A level exam resits HELP!!!

I entirely understand how you feel! Working your ass off revising and not achieving the grade you feel correlate to the amount of revision you did. This is what happened to me last year at AS and the way I went about fixing it was to change my revision technique. I'm currently doing 5 exams in jan (3 re-sits) and feel far more prepared for them because of it. How do you revise?
With regards to the amount of hours you put in per day I would probably do about 4 hrs (only if you feel you're able to concentrate that long and be productive - if not then its better to do 3hrs of quality revision opposed to 4hrs of distracted revision!) On the weekends I'd go for 6hrs in order to get the c's to a's and the fact you've got so many exams. Hope this helped! PM me if you need any more advice :smile:

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Reply 3

OP

Original post by kalika_amz

for you to be able to get as from b and c, you need to be able to know WHY you didn't get as at AS. was it lack of revision/preparation, poor exam technique?
from a b to an a can be done with the right revision and c possibly but needs A LOT of work. how are you doing at econ? why didnt you jan exams go well? what do u have tomorow ?

For bio i was revising from the CGP book and then attempted past papers.
I am doing well at economics both my exams are in june. (no jan exams).
TBH when im sitting an exam i get extremely nervous and start to forget everything I have learnt.

For maths it was a lack of preparation but for bio i work relatively hard. Do you have any tips on how to improve my exam technique and revise productively. I have s1 today in the afternoon.

Thank you

Reply 4

OP

Original post by Faaria123

I entirely understand how you feel! Working your ass off revising and not achieving the grade you feel correlate to the amount of revision you did. This is what happened to me last year at AS and the way I went about fixing it was to change my revision technique. I'm currently doing 5 exams in jan (3 re-sits) and feel far more prepared for them because of it. How do you revise?
With regards to the amount of hours you put in per day I would probably do about 4 hrs (only if you feel you're able to concentrate that long and be productive - if not then its better to do 3hrs of quality revision opposed to 4hrs of distracted revision!) On the weekends I'd go for 6hrs in order to get the c's to a's and the fact you've got so many exams. Hope this helped! PM me if you need any more advice :smile:

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Thank you for your reply. My revision is just reading a book and making notes. what did you do different to improve your revision technique.

Reply 5

Timikji

Original post by mhassan

For bio i was revising from the CGP book and then attempted past papers.
I am doing well at economics both my exams are in june. (no jan exams).
TBH when im sitting an exam i get extremely nervous and start to forget everything I have learnt.

For maths it was a lack of preparation but for bio i work relatively hard. Do you have any tips on how to improve my exam technique and revise productively. I have s1 today in the afternoon.

Thank you

The CGP book alone is not enough to learn biology I found to get the high grades. You'd be better off using the textbook and making notes from that. That's coming from experience of using just the CGP on it's own, screwing up and then using the textbook instead and getting an A. The revision guides are good for keeping it fresh but no substitute for learning what's in the textbook I found.

For economics these books for your specific exam board would be really helpful I think. I got nearly full UMS from using these and practising exam technique http://www.amazon.co.uk/Edexcel-Economics-Student-Unit-Guide/dp/144414782X/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1358505885&sr=8-4#

For Maths going through maths past papers and using examsolutions website to watch videos of the questions that you don't understand is really useful I found.

The recurrant theme is doing past paper questions because if you haven't done enough then your exam technique won't allow you to pick up the marks for things that you know.

Reply 6

username1024541

10

Original post by mhassan

Thank you for your reply. My revision is just reading a book and making notes. what did you do different to improve your revision technique.

I find discussion helps in revision. Try to add a little variety - I personally make posters, plan essays in detail (instead of writing them out), do revision cards, read the textbooks/through my notes, read aloud (although your throat will probably be horribly sore!) and I like to get my mum to ask me questions (using the revision cards etc I've made) and if I don't remember something, she reads it out to me and I tend to remember it better. This time I tried something new - got a sheet of paper, wrote down all I could remember on a topic, and in a different colour pen added on all I'd missed out. Do past papers (I don't, because my subjects tend to be essay subjects, but for you past papers would be highly appropriate and productive!)

