WORK SMARTER NOT HARDER Year 13 student, Lizzie Hayselden, shares her tips on revising for the upcoming Year 12 exams.
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e’ve all heard the word ‘revision’ thrown around throughout our school careers and not given it much thought. I don’t think I truly grasped what revision was until the end of Year 12. More so, it can be easy to fall into bad habits - like passive revision, often where you read something once, understand it and assume that you’ve memorised it. So, here’s some good habits to get into... Past papers and practice exam questions. Regardless of the subject you are studying, completing practice assignments is a great way to get familiar with the types of questions you’ll face in an exam, as well as the language used in exam questions – something which might throw you off if you encounter it for the first time on exam day. Once you feel confident with the knowledge, your time will be better spent putting your flashcards aside and completing a past paper. Remember, knowing the content is only one aspect of the exam. Being able to apply your knowledge is equally as valuable.
have crept into your answer. Even if you would’ve got full marks on a question, note what points in your answer were vital to scoring marks. Understanding Content Simply being in your lessons won’t ensure you learn or truly grasp the content. After a lesson, you should condense the knowledge in a way to help your understanding, especially if you struggled to understand it in class. There are many ways you can do this. Write a flowchart to understand a process or timeline. Make revision charts, splitting a piece of A3 paper into boxes and breaking concepts into definitions, explanation, and examples. Write essay plans. Simply summarise your notes, keeping them short and sweet. This leads me on to my next tip... Structuring Your Notes
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Writing lengthy paragraphs during classes is counterproductive. Our brains are useless at recalling long pieces of information. So, shorten your notes using bullet points that are no more than two lines long. Be efficient by only putting down After each paper, trawl through key information. This may seem the mark scheme with a focus on obvious but it’s easy to forget and how to achieve marks. Spend time suddenly, your notes are a mess reviewing your answer in a different of disorganised paragraphs. I’ve colour pen, spotting any mistakes always remembered information or misconceptions which could better when I’ve condensed it
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into headings, sub-headings, definitions, and bullet points – rather than a rambling stream of words. Take revision breaks Revision is stressful. It’s the one thing students agree on. So, it’s no wonder many of us get overwhelmed, preferring to leave it till the last minute. Out of sight, out of mind – right? Well, for A levels, the last thing you want to do is cram the night before. Instead, break revision down into manageable chunks and incorporate breaks. There’s only so many hours in a day you can revise for and you need to let your brain recharge. Perhaps grab a coffee, go for a walk, go and talk to your friends. Take that time to rejuvenate before getting back down to business.
