“History is like a long story with many events, many chapters and episodes logically linked together in chronological order and always with cause and effect relationships. History gives us very valuable reflections on life. If students understand this and know how to study history methodically, they will no longer find it a dry subject,” shared Dr. Nguyen Quang Lieu (lecturer in the History Department, University of Social Sciences and Humanities) on how to teach and learn history. He also “revealed” to the candidates the secret to studying and doing the history exam best in this year's university entrance exam.
The Vietnamese history curriculum for 12th grade begins after World War I and ends in 2000. The world history curriculum starts from the end of World War II in 1945 and extends to 2000. This is a vast amount of historical knowledge that students must grasp within a very short exam preparation period. Therefore, knowing how to study and how to take the exam is crucial for achieving good results. The following are my personal experiences gained after many years of researching and teaching history to various students and trainees.
The firstStudents must have a comprehensive understanding of Vietnamese and world history in their university entrance exam preparation. The first requirement is that they must have a method for periodizing history, able to paint a historical picture encompassing multiple periods with their own names and characteristics. Next, for each period, they should delve deeper into the main content and events of significant importance. If this is not done well from the beginning, students can easily get lost in a "maze" of overlapping events and content, unable to pinpoint the specific period in Vietnamese history where each piece of content and each event belongs. *For example, in my opinion, the overview of Vietnamese history from 1919-2000 can be divided into five major periods: - Period 1919-1930: the period of the movement to establish the Party. - Period 1930-1945: the struggle for power. - Period 1945-1954: Defending the government and conducting resistance against French colonial aggression. - Period 1954-1975: The socialist revolution in the North and the national democratic revolution in the South. - Period 1975 to 2000. * At the second level, in each period, we must again identify the main contents. For example, in the period 1919-1930, we must not forget the following contents: - The second colonial exploitation policy of the French colonialists - The national democratic movement in Vietnam - The patriotic movement with a proletarian orientation associated with the role of Nguyen Ai Quoc. - The unification conference to establish the Party. * At the third level, when developing the content about the patriotic movement of the proletariat associated with the role of Nguyen Ai Quoc, we need to grasp the following contents: - The circumstances of Nguyen Ai Quoc's search for a path to national salvation. - The process of searching for a path (1911-1920). - The process of political, ideological, and organizational preparation for the founding of the Party (1921-1929). If the issue is understood using a "tree" diagram like the one above, it will be easy to understand, learn, and remember. However, in reality, many students learn from the "bottom up," that is, learning from specific events and stages without a holistic view and without connecting them together.
MondayHistory is a continuous flow of events, unfolding in chronological order. Historical events are often logically interconnected, with one event leading to another. If we understand this principle, learning history is easy. However, if we learn haphazardly, rote-learning, and lack connections, it becomes very difficult to remember. *For example: Why was the Communist Party of Vietnam founded? It was due to the colonial exploitation by the French, which led to the emergence of social classes in Vietnam. Unable to endure the oppression and exploitation, these classes rose up against the French colonialists. A patriotic movement with a bourgeois democratic orientation emerged, but this movement quickly failed. Subsequently, the struggle shifted to the proletariat. And after the proletariat determined its mission, there was a need for a political organization of the proletariat. This led to the emergence of various organizations such as the Indochinese Communist Party, the Annam Communist Party, the Indochinese Communist League, and finally, the unification conference of these communist organizations to form the Communist Party of Vietnam in 1930.
TuesdayFor each topic, students must grasp the main events and answer the following questions: where did it take place, when did it happen, how did it happen, and what is the significance of the event? * For example: if the exam asks about the Border Campaign of 1950, students must focus on and answer the following questions: what were the enemy's schemes and tactics? what were our plans and strategies? what were the developments, results, and significance?
WednesdayMany people think that studying history is simply about memorizing facts, but that's a misconception. Memorization is important, but it must be based on understanding and connecting events into a coherent historical narrative—one that follows a logical sequence, has a logical cause-and-effect relationship, and holds value and meaning in the course of history and in life in general. Only then will you find that historical narrative truly captivating.
