REVISION ADVICE

If you are not one of those lucky people who have a photographic memory and can remember everything you’ve read, you will need to revise for your exams. Each year you will have ‘revised’ for numerous class tests. Ask yourself, how successful were you? Now multiply that work by 10 or 20 and do it all in a few months. It seems like a huge task.  But you can do a lot to help yourself make it easier....It’s not going to be easy.... Just easier. This information will help you to get organised and stay in control.

Action Plan

Setting up a Revision Timetable

Term time

You will have to fit in your revision with the school work that you are still doing. At this stage smaller amounts of revision are more likely to succeed.

Aim to do 30 minutes revision each on two subjects a night for three out of the five week days. This gives you six slots. You can fill these with different subjects; covering all your subjects. Or, you might prefer to concentrate more on the subjects you know you have more trouble with or in which the exams appear earlier.

At the weekend you should spend 5 mins reviewing what you did in each 30 minute session during the week. All you need to do in the session is check your understanding or memory of what you covered in the previous session; you should not have to relearn it. If you have forgotten it, make a note to go over it again next time you revise that subject.

The review is important because you must embed the information in your brain so that you don’t forget it. It helps to transfer the information from short term memory to long term memory. Without the reviews you will find it harder to remember the information until the exam.

Holidays and Study Leave

Either get a calendar, or make your own, to cover the time period from the start of the Easter holidays to the exams.  Divide each day into half hour sessions, roughly 3 or 4 per night.  There should be a short break between the sessions. It is important not to overstretch yourself and get exhausted. You will not be able to perform at your best if that happens. Therefore, plan your rest days or days when you are unavailable to work e.g. going away, family commitments. Put in an appropriate amount of effort. 

If you put in the minimum amount of effort, you will get the minimum grade out.

Revision Techniques

For example:

To Do -

Chemistry:

Acids and alkalis

Rates of reaction

Bonding

Creative writing

Plan reviewing sessions for the week’s work at some stage, at the end of the week. Ideally, as each week passes, you should review past weeks work. This need only be a quick look - a few minutes worth - at the condensed revision notes you have created in your revision sessions.

When making your plan for a week, set realistic targets for yourself. However, once you have done the week’s plan, don’t think that it has to be followed to the letter. Allow a certain amount of flexibility, particularly at the start as you get used to how it works and how much you can get done in a session. If you don’t complete a day as planned, don’t abandon the timetable and think that it’s not going to work. Get back to it the next day. Or change it if necessary. Once you get it working, try to stick to it.

Check your notes are complete. If they are not, you have several sources from which to find out the missing information; text books, teachers, other pupils, revision sites on the internet. Check your understanding by discussing work with friends or teachers.

• Index/flash cards
• Bullet pointed concise lists (you could do this as a PowerPoint if you like using the computer. Then simply run through your presentation. Give it to anyone who will listen, Mum, Gran, your little brother, the dog, your hamster. Explaining it out loud is important.
• Mind maps
• Recording the essential information onto tape/computer
• Post it notes of key concepts, then stick them everywhere from your fridge to your wardrobe door!
• Acronyms
• Study groups with other people, but don’t get distracted!

You may have to try out various formats to find one that suits you personally. If you like colours and diagrams more that words, try a mindmap or colourful flash cards. If you like lists of words, try reducing your notes to the bare essential words in bullet points. If you have a strong auditory preference, try recording the main points using your computer for play back.

Exam Technique

When you are sitting your exams you are going to feel nervous  (to a greater or lesser degree).

1.  Read the instructions and descriptions at the front of the exam. Make sure you know which sections to read and which questions to answer. It will tell you how long you have and how many marks there are for that paper. Follow the instructions carefully.

2. The examiners are on your side. They are trying to find ways to give you the marks. They are not trying to take away marks from you. But if you make it like hunting for a needle in a haystack, it is very difficult for the examiners to find anything worth giving a mark to.

3. One of the most common mistakes is that people don’t read the question properly and answer the question they think they read, or wanted to read, not the actual question. As good as the answer may be, if it’s not the one to the question, it won’t get any marks.

4. Address the question showing understanding and detailed explanation. You must demonstrate clear thinking and understanding of the topic. A muddled answer is hard to award marks to. Plan your answer. Even if it is jotting down all the key words that you associate with that question, numbering them, and then using them to construct a full explanation. It may help to underline or circle the questioning word (how, why, what, explain, compare, contrast, describe, outline etc). Also highlight the key words or concepts mentioned in the question. Doing this gives you a breathing space if you need it, and helps to clarify your thoughts and ideas, so that you can communicate them clearly.

5.  Use the space given.  The exam setters have worked out how much space a well laid out answer will take and have put that in the paper. For numerical questions show all your working. Credit will be given for the method even if you don’t get the correct answer.

6.  Don’t spend too long on any one question at the expense of others. As a rough guide, you should aim to spend as many minutes on a question as there are marks for it. Think, ‘a mark, a minute’. This means that you should be working for most of the time that the exam is going on, with a short time at the end for checking your work. If you get really stuck on a question write down all the keywords you associate with that topic. Leave it. Move on to the next question. When you have finished, go back to the question that you had trouble with. Look at the words you have written down. See if they help you find the correct answer now.

Finally and most importantly......... Good Luck!