REVISION PROGRAMME You really need to plan how to spend the months leading up to the exams. A last minute rush will leave you panicky and tired. You need to fit in relaxation as well as revision and keeping pace with new work. This unit is designed to help you organise your revision properly and be well prepared for your exams so that you will do the very best you can. PREPARING FOR REVISION AND EXAMS Plan of Action Step 1 - Step 2 - Step 3 - Step 4 - Step 5 - make sure you know what topics you must revise for each subject. plan out a timetable for your revision and stick to it. Organise how to revise thoroughly, find a way that suits you. Coping with exam nerves and making final preparations. The exam! HINT Before you start revising you must collect together all the books and notes you will need. 1
REVISION - HOW TO GET GOING Getting Started Revision for an exam is rather like training to run a marathon. The sooner you start getting into shape the better your chances of successfully completing the course. Before starting your revision programme make sure that you have all the books, notes etc. together that you need and that it is well organised. Begin revising at least six weeks before the first exam so that studying can be broken down into short, regular sessions spread over many days. Spend more time on especially difficult subjects, but avoid the mistake of thinking that because you find a subject easy you need not revise it. Equally, do not neglect a subject you find very hard. By working hard on it you will often find that it suddenly begins to make sense. Step 1 What should I revise? Before you can plan properly you will need information from subject teachers e.g. details of exam papers. You must find out lists of topics likely to be covered. WHY NOT... Have a look at this year s syllabus for each subject. Ask your teacher about the examiners reports. These are written after each year s exams. They explain, amongst other things, the common mistakes made by students. Knowing about these mistakes should stop you making the same ones! Ask your teacher to go through plenty of test papers. Make sure you know precisely what you have to do in each subject you are taking - how many papers you have to take; how many questions you have to do from the number set; how long the exam is; where and when it is...and so on. The back section of this booklet contains a planner with the times and dates of most of the exams. Check this against the print off given to you by the exams office and check and discrepancies with them 2
Step 2 Planning your revision time You must plan the weeks up to the exams very carefully in order to fit in your revision. Once you have a timetable of revision - stick to it as best you can. Organising your time Use the revision planner or make a copy of it from the back of the booklet on a large sheet of paper and pin it up in the room where you revise. Use the instructions at the start of the planner to plan your revision time. Hint Whatever method you use to set out your plans: Tick off what you have achieved and feel good about it. If things go wrong, work out why. How to use the examinations and revision planner: - 1. Check the exam entry dates are correct. Enter any others not included 2. Shade out all the times when you CAN T revise. These will include time at school, jobs, activities such as sports, eating time, social activities etc. 3. The remaining time is revision time. Write in the subject you are going to revise. Start with subjects that you have exams in first. Write them in half hour blocks and then do a different subject. Make sure you give equal time to all exams and don t avoid the subjects you find hardest they are the ones that need most revision 4. Planning your time becomes even more important in the holidays. If you don t plan your time you will waste it. You should also make sure you spend less time on other activities and more time on your revision. 5. An example for one of the early weeks has been done for you below. All subjects have been given at least two sessions of half an hour for a total of at least 7½ hours and you have a life as well! WB Morning Afternoon Evening Monday School Travel Maths Tea IT PE TV Tuesday School Travel Friends Tea Geog X box RM Wednesday School Travel English Tea Football training TV Thursday School Travel X box Tea Music Maths English Friday School Travel Science Tea Out with friends Saturday Science Geog Shopping Football Match X box Out with friends Sunday Job Music RM IT X box and TV 3
Where, when and how often to revise - some suggestions Where to revise... Everybody needs to work out where and how they work best. Don t fool yourself that you can work in front of the TV. Revision is most effective In a quiet room, perhaps a bedroom, Warm and well-lit, With a table to work at, Ideally, with a table-lamp, to help you to focus on the page, With a clock for timing. When to revise.. Start your revision early each evening, before your brain gets tired If you decide at the beginning how long you will work for, with a clock, then as your brain knows the end is coming you will learn more effectively Break up a 2-hour session into 4 shorter sessions each of about 25-minutes, with a short planned break between them, then it is even better. How often to revise.. The first graph below shows how much your brain can recall later. It rises for about 10 minutes and then falls. If you quickly re-revise again, after 10 minutes and then 1 day and 1 week then it falls much more slowly as in the second graph These are the best intervals for topping-up, by reviewing or briefly re-revising and then 1 month. 4
