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Revision tips

Hi everyone, so I'm completely stressing out with my GCSE's.

Does anyone know of effective revision strategies?

Please help me :smile:

Thanks!

Reply 1

amber109

A past paper a day, keeps the resits away!

Reply 2

NR09

I've had exams every year in school for the past three ears and I still don't know how to study effectively. So you're not alone in being clueless towards study technique :biggrin:

Reply 3

coolcric321

I've found that making notes on the stuff you find difficult helps, because you're more likely to take something in if you have to work to write it down instead of just passively staring at it.

Also, as has already been mentioned, do past papers and look at mark schemes which tell you exactly what the examiners are looking for.

If you have done this, you will be absolutely fine. Good Luck :smile:

Original post by TopStudent7

Hi everyone, so I'm completely stressing out with my GCSE's.

Does anyone know of effective revision strategies?

Please help me :smile:

Thanks!

Reply 4

Ra Ra Ra

I take notes. Then, I do as many past papers as I can get my hands on. Then, in the few days before the exam, I take notes again just so I don't forget (otherwise I tend to forget).

But really, past papers are a godsend. The only reason I like the AQA exam board is because of the number of past papers online. If they didn't put them up, I'd be well and truly screwed.

Reply 5

StartSomething

Original post by amber109

A past paper a day, keeps the resits away!

This! This! This! This!

I find that doing as many past papers as I can is far more effective than making endless pages of notes.

Also repetition. When I make notes I write them down two or three times, and draw diagrams which helps a lot.

I find talking about it helps as well. I give someone my notes, get them to ask me questions and if I don't know the answer I get them to tell me. Then they ask the question again until I get it right.

Reply 6

amber109

Yeah i agree with you deffo, its all about practice and some more practice, knowledge comes automatically!

Reply 7

Watch Key Phone

Try explaining a topic to your parents or someone else who doesn't know anything about it - teaching it to others is a good way to make sure you understand it. I second (third? tenth?) the past papers thing too.

Reply 8

Raj K

Original post by NR09

I've had exams every year in school for the past three ears and I still don't know how to study effectively. So you're not alone in being clueless towards study technique :biggrin:

past three ears? :tongue:

Reply 9

member592149

Know what you have to do. If you are just doing random bits of revision then it won't work. Tell yourself or write down everything you want to have done by the day of the exam.

Reply 10

NR09

Original post by Raj K

past three ears? :tongue:

I was particularly stressed out last ear :cool:

Reply 11

Raj K

Original post by NR09

I was particularly stressed out last ear :cool:

lol im particularly stressed out THIS ear.

Reply 12

aimzox

I tend to look and write out class note, then I summarize them into the important point with our outcomes. (most important things in the topic) then I tend to make a summary mindmap, and past papers are like my savior. haha :smile:

Original post by TopStudent7

Hi everyone, so I'm completely stressing out with my GCSE's.

Does anyone know of effective revision strategies?

Please help me :smile:

Thanks!

Reply 13

Frey

My fail safe revision guide (mind you it's only fail safe if you follow it 100% :P)

start revising one month beforehand (or no less than 3 weeks). This gives you more than enough time to go over everything at least once and pick up on any weak areas.

make a list of all the different topic areas, ticking them off as you go. (Try give yourself a free week before the exam, JUST for revising, not learning anything last minute!)

Go over everything. Don't gloss anything you're bored with or you don't fully understand. After every section do some practice questions to consolidate what you've revised.

Try revising in the morning (between 9 and 12), this is when your brain works best.

Once you've revised everything and done EVERYTHING on the revision plan, start doing past exam papers. You don't necessarily need to write them out in full (esp. if its an arts subject), just bullet point how you would answer the questions and see what kind of questions tend to pop up.

You will know when you've done enough. Don't get too nervous either and make sure you give yourself time to relax; I always watch a film the night before my exam (by then it's too late to be learning stuff, you should know it all by then)

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 14

minthumbugs

You should have your notes by now so I liked to look at them, cover up and scribble down as much as I could remember. Or make little flash cards with condensed info. Basically keep reading notes over and over. Once you're happy with that, hit the past papers. At GCSE you'll be surprised at how often the same question keeps coming up. And read mark schemes so you get used to the wording. Instead of rambling on in the global warming etc questions in sciences and not hitting any of the marks, looking at the mark scheme shows you how to answer it in a sentence or two, they really only look for a few key words. This year I've realised what works for me is taking the spec and making notes from them, but I've probably started a bit too late..Oh and taking huge A2 sheets of paper and just cramming things onto there mind map style or otherwise. My bedroom walls are covered in these and chemistry definitions and mechanisms atm.

change up your subjects when you're revising, the thing with GCSE is you have a lot of subjects and it can be hard to revise for them all. I spent half an hour on each so I felt like I worked harder instead of thinking 'I have 4 hours to do this..' and it stopped me getting bored.

Don't stress, I'm sure you know much more than you think you do. Also look at youtube videos like http://www.youtube.com/user/helpmemrdavies this guy got me an A* in english lit when all of my coursework was B/C. Good luck OP and everyone else :smile: