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'Last Minute' Exam Revision Tips

Decide how you’re going to use your past paper resources.
It’s well-known that completing past papers is a great way to revise – not just can they help you familiarize yourself with the format of each of your papers, but they can also test your topic knowledge and improve your exam technique.

However, it’s important to remember when revising that there is only a limited number of past papers available for each subject. Whilst you can complete papers from old specifications (sometimes called legacy papers) or different exam boards as extra revision, the most useful past papers will understandably be the ones issued by your own exam board that follow your current specification.

From my own experience, students can use past papers in a lot of different ways – some students complete questions by topic, others use them as a way to find out which topics they need to work on, and some choose to sit them as mini mock exams. Personally, I liked to save one or two past papers to complete the day before my final exam in mock exam conditions, and used the others as a way to test my subject knowledge whilst I revised my notes. Try to figure out which way would be most beneficial to you by considering your revision priorities: do you need to improve your timing in exams, or are you more focused on developing your subject knowledge?

Try to revisit material you don’t understand in a new way.
We’ve all experienced it: whether it’s because of a confusing teacher or a few missed classes, it’s possible that there’s still some parts of your specification (especially in STEM subjects) that you don’t fully understand. For me, the topic I struggled most with was aggregate demand and supply in A-Level Economics – I’d missed a few classes due to illness, and I couldn’t understand the topic from my notes alone.

To fix this, I watched several YouTube revision videos and read a few articles online which helped me wrap my head around it. If you’re struggling with a topic, having it explained to you in a new way/new format can sometimes make it a lot easier to grasp rather than trying to understand class notes you can’t fully make sense of.

Set realistic goals.
Unfortunately, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to cover your entire subject specification one or two days before the exam – so it’s important to prioritise the topics in each subject that need the most work and set realistic goals in terms of revision.

Depending on how large they are, give each topic a revision period of one to two hours to cover core material – then, take a break for a while to relax. When you return, do some past paper questions on the topic to see how much you remember and revise any knowledge gaps you might have missed in your first session. Try not to commit to extremely long periods of revision (six/seven hours at once) as you may lose interest in the material and not fully absorb it!

Finally, best of luck to any students currently sitting A-Level exams! I know it can be an incredibly challenging time, but it’ll hopefully all be worth it on Results Day. :smile:

Eve (Kingston Rep).

Reply 1

University of Bath

Official Rep

Hi Everybody!

One of the best tips I learnt whilst doing my GCSEs and A-Levels ideal for the night before the exam when most of y revision was done, was to teach my content to someone else. Its a scientifically proven way to enhance understanding and consolidation but also requires you to understand the topic, and so its ideal for last-minute solidifying of information.

I used to sit down and talk through my content (such as a set of chemistry mechanisms, a French speaking speech or a Psychology core study) and teach it to my parents. It really helped me understand it better, it was a different way of revising which didn't involve writing lots down, and you never know, your pupils will likely find it quite interesting!

Best of luck everybody!

Holly
University of Bath