To succeed or not to succeed???
WELCOME TO MY GCSE JOURNEY
At the start of Year 7 I decided that only a straight set of A*s was going to be a success in my immature opinion. Then I grew up and realised that was going to be harder than I expected... Nowadays I've lowered my expectations to allow As a place and even a couple of Bs. However I have a problem with revising. Without revising, I learnt that I could get good marks and put in half the amount of effort than my peers. This had never been an issue until I got to my mocks and realised that I really needed to revise.
I stumbled through the two weeks of mocks and came out the other end a changed woman. In those practice exams I wasn't worried and I still made up half the answers. In the real things, I can only pray that I won't be stressed and even if I'm not I need to find a better solution than last minute cramming.
This is where this comes in. If I force myself to detail my revision here then I might knuckle down and do it. I've always found that telling people what I plan to do makes me more determined to actually carry through on my word. Even if no one reads this, I will still feel as though I have to revise. It will also make me set myself targets for my revision rather than just sorting through my files and making them look nice.
In the morning I'll write down which subjects I'm taking and, if all goes to plan, begin my revision plan. (Once I've made it!
)(edited 8 years ago)
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Original post by Ara8311a
At the start of Year 7 I decided that only a straight set of A*s was going to be a success in my immature opinion. Then I grew up and realised that was going to be harder than I expected...
Nowadays I've lowered my expectations to allow As a place and even a couple of Bs. However I have a problem with revising. Without revising, I learnt that I could get good marks and put in half the amount of effort than my peers. This had never been an issue until I got to my mocks and realised that I really needed to revise.
I stumbled through the two weeks of mocks and came out the other end a changed woman. In those practice exams I wasn't worried and I still made up half the answers. In the real things, I can only pray that I won't be stressed and even if I'm not I need to find a better solution than last minute cramming.
This is where this comes in. If I force myself to detail my revision here then I might knuckle down and do it. I've always found that telling people what I plan to do makes me more determined to actually carry through on my word. Even if no one reads this, I will still feel as though I have to revise. It will also make me set myself targets for my revision rather than just sorting through my files and making them look nice.
In the morning I'll write down which subjects I'm taking and, if all goes to plan, begin my revision plan. (Once I've made it!)
Nowadays I've lowered my expectations to allow As a place and even a couple of Bs. However I have a problem with revising. Without revising, I learnt that I could get good marks and put in half the amount of effort than my peers. This had never been an issue until I got to my mocks and realised that I really needed to revise.
I stumbled through the two weeks of mocks and came out the other end a changed woman. In those practice exams I wasn't worried and I still made up half the answers. In the real things, I can only pray that I won't be stressed and even if I'm not I need to find a better solution than last minute cramming.
This is where this comes in. If I force myself to detail my revision here then I might knuckle down and do it. I've always found that telling people what I plan to do makes me more determined to actually carry through on my word. Even if no one reads this, I will still feel as though I have to revise. It will also make me set myself targets for my revision rather than just sorting through my files and making them look nice.
In the morning I'll write down which subjects I'm taking and, if all goes to plan, begin my revision plan. (Once I've made it!
)I'll read this no doubt! I'll hold you accountable too if you like :P because I'm doing GYG too: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3897511
If you need any help with anything I'd be more than happy to assist so just drop me a comment and I'll get back to you.
Good luck with your studies
Original post by brainzistheword
I'll read this no doubt! I'll hold you accountable too if you like :P because I'm doing GYG too: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3897511
If you need any help with anything I'd be more than happy to assist so just drop me a comment and I'll get back to you.
Good luck with your studies
If you need any help with anything I'd be more than happy to assist so just drop me a comment and I'll get back to you.
Good luck with your studies
Thank you! That would be good for my mental attitude and now I actually have to do some work today!
I'll try to keep up with yours as well!
Mock Results
Before I go any further, here are my mock results for your information:
English Lit. A
English Lang. A*
Maths. A*
Biology. A*
Chemistry. A*
Physics. A*
RS. A*
French Reading. A*
French Listening. B
Geography A*
Music. B
AS IT A
I'm predicted mostly A*s except in Music which is an A and AS IT in which the highest I can get is an A. I'm also taking Further Maths.
Music, French and English Lit are going to be my main focuses this term although I still need to keep working on the other subjects.
As I mentioned above, I'm very good with cramming (I managed to go from my teacher thinking I might scrape a pass in Grade 5 Music Theory to getting a distinction with one day of intense work the day before) but these are the subjects where my usual techniques don't seem to work. Fingers crossed that this 'blog' is going to cure me of my cramming tendencies!
Before I go any further, here are my mock results for your information:
English Lit. A
English Lang. A*
Maths. A*
Biology. A*
Chemistry. A*
Physics. A*
RS. A*
French Reading. A*
French Listening. B
Geography A*
Music. B
AS IT A
I'm predicted mostly A*s except in Music which is an A and AS IT in which the highest I can get is an A. I'm also taking Further Maths.
Music, French and English Lit are going to be my main focuses this term although I still need to keep working on the other subjects.
As I mentioned above, I'm very good with cramming (I managed to go from my teacher thinking I might scrape a pass in Grade 5 Music Theory to getting a distinction with one day of intense work the day before) but these are the subjects where my usual techniques don't seem to work. Fingers crossed that this 'blog' is going to cure me of my cramming tendencies!
(edited 8 years ago)
19-02-16
Today I'm going to make a start on the neat list of tasks that I need to complete before Monday. I only have a couple of hours this morning and a few this evening but it should be enough time to get started It may not be possible but this weekend I have nothing planned so I should be able to do most of it!
This morning:
>Development Dilemmas Geography Notes
>Find all of my RS notes and books
>Highlight key points in RS books
This evening:
>Music Topics
Will update this later!
Today I'm going to make a start on the neat list of tasks that I need to complete before Monday. I only have a couple of hours this morning and a few this evening but it should be enough time to get started It may not be possible but this weekend I have nothing planned so I should be able to do most of it!
This morning:
>Development Dilemmas Geography Notes
>Find all of my RS notes and books
>Highlight key points in RS books
This evening:
>Music Topics
Will update this later!
Original post by Ara8311a
Thank you! That would be good for my mental attitude and now I actually have to do some work today!
I'll try to keep up with yours as well!
I'll try to keep up with yours as well!
No problem, I hope you manage to get lots done today! Let me know how you get on
UPDATE 19-02-16
THE PLAN Completed?
>Development Dilemmas Geography Notes /
>Find all of my RS notes and books /
>Highlight key points in RS books /
>Music Topics X
Instead of getting started on my music revision, I opted instead to complete an RS mindmap. Although my timings went out the window I still managed to complete more than I had anticipated doing. Overall today has been a success and I'm looking forward to getting even more down tomorrow.
THE PLAN Completed?
>Development Dilemmas Geography Notes /
>Find all of my RS notes and books /
>Highlight key points in RS books /
>Music Topics X
Instead of getting started on my music revision, I opted instead to complete an RS mindmap. Although my timings went out the window I still managed to complete more than I had anticipated doing. Overall today has been a success and I'm looking forward to getting even more down tomorrow.
20-02-16
Today's Plan:
Physics Notes: Motion, Waves and Kinetic Energy
IT Mindmaps: Factors and Consequences of ICT
Biology Notes: Plants, Circulation and Nervous System
Music Composition: Flesh out part A
I've decided to be more positive today as a negative attuitude is going to get me nowhere.
Today's Plan:
Physics Notes: Motion, Waves and Kinetic Energy
IT Mindmaps: Factors and Consequences of ICT
Biology Notes: Plants, Circulation and Nervous System
Music Composition: Flesh out part A
I've decided to be more positive today as a negative attuitude is going to get me nowhere.
UPDATE 20-02-16
Completed Tasks
PhysicsIT
Yesterday I read an article about revision and in particular procrastination. One of the points I found interesting was the idea that I should know what makes me want to procrastinate so that I can avoid these things and make better use of my time. I've been thinking a lot about this and it occured to me that if I observe my current study techniques I can improve them and essentially maximise the time I have. So...
WHAT I LEARNT TODAY WAS... that I have a tendency to either underestimate or vastly overestimate the amount of time something is going to take me.
For example today I started at 11am and I've worked better than usual. I took several breaks throughout but for the majority of the time I was making notes and mind maps. Usually I would berate myself for not doing any biology notes. However today was a good day but I grossly underestimated how long each topic would take me with breaks included.
So tomorrow I will be more aware of my timings and dedicate a better amount of time to each task in my mental timetable.
But yay! My first full day of revision is over and I actually enjoyed it!!! That sounds weird... It just felt nice to do the things that I've been meaning to do for ages. The storage mindmap is something I've been meaning to sort out since mid-way through year 10 and now it's done. Here's to hoping tomorrow will be just as good!
Completed Tasks
Physics
•
Motion
•
Waves and the Structure of the Earth
•
Kinetic Energy Notes
•
Factors Affecting Use of ICT
•
Consequences of the Use of ICT
Yesterday I read an article about revision and in particular procrastination. One of the points I found interesting was the idea that I should know what makes me want to procrastinate so that I can avoid these things and make better use of my time. I've been thinking a lot about this and it occured to me that if I observe my current study techniques I can improve them and essentially maximise the time I have. So...
WHAT I LEARNT TODAY WAS... that I have a tendency to either underestimate or vastly overestimate the amount of time something is going to take me.
For example today I started at 11am and I've worked better than usual. I took several breaks throughout but for the majority of the time I was making notes and mind maps. Usually I would berate myself for not doing any biology notes. However today was a good day but I grossly underestimated how long each topic would take me with breaks included.
So tomorrow I will be more aware of my timings and dedicate a better amount of time to each task in my mental timetable.
But yay! My first full day of revision is over and I actually enjoyed it!!! That sounds weird... It just felt nice to do the things that I've been meaning to do for ages. The storage mindmap is something I've been meaning to sort out since mid-way through year 10 and now it's done.
Here's to hoping tomorrow will be just as good!21-02-16
I'm starting later today due to a late night babysitting and lounging around this morning.
Today's aims:
BiologyMusic CompositionEnglishGeneral Housekeeping
I'm starting later today due to a late night babysitting and lounging around this morning.
Today's aims:
Biology
•
Plants, Water and Nutrients Notes
•
Blood and Circulation Notes
•
Nervous System Notes
•
Flesh out part A
•
Figure out what part B is going to sound like
•
Relate it to the theme- World Music
•
Using revision guide, Swan and Autumn Homework sheets
•
Tidy my room
•
Get school stuff organised for tomorrow
•
Make a revision plan for this term
•
Plan out this week's revision timetable
•
Make a past paper sheet as suggested by @BryonyG98
Original post by Ara8311a
21-02-16
I'm starting later today due to a late night babysitting and lounging around this morning.
Today's aims:
BiologyMusic CompositionEnglishGeneral Housekeeping
I'm starting later today due to a late night babysitting and lounging around this morning.
Today's aims:
Biology
•
Plants, Water and Nutrients Notes
•
Blood and Circulation Notes
•
Nervous System Notes
•
Flesh out part A
•
Figure out what part B is going to sound like
•
Relate it to the theme- World Music
•
Using revision guide, Swan and Autumn Homework sheets
•
Tidy my room
•
Get school stuff organised for tomorrow
•
Make a revision plan for this term
•
Plan out this week's revision timetable
•
Make a past paper sheet as suggested by @BryonyG98
You've got a very busy afternoon planned - I hope you get it all done
Original post by brainzistheword
You've got a very busy afternoon planned - I hope you get it all done
So do I! 1pm and all I've managed to do is tidy my room. It needed to be done but now onto Biology! Onwards and upwards!
UPDATE 21-02-16
Completed:Uncompleted:Urgent to-do: (things that MUST be done before tomorrow!)Yesterday I learnt more about time management and said that I would plan my timing of tasks better.
What I learnt today was... that stress is something I struggle with. Today I generally felt ill and had a big case of the back-to-school blues. Although I don't have anything to stress about because I'm going to do well in my GCSEs no matter what, I wind myself up and that is where I fall down in a spectacular heap on the floor.
Tomorrow I'm going back to school and I'm going to try to keep stress at bay. I might talk more about this another time but I'm going to go for a run to clear my mind. I'm also going to try not to fall asleep at school and maintain a smile throughout the day. During school days I always seem to pick up on the attitudes of the people around me and by first period I'm half asleep. Tomorrow will be different.
(I'm also going to attempt to get up earlier as I have to leave the house at 7.20 but I'm never ready...)
Completed:
•
Plants, Water and Nutrients Notes
•
Tidy my room
•
Music Composition- I need to talk to my music teacher about this urgently. Composition scares me and I really want an A* in Music. At the moment I have an A overall but I need to get good composition marks so I can get it up to an A*. I just need to talk to my teacher. He won't be able to help but fingers crossed that he can help me to panic less about it.
•
Make a past paper sheet- will do this later in the week when I have more time and energy
•
English hmk- Swan and Autumn sheets
•
Organise school stuff
•
Make a revision plan for this term
•
Plan out this week's revision timetable
•
Go for a run
What I learnt today was... that stress is something I struggle with. Today I generally felt ill and had a big case of the back-to-school blues. Although I don't have anything to stress about because I'm going to do well in my GCSEs no matter what, I wind myself up and that is where I fall down in a spectacular heap on the floor.
Tomorrow I'm going back to school and I'm going to try to keep stress at bay. I might talk more about this another time but I'm going to go for a run to clear my mind.
I'm also going to try not to fall asleep at school and maintain a smile throughout the day. During school days I always seem to pick up on the attitudes of the people around me and by first period I'm half asleep. Tomorrow will be different. (I'm also going to attempt to get up earlier as I have to leave the house at 7.20 but I'm never ready...)
MID WEEK UPDATE- 25-02-16
TSR has encouraged me to start making lists again so here's a run down of what my week has entailed in list form:A website which I've discovered this week is Trello which is a list making website. You can download it onto your phone or use it online but you can share lists with friends. It's perfect for organizing as when you've completed a task you can move it to another list so you can see what you've achieved.
I'm also using it to revise by breaking down everything that I need to revise and making notes to say what I need to do. You can also add links to websites. Even if you're not a list-making person, it's still worth looking it up. What have you got to lose?
TSR has encouraged me to start making lists again so here's a run down of what my week has entailed in list form:
•
Finished Blood & Circulation and Nervous System notes
•
I spoke my music teacher who helped me to get some idea of what to do for my composition and organised for me to redo my solo performance. I also need to try my group performance again as one of the people in my group wants a higher mark.
•
Various pieces of homework.
•
Physics Revision Session- Waves & The Solar System
•
RS Revision Session- Jesus and the Holy Spirit
•
Dissected an eye (I never thought I would be able to do dissections but this is the second one I've done this month. Is it bad to say that I'm proud of myself? I am because I did something I was scared of.)
•
I went to the Orthodontist and found that although my braces are close to coming off, they've lost a tooth. At first I found it very funny but if it's above my wisdom tooth they might have to remove it and I'll have to go to hospital and I'll have to keep my braces on for longer.
•
My french teacher told me that if I got an A* in my last writing CA that I can redo another writing to improve my mark. I also found out that I got an A* in my last speaking CA!!!
•
Completed a Maths Non-Calculator paper
I'm also using it to revise by breaking down everything that I need to revise and making notes to say what I need to do. You can also add links to websites. Even if you're not a list-making person, it's still worth looking it up. What have you got to lose?
Documentary Revision
Documentaries are an invaluable source of information. They contain up-to-date information about key topics and force you to think about the wider world. I have to confess that I'm a secret documentary lover, addicted to discovering about the lives of others from my bedroom.
However it's only recently that I've start to realise how they can help me to learn and revise. By giving me more information about a subject in a different format, I've found that I'm prone to remembering obscure facts which can help me in an exam.
I was in a geography lesson the other day and our case study was in India. Coincidently I had watched The Real Marigold Hotel the night before where 'mature' celebrities had gone to live in India to see whether it was good for retirement (inspired by The Exotic Marigold Hotel). Although it hadn't been an 'educational' documentary I found that I could remember an assortment of facts which I was able to relate to my learning. This was a brainwave.
