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Is it too late to start revising now?

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Original post by Anmol_.
That's great if it worked on you but I personally don't think it's a wise decision to 'mentally collapse' yourself everyday until the exam in order to achieve 10A*s. Well done to you for gaining them but they are definitely achievable without having to erase all type of social life from your daily routine.


to be fair though, it pretty much guarantees it by giving yourself so much time, if you sacrifice what you are for the future(lol that sounds deep even though im not trying to be)
Original post by Anmol_.
That's great if it worked on you but I personally don't think it's a wise decision to 'mentally collapse' yourself everyday until the exam in order to achieve 10A*s. Well done to you for gaining them but they are definitely achievable without having to erase all type of social life from your daily routine.


I'd agree now tbh. Hence why I haven't done that again. It definitely wasn't healthy
"is it too late" lmao what the hell the alternative to starting now is starting later/not starting at all and royally ****ing yourself.
Original post by Retired_Messiah
"is it too late" lmao what the hell the alternative to starting now is starting later/not starting at all and royally ****ing yourself.


Lol if i got a pound for every thread with this title
It is better to start now rather than putting it off till tomorrow - one day of revision is better than no days of revision.

As for techniques
1) I would focus on papers for Maths and Science especially
a) Do the paper timed
b) Get someone to mark the paper (parent/friend/sibling)
c) Note the subjects that you don't know
d) Revise these subjects
e) Retry the questions (Note the importance of key words for science)
f) Mark yourself
g) If you still get it wrong try and use the mark scheme to work it out/ or use it to write a model answer
h) Rinse and repeat process

2) English - I would spend time reading summaries and analysis of the given text - Then go through papers

3) Other subjects - I would have a skim revision of the content (the syllabus is a good place to make such you cover everything) - Then go through papers.

4) General techniques - There are many - videos/podcasts/flashcards/reading out loud/teaching someone else/note taking/mind maps - just to name a few - but different things will work for different people. You don't really have the time to experiment so think about what you have done in the past for tests - what worked for you? In terms of life style - eat well, drink lots of water and get plenty of sleep.

Hope this helps - Good luck
Tomorrow, I am going to try and do 9 a day hours until the end of easter...

In terms of subject revision here's what I am doing and how I feel about the subject

Maths - past papers - very confident
Biology - A4 mind map with lots of pictures and words - confident
Chemistry - A4 mind map with lots of pictures and words - confident
Physics - A4 mind map with lots of pictures and words - confident
English literature - ... - I'm ****ed (going to try and revise themes, context, characters then practice essay style questions)
English language - ... - I'm ****ed even more (practice exam technique)
Geography - A4 mind map with lots of pictures and words - confident
ICT - past papers and text book
Computing - ... - I'm so ****ed (if I get an A in one of my coursework pieces then I'm not as ****ed. There isn't much to revise for computing so it's just textbook work and past papers)
Resistant materials - past papers, text book and coming up with designs appropriate to the context given by the exam board.
Original post by BTAnonymous
Tomorrow, I am going to try and do 9 a day hours until the end of easter...

In terms of subject revision here's what I am doing and how I feel about the subject

Maths - past papers - very confident
Biology - A4 mind map with lots of pictures and words - confident
Chemistry - A4 mind map with lots of pictures and words - confident
Physics - A4 mind map with lots of pictures and words - confident
English literature - ... - I'm ****ed (going to try and revise themes, context, characters then practice essay style questions)
English language - ... - I'm ****ed even more (practice exam technique)
Geography - A4 mind map with lots of pictures and words - confident
ICT - past papers and text book
Computing - ... - I'm so ****ed (if I get an A in one of my coursework pieces then I'm not as ****ed. There isn't much to revise for computing so it's just textbook work and past papers)
Resistant materials - past papers, text book and coming up with designs appropriate to the context given by the exam board.


This sounds like a plan - if you are really struggling with English there are two good resources that I use

1) Mr Bruff Videos on You Tube - they aren't too long and especially for the language paper he goes through each question with good examples.

