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Tips on RevisionPreparation PREPARATION
If you're a Super Swot you can still work on better exam technique. Maybe you've worked hard...You may still need extra help. Either way, you won't want to throw away marks! If you're Under Control, you're doing OK but you'll need to make your intensive period really useful. You'll also have to watch your pace, or you'll 'burn out' before your exam. We'll be giving you some helpful tips. If you're Under Pressure, you really need help. You've got to get a grip on yourself and your time, and you'll need to catch up, with more effective revision. Don't panic, though: you've probably taken in more than you think and you can use your revision time well. Read on... If you're Getting Desperate, you don't need to be told that you need help. But don't despair. There are lots of ways of getting things under control starting with reading this Guide! Once you do start, you'll need to make quick progress and there are ways of doing that too. So chin up. You've just switched on! What is Revision? Revision is STORING AWAY INFORMATION for the exam. Like a computer, the human
memory holds information in store for future reference. Revision is like
'saving' information on a disk or tape. If you've listened in class and done
your coursework, the 'input' and the 'thinking' part is done. Now it needs to be
fixed in the memory, so it can be 'called up' later, in the exam. Revision is
LEARNING TO UNLOCK YOUR MEMORY in the exam. Thinking about our computer again,
all the information stored can't be on the screen all the time. When you want a
particular item, you have to 'call it up': you need a menu or code to get access
to that piece of information. Your mind works the same way. Revision provides
you with memory-prompters, which bring what you know into your mind when you
need it in the exam room! Start earlier, or Choose a few important topics to revise, or Revise even more efficiently... (Take a look at Getting Started) So now you know where you're coming from and what you're trying to achieve. It's a good start. In the next section we'll be talking about planning your revision campaign, and actually getting down to work. GETTING STARTED
A healthy revision period is at least six weeks. If you haven't got this long
to go, though, don't panic: you'll just need to work a bit harder at your
revision. The most important thing to do first is to make a PLAN. (OK, we know you've
been told this before, and it sounds really boring, but it is the ONLY way to
get this done!) Once you've got going, you can be fairly flexible, but you must
start with a plan that you mean to follow. Here's a simple checklist to help you
make a good timetable: 2.Enter all your commitments: times when you will not be able to revise. Write in what they are or simply block them out. Remember to include:
3.Now write in 'things for yourself'. Choose and write in: One Big Thing per day that is really important to you and fun: meeting friends, your favourite soap, or whatever; plus two other things per day that will not take you long, but that will make your life easier and more 'normal': maybe a visit to local shops, a bit of fresh air, a break to listen to music and so on. Space these things out over your day if possible. Don't let them take up too much time: two hours (max) for your One Big Thing, and half-an-hour to an hour for the others. Again, if you're really pushed for time, you could cut down. Don't cut out your One Big Thing. though. We'll explain why in Stress Control. 4.The 'open' times left on your timetable are for revision: now you can write in what you intend to study in each hourly session What to Revise When You might find it useful to think about which subjects to study, in what order, and for how long: here are some ideas. 1.Start with a complete list of all the topics you think you need to revise. (The contents page of a Study Guide may help you to put together this list.) 2.Mark those topics that will need more time: because they're more important or complicated, or because they are your weak area. If you are seriously pushed for time, cross out topics that you feel you already know well but think very carefully about it first! 3.Match up the number of topics with the number of available hourly revision sessions on your timetable. The ideal is that you could (over six to eight weeks) work on each topic a number of times: this way, you could go back and refresh your memory now and again. If you're starting later, try to cover each important topic at least once. 4.It's a good idea to leave the last week completely free: later on, this will be handy for making small adjustments. Again, if you're short of time try to leave yourself, say, two days. The important thing is not to plan to work on new topics right up to the last day. 5.Enter each topic into a session. You might want to revise all your biology
