15 Tips on Studying And Revising

At a stage in our lives we all will be tested on our brain capacity. Well I surely have. On the 17 of May 2016 I started my GCSE which back in the UK is considered the first set of real exams a student will face throughout their educational life. The importance of these exams determine which subjects you could study at an advance level (A-Level). Your grades in A-level will then determine if you are qualified to go to a University of your chose and study your desired course, that you see will strengthen your chance at getting a specific occupation.

Well here are a few tips that I would recommend you take into consideration whilst studying 

1- Start revising a month or two in advance.
Most people are tested on a number of subjects ranging from 3-12. By revising a month or two in advance you enable yourself to spend a good range of time on each subject.
2- Create a tranquil area where you can revise 
This could be in your bedroom or in the study. If you like it could even be on the dinning room table, however this only works if everyone else is revising or better still if no one is there. Unfortunately living in a chaotic household like mine finding a quite room in near impossible, so if you most go to your local library by all means do
3- Sit at a proper desk when revising
This is ideal because from experience working on a bed, for example, could lead to an unexpected 4 hour nap.
4- Buy all your revision equipment
Now I don't mean go spend a fortune on revision cards and colourful pens. What I mean is go out and buy the essential, for example a revision guides, a note book and a few highlighters and pens. The advantages of buying your equipment at the start of your revision process is you don't start procrastinating and start leaving your revision to last minute because you didn't have a pen. In fact you don't necessarily need to buy anything because I'm pretty sure you could find the main essential lying about in the house.
5- Find the specification for your subjects.
Before you start revising the most important thing you should get is the specification for the subjects you wish to revise. Getting the specification for your subject is free and simple, all  you have to do is see which exam board you are sitting for that subject (e.g. A-level, Chemistry, Edexcel- the exam board). The specification list is a checklist for all the key information you will need for the course/ exam it also ensures that you have learnt all the topics needed . So it is key to getting those top grades.
6- Create a revision timetable and stick to it. 
Rather then waking up in the morning and deciding you want to spend the entire day revising English, by making a timetable you are more likely to get a range of subjects revised in a day.
7-Invest in some revision guides
These books will be the reason you pass your exams. Teachers can teach you as much as they want but without those revision guides you wouldn't fully grasp the concept of the topic.
8-Timing is key
Don't waste time trying to make your notes look pretty because in the end you will probably end up burning them in your garden furnace.
9-Take short breaks and Don't become a revision zombie 
Take a short break every hour and not every 10 minutes this is important for successful revision. And because it is exam season doesn't mean you should stop doing everything else and just focus on revision until you turn into a zombie. It's important to make time for other things such as watching TV or going out with friends. Its also highly advised if you incorporate some form of physical activity such as football or basketball.
10- Don't just read your note
Write stuff down.Repetition is highly important when revising because your embedding the information into your brain.
11- Work with a partner that won't distract you
Help each other out by quizzing each other or trying to explain what you learnt to them. That way it ensures that you fully understand what your learning.
12- Watch revision videos on Youtube 
Sometimes you can get sick of hearing your own voice speaking over and over again. So why don't you take a break and listen to someone else for a change. There are thousands of helpful sites and videos on the internet focus on the topics you are studying, you might need to spend a while looking for them but don't spend your whole revision time doing that. In fact try and do that during your breaks.
13-DO PRACTICE PAPERS
This is especially important as you get close to the exams. When you are doing past papers it is mentally preparing you for how the actual exam may be like. It also gives you an idea on how to answer the questions (to get as many marks as possible). Most times in the exam paper they like to repeat topics and key points, so by doing past papers you could see where you went wrong and learn how they would want that question answered. 

14-Night before exam, skim read notes
Most revision sites tell you not to revise the night before the exam but I personally think they mean don't start revising for that subject the night before. But something that will benefit you for that exam is reading over your notes and skimming through the revision guide and recalling all the key processes and information you remember in those sub-topics. 
15- Read the exam timetable properly
Double- check so you don't miss an exam and that you have plenty of time to prepare for it.




Written by Milo