I can now fill my procrastinating urges by watching things but also supplement my learning by relating what I was watching to my learning.
To show what I mean here are some examples:
Tomorrow's Food (BBC- episode 3) How food production may change in the future.Life on Death Row (BBC- episode 1) American man sentenced to death for running over a childOne Child (BBC- episode 1) adopted girl travels to China to free her brother from prisonI may sound slightly crazy and it might seem like I'm trying to procrastinate but using visual media to learn is an effective tool and is used in classrooms. By watching these programmes I am able to learn in more depth about a topic whilst taking a break from revising or doing homework.
If you can find anything related to your subjects, I would highly recommend watching them. Several studies have shown that making links between topics can improve your marks and improve your understanding. (I can't remember where I read this but it's fairly common knowledge, at least at my school).
So next time you see a documentary that relates to a subject you're studying take the time to sit down and make links between things that you see.
Let me know whether this helps or whether you agree and we can have a discussion!
Documentaries are an invaluable source of information. They contain up-to-date information about key topics and force you to think about the wider world. I have to confess that I'm a secret documentary lover, addicted to discovering about the lives of others from my bedroom.
However it's only recently that I've start to realise how they can help me to learn and revise. By giving me more information about a subject in a different format, I've found that I'm prone to remembering obscure facts which can help me in an exam.
I was in a geography lesson the other day and our case study was in India. Coincidently I had watched The Real Marigold Hotel the night before where 'mature' celebrities had gone to live in India to see whether it was good for retirement (inspired by The Exotic Marigold Hotel). Although it hadn't been an 'educational' documentary I found that I could remember an assortment of facts which I was able to relate to my learning. This was a brainwave.
I can now fill my procrastinating urges by watching things but also supplement my learning by relating what I was watching to my learning.
To show what I mean here are some examples:
Tomorrow's Food (BBC- episode 3) How food production may change in the future.
•
IT- Technology advances
•
Geography- impact on society
•
Physics/ Biology- plant growth affected by different parts of light spectrum
•
RS- is this ethically right?
•
RS- ethics. This is a more blatant link as we had been talking about capital punishment in class the lesson before.
•
Geography- China's one child policy and corruption
•
RS- capital punishment (he is also sentenced to death)
If you can find anything related to your subjects, I would highly recommend watching them. Several studies have shown that making links between topics can improve your marks and improve your understanding. (I can't remember where I read this but it's fairly common knowledge, at least at my school).
So next time you see a documentary that relates to a subject you're studying take the time to sit down and make links between things that you see.
Let me know whether this helps or whether you agree and we can have a discussion!
06-03-16
I hadn't realised that I hadn't updated this in so long. I haven't done much revision, well none at all. However this is going to change starting tomorrow.
I've also been ill for this week but I finally seem to be getting better. It's much harder to do revision during school time as I seem to constantly be busy or tired in the evenings.
This week I've been reading study books and have decided to put into practice some of the suggestions I have read about. Starting tomorrow revision is going to become hardcore.
I hadn't realised that I hadn't updated this in so long. I haven't done much revision, well none at all. However this is going to change starting tomorrow.
I've also been ill for this week but I finally seem to be getting better. It's much harder to do revision during school time as I seem to constantly be busy or tired in the evenings.
This week I've been reading study books and have decided to put into practice some of the suggestions I have read about. Starting tomorrow revision is going to become hardcore.
I have enjoyed reading your blog so far, it's great to see how you're progressing with details on how you've been studying (it sure gives me ideas) and it's clear that you are dedicated to your work - so best of luck
Original post by simply_a_ Δ
I have enjoyed reading your blog so far, it's great to see how you're progressing with details on how you've been studying (it sure gives me ideas) and it's clear that you are dedicated to your work - so best of luck
Someone's reading this? I thought it was just me on here!
Thanks though I still have a long way to go. I'm enjoying reading yours too! Good luck to you too although you don't need luck! In the words of my headteacher 'Luck has nothing to do with it'. Quick Reply
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