in a block of study sessions, then all your history, and so on. Or, for a bit of
variety, you could revise a session or two of biology, then history and so on,
then some more biology, then history etc. That way, your brain is 'refreshed' by
the change of material and you'll still have covered all of your subjects. What if, well into your timetable, you find that you've listened to 'just one more' record, and made 'just one more' cup of coffee and never quite got round to those revision sessions? It's a real problem! Sometimes, all the other things you would rather be doing gang up on you. And the more you put it off, the worse it will seem, and the more you will put it off.... You can break the cycle. Here's how. Stop and think what you're doing. Picture yourself passing your exams: how good it will feel and how free you'll be afterwards. Now think what you are risking it for: small things, which you can do anytime, especially in your breaktimes and after the exams are over! Tell yourself to be sensible. Really. (If you don't face up to this first, nothing else is going to work!) Start each day by adding detail to your plan for that day. If your target is to 'revise English Lit', you'll need to think about the small steps you need to take. If it's to 'make notes on Act One of Macbeth', you've got something possible and realistic to go for. Make sure you don't try to pack too much into each session, though. Be realistic to yourself. Start each session with a watch or clock on the table right in front of you, to help you to stick to your times. Once you get started, you'll forget it's there. You may even need an alarm clock to tell you when your 50 minutes are up, you'll be so 'stuck in'! Offer yourself a small reward at the end of each session: whether it's grabbing a chocolate bar, phoning a friend, or putting some money into a fund to buy yourself something special at the end of your revision campaign. Remember, this reward is a treat, so make it available only when you deserve it, after a full study session. Arrange to study with a friend who also wants to take revision seriously. It'll be harder to get out of it, you can spur each other on to start and keep at it and you can share a reward at the end of each session. So now you know how to plan your revision, and how to get going. Start right
now, by working through Steps 1 and 2 of the Revision Timetable checklist. STRESS CONTROL To many people the word 'stress' means too much work and pressure. In fact,
stress can be caused by lots of things which affect the body and mind during
revision including boredom, loneliness, or feelings of guilt and fear. Avoiding Stress Try to avoid the effects of stress by giving yourself breaks from revision: How Do You Control Your Stress? Unfortunately, some people are just more likely to be stressed than others. If you are not a naturally 'laid back' type, you will probably experience some stress: don't worry, though, you can do something about it. Take a look at our Action List for controlling stress:
Try this great anti-stress exercise. Find a quiet place. Sit up straight, hands in your lap. Close your eyes. Breathe all the way out, until your lungs are empty. Hold for a count of three. Let your lungs fill up with air: feel your stomach expand as well as your chest. Hold for a count of five. Breathe out again, slowly. Keep breathing deeply for a couple of minutes. Listen to your breathing. If thoughts come into your head, just let them go, and concentrate on breathing again. Try the exercise right now, then complete your revision plan. OK? Preparing to study If you can get ready for your any study before you start it will save time: you'll come back from your break and find yourself ready to go! Remember to: Arrange privacy, as far as you can. If you have your own room, use a 'Do Not Disturb' sign. If not, you'll have to ask for as much peace and quiet as you can get, or find yourself a spot in your local library. Ask someone else to take messages if the phone rings for you, and discourage interruptions (even offers of tea!) until your breaks. Try a session or two without music on or more quietly than usual: you may find that you can concentrate better. Check that you have a proper surface to work on which needs to be the right height, so that you don't get aching shoulders, back or neck at the end of the day. Have you got enough room on it for your books, notes and equipment? Check that you have