Effectively Revise for Your GCSE

GCSE's are one of the most stressful things a young person can go through, as well as A Levels. Teenagers are under so much pressure these days to do well and it can be a very emotional time. Whatever you do, try to keep in mind what you have to look forward to. Exam success will make your future brighter. Aim to do your best, and be happy with yourself.

Steps

  1. Revise in short bursts. You can never revise enough might be true, but don't sit for hours on end working at the same subject—your revision will be most effective in the first hour.
  2. Go through each subject you are doing for GCSE and discover what you don't understand. Write out a list of topics you find difficult, look through your notes and try to break them down and understand.
  3. Buy revision guides for all of your subjects. CGP and Collins are all good brands, but try to get the revision guides from your exam board like AQA, OCR, CCEA, WJEC and Edexcel.
  4. Try to find somewhere where you won't be disturbed. If you can work with music on, this can help you relax. It can also drown out noises around you. Make sure you have an empty desk to work at, with everything you need at hand for the session ahead. Have plenty of scrap paper handy. If you're using the Internet to revise, make sure you know what you want to improve on before you start.
  5. Discover what type of learner you are. There are three basic types of learning styles. The three most common are visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. To learn, we depend on our senses to process the information around us. Most people tend to use one of their senses more than the others. Try different methods of revision to find out what your learner type is.
  6. The three types of learner:
    • Auditory learners may have a knack for ascertaining the true meaning of someone's words by listening to audible signals like changes in tone. When memorizing a phone number, an auditory learner will say it out loud and then remember how it sounded to recall it. Does any of this sound like you?
    • Visual learners are those who learn things best through seeing them. Visual learning students like to keep an eye on the teacher by sitting in the front of the class and watching the lecture closely. Often, visual learners will find that information "clicks" when it is explained with the aid of a chart or picture.
    • Tactile or kinesthetic learners are those who learn through experiencing/doing things. For this reason, tactile learners may become bored more quickly than other students while listening to a class lecture. Tactile learners like to experience the world and act out events. To remember a phone number, tactile learners may remember the pattern of their fingers as they press the numbers.
  7. Take breaks every 45 minutes when you revise. There's no point revising for 3 hours non stop without taking any breaks. You brain will simply become overloaded with information and will not take anything in.
  8. If you don't understand something, ask your teachers, parents, older brothers and sisters for help.
  9. Get past exams from teachers or off the Internet. Past exams are one of the most popular ways to revise.
  10. If you don't understand something, write it out again, and again, and again until you fully understand it!
  11. Drink plenty, rest plenty, and play often (but less as the exams approach - there'll be time for social lives afterwards!)
  12. Once you know the date of your exam, aim to start revising at least a month before. Too many of our visitors leave it all until the last minute—our usage statistics go through the roof the night before exam days.

Tips

  • Sleep well. Wind down before bed. Don't revise under the duvet - your bed is a sanctuary, not a desk. Get at least eight hours of sleep every night.
  • Read, and write summaries of, your notes.
  • Have something to look forward to, e.g. a TV show.
  • Plan your revision with a timetable.
  • Plan revision slots of between 40-60 minutes.
  • Exercise. Nothing de-stresses the mind faster than physical activity. Build it into your timetable. Being a sloth makes our mind sloppy too.
  • Don't just work through questions
  • Don't just read your specification, books or class notes.
  • Stick post–it notes around the room and visit them one at a time. This will help you to associate different notes with different objects.
  • Draw diagrams.
  • Tick off topics that you have done, and note things you have to do.
  • Answer guided questions in revision books.
  • Revise with a friend: ask and answer questions.
  • Sketch mind maps (spider diagrams) of key issues.
  • Use mnemonics (rhymes of word lists) to prompt you.
  • Relax when you get home after school for a few minutes. Refresh your mind then start revising 1hr on each subject, with breaks included whenever your start a new subject. Do at least 2 to 3 subjects a day to keep you on your feet!

Warnings

  • Ultimately, don't lose sight of the fact that there is life after exams. Things might seem intense right now, but it won't last forever.
  • Avoid comparing your abilities with your friends. Those "Oh my God I've only read Macbeth 17 times" conversations are such a wind up. Everyone approaches revision in different ways, so just make sure you've chosen the method that works best for you. Make a realistic timetable and stick to it.
  • Steer clear of any exam 'post-mortem'. It doesn't matter what your friends wrote in the exam. It's too late to go back and change your answers, so it will just make you worry even more.
  • Panic is often triggered by hyperventilating (ie quick, shallow breaths). So if you feel yourself losing it during the exam, sit back for a moment and control your breathing. Take deep breaths in and out through your nose, counting to five each way.

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