Difficulty in exams

Didn’t really know where else to post this for some advice, and I understand this is a generally minor issue compared to some problems I’ve seen here so far, but I’m really trying to maximise my grades in science for combined higher-tier. Ever since we started taking mocks in the beginning of year 10 I found my knowledge of topics very strong, but I find answering exam questions themselves daunting, I’ve practiced so many questions but it feels like they get me no where and no information online feels supportive of this, my mind goes blank, there are too many unorganised ideas in my head just zooming about and it’s so hard to compose my mind to focus on a question- especially if it’s worth higher than 2 marks. Not sure if this is really fixable or if I’m doing the past papers wrong- eg: I do the entire past paper under exam conditions and then mark it in one go- apparently you’re supposed to do it in small chunks, and then mark the small chunks and carry on if that makes sense? I just really would like some potential advice with this. I have recently invested in medly, and am in the process of making flashcards for the first time but I don’t know how effective it all will be considering my exams are in around 19 days from now.Thanks for reading if you have 💗

Reply 1

scarygirl2

8

Original post

by threhg12

Didn’t really know where else to post this for some advice, and I understand this is a generally minor issue compared to some problems I’ve seen here so far, but I’m really trying to maximise my grades in science for combined higher-tier. Ever since we started taking mocks in the beginning of year 10 I found my knowledge of topics very strong, but I find answering exam questions themselves daunting, I’ve practiced so many questions but it feels like they get me no where and no information online feels supportive of this, my mind goes blank, there are too many unorganised ideas in my head just zooming about and it’s so hard to compose my mind to focus on a question- especially if it’s worth higher than 2 marks. Not sure if this is really fixable or if I’m doing the past papers wrong- eg: I do the entire past paper under exam conditions and then mark it in one go- apparently you’re supposed to do it in small chunks, and then mark the small chunks and carry on if that makes sense? I just really would like some potential advice with this. I have recently invested in medly, and am in the process of making flashcards for the first time but I don’t know how effective it all will be considering my exams are in around 19 days from now.Thanks for reading if you have 💗

Hi! I completely understand your frustration and don't worry- you've still got time! Maybe you should try and plan your thoughts before answering a question. For any question 3 marks or more, try and think of the points you want to say and bullet point it one by one as it comes in your mind. Then, in your answer expand on these points to form your answer. Essentially, try and break up the question in a way that makes it easier for you. That could also be focusing on one part of the question and ignoring the other part until you're finished thinking about the first bit. I think you should practice doing this with some questions and see if it works. Maybe on medly ai because you can bullet point and then write on there. This could be a more time consuming method but if you start practising now, you should get quicker! Hopefully that helps.

Reply 2

mohamednawaj

8

Original post

by threhg12

Didn’t really know where else to post this for some advice, and I understand this is a generally minor issue compared to some problems I’ve seen here so far, but I’m really trying to maximise my grades in science for combined higher-tier. Ever since we started taking mocks in the beginning of year 10 I found my knowledge of topics very strong, but I find answering exam questions themselves daunting, I’ve practiced so many questions but it feels like they get me no where and no information online feels supportive of this, my mind goes blank, there are too many unorganised ideas in my head just zooming about and it’s so hard to compose my mind to focus on a question- especially if it’s worth higher than 2 marks. Not sure if this is really fixable or if I’m doing the past papers wrong- eg: I do the entire past paper under exam conditions and then mark it in one go- apparently you’re supposed to do it in small chunks, and then mark the small chunks and carry on if that makes sense? I just really would like some potential advice with this. I have recently invested in medly, and am in the process of making flashcards for the first time but I don’t know how effective it all will be considering my exams are in around 19 days from now.Thanks for reading if you have 💗

One way you could revise is using the specification. The specification outlines what type of questions can be and you could make flashcards off of it. It tells you exactly what you need to know. Essentially, knowing the spec will help organize the content in your head. It tells you where each piece of knowledge belongs, especially if you've made flashcards out of it. You should, at some point, recognise: it's asking about this topic or this certain fact. It was so helpful when I was revising for my GCSEs because I knew what they could ask. Carefully read the question each time for what it is asking and most of the time, you'll be able to retrieve the answer if you know the spec very well. Just make sure to write in bullet points, give a structure to your answer and think in your head: what points do I need to write here to get the mark. Trust me for GCSEs, it is quite rare to see an "out of the box" question where you need to apply your knowledge to a certain and completely new scenario. It's mostly recall. All the best!

Reply 3

Matt714

1

Original post

by threhg12

Didn’t really know where else to post this for some advice, and I understand this is a generally minor issue compared to some problems I’ve seen here so far, but I’m really trying to maximise my grades in science for combined higher-tier. Ever since we started taking mocks in the beginning of year 10 I found my knowledge of topics very strong, but I find answering exam questions themselves daunting, I’ve practiced so many questions but it feels like they get me no where and no information online feels supportive of this, my mind goes blank, there are too many unorganised ideas in my head just zooming about and it’s so hard to compose my mind to focus on a question- especially if it’s worth higher than 2 marks. Not sure if this is really fixable or if I’m doing the past papers wrong- eg: I do the entire past paper under exam conditions and then mark it in one go- apparently you’re supposed to do it in small chunks, and then mark the small chunks and carry on if that makes sense? I just really would like some potential advice with this. I have recently invested in medly, and am in the process of making flashcards for the first time but I don’t know how effective it all will be considering my exams are in around 19 days from now.Thanks for reading if you have 💗

oh my gosh i love medley ai! I was getting grade 5 and 6 on my gcse biology and chemistry exams, now I'm getting an 7!!! I've only been using it for about 2 month ish too and already seen such improvement in my work.

Difficulty in exams

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