1. Coursework Skills
A summer of reading

2. This an independent research task

3. Feeding information: Books
Types of books
Things to do
Textbooks
Basic introductions
Popular history
Academic History
Use contents and index pages
Read the book’s conclusion and chapter conclusions first (you are looking for arguments)
Find out a bit about who the author is (are they an expert/ historian)

4. Task For each book identify what type of book it is
Identify a view point/ argument
Use the index to look something up and discover a piece of factual information
What can you learn from the book’s ‘blurb’ about the author/ authors

5. Internet resources:
Choose one of the possible coursework topics and try searching for materials on the broad topic:
Using normal Google
Now try
Now try
What differences do you find?
Try narrowing your search to something specific: an event, theme, development, or person. Again use all three search types.
Narrow your search further e.g. King’s role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Try searching for material on:
The American Civil War (battles, why the Union won, key turning points, ending of slavery, importance of Lincoln)
The Tudors (Edward, Mary, Elizabeth, The Mid-Tudor Crisis)