Step 3 Revision is fun?? How do you like to learn? Are you Visual use diagrams, graphs, colours, patterns, posters, sketches, mind maps Auditory use speech, song, rhythm rhyme, rap, tapes Kinaesthetic use your body, practice routines, act out scenes You will identify the type of learning style you prefer to use in the P4L sessions. Use this information to focus on the ways of revising that are most likely to suit you! Revision I find revision easy in... Yes Nearly always No Explain why? English Maths Science PE BACS I must find more successful ways to revise in How do you revise? When I revise... Yes Nearly always I read through my books/files I make notes from my files and books I make note cards to revise from I make mind maps/flow charts/diagrams to help me memorise topics or processes I give myself rewards when I have completed some revision (chocolate/tv etc) I revise for long periods of time I revise for 20 minutes and then take a break I feel confident about my revision No 5
Mnemonics: the catchphrase system Mnemonics are where you remember a phrase and use the first letter of each word to remind you of the first letter of the things you want to remember. It s a kind of hook to hang information on. It can also help you remember the order of things. e.g. the names and order of the planets My Very Easy Method Just Speeds Up Naming Planets It can be easier to remember your catchphrase if it is funny or ridiculous. When you write Mnemonics make the first letter bold and use a different colour for each first letter Try making up a Mnemonic for Maths Trig ratios: Sine = Cosine = Tan = opposite/hypotenuse adjacent/hypotenuse opposite/adjacent The Memory Challenge different ways of memorising information 1. Memorise a process or sequence of information and walk it through using objects in a room to represent key objects, people, events, information that you have to remember etc. This can also be done by associating things you need to memorise with rooms in your house points/places on a journey as a story 2. Talk to yourself; Explain something to yourself in the mirror 3. Teach to learn: Explain a process, instructions or a poem to a friend. The area you get stuck on is where there is gap in your learning. 4. Use raps, rhythm or rhyme to memorise information. Share it with someone and perform it! 5. Get a revision buddy. Get them to test you regularly Sorting your thoughts You will have a lot of information for each of your subjects and sometimes it is difficult to know where to begin so how can you sort your thoughts out! It can be done by organising your thoughts into a format that you can understand and can be easily turned into exam answers. Below are some suggested ways to do this. You may not find all of them useful but practise experimenting with them until you find one that works. 6
Spider Diagram Mind Map Flow Chart 7 Flowcharts have many uses in Design and Technology. The flow chart below shows the system for making a cup of tea. Note the shape of the boxes - the start and finish are rectangular with rounded corners, the process boxes are rectangular with square corners, the decision box is a diamond and all boxes are joined by arrows showing the direction of flow.
Living Graph 120 100 80 Rainfall (mm) 60 40 20 0 Rainfall Month 20 15 10 Temperature 5 0 You need to decide where the statements below best fit on the graph. Simply put the number of the statement on the graph. You need to have a reason for your choice too! 1. Sarah isn t going to school today as the school is closed due to the snow. 2. Fred is late for work because he couldn t drive through the ford it was too dangerous. 3. Suzie decides that she should put on factor 25 sun cream today. Classification Try grouping information into two categories. Then try grouping or classifying them into three and justify your reasons for doing so. Venn Diagram 8
Visualisation Use lots of colour. Make sure it is organised into clear sections. Space the information out and use symbols and abbreviations. Use highlighter pens to make key words and important information stand out. Minimise Too much information? Do you need to reduce your topics down to a few key points to make it easy to remember? How can you do it? Post its: - write keywords on one side and definitions up side down on the other. Stick them on your walls, doors, windows etc Test yourself, lift them and check the answer Index/revision cards; - use them to make brief notes, sketches and diagrams. Ideal for Geography case studies. Remember to space your notes out Skim read: - Establish what you want to read it for link it with your other learning Get a feel for the layout and organisation Look for key paragraphs, sentences or words Use a pencil or a piece of paper to speed down a either a paragraph at a time or slalom down the page Plan exam answers: - practise the planning of past questions. Use one of the techniques above to help you plan the answer. Do this for as many questions as possible 9
