It’s about that time again skool girls! Welcome to exam prep season.
To those of you who are on the verge of a brain overload, take it easy. To those of you who just simply don’t know where to start, we want to give you best chance of taking that exam room by storm, so why not try out our top recommended revision techniques?
1. Practice Old Exam Papers
I can only assume this is what most skool girls do anyway. Practicing past exam papers is one of the most effective ways to prepare for your exams, and I can confidently vouch that this classic method never fails. Go back a few years and consider the kind of questions that came up. Don’t assume that these will be on the paper, but look at the relationship between the questions and course content, says Kate Williams, editor of Palgrave Macmillan pocket study skills. “Is there a question per topic? Are topic areas combined in different ways? What is the style of the question – single focus or direct question?”
2. Time Yourself
In an exam, time is of the essence, so make every. single. second. count girls. It helps to be aware of what you can realistically do in the allotted time. If you have one hour per question, you might allow around 10 minutes to consider the question and jot down notes, then 45-50 minutes writing time. But don’t be tempted to skimp on one question to lavish time on another, urges Williams. “The first 50% of marks in any question are much easier to pick up than the next 20%,”
3. Organise A Study Group
Hey not everyone feels confident revising alone. Getting together with pals for a study session is a great way for you to bounce information off one another, and share knowledge on questions and answers that you may have been unsure of. Just make sure you actually focus on studying, this is not a social call ladies…jus sayin!
4. Now’s The Time To Explain Everything!
Exam time is the perfect way to use your parents, annoying little siblings and your talking pet parrot to your advantage. Hand them a revision card, and ask them to test you on questions at random when they see you around the house, in the car or out food shopping. Not only is this technique good practice for the real thing, it also helps to highlight area’s you need to work on.
5. Let’s Get Visual
I can assure you that the Trey Songz poster pinned to your wall isn’t going to be of much use to you right now. So to be rid of any distractions, take them down and instead replace with visual aids that are relevant to your studies such as key notes, formulas, equations, flowcharts, diagrams…before you panic, Trey can go back up later, sheesh!
6. Let Your Teacher Have A Say
Whether you like it or not, this is one time in your skool life when your teachers opinion matters! If you’re unsure of anything or even want your teacher to look over some of the past papers you have completed, now is the time to let ‘Ms Blah Di Blah’ have her say, it could be the difference between you getting the A to getting the A*.
7. Last Minute Commands
Even when you have done all that you possibly can, the night before your exam can still make the most prepared student feel completely underprepared! Nevertheless, there is still a lot you can do with the short time you have left. “Night-before notes can be an active way of capturing, condensing and summarising your exam material,” says Professor Sarah Moore, (co-author of The Ultimate Study Skills Handbook). “Sketching out short signposts is a great way of gaining last-minute command over some of the trickier aspects of your studies.”
(Cover photo via flickr)
