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How to get All A's at National 5

I'm currently in S4 and doing my National 5's (we do 7 subjects) and I really need A's as I want to study medicine (I also volunteer and am doing work experience). I'm above average at every subject except Maths and Spanish. I have revision books and past parers for all my subjects. I'm wondering how long to revise/do past papers for per subject. Also we have lots of Spanish to learn. These are my subjects

English
Maths
Spanish
Business Management
Biology
Chemistry
Admin & IT (Only need a pass, I don't need to revise for this as it's an on-line very easy activity for the exam)

Thanks in advance!
Well realistically if you maximise your study time from now to the exams you're most likely to get all As. This really isnt necessary, however.

Its good that you have identified where your weaknesses are, so go sets of practice questions in those subjects until you see yourself improve. Id advise that you work super hard for your prelims because its a great time to master the first section of the course. It will pay dividends when you have finished the whole thing and are looking back over all the materials :smile:

In my opinion its better to really overstudy in s4 as it will get you in a good position for your highers. You'll be able to hit the ground running and have found your own effective studying techniques.
Reply 2
Original post by Pennyarcade
Well realistically if you maximise your study time from now to the exams you're most likely to get all As. This really isnt necessary, however.

Its good that you have identified where your weaknesses are, so go sets of practice questions in those subjects until you see yourself improve. Id advise that you work super hard for your prelims because its a great time to master the first section of the course. It will pay dividends when you have finished the whole thing and are looking back over all the materials :smile:

In my opinion its better to really overstudy in s4 as it will get you in a good position for your highers. You'll be able to hit the ground running and have found your own effective studying techniques.



Thank you so much!
I'm making a revision timetable for Christmas holidays right now actually, I'm aiming for all A's so hopefully this should help.

I'm doing minutes study from 10am then a 15 minute break followed by an hour study then the same in the afternoon starting at 2pm, at my school we only do six subjects so I'm doing:

Geography - Sunday
Physics - Monday
English - Tuesday
Maths - Wednesday
Chemistry - Thursday
Computing - Friday
And a break on Saturdays (or on Saturday the 27th of Dec I'll be doing Chemistry as Christmas is a Thursday)

Hopefully this helps :biggrin:
Reply 4
Original post by allybop99
I'm making a revision timetable for Christmas holidays right now actually, I'm aiming for all A's so hopefully this should help.

I'm doing minutes study from 10am then a 15 minute break followed by an hour study then the same in the afternoon starting at 2pm, at my school we only do six subjects so I'm doing:

Geography - Sunday
Physics - Monday
English - Tuesday
Maths - Wednesday
Chemistry - Thursday
Computing - Friday
And a break on Saturdays (or on Saturday the 27th of Dec I'll be doing Chemistry as Christmas is a Thursday)

Hopefully this helps :biggrin:


Thanks, good luck!
Original post by sean250
I'm currently in S4 and doing my National 5's (we do 7 subjects) and I really need A's as I want to study medicine (I also volunteer and am doing work experience). I'm above average at every subject except Maths and Spanish. I have revision books and past parers for all my subjects. I'm wondering how long to revise/do past papers for per subject. Also we have lots of Spanish to learn. These are my subjects

English
Maths
Spanish
Business Management
Biology
Chemistry
Admin & IT (Only need a pass, I don't need to revise for this as it's an on-line very easy activity for the exam)

Thanks in advance!


I sat my Nat 5's last year and managed to get 8 A's:colondollar:
A LOT of revision worked best for me. I done a little every night, except a Saturday.
im currently studying 5 highers, and I'm going with the same method:smile:
Original post by sean250
I'm currently in S4 and doing my National 5's (we do 7 subjects) and I really need A's as I want to study medicine (I also volunteer and am doing work experience). I'm above average at every subject except Maths and Spanish. I have revision books and past parers for all my subjects. I'm wondering how long to revise/do past papers for per subject. Also we have lots of Spanish to learn. These are my subjects

English
Maths
Spanish
Business Management
Biology
Chemistry
Admin & IT (Only need a pass, I don't need to revise for this as it's an on-line very easy activity for the exam)

Thanks in advance!


I sat 8 Nat 5's last year-Maths, English, French, Graph Comm, History, Physics, Biology and Chemistry. I managed to get 7As and a B in French (Party due to the fact my teachers were terrible and I refused to study for it :tongue:).

My advice would be to practice the specimen papers again and again and again. You will also have the papers I sat last year on hand too so you will have more revision material than I did.

For science based subjects doing questions again and again is the best way to do it, making sure you understand the concepts and can easily answer most questions. Biology is a bit different however, for bio make sure you understand and know your notes as there is no formulas or anything like that.
Make sure you have your assignments out of the way so you can focus on studying, It is damn near impossible to score high in them. Then again we were given them 2 months before our exam so maybe this year it will be more organised.