Sometimes I do revision cards where I put a question on one side and the answer on the other instead of my mum asking me questions, but I find talking better.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 7

OP

Original post by Timikji

The CGP book alone is not enough to learn biology I found to get the high grades. You'd be better off using the textbook and making notes from that. That's coming from experience of using just the CGP on it's own, screwing up and then using the textbook instead and getting an A. The revision guides are good for keeping it fresh but no substitute for learning what's in the textbook I found.

For economics these books for your specific exam board would be really helpful I think. I got nearly full UMS from using these and practising exam technique http://www.amazon.co.uk/Edexcel-Economics-Student-Unit-Guide/dp/144414782X/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1358505885&sr=8-4#

For Maths going through maths past papers and using examsolutions website to watch videos of the questions that you don't understand is really useful I found.

The recurrant theme is doing past paper questions because if you haven't done enough then your exam technique won't allow you to pick up the marks for things that you know.

Yh i have both those economics revision books for unit 1 and unit 2. Did you revise from only those books. They are very thin compared to the big textbooks.
what is your revision technique for economics.
Thank you.

Reply 8

OP

Original post by Timikji

The CGP book alone is not enough to learn biology I found to get the high grades. You'd be better off using the textbook and making notes from that. That's coming from experience of using just the CGP on it's own, screwing up and then using the textbook instead and getting an A. The revision guides are good for keeping it fresh but no substitute for learning what's in the textbook I found.

For economics these books for your specific exam board would be really helpful I think. I got nearly full UMS from using these and practising exam technique http://www.amazon.co.uk/Edexcel-Economics-Student-Unit-Guide/dp/144414782X/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1358505885&sr=8-4#

For Maths going through maths past papers and using examsolutions website to watch videos of the questions that you don't understand is really useful I found.

Do you think its better to do all the questions in the textbook before attempting past papers in maths.

Reply 9

Timikji

Original post by mhassan

Yh i have both those economics revision books for unit 1 and unit 2. Did you revise from only those books. They are very thin compared to the big textbooks.
what is your revision technique for economics.
Thank you.

I revised using those books and reading what I didn't fully understand in the textbook. My technique was to summarise the key topics into notes and then do multiple choice papers and essays.

For maths I'd say do some of the textbook questions for a topic then try some exam questions. It's better to spread doing the questions out over a month rather than doing them all in one night.

Reply 10

Original post by Faaria123

I entirely understand how you feel! Working your ass off revising and not achieving the grade you feel correlate to the amount of revision you did. This is what happened to me last year at AS and the way I went about fixing it was to change my revision technique. I'm currently doing 5 exams in jan (3 re-sits) and feel far more prepared for them because of it. How do you revise?
With regards to the amount of hours you put in per day I would probably do about 4 hrs (only if you feel you're able to concentrate that long and be productive - if not then its better to do 3hrs of quality revision opposed to 4hrs of distracted revision!) On the weekends I'd go for 6hrs in order to get the c's to a's and the fact you've got so many exams. Hope this helped! PM me if you need any more advice :smile:

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I'm the exact same, had 3 resits and 2 A2s this year. I literally went through the specification for each subject and ensured I knew every detail I could. I made a timetable which consisted of 3 3 hour blocks on weekends (so 9 hours) and 4 hours on a school night. I think it's really helped tbh as I feel much more confident about the exams I just sat as opposed to the ones I did in june. I also got a B in one of the exams I am resitting for and a C in the other. PM me if you want any help with anything :smile:

and good luck

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(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 11

CuriousQuestioner

Past-papers. mark-schemes. Online tests. Flash cards. Believe in yourself. Yes. :cool:

Reply 12

Faaria123

Initially all my revision consisted of was reading through the text book/ class notes and just trying to copy them out from memory. This was pretty boring and I now realise its probably the least efficient way to revise because its too much information and you're not engaging with it.
So this time round I made flash cards. Colour coordinated the notes I wrote (which were my own and not just copied from the text book). I drew pictures (like a storyboard to remind myself of long sequences of info). I made up rhymes.Recorded myself reading my notes and while I'd walk the dog I'd listen to it.
There's so many different and far more interesting ways to revise than just reading the book and making black and white notes - you just need to be pro active about it!

