GCSE mocks in 3 weeks – how do i go from 4s/U to 7s?

3

I have GCSE mocks starting on 23rd February for the whole week, and most of them are Paper 2s. I have been very sick recently, but I’m better now and ready to start revising. My grades are quite average at the moment, with my worst being Further Maths (U) and English Literature and Language (both 4s), and my best being Maths (7). I got these grades in my November mocks, and I didn’t revise properly because I was procrastinating too much. I feel like it might be too late, but I want to try to get 7s in these mocks and I’m not sure how to start. Any revision tips would be really appreciated.

Subjects I study:

English Literature (Edexcel)

English Language (Edexcel)

Maths (Edexcel)

Biology – Triple (Edexcel)

Chemistry – Triple (Edexcel)

Physics – Triple (Edexcel)

German (Edexcel)

Religious Studies (AQA)

Further Maths (AQA)

Economics (OCR)

Reply 1

s.xxna

3

For maths and further maths just do as many past papers as you can, what I did for mine was use https://www.1stclassmaths.com/ and also all the past papers on maths genie. It would be Good to drop further maths as its better to focus on your main subjects instead and trying to score higher in those (I really regret not dropping it)

For English literature and language I recommend: The lightup hub (if you can't buy the website subscription watch their free YouTube videos and make notes on key quotes), Mr salles, Mr everything English & make notes with key quotes or whatever works.
Practice using these quotes in essays closer to your exams and get your teachers to mark them. For English have a bunch of phrases that you can use in a word bank. For example I did An Inspector calls and I had phrases like 'moral myopia', 'proletariat', 'moral hypocrisy'. You can also search for quotes and explanations with context on PMT and put these into your notes. These just help give your essay that extra boost, but throwing in fancy vocabulary won't increase your grade just like that. My best advice is collect some quotes with explanations and context for each of your set texts and practice writing out your quotes with their explanation and context, then finally practising mini paragraphs and essays (preferably quotes that can be used for many topics'. You don't need many quotes at ALL. I walked into the exam with only 3-4 quotes for each text and walked out with 9's in English.

All sciences I recommend just doing cognito and all the past papers

Reply 2

gabizsk

OP

3

Original post

by s.xxna

For maths and further maths just do as many past papers as you can, what I did for mine was use https://www.1stclassmaths.com/ and also all the past papers on maths genie. It would be Good to drop further maths as its better to focus on your main subjects instead and trying to score higher in those (I really regret not dropping it)
For English literature and language I recommend: The lightup hub (if you can't buy the website subscription watch their free YouTube videos and make notes on key quotes), Mr salles, Mr everything English & make notes with key quotes or whatever works.
Practice using these quotes in essays closer to your exams and get your teachers to mark them. For English have a bunch of phrases that you can use in a word bank. For example I did An Inspector calls and I had phrases like 'moral myopia', 'proletariat', 'moral hypocrisy'. You can also search for quotes and explanations with context on PMT and put these into your notes. These just help give your essay that extra boost, but throwing in fancy vocabulary won't increase your grade just like that. My best advice is collect some quotes with explanations and context for each of your set texts and practice writing out your quotes with their explanation and context, then finally practising mini paragraphs and essays (preferably quotes that can be used for many topics'. You don't need many quotes at ALL. I walked into the exam with only 3-4 quotes for each text and walked out with 9's in English.
All sciences I recommend just doing cognito and all the past papers

thank you so muchhh 💕

Reply 3

meek-acorn

9

for sciences I found Cognito and Seneca good websites with information and quizzes, also the Cognito YouTube videos are so useful. I did AQA so I'm not sure how different it is for edexcel, but from what I remember the mar schemes for science were incredibly nit-picky so do past exam questions but marking them is the most valuable bit
for English lit having a good grasp of plot, themes, characters, symbols is so important which you get from rereading extracts and watching summary videos - as has already been said mr salles mr everything English course hero, mr Bruff, - and the sparknotes website is a godsend. when it gets to exam technique plan essays beforehand to ingrain ideas and quotes so you dont blank in the exam and so you get faster at planning, leaving you more time to write.
for English language mr salles videos helped me a lot, just doing practice questions and getting your teacher to mark them is sort of all you can do to revise since its all unseen. its also worth in the exam doing the questions out of order, doing the short 1-2 mark qs then the long writing one before you get tired, then the other essays about the extract
it definitely isn't too late to improve your grades and if you put the work in you can get there, if not for these mocks then defo in time for the actual exams. if you struggle with procrastination it can help to get up and walk around, use the pomodoro method (25mins work,5mins break), and break down tasks into smaller chunks - partly why I found Seneca so great was that its free, only took about 5 minutes to cover a topic, and I could do it on my phone while waiting to meet a friend or for the bus or for the toaster etc etc

