Revision is driving me mad! :-(

I've spent the last few weeks revising when I can and nothing seems to be going in and I'm beginning to panic about whether I will be ready for the exam in January.

It's years since I've revised for an exam and I've tried various strategies to get the information to go in with, as yet, little benefit. I started trying to do plans for past questions but found that (thankfully) I had covered them pretty closely with my notes. I then spent a while writing model answers based on my notes but, again, found that I had probably done as well as I could with the answers to questions that I put on the blog. I've also had occasional goes at reading the course books, but keep giving up, thinking that I need to spend my time more explicitly on the exam.

Every so often I wonder whether I could cancel my exam fee, but I know that the college wouldn't let me and that If i did I would have wasted the money that the course is costing. I also keep thinking 'do I need to do this if I'm doing an MA?' but again think of the money and time that I would have wasted.

I think it comes back to a question that I raised right at the start of the A Level: is it about the journey or the destination? Yes, I'd love a good grade, but ultimately I don't need another A Level and it should be enjoyable. But whenever I think this, I then think the opposite: that if it was all going in, then I would be banging on about the destination as well.

I think I should give it a break for a day and then maybe try doing revision diagrams and listening to the Teaching Company lecture series on Russia that I have.

AS Revision has Begun!

I've started revising for my AS exam in January - trying to fit in as much as possible around the MA and the day job. The last exam I took was in 1995, so I have to throw myself back in at the deep end in terms of revision techniques. Looking back at my notes, they are pretty good and already are focused in terms of the broad topics and themes within each unit. My plan now is to get all the past papers on the units that I'm going to be examined on, try and work out what questions are asked and then work up model responses - just like what I did for my A Levels back in the day. For example, in terms of Russia 1855-1917, the broad questions so far have been:

Questions on the 1855 Reforms and their Success

'Explain' Questions on the Reforms

* Explain why Alexander II emancipated the serfs

* Explain why Alexander II decided on a policy of reform in Russia

* Explain why Russians were dissatisfied with the decree emancipating the serfs in 1861?

Evaluating Questions on the Reforms

How successful were Alexander IIs reforms in modernising Russia before his death in 1881?

Questions on Opposition to Alexander II and Its Success

* How successful was Alexander II in overcoming opposition to his regime (24)

* Explain why liberals were dissatisfied with Tsarist autocracy in 1881?

Questions on the Russian Economy 1881-1914

'Explain' questions on attempts to modernise the economy

* Explain why Russian governments promoted economic development in the years 1881

* How important was the work of Vyshnegradsky and Witte in the development of the Russian economy in the years 1881 to 1904

* Why did Witte promote industrialisation in Russia?

Evaluating questions on attempts to modernise the economy

* How important was the backwardness of agriculture in contributing to weakness in the Russian economy in the years 1881 to 1914

* How far was Russia an industrialised state by 1914?

Questions on 1905 Revolution and 1905-14

'Explain' questions on the revolution and the Tsar’s reaction

* Explain why revolution broke out in Russia in 1905

* Explain why Nicholas IIs regime survived in Russia between October 1905 and the meeting of the First Duma in 1906

* Explain why Nicholas II issued the October Manifesto of 1905

* Why did Tsar Nicholas summon a Duma to meet in 1906?

Evaluating questions on the impact of the 1905/6 reforms

* How important were government concessions in enabling the tsarist regime to survive in the years 1905 and 1914.

* How successful was the tsarist regime in restoring stability to Russia between April/May 1906 and the outbreak of the war in 1914?

* How important were the Dumas in contributing to stable government in Russia in the years 1906 to 1914

Evaluating questions on Stolypin’s reforms

* How successful was Stolypin in strengthening the Tsarist regime?

The Revolutions of 1917

'Explain' questions on the impact of military failure on the Feb/March Revolution

* In what ways was military failure important in the collapse of the tsarist government in February/March 1917

* Explain why Russians were increasingly dissatisfied with Nicholas IIs wartime leadership in the years 1915 to 1917

Evaluating questions on the impact of opposition groups on the Feb/March Revolution

* How important was political opposition to Nicholas II between 1914 and the February/March 1917 Revolution in bringing about the fall of the Tsarist regime?

Evaluating questions on the factors that brought about the October Revolution (Lenin, Provisional Govt, continuing war etc)

* How important was the role of Lenin in bringing about the collapse of the Provisional Government in October/November 1917?

* How far were weaknesses of the Provisional Government responsible for the Revolution of October/November 1917?

Once I've done this, I'll start looking at Britian and Appeasement around December.

Finished Family Fortunes

I've finished the first major activity of my MA: reading Family Fortunes. The book traces the development of an ideology prevalent among the emerging middle classes and influenced by evangelical Christianity that there were two spheres: the domestic sphere inhabited by women and the public world inhabited by men. The authors explore the roots and development of this ideology, how it was manifested and its various contradictions, focusing on the city of Birmingham and villages in Essex and Suffolk .

