will really help you to learn the various tiers of provincial government in Mughal Empire.
6. Sometimes images will help you to grasp information. Rather than cramming the architectural features of Lotus Mahal in Vijaynagar, it’s better to study the image that accompanies the text. Similarly you could try to visualize the three divisions in Vijaynagar. Images might also give you some additional information to supplement your answers. For example, while answering a question about Puranic Hinduism from chapter 4, you could take cues from the image of the Varaha Avatar of Vishnu. You can easily make a point about how the rising popularity of Vaishnavism is manifested in various sculptural representations of Lord Vishnu. Likewise if you’re answering a question about the architectural features of mosques (chapter 6), you could mention the examples of- 1. mosque with shikhar like top found in Kerala; 2. Shah Hamadan Mosque; 3. The mosque found in Mymensingh district of Bangladesh. All of these are given in images.
7. Please don’t underestimate the significance of maps. Remember that maps come for 5 marks and often students end up losing points here. I’ll seriously advise you to prepare all your maps beforehand and see them every day, because you learn by seeing. This way you won’t have to waste your time memorizing maps the day before exam. Also, pay attention to the fact that they won’t ask direct questions for marking/identification. You’ll be instead asked something like- Mark the place of origin of Quit India Movement. So please read the text thoroughly.
8. Finally, I would request you to not go for selective preparation. That doesn’t help in this paper. But at the same time, understanding how the events unfolded is far more important than cramming facts. Also, you can always search for more interesting information on the internet.
I sincerely hope that these tips help. In case you have any doubt from any chapter or topic in the syllabus, please feel free to drop an email or a message in the comments section.
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