Can't comment on business as I haven't sat it, but for English just make sure you know your poems and set texts inside out so you can adapt to any question. Also remember to answer the question in you essays through topic sentences and remember your analysis!

Also can't comment on Spanish, just learn all your vocab cause that's what let me down in my French :P.

God that B really pisses me off xD.
Reply 7
I never done National 5 as I was on the old curriculum so I done Standard Grades instead. I got the equivalent of 8 A's at Nat 5 (for me it was 6 credit standard grades at 1's and 2 int 2's that were both A's).

I would recommend doing past paper questions all the time. They are the best thing to ensure that you are ready for the final exam.
Making mind maps of everything you know without your notes can help you identify what areas of the subject you do not know. I used this for business management and chemistry and it worked really well. Flash cards are also useful for studying things on the go.
If your school is offering any study support then I recommend you take up the opportunity whilst you can. It is a great way of being able to get help outwith class.
Reading over your notes is a must and should be done often.

For the amount of time I would say 45 mins- 1 hour before taking a small break then going back to it. No point sitting for a full 2-4 hours without a break because you will not learn as much. You get tired and won't work as well even though it feels like you are doing more work. Small chunks of effective revision will be better than long hours of 'revision' that hasn't actually helped you. This may not be the case for everyone but certainly was the case for me. Experiment with the length of time you can study for before getting tired and distracted from your work. It will show you how much effective revision you can do before you need a break. Breaks don't need to be toolong but need to be long enough for you to feel ready to work.

Good luck with your exams and I hope you get the grades you want :biggrin:
Reply 8
Original post by Sprogling
I never done National 5 as I was on the old curriculum so I done Standard Grades instead. I got the equivalent of 8 A's at Nat 5 (for me it was 6 credit standard grades at 1's and 2 int 2's that were both A's).

I would recommend doing past paper questions all the time. They are the best thing to ensure that you are ready for the final exam.
Making mind maps of everything you know without your notes can help you identify what areas of the subject you do not know. I used this for business management and chemistry and it worked really well. Flash cards are also useful for studying things on the go.
If your school is offering any study support then I recommend you take up the opportunity whilst you can. It is a great way of being able to get help outwith class.
Reading over your notes is a must and should be done often.

For the amount of time I would say 45 mins- 1 hour before taking a small break then going back to it. No point sitting for a full 2-4 hours without a break because you will not learn as much. You get tired and won't work as well even though it feels like you are doing more work. Small chunks of effective revision will be better than long hours of 'revision' that hasn't actually helped you. This may not be the case for everyone but certainly was the case for me. Experiment with the length of time you can study for before getting tired and distracted from your work. It will show you how much effective revision you can do before you need a break. Breaks don't need to be toolong but need to be long enough for you to feel ready to work.

Good luck with your exams and I hope you get the grades you want :biggrin:


Well done and thank you!
Reply 9
Original post by Zain-A
I sat 8 Nat 5's last year-Maths, English, French, Graph Comm, History, Physics, Biology and Chemistry. I managed to get 7As and a B in French (Party due to the fact my teachers were terrible and I refused to study for it :tongue:).

My advice would be to practice the specimen papers again and again and again. You will also have the papers I sat last year on hand too so you will have more revision material than I did.

For science based subjects doing questions again and again is the best way to do it, making sure you understand the concepts and can easily answer most questions. Biology is a bit different however, for bio make sure you understand and know your notes as there is no formulas or anything like that.
Make sure you have your assignments out of the way so you can focus on studying, It is damn near impossible to score high in them. Then again we were given them 2 months before our exam so maybe this year it will be more organised.

Can't comment on business as I haven't sat it, but for English just make sure you know your poems and set texts inside out so you can adapt to any question. Also remember to answer the question in you essays through topic sentences and remember your analysis!

Also can't comment on Spanish, just learn all your vocab cause that's what let me down in my French :P.

God that B really pisses me off xD.


Well done and thanks
Original post by sean250
I'm currently in S4 and doing my National 5's (we do 7 subjects) and I really need A's as I want to study medicine (I also volunteer and am doing work experience). I'm above average at every subject except Maths and Spanish. I have revision books and past parers for all my subjects. I'm wondering how long to revise/do past papers for per subject. Also we have lots of Spanish to learn. These are my subjects

English
Maths
Spanish
Business Management
Biology
Chemistry
Admin & IT (Only need a pass, I don't need to revise for this as it's an on-line very easy activity for the exam)

Thanks in advance!


