CISCE ICSE History and Civics Preparation Tips

What is History?

History is the study of the human past. It is a field of research which uses a narrative  to examine and analyse the sequence of events, and it sometimes attempts to investigate objectively  the patterns of cause and effect that determine events

What is Civics?

The one line definition of Civics would be: Civics is the study of rights and duties of citizenship, that is, it is the study of government with attention to the role of citizens

Important Topics:

• The Legislature
• The Executive
• The Judiciary
• The Indian National Movement
• The Contemporary World

Preparation Tips:

• Try to know why an event is important, its implications on the society and the future. You are usually expected to know why an event is important. This is why history tests contain so many essay or long-answer questions.
• History text books are heavy, both, length wise and coverage wise. Follow books that make an attempt to balance length with coverage
• When you read through your books or your notes, not down the names, places and dates, and keep a chart or an outline that will put them in an order that makes sense to you
• To know Civics, read newspapers, surf the internet and know the components of our judicial and legislative systems. If possible, visit a local court or ask your school authorities to arrange for a session in the legislative assembly to see work in progress.
• Try to write the definitions in your own language without altering the meaning

How to Score Well:

• During the exam, try to write your descriptive answers in points and give pictorial or graphical illustrations wherever possible.  It enhances visibility
• Scan the paper before answering
• For long answer type questions, before starting, frame a skeleton of the answer in the margin.
• Be crisp and to the point in very short questions.

Recommended Books:

To know which books to follow, click here