Step 4 The Exam Approaches Countdown to exams Why not?... Use the revision planner in the back of this booklet or make a poster out of it, fill it in and put it on your wall! A month ahead... make quite certain you know where and when your exams are, what equipment will be provided (or not allowed) and what you will need to take for yourself. Make sure you know what the questions mean... Look again at past papers so that you re familiar with the different ways in which questions are asked. Examiners choose their words carefully. If you are asked simply to name a piece of equipment, for example, you will get no marks for a description of what it does, no matter how correct it is. If you are asked to show your working, show it. The number of marks for each separate question is a guide to how much detail the examiner wants. These marks are usually shown on the paper. Make sure you are clear about what general terms, such as Discuss and Assess mean; if in doubt ask your teacher. It is very important that you know the rules for each exam before you sit it. Examining boards have to be very strict about running exams, e.g. you may be allowed to take a calculator into an exam, but not one with a pre-programmable memory. If you are unclear about any rules, check with your teacher. Never be tempted to break the rules : each year examining boards take action against candidates who do. Even legal action in some cases! When the day comes... Give yourself plenty of time to do everything; check equipment; have breakfast (don t drink too much, anxiety does funny things to you); go to the toilet; arrive on time, but not too early. Try not to talk about the exam with your friends before you go in. Check back that you know the number of questions you must answer and how to approach each type of examination to gain most points. Every different kind of exam written, oral or practical has its own particular requirements. In the exam... Settle yourself down carefully, lay out equipment. Read right through the exam paper very carefully. Check the instructions again how many questions, from which sections? Underline any key instructions or words that indicate how the question should be answered e.g. Describe briefly the chief reasons for the decline of Britain as a maritime power since 1945 perhaps jot down brief notes of dates or formulae that come to mind. Mark which questions look possible; equally mark those to be avoided. Start with the ones 10
you can do easily to give you confidence, but don t forget to mark your answer clearly with the correct question number. Remember the things you ve learnt from practising questions; plan your use of time; plan each answer; use your memory of revision cards; don t panic if everyone else around you seems to start writing furiously from the word go and don t be tempted to follow their example! Give yourself time to check answers. Final thoughts... You are not on your own... There are many people around you who are just as keen for you to do well as you are, so don t be afraid to ask teachers/lecturers/parents for help. Your friends may well be taking the same exams why not work together on the topics that seem difficult or bore you; share thoughts about revision cards. Remember too that if you can explain something to someone else before an exam the chances are that you can explain it in an exam. Beware of other people who tell you either that they are doing very little or a great deal. The first lot may be doing very little but kid you into doing less; the second lot panic you into overdoing it! Exams are not designed to catch you out, but to find out what you know, what you understand and what you can do. Exam Skills Key question words Make sure you understand what different key question words mean: Keywords explained... Compare: Contrast: Criticise: Define: Describe: Differentiate: Discuss: Distinguish: Evaluate: Explain: Illustrate: Interpret: are the things very alike (similar) or are there important differences? Which do you think is best? Why? look for differences. use evidence to support your opinion on the value of 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. make clear. give examples which make the point clear. explain the meaning in your own words, for example you may be asked to interpret a graph. 11
Presentation Write legibly Keep your work as neat as possible Begin your paragraphs about 5 letters in from the margin Number your answers (and any sub-sections) 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: 1. be as accurate as possible 2. be clearly labelled 3. show their purpose In mathematical working, the sequence of operations in an answer must be clear. Marks are awarded for logical deduction as well as for correct final answers. Checking Make sure errors are clearly corrected or deleted. Rough work should be clearly crossed out. Summary : Think, then write COPING WITH EXAM NERVES How to handle exam nerves Relaxation is the body s natural antidote to anxiety. It is impossible to be relaxed and tense at the same time. Learning to relax is fairly easy and, once mastered, it may be used in any potentially stressful situation, for example being interviewed, asking for a date or playing sport. Before the examination Picture yourself going into the exam room, taking your seat behind the desk and preparing for the start. Imagine turning over the paper, when told to do so, and reading through the questions. Create this scene as vividly as possible, not only seeing what is happening but also hearing the sound of the exam room: the scraping of chairs as candidates sit down; the rustle of paper as questions are read; perhaps the ticking of the clock. If this makes you at all anxious, repeat the word CALM each time you breathe out. When relaxed again, return to the imaginary exam room. Learning to cope with exam nerves in your imagination helps you to avoid them in real life. Relax the night before your exam, by clenching every muscle you can and then relaxing them and immediately on waking the following day. If you have little to do on the night before the exam, this will help considerably. 12
