Use the Syllabus to tick off the things you know, and highlight the areas you are less clear on. Use BBC Bitesize Lessons, revision activities and tests to do. Use the websites recommended by your subject teachers. Use the exam board website to look at syllabus, past papers and mark schemes. Use your revision guides. Make revision cards for each part of the topic. Sign up and use Getrevising.co.uk to access personalised revision timetables and many other revision materials. Get a blank piece of paper and write down everything you know about a topic now check it and try and do it again! Draw mind maps of the whole topic, or parts of the topic. Look back over the previous tests/exams and other practice questions what were the areas you were weakest on? Focus your revision on those bits! Get friends/family to test you on things from syllabus/rev guides/cards. Involve your parents/guardians they want to know and be involved!! 45 minute revision sessions with a short break in between provide the optimum amount of time to concentrate fully. Plan to revise a few topics properly at a time for each subject and then revisit before the exam. (NB: this has been shown to make a really big difference!) Each day after school, relax for a while and then start your revision. Try to relax for at least one hour after you finish it will help you sleep better. Don t stay up late cramming for an exam. Research says you do worse if you don t have enough sleep. Make notes of any areas that you do not fully understand and then get more information from your teacher. Do not work in groups, as it is easy to get distracted, although revising with a friend can be beneficial especially if you test each other.
1. WHAT: Revision is revisiting work, making notes and learning them. It is not just reading but an active process with three parts: a) Noting: breaking down classwork into shorter key points b) Learning: actually learning the notes c) Testing: test to see what you have learnt and then learn again 2. WHERE: Making sure the location you are working in helps you focus free from clutter and distractions. 3. WHEN: Design a timetable including breaks and rewards. This helps you stop worrying and stops yourself doing the safe thing of going over material you already know. You have to be realistic with what time you have available, allocating more time to subjects and topics you find difficult. Use the exam timetable to work out when you can revise during the exam week. 4. HOW: Use the methods which work for you and experiment. 5. START EARLY: The best revision is continuous revision started as early as possible, says Sergio Della Sala, Professor of Human Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Edinburgh. This means it should be spread into several sessions rather than lumped in at the last minute.
6. PLAN BREAKS: In order to stay focused you should plan set times for other things and have clear finish times. Professor Della Sala says, Distraction is not necessarily bad provided it s planned so it is good practice to take breaks. Examples could be exercise, getting a cup of tea or watching some TV. 7. DRINK, EAT, SLEEP: A good diet and lots of water are always key. Professor Della Sala says that Sleep is fundamental as it allows memories to consolidate. 8. THE SYLLABUS: What (and what not) to revise for each subject. Use the Traffic Light system: GREEN YELLOW topics you feel most comfortable with so revise the least topics that are ok requiring a bit more revision RED topics you are really unsure about requiring the most revision If you are aiming for A*, A or B particularly, you should find out how to get hold of the syllabus from your teachers, and use this as a tick-list of what you need to know.
1. Turn off devices. 2. Make sure your area is tidy. 3. Stick to your timetable focus on your targets rewarding yourself for making them. 4. And then takes breaks AWAY from your revision area. These are the 5 key ones: 1. Exercise books 2. Revision guides 3. Syllabus 4. Past papers 5. Bitesize 1. Learning styles: Are you more of an auditory or visual learner? Do you remember information better by listening to it (like a teacher talking in class) by reading it or watching revision clips on YouTube? Generally, the best thing is to vary the techniques you use and work out what works for you. Don t stick to just one method! 2. Look through these methods for making notes and learning and test yourself try some out.
Try active reading : writing down what you already know about a topic and then look up the things you have forgot. Note Taking: Do more thinking not note taking read without a pen in your hand so you re not tempted to note down everything you read. Maybe use a highlighter. Makes Notes memorable use sub heading, bullet points and colours. 1. Revision Cards, Index or Flash Cards: Important facts to trigger the memory. 2. Posters: Display key ideas in your room especially for the really hard topics or ideas. 3. Post-it notes: Put them around you room e.g. for definitions 4. Spider Diagrams and Mindmaps: Complex ideas can be made into simple points and connections can be made between them.
5. Diagrams: Subjects like biology have lots of good diagrams e.g. The Carbon Cycle. 6. Pictures: Drawing relevant pictures to trigger the memory. 7. Definitions: Key word glossaries. 8. Mnemonics: Simple phrases like Richard of York Gave Battle in Vain (order of colours of visible spectrum) can help you remember sequences, spellings or lists. 9. Websites: Use sites like BBC Bitesize to look up key ideas but keep to the syllabus. 1. Repetition: Neuroscience student David Cox says that repeating information is one of the best ways to remember it as pathways between neurons can be strengthened over time. Reading your notes while pacing around can help or re-writing them on a piece of paper. 2. Look, Cover, Write, Check: This is one of the most classic revision techniques which is particularly good for language revision. You could also say it instead of writing. 3. Pictures: You can annotate a relevant picture to see what you remember about the topic 4. Past Papers: You can use past papers and practice questions to try actual exam questions. These will show you that type of questions and the style in which they are asked. 5. Mark Schemes: Mark schemes are available to down load from exam board websites. Theses show you the type of marks that are awarded and enable you to get inside the examiners head.
6. Rhymes and Songs: Connect ideas in a rhyme or song and try repeating to yourself. There are also lots of good ones on line e.g. Maths Rap etc. 7. Listening: Record yourself and listen back e.g. on your phone. 8. Essay Planning: Apply ideas you have revised and try and plan an essay. Get a friend to mark it or mark it yourself. Use this to work out what you know or need to learn more of. 9. Time Yourself: List or say out loud ideas on a topic in one minute and see how well you do. 10. Group Revision: Look through friends notes, debate ideas (e.g. positive and negatives of an idea) test each other or try to teach someone else. Take it in turns to brief the others on specific areas and share the load. (Warning: Group revision needs strict self-management to be effective!)