enough light on your work: natural light is best, but if you can't be by a window, try a desk lamp. It's better than overhead lighting, which can be dim and casts shadows. Have ready to hand all the things you might need: books, Study Guides, class notes, note pad, pencils and so on. Keep your desktop as tidy as you can: pile books and papers neatly in different areas: if you can find things easily, you'll save time Learning and Learning by Heart Exams aren't intended to make you learn everything by heart. Often, you are given information in an exam question, and asked to interpret or do something with it. They want you to use what you know and have understood; not to reel off facts. Sometimes, it can be useful to learn by heart things that will help you to remember connections between facts and the patterns of facts which make up the 'shape' of a topic. For example: the stages of a process (in science) or event (in history); causes and effects; special features (of things or characters); similarities and differences; definitions; rules and laws (in science, say, or maths). Foreign vocabulary, and a few quotations from your set literature, can also be learned by heart; but should only be used if relevant to the exam question. This is why using short notes, diagrams, and past question practice, are great revision techniques. They help you to understand and to think about facts as well as to remember them. Active Learning Reading is part of revision, but it won't get you very far by itself even if you read the same material over and over again. Let's face it: going over the same thing again and again is boring. You won't be able to concentrate on it for long, and you won't know how much you've taken in. By revising actively, you wake up your mind and learn more quickly. The best trick is to keep a pencil in your hand as you revise, that way you can test yourself as you go along, and keep yourself going with a sense of progress. Active revising simply means doing something as you study, such as: Making notes of key points or questions to follow up later. Underlining interesting parts or useful quotations. Trying to make a diagram from a list of points. Making up word games to help you remember key points. Covering up your notes and trying to note down the main points from memory, then checking these against your notes. Getting someone else to test you. Looking at past exam questions. Let's look at a few of these things. Making Revision Notes You've probably already got used to taking notes in class, and from textbooks. Try and get into the habit of organising your notes: headings and sub-headings, numbering of points and the use of underlining and capital letters can make even the lengthiest notes easier to read, understand and remember. If you do this early on in your course, all of your notes will be easy to read and remember and they'll be good to revise from. It's not until you look back on the topic as a whole that you can see (a) what's important and (b) the overall shape of the topic, so revision is a good opportunity to rework your class notes so that they: Are shorter including only the more important points Reflect the 'pattern' of the topic and are more memorable Making notes shorter, and highlighting the patterns, makes a list. Lists are good for helping to remember things like a number of factors causing an event and so on. It's helpful if you number the points in your list: so, for example, you might remember that there are 12 ways of controlling stress. More highly-patterned examples might be: A sequence: 'what happened next?' You might use this for events leading up to a battle, the plot of a novel, or evolution; Cause and effect: 'what happens next and why?' Try and see facts as a chain of linked ideas: x is so, therefore y is so, therefore z is so (or x causes/leads to y, which causes/leads to z). Two sides of the question: 'on the one hand... on the other hand'. Arguments have two sides: one viewpoint often implies a contrary viewpoint: a problem often has two possible solutions; a proposal often has advantages and disadvantages. Such topics lend themselves to `split' lists of points, one on each side of the question and on each side of a page of notes! Similarities and differences: used to compare and contrast two characters, say, or things. Another form of 'split' list. Experiment with how you can pattern these notes on paper. Sequences and cause-and-effect, for example, could be made more memorable if they are written out as a flowchart, or a chain of ideas. Related groups of points (such as similarities and differences) could be outlined as a 'set', or linked by `branches'. Here are some examples.