2) Examiners notes - you will find this where the past papers are - this is where the examiner tell you how well students answered the questions and what was commonly missed. This can really help take your answer to the next level.

Good Luck
Original post by Roxeber
but u see the thing is with me, it does not go into my head, subjects like re and geography are just... ugh


Yeah I can sympathise - it was like that for me with maths and science - try to find alternative ways of revising for the more difficult ones that work better for you!

So, for maths and science I did past papers, and instead of normal notes I made posters, cause it just seemed to work better for me - I also spent much more time on those subjects, just because I had more difficulty remembering them.

There'll always be those subjects that give you a mental block, but hey, thats what's great about A levels - you get to ditch them!
Original post by g3ob
I was supposed to start in February but I keep procrastinating and can only manage about an hour of work a day. How do you revise without procrastinating and how many hours a day is enough for A*s and A grades?
If I start revising tomorrow morning is that too late to achieve my targets? (My first exam is the 16th of May)


I'm at university, my exams start on 4th May, and I've only just started my revision. No matter how much time you have left, it's never too late to start revision because you will gain marks in an exam for every 5 minutes you study. It's just that the longer you study for, the more of those marks you gain. So an hour the night before an exam might gain you one more mark into the next grade boundary, but working months ahead might gain you 3 or 4 grades difference!

It really depends on how well motivated you are, which depends on how important the exams are to you, and also how relaxed or nervous you get about exams.
Reply 29
Original post by Gym&Tonic
Yeah I can sympathise - it was like that for me with maths and science - try to find alternative ways of revising for the more difficult ones that work better for you!

So, for maths and science I did past papers, and instead of normal notes I made posters, cause it just seemed to work better for me - I also spent much more time on those subjects, just because I had more difficulty remembering them.

There'll always be those subjects that give you a mental block, but hey, thats what's great about A levels - you get to ditch them!


YES, exactly that's why im looking forward to next year because these subjects will be looong gone haha
Original post by Roxeber
YES, exactly that's why im looking forward to next year because these subjects will be looong gone haha


It's always easier doing subjects you actually enjoy! :biggrin:

[video="youtube;JitOUDxGVig"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JitOUDxGVig[/video]
Original post by Jade CMinds
This sounds like a plan - if you are really struggling with English there are two good resources that I use

1) Mr Bruff Videos on You Tube - they aren't too long and especially for the language paper he goes through each question with good examples.

2) Examiners notes - you will find this where the past papers are - this is where the examiner tell you how well students answered the questions and what was commonly missed. This can really help take your answer to the next level.

Good Luck


Tank you very much! I watched some of his videos and they have taught me more in 15 minutes than what my English teacher has taught me in 4 years!
Original post by g3ob
I was supposed to start in February but I keep procrastinating and can only manage about an hour of work a day. How do you revise without procrastinating and how many hours a day is enough for A*s and A grades?
If I start revising tomorrow morning is that too late to achieve my targets? (My first exam is the 16th of May)


Yes, my first is on the 17th May just do past papers dont even bother making notes it's a waste of time. For the sciences watch revision videos plus past papers and flick through cgp day before exam. For english look at the examiner's report. It helped me get an a star in january and btw it was closed book and I only re read Of mice and men plus A View From The Bridge on the weekend as well as key quotes. For other subjects like geography do mind maps and focus on case studies. Btw I got a conditional offer for woodhouse and besides don't stress too much over Gcses. Focus on subjects you wish to take at a level, english, maths and science.
Original post by Kpa Ninja
Yes, my first is on the 17th May just do past papers dont even bother making notes it's a waste of time. For the sciences watch revision videos plus past papers and flick through cgp day before exam. For english look at the examiner's report. It helped me get an a star in january and btw it was closed book and I only re read Of mice and men plus A View From The Bridge on the weekend as well as key quotes. For other subjects like geography do mind maps and focus on case studies. Btw I got a conditional offer for woodhouse and besides don't stress too much over Gcses. Focus on subjects you wish to take at a level, english, maths and science.


What I mean by yes is it's too late to revise slowly and calmly you have to go hardcore now to smash it which will be good because you have energy now and motivation.

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