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How to keep a positive mindset during revision?

When I'm revising I keep having negative/discouraging thoughts.. There's a lot of pressure for me to do well in my GCSEs and I feel as if I won't do as well as I hope :frown: any tips for keeping a positive/motivating mindset? please
Reply 1
Original post by Whitney997
When I'm revising I keep having negative/discouraging thoughts.. There's a lot of pressure for me to do well in my GCSEs and I feel as if I won't do as well as I hope :frown: any tips for keeping a positive/motivating mindset? please


I'm in the same stance as you as a have a whole load of pressure on me to perform extremely well. Just envision what sort of grades you'd like to achieve as well as whatever long term goals you have (university/career etc). Any time your mind wonders into a realm of negative thoughts, block everything out (listen to music etc) and take a break from revising. Reward yourself once a day by doing something you thoroughly enjoy - work towards getting that reward everyday.

Good Luck, you'll be okay no need to fret! :smile:
Reply 2
Awww thanks :biggrin: and I'll definitely take those tips on board!
What subjects are you finding most difficult to revise?


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Reply 3
Original post by Whitney997
Awww thanks :biggrin: and I'll definitely take those tips on board!
What subjects are you finding most difficult to revise?


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No problem, glad I could help. :smile:

I've actually finished studying for all my subjects today (haven't started past paper practice though) except for french. I'd say french but it's not difficult per say, it's just that there really isn't any content to study so i'm really confused as to what i'm supposed to do. I've decided on just memorising vocab and practicing my essay writing. Hope that will suffice as i really want to get an A* in it. Do you have any revision tips for languages?

How about you, what do you find the most difficult to study?
Original post by pbunny
No problem, glad I could help. :smile:

I've actually finished studying for all my subjects today (haven't started past paper practice though) except for french. I'd say french but it's not difficult per say, it's just that there really isn't any content to study so i'm really confused as to what i'm supposed to do. I've decided on just memorising vocab and practicing my essay writing. Hope that will suffice as i really want to get an A* in it. Do you have any revision tips for languages?

How about you, what do you find the most difficult to study?


For French simply learn vocab published by the exam board everyday until the exam, and also try to listen to at least 5 minutes of French radio a day. It doesn't matter if you don't understand what's being said, they speak 10x faster than they do in the speaking exam. If you get used to that speed and lknow your vocab the listening exam will be a breeeeeze :smile: download an app called Radio France and you can do it with ease! Good luck with your exam, I have mine in three weeks tomorrow but luckily French is my best subject (purely as I immerse myself in it daily because I love languages and want to be fluent) so its a good one to start with, unfortunately I'm not looking forward to the other ones as much :biggrin:
Reply 5
Original post by easyaspirsquared
For French simply learn vocab published by the exam board everyday until the exam, and also try to listen to at least 5 minutes of French radio a day. It doesn't matter if you don't understand what's being said, they speak 10x faster than they do in the speaking exam. If you get used to that speed and lknow your vocab the listening exam will be a breeeeeze :smile: download an app called Radio France and you can do it with ease! Good luck with your exam, I have mine in three weeks tomorrow but luckily French is my best subject (purely as I immerse myself in it daily because I love languages and want to be fluent) so its a good one to start with, unfortunately I'm not looking forward to the other ones as much :biggrin:


Thanks for the tips! I'll definitely download the app and i'll start listening to it tomorrow. Unfortunately, my exam board doesn't release vocabulary lists but i've found an AQA one which i'll use. I love languages too but i've neglected french for the past 2 years by making it the lowest of my priorities - which I now obviously regret. Hahah i'm the total opposite, i'm looking forward more to my other subject exams as they are more predictable.

Good luck to you too! :smile:
Reply 6
Original post by pbunny
No problem, glad I could help. :smile:

I've actually finished studying for all my subjects today (haven't started past paper practice though) except for french. I'd say french but it's not difficult per say, it's just that there really isn't any content to study so i'm really confused as to what i'm supposed to do. I've decided on just memorising vocab and practicing my essay writing. Hope that will suffice as i really want to get an A* in it. Do you have any revision tips for languages?