The Day of the Examination If you get the chance, immediately before going into the examination room, find a quiet spot and spend a few moments sitting quietly and allowing yourself to unwind. When sitting in the exam room, make yourself relax in the seat by consciously relaxing each muscle, starting with your toes and gradually moving upwards. Practise these skills until they become second nature and you will find yourself able to cope more easily, not just with exams, but with a wide range of stressful activities. Final thoughts and preparation Make quite certain you know where and when your exams are, what equipment will be provided (or not allowed) and what you will need to take for yourself. In the exam, answer the questions that are actually set; stick to your time plan; stick to the right points. Remember that you are not on your own and in particular that if anything should go wrong, do tell the member of staff straight away. Remember that exams are not designed to catch you out, but to find out what you know, what you understand and what you can do. 13
Step 5 - The exam Time Management During Exams A student once remarked that the shortest five minutes in the world are the last five minutes at the end of an exam. To avoid being unable to finish, or having to rush the last answer attempted, you must plan your exam time with care and discipline. Always try to answer all the questions required. Some students feel that brilliant answers to two out of four questions are better than average answers to all four. But this is seldom the case. In fact you could answer half the questions very well indeed and still fail. In long answer questions, the first 50% of the marks are much easier to get than the second 50%. Time is therefore better spent on trying to achieve half marks on each question rather than full marks on one. The most important element of exam organisation is to read the instructions with great care. These will tell you: The length of the exam How many questions are to be attempted and from which sections The allocation of marks to each question As part of your revision, find out how much time you can devote to the various questions. Ask teachers. Ask teachers about the availability of past papers to help with revision and exam practice. Take an easily-read watch into the exam room and keep a close eye on the time. During the exam keep to this plan. Even when you can answer one question perfectly, do not be tempted to spend more time on it than your schedule permits. You might have time to come back to it after you have answered the other questions. 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. 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 4; Student B completes the whole paper. Note the difference in their exam performance. 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 14
A Summary Important Points about Revision and Exams This guide is intended to help with your revision and your examination technique so that you can make the most of what you know, understand and can do. It does not offer a way around the problem of lack of effort in the past, but can help you make the best use of the time you have left! Plan Revision Do not pretend that everything can be done in a rush the night before each exam. Work out how long you have got to revise before the exams and plan how to use your time. Preparation Make sure you know what will be examined in each subject and the way in which the questions are asked. Have a look at the syllabus for this year s exams and past examination papers. Make sure you know what you will need for each exam...both what is provided for you and what you must provide yourself. Make sure you know where and when your exams are to be held. Make sure you know the rules for each exam. Never be tempted to break them! Make sure you are comfortable before going into an exam go to the toilet, wear comfortable clothes if your school allows this. In the Examination Room Read the instructions very carefully do the right number of questions from the right sections and answer compulsory questions. Plan your time in the exam if you only attempt half the questions needed your best possible mark is 50% however good the answers! Read questions very carefully BEFORE you start writing anything not halfway through your answer. The examiners allow time for you to read the paper when they plan the exam so don t think that you are wasting time. Answer the questions set, not the ones you hoped for. However good your work, you will get NO marks if you don t answer the examiners questions. Make sure your answers are carefully presented write clearly and label diagrams, for example, if this helps your answer. Let the supervisor know if anything is disturbing you other people tapping nervously with a pencil, noise outside the examination room, or even the supervisor s squeaky shoes. After an Examination Don t worry about the one you ve just taken; you can t do anything about it now! Concentrate on the next one Tell your school straight away about illness or other circumstances which might have affected your performance. Do Not Panic Exams are NOT designed to catch you out. Being calm and thoughtful in the exam will help you get the most from your preparation. 15