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Reply 13

OP

Original post by Sherlockedd

I'm the exact same, had 3 resits and 2 A2s this year. I literally went through the specification for each subject and ensured I knew every detail I could. I made a timetable which consisted of 3 3 hour blocks on weekends (so 9 hours) and 4 hours on a school night. I think it's really helped tbh as I feel much more confident about the exams I just sat as opposed to the ones I did in june. I also got a B in one of the exams I am resitting for and a C in the other. PM me if you want any help with anything :smile:

and good luck

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when did you start revising with that time table. Do you think that can work with 10 exams. I have 3 in one day as well.

Reply 14

username1024541

10

Original post by Sherlockedd

I'm the exact same, had 3 resits and 2 A2s this year. I literally went through the specification for each subject and ensured I knew every detail I could. I made a timetable which consisted of 3 3 hour blocks on weekends (so 9 hours) and 4 hours on a school night. I think it's really helped tbh as I feel much more confident about the exams I just sat as opposed to the ones I did in june. I also got a B in one of the exams I am resitting for and a C in the other. PM me if you want any help with anything :smile:

and good luck

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That's so much wow! How long before the exams did you start revising?

Reply 15

Original post by mhassan

when did you start revising with that time table. Do you think that can work with 10 exams. I have 3 in one day as well.

I've been revising since october (without a timetable) to december just going over certain parts I struggled with/homeworks I was getting. Then I made a timetable for december hols right up till my exams, so everyday was 3 3hr blocks, apart from occassional days e.g. I always go for walks on sundays so I included that in my timetable. Just be sure to make it realistic, mine started at 10 bc I know I dont wake up at 6 every morning so it would be stupid of me to start a timetable at 7. And if you plan it carefully I don't see why it cant work for 10 exams. I made my timetable in 2 frees at school, with the specs out in front of me in order to make sure I covered everything and that it wasnt too vague as in the past I used to make vague timetables which started at 7 in the morning and I never stuck to them. So yeah, just make it realistic and make yourself stick to it.

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Reply 16

Original post by vaguity

That's so much wow! How long before the exams did you start revising?

It sounds like a lot but it's not so bad when you come to doing it. I just hope it pays off :L

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Reply 17

OP

Original post by Faaria123

Initially all my revision consisted of was reading through the text book/ class notes and just trying to copy them out from memory. This was pretty boring and I now realise its probably the least efficient way to revise because its too much information and you're not engaging with it.
So this time round I made flash cards. Colour coordinated the notes I wrote (which were my own and not just copied from the text book). I drew pictures (like a storyboard to remind myself of long sequences of info). I made up rhymes.Recorded myself reading my notes and while I'd walk the dog I'd listen to it.
There's so many different and far more interesting ways to revise than just reading the book and making black and white notes - you just need to be pro active about it!

Posted from TSR Mobile

Is this a good way of revising. Having the specification and the textbook in front of you, highlighting all the important information in the book. After writing all the highlighted info from the book into a sheet of paper, making sure its color coordinated (i think i am a visual learner but not entirely sure).

How do i use colors effectively to revise? and how do i add flash cards into my revision to test my knowledge. Thank you

Reply 18

Original post by mhassan

Is this a good way of revising. Having the specification and the textbook in front of you, highlighting all the important information in the book. After writing all the highlighted info from the book into a sheet of paper, making sure its color coordinated (i think i am a visual learner but not entirely sure).

How do i use colors effectively to revise? and how do i add flash cards into my revision to test my knowledge. Thank you

I personally have a massive whiteboard with 6 different coloured pens and I use these to make notes and then take pics on my phone so I can look at them when i'm out and about...bit geeky I know :colondollar:

. If you wanted to incorporate flash cards then you could make quick summaries for parts of your syallabus on them and then cover them up/write it out from memory/check your answers. I do this. Also you could record yourself and play that back when you're in the car/bus etc.

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Reply 19

Faaria123