Once you have a basic understanding of the course and are getting Bs or above in past papers, start doing more of them. Do a paper, mark it (strictly - do not be lenient with yourself. If in doubt, mark it wrong) and collate all of your incorrect answers. Get a notepad, and write each question out with the correct answers. Memorise these. By memorising, I don't mean reading over them, or writing them over and over again; I mean looking at the question and answer, thinking, hiding them both and then writing both with no materials in front of you. Alternatively, you could use flashcards, with the question on one side and the answer on the other. The key is, you must be strict with yourself. Where many people fall down is when they look at the marking scheme and think "Oh yeah...I remember that now! I'll just give myself the mark, or I won't try and remember the right answer because I see how it's meant to be done." If you follow these rules, you can't go wrong for any of your knowledge based subjects, such as Business, biology and chemistry.

For maths, do a past paper, mark it, have any you get wrong explained to you and then do all of the wrong questions again and again until you get them right, unaided by anyone or any materials.

For English, I suggest you read. Even a little helps. Also, when you're reading through the passage initially, don't rush or be afraid to stop and have a think what the passage is about. Also pay attention to certain types of questions that might require you to use your own words or quote and explain. When doing a close reading paper, take a highlighter and highlight the important bits of the question to simplify it.


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Just revise the night before. It is nat 5's after all
Reply 12
Got 8A's at nat 5 and honestly other than English and Maths just try to get decent grades. Higher's are really what they are looking for.
Just cram.
Don't cram for highers though.
Original post by ScotDoc
I sat 8 Nat 5's last year-Maths, English, French, Graph Comm, History, Physics, Biology and Chemistry. I managed to get 7As and a B in French (Party due to the fact my teachers were terrible and I refused to study for it :tongue:).

My advice would be to practice the specimen papers again and again and again. You will also have the papers I sat last year on hand too so you will have more revision material than I did.

For science based subjects doing questions again and again is the best way to do it, making sure you understand the concepts and can easily answer most questions. Biology is a bit different however, for bio make sure you understand and know your notes as there is no formulas or anything like that.
Make sure you have your assignments out of the way so you can focus on studying, It is damn near impossible to score high in them. Then again we were given them 2 months before our exam so maybe this year it will be more organised.

Can't comment on business as I haven't sat it, but for English just make sure you know your poems and set texts inside out so you can adapt to any question. Also remember to answer the question in you essays through topic sentences and remember your analysis!

Also can't comment on Spanish, just learn all your vocab cause that's what let me down in my French :P.

God that B really pisses me off xD.


Your advice is quite helpful, I was wondering how did you revise History. I am quite confused as in general I get good scores but in Prelims I got a C in History which was appalling.
I also need help for english could you give me some tips for RUAE
I sat my Nat 5s about 5 years ago so I don't think I can help you much tbh. History becomes simple once you understand the marking scheme. Then all you need to do is write about your argument in a way that will get you marks, most simple way is "X argues that blah blah blah, but on the otherhand historians such as Y argue blah blah blah then make a semi conclusion based on your oqn opinions. Thats the bare bones of Nat 5 History if I remember correctly.

Best port of call would be your history teacher for more advice tho!
Original post by rittajmoghal29
Your advice is quite helpful, I was wondering how did you revise History. I am quite confused as in general I get good scores but in Prelims I got a C in History which was appalling.
I also need help for english could you give me some tips for RUAE
Original post by sean250
I'm currently in S4 and doing my National 5's (we do 7 subjects) and I really need A's as I want to study medicine (I also volunteer and am doing work experience). I'm above average at every subject except Maths and Spanish. I have revision books and past parers for all my subjects. I'm wondering how long to revise/do past papers for per subject. Also we have lots of Spanish to learn. These are my subjects

English
Maths
Spanish
Business Management
Biology
Chemistry
Admin & IT (Only need a pass, I don't need to revise for this as it's an on-line very easy activity for the exam)

Thanks in advance!

I got 7 A's last year and I've gotten 5 A's in my higher prelims. Best advice is PAST PAPERS! Revision books are good for helping you get your head around the concept but, especially for maths, past papers expose you to the problem solving and wording you can only get in the past papers. Right now, focus on your assignments and get them out of the way. Then you can start studying hard. Study schedules work for some people, personally never worked for me but try it out (don't get stressed if you mess up tho). You've got this and if you ever need more advice I'm here.
Original post by daymeetsnight
I got 7 A's last year and I've gotten 5 A's in my higher prelims. Best advice is PAST PAPERS! Revision books are good for helping you get your head around the concept but, especially for maths, past papers expose you to the problem solving and wording you can only get in the past papers. Right now, focus on your assignments and get them out of the way. Then you can start studying hard. Study schedules work for some people, personally never worked for me but try it out (don't get stressed if you mess up tho). You've got this and if you ever need more advice I'm here.

I know you're trying to help but the OP posted 5 years ago...:lol:
Original post by chubchubbs
I know you're trying to help but the OP posted 5 years ago...:lol:

Noticed just after I posted as well :colondollar:
Saw it trending and thought it was new oops


Original post by daymeetsnight
Noticed just after I posted as well :colondollar:
Saw it trending and thought it was new oops

Honestly almost posted as well before seeing how long ago it was!:proud:

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