Memory Boosters for 'Picture' People Visually-patterned notes and diagrams can capture a lot of information including facts and the links between them. It is generally easier to remember shapes and pictures than just words: you only need to trigger your memory of one part of the pattern, or link in the chain, and the brain fills in the rest. You remember most if you've made up your own patterns, but if you aren't good at it, or haven't got time to do it, don't despair. Study Guides do some of this work for you. Try to fix the patterns as a whole in your mind. Try sticking your notes where you will catch sight of them: on the phone, the fridge, the radio. You could even make them into 'thought bubbles' for your posters or the TV! You'll be surprised how repeated glimpses can fix a pattern in your mind without your even trying. Memory Boosters for 'Word' People We've already talked about links and patterns of words and ideas. You can picture these as visual patterns but you don't have to. Some people find it easier to remember words and ideas themselves. Here are some verbal 'memory tricks' (or mnemonics) to try. Use initial letters of lists to make up more catchy phrases or words, for example: Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet (colours of the spectrum) Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain Reproduction Excretion Movement Irritation Nutrition Development Respiration (characteristics of living organisms) = REMINDER Use word associations: Stalactite? Stalagmite? Tights go down, mites grow up Use rhymes: Winds do blow from high to low (pressure zones) In fourteen hundred and ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue All sorts of things can be made memorable in this way. The musical notes on the treble stave are EGBDF: Every Good Boy Deserves Fruit. The Tropic of Capricorn is below the equator: think of 'corns' on your feet. If a striking mental picture is conjured up, even better. Try picturing it in your mind for a few seconds: you'll find it sticks, especially if it's silly (or rude!) This works well with foreign vocabulary, too: if you want to remember that the French for cupboard is 'armoir', try visualising a knight wearing a cupboard as armour. The sillier, the better! It's worth the trouble to find a 'game' that works for you: it really works! Being Flexible: Exam Questions We know: practising past exam questions sounds boring and a waste of fact-learning time. Of course it is important to know the content of your notes but few exam questions will allow you simply to reproduce them in their original form and order. In fact, questions are designed to make you:
You need to be able to respond to what the examiner wants and being flexible in revision helps you to learn how to use what you've learned. Past questions help you think about the content of your notes in different ways: explaining, describing, comparing, contrasting and so on. Past questions also tell you two very important things about the exam: How many questions you have to answer, how many marks are available for each, and how long you should take to answer each one. It sounds obvious but do you really want to have to do those sums for the first time in the exam itself? What types of questions are regularly set. Structured, short answer, essay, multiple choice: they all require something different from you and you'll only gain marks if you approach the question properly. The good news is that using past questions isn't too difficult: start by looking at the questions in a Study Guide. Here are some ways of working through them. 1.Try multiple choice, part-answer and short questions: they can even be fun! 2.Go through a paper and work out how much time you should allow for each section or question, based on the marks available. 3.Go through essay questions, highlighting or underlining words in each question which: tell you what the examiner wants you to do in your answer indicate what topic or topic area the examiner is interested in might boost your memory of the topic 4.Pick an essay question and make a brief answer plan: just a list of what your main headings, subheadings, key points and examples would be. Give yourself just five minutes. 5.Pick an essay question and have a go. This is a bit more work but well worth it, especially if you time yourself: it can be a shock, the first time! So now you are armed with techniques to revise efficiently and effectively. The Week Before If you've followed our advice so far, you won't have any new topics to cover in the last week before the exam. Use this week to:
The Night Before It's even more important not to 'overstuff' your brain the night before the exam. If you must work, don't work late, and try to get a good night's sleep. Trust us: you won't do as well if you're tired, however many topics you might have crammed in. If you can't stop thinking about the exam, though, there are things you can do: Pack the things you'll need for the exam: pencils, pens and other equipment. Think what you are allowed to take in with you: a calculator? A book? If you're not sure, ask your teacher well in advance of the exam. Don't forget non-exam-type things: tissues, hay fever medication (if required) and so on. Make sure you know where your exam is, and when. Set an alarm, if you need to, and plan how to get to the exam centre. Allow plenty of time to get ready and to get there. Don't compare notes with fellow students about how your revision has gone: at least one of you will be stressed after the discussion! Tuning In Sometimes, sitting in the exam room, facing the paper, your nerves can threaten to get the better of you. The important thing is to get on with it, to get your mind involved in the questions, not the worries. Remember you can use these suggestions to help you stay calm: Before you start
