Revision Tips & Tricks

Revision Tips

  • Have a clear idea of what you need to revise
    • Understand the specification
    • RAG rate the topics based on how confident you feel about them
  • Have a dedicated time and space to revise
    • Have a tidy desk, use a colour-coded filing system, be organised!
    • Have a realistic time to do your work - planning to do it during your favourite TV show is unrealistic and you won't be able to stick to it
    • Stick to your timetable - you will feel guilty if you don't, but rewarded if you do
  • Have a clear plan of what you will be revising
    • Create a timetable and factor in intervention classes
    • Focus on topics that you are weakest on, but don't forget to revise even your most confident topics
    • Review your timetable and your understanding every few weeks (more often as your exams get closer)
  • Have all of the resources that you will need to hand
    • Cue Cards, Paper, pencils, pens, water, biscuits, and snacks
    • You shouldn't need to stop your revision once you have started it
  • Remove any unnecessary distractions
    • Leave your phone on silent and in another room
    • Turn off the TV
    • Listen to music but don't let it become a distraction (no songs that will force you to break out the hairbrush and sing along!!!)
    • Go to the loo before you start
    • Remind your siblings and family members that you will be revising and ask not to be disturbed
    • Your last social media post should be to remind friends that you are about to start revising - give them a timescale of when you expect to finish so that they know not to try and contact you 
  • Short, Focussed bursts are more productive
    • Trying to sit there and memorise the properties of the groups on the periodic table or all of the quotes from Macbeth for an hour at a time will only result in you becoming frustrated and bored
    • Break up your revision into topics and have short, very focussed bursts of revision
      • Session 1 (25 mins): Write down the quotes for Macbeth Act 1 onto cue cards
      • 5-minute break to hydrate, have snacks, get the resources ready for the next session
      • Session 2 (25 mins): Write down the properties of the Groups in the periodic table, one group per cue card
      • 5-minute break for snacks and hydration, plus a quick toilet break if needed
      • Session 3 (25 mins): Learn and test myself on the quotes for Macbeth Act 1
      • 5-minute break
      • Session 4 (25 mins): Learn and test myself on the properties of the group 1 and 2 elements
      • 5 minutes to review my revision session - what did I not manage to complete? What do I still need to do? Is there something that I could have done differently?

Revision Tricks

The following are a list of revision tricks that really help you learn:

  • Cue Cards
  • Mind Maps
  • Past Paper Questions
  • Study Groups

This is a presentation that was used on a recent Year 11 study day (Click this Link)

Making the Grade Exam Tips