Reply 4

gabizsk

OP

3

Original post

by meek-acorn

for sciences I found Cognito and Seneca good websites with information and quizzes, also the Cognito YouTube videos are so useful. I did AQA so I'm not sure how different it is for edexcel, but from what I remember the mar schemes for science were incredibly nit-picky so do past exam questions but marking them is the most valuable bit
for English lit having a good grasp of plot, themes, characters, symbols is so important which you get from rereading extracts and watching summary videos - as has already been said mr salles mr everything English course hero, mr Bruff, - and the sparknotes website is a godsend. when it gets to exam technique plan essays beforehand to ingrain ideas and quotes so you dont blank in the exam and so you get faster at planning, leaving you more time to write.
for English language mr salles videos helped me a lot, just doing practice questions and getting your teacher to mark them is sort of all you can do to revise since its all unseen. its also worth in the exam doing the questions out of order, doing the short 1-2 mark qs then the long writing one before you get tired, then the other essays about the extract
it definitely isn't too late to improve your grades and if you put the work in you can get there, if not for these mocks then defo in time for the actual exams. if you struggle with procrastination it can help to get up and walk around, use the pomodoro method (25mins work,5mins break), and break down tasks into smaller chunks - partly why I found Seneca so great was that its free, only took about 5 minutes to cover a topic, and I could do it on my phone while waiting to meet a friend or for the bus or for the toaster etc etc

thank youuu 💕

Reply 5

lemjab

1

Original post

by gabizsk

I have GCSE mocks starting on 23rd February for the whole week, and most of them are Paper 2s. I have been very sick recently, but I’m better now and ready to start revising. My grades are quite average at the moment, with my worst being Further Maths (U) and English Literature and Language (both 4s), and my best being Maths (7). I got these grades in my November mocks, and I didn’t revise properly because I was procrastinating too much. I feel like it might be too late, but I want to try to get 7s in these mocks and I’m not sure how to start. Any revision tips would be really appreciated.
Subjects I study:
English Literature (Edexcel)
English Language (Edexcel)
Maths (Edexcel)
Biology – Triple (Edexcel)
Chemistry – Triple (Edexcel)
Physics – Triple (Edexcel)
German (Edexcel)
Religious Studies (AQA)
Further Maths (AQA)
Economics (OCR)

Heyy! as a current yr12 student who got a 9 in religious education with minimal revision, i personally recommend being confident with timing esp when it came to the 12 markers as RE is very strict on timing. The way i did this was by doing 2 12 markers once a week under timed conditions (these were 12 markers i made up, found online or were given by my teacher). Then i would give to my teacher to strictly mark. I would then use the feedback to improve my knowledge on the content and where i was missing gaps and would try and answer the same 12 marker again but this time in less than 12 minutes and with enough info written to help get around 11/12 and 12/12 in most of the essays.
I would also like to add that i had an amazing re teacher who provided us with all the things we needed and the structure for answering the 12 markers, however if your case is not the same then dont worry because at the end it all comes down to how you revise outside of school and how well you are making use of online resources for RE.

BLURTING is so soo important for RE. Youve got to be confident with the content and knowing when to apply it so i highly recommend just blurting all the info out and this probably takes you 30-45 minutes maybe even less depending on what you are blurting. (this was 80% of how i revised for RE)

I didnt use past papers for RE revision although this may not be the case for everyone else however the most important thing for RE is being able to get the questions finished less than the time you are given which can be stressful however with practice you will be able to become successful :smile:

lmk if u need any more tips

(edited 2 weeks ago)

GCSE mocks in 3 weeks – how do i go from 4s/U to 7s?

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