When you are told to start
Reading the Question Because you've already underlined key words, you are already most of the way to answering the question, which is well ahead of most exam candidates! Why? Because the most common reason for lost marks is failure to answer the question: the question the examiner actually wants the answer to! 1.Work out what topic the question is on. The key words will help you and are also useful as memory boosters, reminding you of something in your revision notes. 2.Work out what the examiner is actually asking you to do. You might be asked to: explain (show why something happens or is so) describe (show what happens or what something is like) compare (show why things are similar) or contrast (show why they're different) comment (show what you think about something). Planning the Answer Even short-answer or structured questions need planning. If you have to 'state two causes of...' and are given two lines on which to write your answer, you must: check that you know exactly what is wanted (i.e. 'causes') think out the answer before you write it down, even if you know it well work out a whole sentence before you start it (and can't finish it...) plan to fit your answer into two lines, and only two lines! With essays, it is even more important to plan, so that: you can organise your material, and pull together points from different topic areas, with an idea of how the whole answer will fit together you have a checklist of points to include in your answer you can check, at the start, that you really are answering the question you can include your plan if you don't manage to finish your answer in the time available: that way, the examiner can get an idea of what your intentions are. Planning can also boost memory and confidence. Try writing down each related point or fact as it occurs to you, on a piece of scrap paper: this way, you'll be reassured by how much you do remember. Put numbers next to each point, in the order in which they relate: remember your notes, and how logical links and patterns emerge when you think of 'splitting' lists, forming chains... Add examples or illustrations, if appropriate Write your points out in order, in a brief plan, including headings and sub-headings, at the head of your answer sheet. Keep looking back through this plan as you write your answer. When you finish or run out of time: put a single, light line through your plan, so that it is still readable, without being distracting for the examiner. Timing Essay Answers You will probably have tried some timed answer-writing before, so you have a feel for just how much you need to put in and leave out! Timing isn't easy, though, so make sure you can see the exam-room clock, or put your watch flat on the desk in front of you and be firm with yourself about planned start and finish times for each answer. The problem is it's tempting to keep going at questions you feel good about, until you've got down everything you know: surely this will compensate for your weaker questions? Let's be honest: the answer is no. The first half of the marks available for a question are the easiest to get: the last few marks (the difference between 'very good' and 'excellent') are the hardest. And you get no marks at all for answers you don't attempt! So here are your choices. Finish answers to all the questions required, which will mean careful planning and shorter answers, only including important points and maybe just one example/illustration per point. This is the best option, if you can do it. If you realise you're running out of time for an answer, don't panic. Plan to get as far as you can in the time available and then move on to the next question. This way, you'll be able to get part/most of the way through answers to all your questions: it's a sensible and flexible approach which will make sure you get the marks you deserve. If you haven't managed either of the above, and realise that you are going to be one answer short at the end of the time allowed, still don't panic. Your final fall-back option is to draw up an answer plan to the question you are not going to have time to attempt. Then write an introductory paragraph which explains briefly what you understand the question to be about and what your answer will set out to show. This way, the examiner will be able to award you marks allowed for parts of answer, or points made, even if you haven't had time to go to town on it. Try and leave yourself five minutes at the end of the exam to read through your answers, just to spot and correct any spelling mistakes or sentences that don't make sense. Check one last time that you've done all the things you've been asked to do. Don't Throw Away Marks! However hard you've revised, however good the planning and timing of your answers, it could all be wasted if you lose marks needlessly! And if you're not that well prepared, you really need to get the examiner on your side. Year after year, examiners report simple, obvious faults and omissions that lose students marks. Let's break the mould and get on the examiner's wavelength! Don't annoy the examiners by acting as if they don't exist, or don't mean what they say!: Do what they ask for: it's on the front of the paper. For example, fill in the numbers of the questions you've attempted, if you're asked to. If it's a multiple choice paper, check how you're meant to indicate your answer. Answer the right questions. Sounds obvious? Answering more questions than you need to is quite common. If you have to answer one from Section A and one from Section B, and you answer two from section B, you won't get any marks at all for the second answer! If you answer six questions instead of five, you won't get any