Latin:
- Make a Quizlet set (or flashcards, but I think Quizlet is better) of all your vocab. Go over it steadily so by exam time you know it all rather than trying to learn hundreds of words in a few weeks.
- Compile easy and succinct notes of endings, grammar notes, etc. Try to summarise it as much as possible so you just have a few sheets of paper to memorise and a few to learn.
- Practise your translation! Learning the vocab but having no translation skills won't help you in your exams. Either use a school textbook or buy one (the Taylor guide is good for OCR and will probably be useful practise for any exam board) and translate a passage regularly.
- When you write down grammar notes, write examples of the Latin and English translation to help you understand.
- Once you get midway into year 10 and definitely in year 11, do practise papers regularly! This was so useful for me in perfecting my exam technique and getting used to which constructions came up most often, etc. Also often they will use words together to mean a set phrase which you should learn as it's hard to translate otherwise, such as 'eo tempore'.
I haven't studied German or another spoken language to GCSE but most of the guidance I gave for Latin will apply - especially the Quizlet step. This is a lifesaver for most subjects and should definitely be used for languages. Duolingo is good once you get past the very basic things. BUT OKAY AMAZING APP - 'HelloTalk'!! You can talk to people from different countries. You message them in their language (so you would talk to someone who’s from Germany or fluent in German) and they correct any mistakes you make. Then they reply in your language and you correct them, so you both get better at the language you’re learning. It’s so so useful for practise and will help you learn without just memorising. Also you can meet some pretty cool people.
Geography and RS:
- Make good, detailed but succinct notes as you go along – it will make it so much easier when you come to revise!
- Recap topics throughout the year. So you learn something new in class. Go home and write your notes about it. Then 2 weeks later reread the notes, and again 1 month later and 2 months later, etc. This way the information will stay in your long-term memory and will be familiar when it’s revision time. Also if any issues with understanding it crop up, you can ask your teacher for help straight away.
- Question practise! For essay-based subjects it’s really important to understand the mark scheme and how to lay out your answers. Ask your teachers if you aren’t sure how to structure your essays, and then practise at home. Ask your teacher to mark a few to make sure you’re on the right track but then just practise at home. It will help you get used to writing in that style and will help you speed up so you find the time-restraints easier. Also you will learn the content and explore new arguments and ideas – which is especially important for RS.
- For RS, you can do wider reading or talk to people of the religions that you study to gather more opinions and debates for essays. Similarly, for Geography you can do wider reading and keep up with the news (for certain topics e.g. LEDCs). TheStudentRoom is also good for discussing topics with other people and getting more ideas for essays, etc.
- For RS, make flashcards with quotes on them from the Bible, Qur’an, etc. depending on what you study and need for exams. You could also make a Quizlet with these on so they’re easy to learn and be tested on
- You could make mindmaps for topics that are likely to be the focus of essay questions, and draw links between points and ideas. It will help massively when you come to write essays if you’ve already thought of all your points.
Science:
- Make notes as you go along! Use class notes, textbooks and revision guides to try and make the best, simplest (but detailed) notes you can. You really don’t want to be writing your notes frantically around exam time.
- As I said before, recap throughout the year to ensure you know everything without needing to cram for exams.
- Question practise! There is no better way to help you understand the content than question practise. Just do as much as you can and if you get stuck, ask a teacher for help or go to a lunchtime drop-in if your school has them. Or you could ask someone on TSR to explain it to you. Take advantage of the help you have available!
- Get someone to test you! This was my main method of science revision. I would be tested over and over until I knew everything off by heart. This also helps you stay focused. If you aren’t lucky enough to have someone to test you all the time, you could write questions and answers on flashcards/Quizlet and test yourself, or simply cover your notes, write down the main points and keep going till you’ve included everything.
Maths:
- QUESTION PRACTISE!!!! Honestly this is the most important form of maths revision. Just do as many questions as you can. Perhaps do a regular 20-30 mins of maths questions a night. It isn’t much but the time will add up and soon you’ll be answering the questions with no mistakes. Most maths question styles are repeated each year so if you have loads of practise doing them, the methods will be really familiar when you come to the exam.
- The website Corbett Maths is really good for question practise – especially their ‘5-a-day’. You can select the difficulty and it gives you sheets with 5 questions every day on random topics. They barely take any time but mean you aren’t leaving topics neglected for too long. If there’s anything you don’t understand, try looking for a worked example on Youtube or ask your teacher. Don’t suffer not understanding because it will just make things harder!
- If there’s a topic you find difficult to understand, or you think you’ll forget, write down a worked example with annotations and explanations.
- Make sure you learn any ‘memorising facts’ you need to know before tests e.g. formulae, trig values, etc.
I know you don’t want English tips but I’ll just add that mindmaps for characters/themes are amazing and will help if you draw links between them. Also flashcards are great for quotes. I’d recommend reading your literature texts at least twice, preferably 3-4 times so you really know them. Each time you reread them you’ll notice more things and view it in a different way. For English Language, read more in your everyday life e.g. if you need to write newspaper articles in the exam, read some newspaper articles throughout year 10/11.
General:
- Write notes as you go along and recap them regularly.
- Ask your teacher for help if you don’t understand something. Don’t leave it and forget because it will be stressful trying to understand new things around exam time.
- Do exam practise/question practise regularly so it’s like second nature.
- Do all your homework as soon as you can – preferably the night you’ve been set it, but that’s not always possible. Complete it to the best of your ability because it’s a really useful method of learning. Also go above and beyond – do extension tasks and extra research. It will help your learning and your teachers will be impressed (plus if teachers like you, they’ll be more willing to help you with marking extra essays or meeting at lunchtime to explain something you don’t understand).
- Use lunchtime drop-ins wisely. I’m not saying go to every drop-in for every subject – you need your lunchtime to relax and chat with friends, but if you’re struggling with a topic or would like extra help, go along. It will help you in the long run and is better than spending the time trying to understand it alone at home.
- Have a good work:life balance. Yes, studying is important and it’s really good that you’re trying to make the most of your time, but remember to have fun too. Go out with your friends, spend time with your family, take up hobbies. Don’t work too hard or you’ll get burnt out by exam time.
I hope this helped
(Edit: I didn't realise I wrote this much, oops lmao)