How about you, what do you find the most difficult to study?



I did french last year! I got a B only because I didn't revise/didnt know how to revise for it in year 10.
Right now, I'm finding Additional Science and Geography most difficult..I've learnt everything but right now I'm just reading over my notes especially case studies over and over again :/ I'm hoping to do Biology, Chemistry, Maths and Economics at college so doing exceptionally well at Science is crucial :/ I always find it impossible to get an A* in any GCSE :frown:
Original post by easyaspirsquared
For French simply learn vocab published by the exam board everyday until the exam, and also try to listen to at least 5 minutes of French radio a day. It doesn't matter if you don't understand what's being said, they speak 10x faster than they do in the speaking exam. If you get used to that speed and lknow your vocab the listening exam will be a breeeeeze :smile: download an app called Radio France and you can do it with ease! Good luck with your exam, I have mine in three weeks tomorrow but luckily French is my best subject (purely as I immerse myself in it daily because I love languages and want to be fluent) so its a good one to start with, unfortunately I'm not looking forward to the other ones as much :biggrin:


Did you learn all the vocab provided by aqa? If so, what grade did you achieve? Or what grade do you usually achieve in past papers? I really struggle with the reading and listening, I just can't understand anything!! And I don't want it to bring me down because I think I got A*s in my writing and speaking


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Original post by violetvictorious
Did you learn all the vocab provided by aqa? If so, what grade did you achieve? Or what grade do you usually achieve in past papers? I really struggle with the reading and listening, I just can't understand anything!! And I don't want it to bring me down because I think I got A*s in my writing and speaking


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I'm in year 11 as well but am working at an A* on reading and listening :smile: I'm on edexcel but have learned a lot of the vocab (you by no means need to learn all of it). Make sure you know your synonyms as although I haven't seen an aqa paper, on edexcel the last question is all in French. This means one way of saying something will be in the passage, and the question (also in French ) will have another way of saying that phrase/ word. For example, it could have a question on a teenagers life and say something like:

'Mes amis détestent les courses, mais moi, j'adore faire du shopping!'

And then the question could say something like (tick the right answer):

1)Il/ Elle n'ai jamais aimé faire les magasins quand elle était petite.
2)Il/ Elle aime les courses, cependant, ses amis détestent ça.

Basically, this sort of question shows why its crucial to know your negatives, as well as synonyms. The question translates to ' my friends hate shopping, but it love to go shopping'. Right there we can see two different ways of saying 'shopping'. Furthermore, answer number one translates to 'she never liked shopping when she was young' and this is just like the question they could try and trick you on. A lower grade student would see the ne jamais (negative) and assume that this answer may be correct because they didn't know les amis means friends, perhaps they only know the French word 'copain' for friend? The exam could try to trick you like this, so make sure you learn more than one way of saying various words and learn all your negatives! Also, make sure you pay attention to who is the speaker of the text. For example, if it says something like 'quand j'étais petit(e), je croyais qu'il était gentil, mais il m'enerve!' Make sure you understand here that the speaker believed that 'he' was kind when they were young, but now they get on the speakers nerve. Pay careful attention to who is speaking and who the negative is used for. Apart from negatives and synonyms, theres little else you will ever be tricked on (apart from false cognates- words that look like the English but don't mean the same- but that would be too harsh for a GCSE exam in my opinion). Negatives come very fast on the listening so listen out! I hope this helped and good luck! If yours assessments are A* ypou should do great!:biggrin:
(edited 9 years ago)
Anything that motivates/inspires you?

You could think about family (or other loved ones) and do it for them
Imagine getting the grades you want, how happy and proud you'll be of yourself
Getting into your desired college/uni with the grades you need
Original post by easyaspirsquared
I'm in year 11 as well but am working at an A* on reading and listening :smile: I'm on edexcel but have learned a lot of the vocab (you by no means need to learn all of it). Make sure you know your synonyms as although I haven't seen an aqa paper, on edexcel the last question is all in French. This means one way of saying something will be in the passage, and the question (also in French ) will have another way of saying that phrase/ word. For example, it could have a question on a teenagers life and say something like:

'Mes amis détestent les courses, mais moi, j'adore faire du shopping!'

