The Student Room Group

How to gain motivation to revise

Hi, I'm in year 12, I've been really struggling lately to gain motivation to revise. My grades have been suffering a lot from it. Is there any advice from anyone on how to get some motivation/to get my grades higher?

I'm studying A-levels in Biology, Psychology, and English Literature. Recently, I've been getting D's and C's in Psychology, C's in Biology, and A's and B's in Literature. I also have learning disabilities that impact my memory, which makes revision more challenging and memorisation way harder loll

if possible if anyone has struggled with memory issues and gotten like good grades in a levels if they could give any advice?

Reply 1

I understand where you are coming from with low motivation, it's certainly something I've contended with throughout my time in education. The main things I think helped me were taking advantage of support available and getting excited about future my results could bring.

I used to talk to my teachers every week with anything I didn't understand to help it become something I could better understand (In English this could be recontextulising a discussion slightly to place it in a more relevent area to me e.g. Macbeth in a high school.) There can be some wonderful members of staff available around your college. Furthermore your college may be able to offer support with any Learning Disabilities. When I was in college I recieved extra support from a local charity which offered tuition, you might have something similar available in your local area.

I completed my A Levels just after the Covid-19 pandemic. I didn't do my GCSEs so it was hard to understand what to expect for my exams. It was very easy to focus just on the looming event and all the negative aspects about that. Reframe it to your pathway to the future, your A Levels can help open some fantastic doors in the future and that is why you are working so hard. You may want to make a vision board to collect some pictures of great things on the horizon such as starting uni, your summer adventures, or celebrating your results.

In terms of revision, don't be afraid to try a new technique for retaining material. Break it down into smaller chunks through the Pomodoro method so your brain doesn't have to be engaged for too long. I always enjoy listening to certain playlists which my brain knows we have to focus with, game soundtracks are good because they are designed to encourage focus. It's all about little and often because you can't learn a whole topic in an hour. Before any practice exams sit with a blank page of a notebook and write down everything you remember, I found it helps reduce the mid-exam panic for information recall. This activity in revision can also help highlight any weakness.

I hope some of these tips help and I wish you the best with your exams!

Stella - University of Central Lancashire Student Ambassador

Reply 2

Original post
by UCLan_Stella
I understand where you are coming from with low motivation, it's certainly something I've contended with throughout my time in education. The main things I think helped me were taking advantage of support available and getting excited about future my results could bring.
I used to talk to my teachers every week with anything I didn't understand to help it become something I could better understand (In English this could be recontextulising a discussion slightly to place it in a more relevent area to me e.g. Macbeth in a high school.) There can be some wonderful members of staff available around your college. Furthermore your college may be able to offer support with any Learning Disabilities. When I was in college I recieved extra support from a local charity which offered tuition, you might have something similar available in your local area.
I completed my A Levels just after the Covid-19 pandemic. I didn't do my GCSEs so it was hard to understand what to expect for my exams. It was very easy to focus just on the looming event and all the negative aspects about that. Reframe it to your pathway to the future, your A Levels can help open some fantastic doors in the future and that is why you are working so hard. You may want to make a vision board to collect some pictures of great things on the horizon such as starting uni, your summer adventures, or celebrating your results.
In terms of revision, don't be afraid to try a new technique for retaining material. Break it down into smaller chunks through the Pomodoro method so your brain doesn't have to be engaged for too long. I always enjoy listening to certain playlists which my brain knows we have to focus with, game soundtracks are good because they are designed to encourage focus. It's all about little and often because you can't learn a whole topic in an hour. Before any practice exams sit with a blank page of a notebook and write down everything you remember, I found it helps reduce the mid-exam panic for information recall. This activity in revision can also help highlight any weakness.
I hope some of these tips help and I wish you the best with your exams!
Stella - University of Central Lancashire Student Ambassador

Thank you so much!!! those sound like really good strategies!

Reply 3

You could do spaced revision e.g flashcards or writing. You could do it when you’re walking to school or on the bus etc. If you do a few minutes of revision a day, it could be really helpful. Or just read over the content/mark schemes and past papers

Reply 4

Original post
by Eddie08
Hi, I'm in year 12, I've been really struggling lately to gain motivation to revise. My grades have been suffering a lot from it. Is there any advice from anyone on how to get some motivation/to get my grades higher?
I'm studying A-levels in Biology, Psychology, and English Literature. Recently, I've been getting D's and C's in Psychology, C's in Biology, and A's and B's in Literature. I also have learning disabilities that impact my memory, which makes revision more challenging and memorisation way harder loll
if possible if anyone has struggled with memory issues and gotten like good grades in a levels if they could give any advice?

TW ⚠️: Why do you need motivation? Your future is on the line, isn’t that enough motivation already?
Honestly tho, I get you, I struggle with memory a lot. Rn my predicted grades are A* in bio, A in chem and D in maths ( 🥀 don’t ask). This may not work for everyone but try going on a short 20 min walk before studying and don’t use your phone 20-30 mins before your study session. Also if you have apps like TikTok, delete it.
Another thing, for bio specifically, dont waste time making notes - use Seneca to learn the content , and make some flashcards using Anki from the content you learnt from Seneca. Also make mark scheme definitions into flashcards eg. the answer on the markscheme for ‘1. Define facilitated diffusion’. Hope this helps!

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