Translate this site:
St Margaret Ward
Catholic Academy
St Margaret Ward
Catholic Academy
Revising for exams is a stressful time for all students. There’s likely a lot of external, and internal, pressure to achieve the very best.
The onus is on you to inspire yourself to sit down and revise. Although tough it’s the only way you achieve the grades you deserve.
Planning when to do your homework or revision activities can help you to remain on-track and to maximise your time.
Having a more granular plan, where it’s split into time allocated slots per subject or subject topic, can also help you to prioritise your learning. A properly structured study plan can take an hour or two to set up but helps to avoid procrastination further down the line.
Having your plan laid out also helps with prioritising revision in line with your exam timetable.
Active learning is a technique which builds on traditional reading of and copying notes. There are three key aspects:
After reading or taking notes, summarise them in your own words. This helps you to remember all the different aspects of the revision topic and in language you’ll understand and relate to.
Explaining a concept to someone else, like a family member, is a good way of deepening the understanding of a topic. Speaking about a topic while picking up on any pauses and deliberations can be a good way to reveal places of weakness.
Like paraphrasing key points, retrieval exercises can deepen understanding of key topics. Taking part in quizzes or using flashcards can help to retrieve information from memory. This enhances learning of specific areas that you may have flagged as weak.
When revising, it is important to find an environment in which you are comfortable. This aids productivity and focus. If you know you are easily distracted, choose a quiet and well-lit area. If you’re not, maybe a library or the dining table would be a good choice.
It is also a good idea to make sure that you have all your resources and materials near you to make sure you don’t have to be getting up frequently.
For neurodivergent students, revising for GCSEs and A-Level exams can be trickier. Here are revising techniques for neurodivergent students:
Every individual has their own preferences when considering how to revise for exams. Experiment and use our top tips as a guide, you can always lean on teachers and tutors for extra assistance.