ThursdayStudents must be able to draw diagrams of each historical period before developing detailed content. Studying history requires attention to the synchronic approach: presenting an event but placing it within its domestic and international context. The learning content must be systematically organized into detailed points; doing so will help students score well on exams. *For example: if the exam asks about the role of Nguyen Ai Quoc in the founding of the Party, students need to develop an outline including: domestic and international circumstances; the process of finding a path; the process of political, ideological, and organizational preparation…
FridayWhen studying for the History exam, you need to write everything down on paper. Each review topic should be detailed using diagrams as mentioned above, noting how many key points and important events need to be understood. If students understand the material, write down the key points, and remember the events in a logical, sequential order, they will never forget the lesson. Avoid studying by just vaguely reading from a book, as this leads to fatigue, boredom, and a lack of interest. When using reference books, pay attention to their source, as many books contain content far removed from the textbook, not to mention low-quality history textbooks. Students should only use reference books for advanced topics after mastering the basic knowledge in the textbook. Otherwise, reading reference books will be ineffective and only distract and confuse them further. After studying, students must check the systematic nature of the entire curriculum by writing it down in a hierarchical structure, examining the historical picture to see if any sections are "missing." If so, it means there is content that they haven't fully grasped and need to be supplemented. It's especially important to remember that all content included in the textbook is equally important; students need to master it thoroughly. Omitting any content will lead to knowledge gaps and uncertain understanding. Currently, many teachers inadvertently encourage students to "cram" by assuming that content that was tested last year will not be on the exam this year. This is inadvisable. *For example: if students don't study the content about building socialism in the North, how can they understand that the North provided strong support and was a crucial factor in the victory of the Southern revolution in the resistance war against the US?
Seventh, regarding how to answer the questions: - The first principle is to read the question carefully, underlining important phrases to determine what is being asked. This is the most important principle, because if this initial orientation is wrong, the answer will also be wrong. - Next, create an outline for your answer. The more detailed your outline, the higher your score. This also helps students avoid missing any points when answering. - Choose the easy questions first, but focus on those with high points. Because even if you write a very good answer, if that question has low points and you ignore the others, your score will only be the maximum allowed by that question's grading rubric. - Balance your time, distributing it evenly among the questions. This can be done simply by dividing the time allotted for each question by the number of points to determine the maximum time you can dedicate to each question. - When answering the question, get straight to the point and avoid rambling or lengthy explanations. Answer only what is asked. * For example: if the exam asks about the historical significance of the founding of the Communist Party of Vietnam, you don't need to present the circumstances of his departure to find a way to save the country, or the role of Nguyen Ai Quoc in the founding of the Party... Because even if you spend a lot of time presenting a very good explanation, you won't get points for content that the exam doesn't require. - After finishing, check your exam one last time to make sure that the events and numbers mentioned are accurate. Absolutely do not include anything you are unsure of in your exam, especially numbers and dates...
EighthSome common mistakes in university history exams include: - Incorrectly identifying the content of the answer, answering something completely different from the question because of a mistake in determining the question's topic. * For example: the exam asks about Nguyen Ai Quoc's political, ideological, and organizational preparation for the founding of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Many candidates give rambling answers about Nguyen Ai Quoc's search for a path to national salvation. They should answer directly as follows: "After finding the correct truth for national salvation, Nguyen Ai Quoc waged a persistent and tenacious struggle to propagate Marxism-Leninism, actively preparing the political, ideological, and organizational conditions for the founding of the Party. This process is demonstrated through the following events...". - Omitting points due to rushing to complete the exam without a detailed outline. This is a very common mistake, leading many students to finish question 2 before adding supplementary points to question 1. - Unclear presentation, rambling, general writing; exam papers are two or three pages long but fail to state the main point. - Inaccurate recall of dates and events, leading to haphazard writing because many candidates think: writing more is better than omitting. - A disjointed answer, meaning some answers are lengthy, while others are very short and incomplete due to time constraints.
NinthAmong the mistakes students make when studying History, the most common and serious is their inability to differentiate between historical periods, meaning they cannot paint a comprehensive picture of Vietnamese history across these periods. This is because teachers have not taught students the right learning methods, inadvertently making History a burdensome and unappealing subject. Based on years of experience grading papers, History exam papers scoring 9 or 9.5 points share the following characteristics: the candidates have a very solid grasp of the material, the content is presented comprehensively, the presentation is clear, and they demonstrate advanced analytical skills. Many students combine historical, logical, and synchronic methods to answer questions, resulting in very clear and insightful answers. *For example: the exam question asks to present the reasons for the victory of the national resistance war against the US. The essay presents all four of the following reasons: the correct leadership of the Party, the people's tradition of tenacious struggle, a strong rear base, and effective utilization of international relations. Furthermore, taking it a step further, the candidate also presents and analyzes that, among these four reasons, the correct leadership of the Party is the decisive factor because only with the right policies can the other factors be effectively utilized.