I read the first 160 pages properly but have to admit that I skimmed the rest. While I respect the amount of work - particularly archival - that the authors put into researching and writing the book, a page-turner it is not. I fell asleep twice reading the first 160 pages. Luckily, from what I can pick up on the course forum, I'm not the only one found it a bit if a turgid read. My fear now is the first TMA is focused on the book; albeit - fortunately - on its reception (and significance) rather than the book itself.

The thing that I found most useful from reading the book was (ignoring the turgid prose) the structure of how they presented their findings, which generally went:

* Make a general claim (referenced through general works);

* Illustrate with statistics or material from reference works, novels, contemporary sources and/or;

* illustrate with own findings.

This was reassuring as it is what I'm used to in the social sciences (claim - evidence/illustrate), although the nature of the evidence is different. The next stage for me, once this dreaded TMA is out of the way, is to look more into gathering and analysing this kind of evidence. Tomorrow I'll start to read the commentaries and plan my essay

I've started the MA

This morning, the portal for my MA came online and I was able to begin studying, although the course itself is not scheduled to begin until October 1. The portal is well set out and provides a study planner that takes me up to December and my first essay, links to resources etc.

The first unit is based around the book Family Fortunes: Men and Women of the English Middle Class 1780-1850 by Davidoff and Hall. I have to read it and three articles reflecting on it and then write 2.5k assessing its most significant contribution to debates in the area. I'm about 70 pages in (out of 450) and am beginning to slowly get my head around it, but I'm guessing that it will make more sense once I've read the commentaries and critiques. I can see myself having to re-read bits of it for the essay.

At the outset I am a tad apprehensive as it is a new challenge and I'm not sure yet what the MA is looking for, the approach required etc. I'm still finding my feet, but this is to be expected at the end of day one! My plan is to try and finish the book itself within a week, then spend the week after reading the commentaries and coming up with an argument for my essay - maybe running my ideas past the tutor, assuming I can and he/she doesn't think that I'm being giddy.

Ironically, I've also just discovered that part of my MA course materials have been written by my A Level tutor for ICS :-)

MA History Materials Have Arrived!!!!

I arrived home from work this evening to find a large package waiting for me containing my course materials for the MA. Inside were two ring binders and all the readings and materials (minus the stuff that is online), all neatly wrapped with a paper seal around each unit.

Receiving the pack added a degree of reality to the MA (a bit like holding a baby). I've been looking forward to doing the MA for seemingly ages now and knew that the pack would be here soon, but seeing it there added a new air of concreteness to it.

As I said, each unit is sealed although I peaked inside a few (while not breaking the seals), while the assessments are online. My plan is to try and get online to the forums etc at least twice a week, more if I can and begin looking through the online materials next week once (hopefully) work has settled down a bit.

Some Good News: ECW Here We Come!!!

My tutor has been back in touch (while on holiday - bless him!) to say that I can do the module on the English Civil War for the A2. I don't need to start worrying about it until February, but it's good to have the approval in place so that I can plan ahead.

Next stop - revision for the AS...

Thinking Ahead

I've spent the last week or so thinking about the next stage of my studies. As it stands, I have between now and May 2012 to finish off the A Level (doing the AS exam in January and the A2 exam in June), and I also start the MA in October. I had a look at the course dates on the OU webpage and I am scheduled to finish the first module in January 2013, start the second year in May 2013 and then finish it the following January. After that, hopefully with work paying for it, I would then love to do a second PhD on something history and crime related (again with the OU).
When I realised how long the MA is going to take, my initial thought was whether I could do it faster (doing the first module between October and January, and the second between May and January 2013). I spoke to the OU and they weren't keen on me doing it like that as they said I would miss out on the whole process of doing the MA and there were also be units that I had to pass before I could progress onto the second year. I was disapointed about this but then quickly realised that the whole reason why I began studying these courses was for the enjoyment and the excitement of discovery: something that a rush to the final qualification would remove. So, now I'm resolved to take things at the pace intended and enjoy the process, having it as my main intellectual focus over the next couple of years.
I've also been thinking about the A2 module. Under the ICS specification, I'm due to study Stability and War: British Monarchy and State, 1714-1770. However, I've recently developed an interest in the English Civil War (prompted largely, I admit, by the lovely ECW miniatures made by Warlord). The AQA have a module on this period (British Monarchy: the Crisis of State, 1642–1689), that I would much prefer to do, not least as there is one of the AQA/Nelson Thornes books covering the topic similar to the one on Russia 1855-1917 that I found so useful. I'm finding that the ICS pack is ok for the topics but very superficial and would prefer to do a module for which there is a decent textbook. I've emailed my tutor to ask, and will await his response.