Revision skills At GCSE Succeed in Key Stage 4! Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways Proverbs 4:26 You may not know your mock exam results yet, but you definitely know how well you are able to revise: Do you do enough? Do you do some things that were ineffective? What strategies work for you? How can you be the best you can be? The following booklet requires you to consider your revision strategies and how best to prepare for the most important exams of your life so far. Page 1 of 11
Key Definitions. The following may be helpful to you in correctly answering controlled assessment and examination questions. Compare: Contrast: Criticise: Define: Describe: Differentiate: Discuss: Distinguish: Evaluate: Illustrate: Interpret: Justify: Outline: Relate: State: Summarise: Trace: Are the things similar or are there differences? Look for differences. Use evidence to support your opinion on the value or merit of theories, facts or views of others. Give the meaning. Write in detail. Explain the difference. Write about the important aspects of the topic, are there two sides to the question? Consider the arguments for and against. Explain the difference. Judge the importance or success. Give examples which make the point clear. Explain the meaning in your own words, for example you may be asked to interpret a graph. Give reasons to support an argument or an action. Choose the most important aspects of a topic. Ignore the minor detail. Show the connection between things. Write briefly about the main point. Bring together the main points. Show how something has developed from beginning to end. 2
The Examination Period Exam Instructions Find out how many questions you have to answer. Are any compulsory? Must you answer questions from all sections? Timing Exactly how long is the exam? Take note of the number of marks for each section, then calculate how much time you have for each question. Allow time for selecting questions, and for checking at the end of the exam. Equipment What are you allowed to take into the exam with you? Mock exams The mocks allow you to discover: Weaknesses in your subject knowledge. How effective are your study skills, in particular your revision and exam technique. What are your strengths and weaknesses when working under pressure. Write down what changes you will need to make to prepare yourself for the actual exams. By giving equal attention to your teachers comments as well as your marks you will minimise last minute nerves and doubts. The night before Set out everything you need such as spare pens and pencils, so as to avoid a rush in the morning. Some students prefer to take a complete break the night before, but most people do some last minute revising. By briefly reviewing the main points in your notes you can prepare yourself mentally. The exam day Get to the exam room early. If you have to rush you will not be in the best frame of mind for a three hour paper. In the exam Read through the paper thoroughly. Scan all the questions and tick any ones you are confident to answer. Read these questions carefully, it is easy to misread titles under the pressure of the moment. 3
Timing Divide your time carefully between the number of questions you have to answer, and stick to your time limits. Marks are allocated for valid points made in an answer. For some exams there is a detailed marking scheme of points which the examiners are looking for. Look to see how many marks are allocated per question. Marks are not gained by writing at great length. It is essential to answer the required number of questions in order to do your best in the exam. Look at the example below of two students of comparable ability: Student A answers three questions at some length but has not left time even to begin question four. Question Student A s marks Student B s marks Possible marks 1 15 13 25 2 14 11 25 3 12 11 25 4 0 12 25 Total 41 47 100 Writing an exam essay Many students, particularly those who haven t developed the habit of planning an essay, go into excessive and often irrelevant detail in answering a question. The examiner needs to find a sense of direction in the essay to award marks. Answer your best questions first but don t get carried away and try to impress the examiner with irrelevant information. There are no extra marks for answering questions which weren t set. As you write, keep referring back to the question and to your plan. Concluding an essay Summarise your argument effectively. Presentation Write legibly. Keep your work as neat as possible. Number your answers (and any subsections) clearly. Keep quotes brief and to the point. Direct quotes should be in quotation marks. It is a waste of time to write an essay in rough and then copy it out again. Graphs, diagrams and tables should: Be as accurate as possible. Be clearly labelled Show their purpose. In mathematical working the sequence of operations in an answer must be clear. Checking Always read through your work. Remember marks are awarded for correct spelling. 4
Know your learning style! When you Operate new equipment Need travel directions Cook a new dish Speak to people Learn something new Do you Visual Auditory Kinaesthetic read instructions look at a map follow a recipe say I see what you mean listen to explanation ask for spoken directions call a friend for explanation say I hear what you are saying have a go follow your nose and maybe use a compass show me tell me let me try follow your instinct, tasting as you cook say I know how you feel Most people learn in one of three different ways; visually, aurally or kinaesthetically. Colour the columns to decide which your dominant learning style is. When you know your preferred style you can use this knowledge in two ways; use revision techniques that suit you. And, make sure you use revision techniques that are from different learning styles to keep revision interesting. Go shopping look and imagine discuss with shop staff try on and test Choose a holiday read the brochures listen to recommendations imagine the experience My revision technique can be used for deciding how to revise (everyone knows just reading is pointless, right?) Visual revision techniques: learning by seeing: reading, making notes in different colours, spider diagrams, watching a film/documentary, pictures, graphs, reading past paper questions and answers. Auditory Revision Techniques: learning by listening: having something explained, listening to a recording, talking about the work, being asked questions and talking the answer through. Kinaesthetic Revision Techniques: learning by doing: taking part in an activity that involves movement or touch, using highlighters whilst reading texts, using items such as stress balls to aid concentration. 5