And then the question could say something like (tick the right answer):

1)Il/ Elle n'ai jamais aimé faire les magasins quand elle était petite.
2)Il/ Elle aime les courses, cependant, ses amis détestent ça.

Basically, this sort of question shows why its crucial to know your negatives, as well as synonyms. The question translates to ' my friends hate shopping, but it love to go shopping'. Right there we can see two different ways of saying 'shopping'. Furthermore, answer number one translates to 'she never liked shopping when she was young' and this is just like the question they could try and trick you on. A lower grade student would see the ne jamais (negative) and assume that this answer may be correct because they didn't know les amis means friends, perhaps they only know the French word 'copain' for friend? The exam could try to trick you like this, so make sure you learn more than one way of saying various words and learn all your negatives! Also, make sure you pay attention to who is the speaker of the text. For example, if it says something like 'quand j'étais petit(e), je croyais qu'il était gentil, mais il m'enerve!' Make sure you understand here that the speaker believed that 'he' was kind when they were young, but now they get on the speakers nerve. Pay careful attention to who is speaking and who the negative is used for. Apart from negatives and synonyms, theres little else you will ever be tricked on (apart from false cognates- words that look like the English but don't mean the same- but that would be too harsh for a GCSE exam in my opinion). Negatives come very fast on the listening so listen out! I hope this helped and good luck! If yours assessments are A* ypou should do great!:biggrin:


Thankyou! Not long to go now - hope you get your A*!!
Original post by violetvictorious
Thankyou! Not long to go now - hope you get your A*!!


No problem! Hope you get one too:smile:
Reply 12
that's what discourages me :/ I've been accepted into one of the best colleges in London I just need to get the grades to study the course..my whole family would be so proud of me especially my mum :/ but I keep thinking pessimistically how maybe I'm aiming a bit too high, just getting an A* in any subject seems impossible for me


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Reply 13
Original post by easyaspirsquared
I'm in year 11 as well but am working at an A* on reading and listening :smile: I'm on edexcel but have learned a lot of the vocab (you by no means need to learn all of it). Make sure you know your synonyms as although I haven't seen an aqa paper, on edexcel the last question is all in French. This means one way of saying something will be in the passage, and the question (also in French ) will have another way of saying that phrase/ word. For example, it could have a question on a teenagers life and say something like:

'Mes amis détestent les courses, mais moi, j'adore faire du shopping!'

And then the question could say something like (tick the right answer):

1)Il/ Elle n'ai jamais aimé faire les magasins quand elle était petite.
2)Il/ Elle aime les courses, cependant, ses amis détestent ça.

Basically, this sort of question shows why its crucial to know your negatives, as well as synonyms. The question translates to ' my friends hate shopping, but it love to go shopping'. Right there we can see two different ways of saying 'shopping'. Furthermore, answer number one translates to 'she never liked shopping when she was young' and this is just like the question they could try and trick you on. A lower grade student would see the ne jamais (negative) and assume that this answer may be correct because they didn't know les amis means friends, perhaps they only know the French word 'copain' for friend? The exam could try to trick you like this, so make sure you learn more than one way of saying various words and learn all your negatives! Also, make sure you pay attention to who is the speaker of the text. For example, if it says something like 'quand j'étais petit(e), je croyais qu'il était gentil, mais il m'enerve!' Mal ke sure you understand here that the speaker believed that 'he' was kind when they were young, but now they get on the speakers nerve. Pay careful attention to who is speaking and who the negative is used for. Apart from negatives and synonyms, theres little else you will ever be tricked on (apart from false cognates- words that look like the English but don't mean the same- but that would be too harsh for a GCSE exam in my opinion). Negatives come very fast on the listening so listen out! I hope this helped and good luck! If yours assessments are A* ypou should do great!:biggrin:


Something you've said has really caught my attention. You said only the last question of your exams constitutes of french. If so, you are extremely lucky, seriously. My entire exam is in french, from the instructions to the questions to the text, and on top of all that we are required to write all our answers in french (and they expect very well structured sentences). :redface: But then again IGCSE's are harder than GCSE's...

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