marks at all for the sixth and you will have put less into the other five! Answer the question set. Don't answer the question you wish had been set or write down everything you know about the topic. Figure out what the examiner wants: it's not a trick or a trap. Follow the examiner's advice. Notes about how much time to spend on a question or section, and notes about how many marks are available, are intended to guide you in planning your answers. Also, if a question recommends the use of a calculator, coloured pencils, diagrams or whatever, that's what the examiner wants to see. Help the examiners to give you the benefit of the doubt: Show your intentions. Answer plans, introductions to essays and tidy mathematical workings are very helpful to an examiner who has many scripts to mark in a short time. They also indicate the steps you've taken building up your answer: it's important, especially if you run out of time, or get a 'wrong' result. Show a confident and organised approach. As well as answer plans, using headings, numbering points and labelling diagrams looks good and helps the examiner. Essays should have a clearly marked introduction and conclusion, however brief. Don't leave space in the middle of an answer, hoping you'll be able to come back and fill it later: you won't, and do you really want to look that desperate? Work neatly and clearly. If examiners can't following your workings or read your writing, they don't have to spend time and effort working it out. You want your answer to be read (the only way you'll get marks), and you want to get the examiner on your side. Write clearly and if you need to cross something out, do it neatly. Lay out your page logically and use plenty of space. Mid-exam Panic Most students worry about their minds going blank in the middle of the exam. In fact, this very rarely happens, once you get into the business of answering questions. However, if you find yourself panicking as you face a new question, or suddenly can't remember something, here are a few things you can do. Concentrate on the instructions given on the paper. Feeling that you know what you're doing is very calming and your the best chance of picking up the basic marks available. You'll also have something 'routine' to be getting on with instead of sitting there worrying. Focus on the 'key words' in each question, and let them trigger your memory of the topic. You might associate a word with other words in your revision 'chains' or 'mnemonics', or you might be able to visualise it in your patterned notes or diagrams. Immediately write down each thing that you remember on scrap paper: it is reassuring to watch your material build up, and each note tends to trigger your memory of another. Don't look around at other people beavering away, or staring into space: it'll only worry you. If your heart's pounding and you just can't concentrate, quietly and briefly try the deep breathing exercise. Now you have a checklist of exam techniques that will do justice to your revision effort and make up for any shortcomings! You're ready to go. Between Exams Much will depend on how spread out your exams are, but treat the period between exams like the time before your first exam: so, pay attention to your eating, sleeping, exercise friends. If you plan to revise for the next exam(s), remember: no new topics in the last couple of days, and nothing at all on the night before. Try not to talk to other candidates about your answers, or how an exam has gone. Everybody always thinks they've done worse than they really have, and you'll only stress yourself for the next exam. You can help yourself by thinking about how your timing, instruction reading and so went, and what you could do better next time. Looking Forward to the End of Exams Of course, you don't want to waste time day-dreaming but do allow yourself to look forward to the end of exams, and the holidays that follow. This can help you to: Motivate yourself to work hard by thinking how great it will feel when you've passed, and how worthwhile a goal passing is Console yourself for the things you can't do while revising: you can do them all afterwards with the added bonus of knowing you've done your best in the exams! Think of the long, free time which follows Realise that however badly you feel your revision and the exams have gone (and nobody ever seems to be happy with them) life continues, and there are many good things to look forward to. Think about this last point. Much stress is caused by fear of failure or disappointing other people's expectations. Obviously, you can't stop parents and teachers from wanting the best for you, and if you have goals which require exam success, you must go for them with all you've got but try and get things into proportion in your own mind. Exam results are important, but not the ultimate decider of your future. Whatever happens in your exams, you'll have choices at every stage of your life. The worst that can happen is that you have to consider a different set of options than you'd planned or choose to retake your exams, to get the results you need. You probably feel now that you could never go through exams again but you can and will if it is important enough to you. On the other hand, you might decide that it is simply not important enough to you, and that there are other things you want that don't depend on exam grades. Don't load yourself with worries before your exams: you'll have plenty of time to consider your options when you know how you've actually done. Motivate yourself to work hard and prepare yourself for exams. Think positively about passing. This information has been obtained from the Eduweb Revision Site, a part of the RM Centre for Learning. |
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