Monday 30 June 2014

Let's Talk// Exams and Revision - Tips and Advice

Hello everyone,

I have been wanting to do this post for ages, and I thought now is a good time, because we had exams coming up or revision and any time is a good time in my opinion. Either way I am going to be talking to you about School, revision, exams and hopefully everything school related that no one likes!

I have done a revision tips before// Click here

My Experience

I think I have my revision down to a T, I have found the ways that work best for me and they work for more or less every subject, more some than others. When you are revising it is down to your personal preference of what you like. I am the person who revises a lot but mean while I stress out so much over the exams, the revision side, learning it and doing the exam. Also I should say that I am doing my GCSE's next year for English, Maths and Science etc.

Revision Apps


For me I use my Ipad a lot and to have revision apps on their is amazing. The best one I had found is called Edexcel Past Papers, when I am revising past papers come in hand all the time, we do them during lessons and are one of the best ways to revise and to practice. This app is great because you can choose what level you want, the year and it shows you the subject and gives you the question paper and mark scheme. I highly reccomend this app it also saves the trees! Free 

My next app is called Evernote, I think you can link this up to all your difference devices aswell which is amazing. I love this for taking notes, I have been using this a lot for my Health and Social homework, just writing down roughly what I want to say then I had a base line idea. If you are aloud to take Tablets to school with you, I would reccomend taking notes on here, if you struggle with the keyboard you can buy a separate Bluetooth one or a keyboard case. Free

Khan Academy, is amazing this is what I like to call a lesson on your tablet. You can have different subjects I mainly use this for Science and Maths. And you can pick a certain thing within the subject, watch a video and you are learning that thing. I love for this if I am going through my book and see something I haven't been taught in a while. I would highly reccomend this for jogging your memory maybe a few weeks before your exams. Free

Learning a language can be very hard, but this app is great for help. It is a language app they do lots of different languages but I have Spanish. This teaches you more of the basics but it's so helpful because you can track your progress aswell as play games to test your knowledge. Paid

My last app I have to mention is called Think Write Study. This is great for just wanting to practice some things. Great for maths because you can give yourself a few questions to practice I love doing this in between adverts. This can be quite tricky to get the grips to but it's amazing when you do. Paid

Keeping your notes tidy


When it comes to exams I have to have my notes, work and any revision material clean and organised. This is why I love these paper folders, I don't like binders because I never fill them up enough. But these are great for just putting random pieces for paper together this is from Asda. My next favourite thing for organizing notes is notebooks. I have way to many but you can never have too many. These are from Paperchase. I love the designs and they are good sturdy notebooks.

Extras  


The thing I highly reccomend is a School Planner, your school may give you one already, but my ones are tiny. This is an extra thing I keep at home I write down revision, exams and anything I need to remember, this is from Paperchase. Another thing is if you are learning a language I reccomend you getting a BBC Phrase book and Dictionary they are amazing and I love how they are designed. My next thing I need to mention is these Stabilo Fine Liner pens, these are great for taking notes and revision, I love writing in colour and these are amazing, quite expensive but well worth it. I would get these on Amazon they are a little cheaper. My next and biggest revision material are Revision Cards, I get mine for Rymans, they are amazing for revising I used these a lot in Business exams, if you don't want to buy these you can just cut pieces for paper into rectangles, I put a word on one side and either a definition or phrase on the other side, great for testing yourself.

School Books


When I know I have a exam coming up I always take my class books home, I try my best and write down everything and anything during class because this helps so much for revision purposes. Try and keep them all together and keep them neat aswell.

Revision books and guides


This is something I am willing to spend some money on, and these are revision books/guides. I think I have one for more or less every subject. These are amazing I couldn't reccomend these more. I get a lot of mine of amazon, I think my favourite ones are the Pearson Revision Guide and Workbook I love how easy they are to understand and the words used.

The actual revision


There are so many ways you can revise, I prefer the ones above. I think making posters is great for English and Science, because they are very visual and they attach your eye very easily. I also like taking notes I use a highlighter to make certain words eye catching so they stand out. I am a fan of mind maps aswell, I have to do them online because drawing them I just can't do and they are never equal. Then my last option I love for Maths is past papers, I mention these above they are amazing, you can use BBC BItesize for a few questions on a topic, also they are good for seeing where you are doing wrong.

Exam Tips and Advice

1. A big exam tip is to not over fill yourself, it's great doing revision on the day but don't stress or focus on one thing in particular.  Just take it easy in the morning and during the day.

2. Don't leave your revision to the last minute. I have never done this before but people who have regret it 99.9% of the time. You need to give yourself at least a month of revision before the exam.

3. Stay cool, calm and collective! Do not Stress yourself out

4. If you are not getting as much revision done on your own than the best thing to do is to go and revise with your teacher, ask for them to help you after school, during form or anytime. I done maths revision during form on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday's. 

5. Make your class notes and homework to an outstanding quality. I try and do this all the time because when it comes to revising or doing coursework your ahead because you have put in the extra work and effort.

6. This is more of a after exam advice, but when you find out your results don't compare yourself to what others got. And remember you tried your best and that is all everyone and anyone will ask of you.

I hope this was helpful! If you have any questions than please leave them below and I will answer them asap.










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