a-level mocks revising paralysis

I take english lit/lang, sociology and religious studies. I sort of know how to revise for these subjects, sociology being my best subject, however I'm so terrified that it actually stops me from doing any of it. I'm so scared to do past papers, i feel like all my revision material is futile (eg. flashcards, mind maps) and that i keep needing to re-do them (wasting time) etc.
Can someone help please?

Reply 1

humaninnit

I take sciences and maths, so unfortunately I can't offer you any specific advice for these subjects, but I definitely relate to the feeling of being paralysed with exams so close. What's worked for me is to ask myself two questions:

What am I struggling with right now?

What am I going to do about it?

Some examples of things I wrote for number 1:

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Stressed that I don't have enough time.

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Not sure where/how to start.

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It takes me so long to get things done.

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My notes don't seem reliable and have things missing.

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I feel like I don't understand the basics.

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I get demotivated when I don't make progress.

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I feel like I already wasted so much time.

•

I don't understand the questions at all.

As you can see, the struggles may differ for your subjects and circumstances but I think the principle is still useful.

Some examples of things I wrote for number 2:

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Be chill.

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Website blocker.

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Shorter study sprints.

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Break things up into manageable chunks.

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Focus on one thing at a time.

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Watch worked examples.

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Track progress.

It's important to sit for a while and think hard about what is and isn't working for you. It is hard to come up with solutions to your own problems when you feel stuck, but by doing so you restore a sense of faith in yourself, and are able to identify and address the root cause of your issues. Even if you can't find solutions by yourself, simply being able to articulate what you're struggling with is really helpful.

When I did this, I realised a lot of my anxiety and feeling of being stuck was actually due to trying to do too much all at once. Once I broke things down into baby steps, I found myself finally able to take action.

If you have a feeling that your revision is futile, it may help to cut out certain steps in your process.
Assuming your mocks are very close, making revision material like notes, summary sheets, mind-maps and flashcards will definitely not be of use to you. Of course, when you still have a lot of content to revise it may feel like these methods are necessary, but you should resist the temptation. At this point, you need to try and streamline the learning process as much as possible, so you can spend more time memorizing and practicing; doing things which actually prepare you for your exam. Try using revision material already available to you/on the internet, and to get a basic grasp of each topic try making post-it note summaries. Some methods I use instead to learn content are blurting, mnemonics, feynman technique, and lots of self-testing. Mind-maps can also be used, but not as a form of note-taking; more like a different kind of blurting.

If you're feeling too scared to take action, I would suggest doing the scary thing before you have time to think about it. Set a timer for 5-15 minutes and just make a start on whatever you've been avoiding.

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Expose yourself to the past papers, write down anything you can, then use mark-schemes, examiner reports, ai, or worked solutions/example essays to try and figure out what you can learn from the question.

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Make sure to challenge yourself during revision. Start with your weakest topics, try the hardest questions, etc.

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This sounds like a no brainer but just remember this is all to prepare for an exam. It's just an exam. You need to be able to do the exam. So prepare for what will be on the exam. That's it.

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Don't plan ahead too much. Just know your next three (tiny) steps, and do those.

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Try spending some time truly off; go on a walk, connect with your friends and family, do something you find relaxing. Clear your head. Meditation can be really helpful too. Then come back to your studies with a fresh perspective.

I hope you found some of this helpful.
Good luck for your mocks 🙂

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