Plan for Success Start early - Don t leave it to the last minute Make a timetable be productive in your free time Understand what techniques work best for you and use them (see below) Look after yourself eat well, exercise, get enough sleep Find out! Are you a visual, auditory or kinesthetic learner? Revision suggestions Here are a range of techniques that you could use to revise more effectively. Try some of them out and see what works best for you: Highlight key points Colour code important aspects of work. Use to chunk your work down, giving you key information to process. You can keep going back to this throughout your revision period. Make a mind map Like a spider diagram. You could use colour coding and pictures as well as words. This could be used as a summary from highlighting key points. A good way to remember things visually. The shrinking mind map The aim of revision is to shrink as many key points down into a small space. The process actually helps you learn the information. The result is that you have a portable device that you can carry around with you. Cut off the legs of your spider diagram and use the main stems to stimulate your brain to remember the other parts. Cassette tapes/ ipods Record your key points onto a tape/ ipod. Get other people to do some so you have a variety of voices to listen to. Try using background music it might help you make associations with particular bits of information. Another useful revision resource to carry round with you during dead time, on the bus, walking home etc Song and rhyme Making up catch phrases or rhymes can help with crucial bits of info. Eg: to help you sort out which is the x and y axis on a graph, how about, x below y because y goes up high! Don t worry about what other people think about your silly rhymes, as long as it helps you in the exam! 6
Mnemonics and acronyms A mnemonic is a word or abbreviation that helps you remember An acronym is a word make up using the first letters of a series of other words eg to remember the advantages of carrying credit cards (for a business studies question) COPSE Convenient to carry Outlets for use everywhere Pay later Security Extras, insurance air miles Flash Cards Flash cards can be a big help in remembering information Try using different colours for different subjects Wall posters (large scale flash cards!) Put these up around your bedroom and in your house. You will subconsciously look at these points each day You could use different rooms for different subjects the kitchen is maths room etc Word walls Clusters of key words for each topic are a great way to learn the language you need for your A level course. Cover your walls with these too Lists, charts and notes More traditional methods still work! Bullet pointed lists are a good way to summarise information Charts are a great way to memorise info again, you could make them big enough to put on your wall! Concentrate on shrinking down the information down as far as possible. Eliminate excessive words from lists, focus on key terms Visual and pattern notes Good if you re a visual learner. This is like a mind map but with more images to help things stick in your mind. A level revision strategies 3 7
Fact sheets Keep fact sheets of key information, dates, formulas etc to hand. You could use clipboards, ring binders or cards. This is like making revision cards but just for key bits of info that are essential. List of key exam words for example: analyse, compare, contrast, describe, justify, evaluate..know what they mean and understand what examiners are looking for. Study buddies One of the most effective ways to learn is to teach someone else This helps you process information yourself as you explain it to others Use friends and family to test you Practicing past exam questions Test yourself against the clock These give you a great idea of the style of question, how many questions in each section and timing It gives you an excellent experience of decoding the trigger words Show you know Show yourself that you know your stuff! Don t fool yourself that you know something because you spent 2 hours reading it! How effective was that time? Recite things out loud Write down lists after revising to see if you can recall things Take a break People learn best at the start and finish of revision sessions, so have lots of starts and ends! The maximum time you can concentrate is 40 minutes Reward yourself by finishing something and then taking 5 minutes out for a coffee then back to it! Re-read it Illustrate it Think about it Look at reworded notes Sing it Attach it to your memory by linking it to a personal memory or emotion Make up a mnemonic Mind map Poster it Shrink it down 8
How do I beat stress? My top five tips 1 2 Exercise 3 4 5 The best revision plan in the world? This is an old GCSE revision plan, but you can see how the elements of an exam are broken up into different sections, and that each hour has a designated task rather than revision Activities 1 hour on 1 hour on 1 hour on 1 hour on 1 hour on 1 hour on Biology Read and highlight exercise book Practise paper Making mind maps of Quizzing a friend about genomes Eng Lit M&M AIC Eng Lit Poetry: Conflict and Unseen Eng Lang Paper 1 Maths Non- Calculator Maths Calculator 9
How do I plan each week? 8-9 Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday 9-10 10-11 11-12 12-1 1-2 2-3 3-4 4-5 5-6 6-7 7-8 8-9 9-10 10
How can I keep the right mindset? And remember 11