How do I make it stick?

[ACoile]

I have read everything offered here about Western Civ II, however I just cannot make it click. I can remember small parts of the info, but then when I remember another small part, it replaces the first one. Any advice on making this subject stick? I have been reviewing for about 4 weeks now (off and on), I do not like the subject and the French revolution stuff is haunting me (this is the one thing that has stuck, just the torture part, not the actual names and events that will be on the test!) Any help at all is appreciated

[liarock]

I know what you mean. What helps me most is watching documentaries and videos about history. The story mode and visuals help everything stick more.
Search for specific time periods or characters, these things are buffered by other historical facts/people.
Right now I am studying for Western Civ 1 and I have seen videos on Netflix for : Ancient Greece, History of Britain and Glory of Rome.

[alissaroot]

I agree with liarock, it sounds like you might be more of a visual or audio learner. Me too! I hesitate to recommend it, because if your imagination is filling in the blanks with regards to such things as torture during the French Revolution, then watching a video about it is not going to make it any less disturbing. I felt the same way when I was studying for Civil War and Reconstruction.

Even so, I recommend a Netflix subscription. I always found the History Channel videos helpful. If you prefer to wear out your library card and save money, you will probably find many videos and audio books there. There are many online lectures you may also find helpful. Just do a search on youtube or annenburg media. All these things helped the material stick for me. The good news is, Instantcert is working on adding an audio feature to the flashcards, so in the future this will help those of us who are audio/visual learners.

[thatbrian]

I agree. Videos are great for getting the big picture.

I know what you mean. What helps me most is watching documentaries and videos about history. The story mode and visuals help everything stick more.
Search for specific time periods or characters, these things are buffered by other historical facts/people.
Right now I am studying for Western Civ 1 and I have seen videos on Netflix for : Ancient Greece, History of Britain and Glory of Rome.

[ACoile]

Thanks to everyone for the helpful info. I live in a place where it is impossible to get high speed internet, so I have never been able to watch the online videos, but I had not thought of netflix or the library as having videos. I try to catch what I can on the history channel, but they always seem to focus on a different time period. I ususally learn better by reading the subject, but I think with this subject matter I may do better with audio and films - it sure cannot hurt!

[studyhard]

One trick I've used is to draw outlines, using different colored markers and different shapes.

For instance, I might write down "Rome" and outline the word with a big bright-colored R. Then underneath it I'd write down key facts, maybe in a colorful stairstep pattern or something. I might illustrate some of the facts with any random thing that helps me remember. Trying to remember something about the catacombs? I'd draw a stick-figure cat or something next to the fact. Then when I'm trying to remember what I'm supposed to know, I can picture an actual picture.

Sometimes that's a visual cue to help things stick. When I took the biology CLEP, for instance, I made a flashcard chart of the difference between dicots and monocots and listed all the facts. When a question came up about it, I could picture the flashcard and got the answer right.

[ACoile]

Very ingenious! I like word association and picture association could be a key. I am willing to try anything!