Why preparing for exams is important
- Revising works best when you practise what you'll be doing in the exam and that means answering questions. By concentrating on key facts and writing them down as exam answers you'll be making it easier to remember what you learned in class.
Know what you'll be examined on
- In the exam you'll be expected to answer questions on the subjects you studied in class, which means you'll need a full set of notes to revise from. If you missed some classes your notes may not be complete.
- To make sure your notes are up-to-date, check your notes against the subject revision checklist given to you by your teacher. If the checklist shows you are missing notes on some subjects, ask your teacher which chapters of your text book you need to read and make notes on so you can fill in the gaps.
- Bitesize revision guides (BBC Bitesize)
Past exam papers
- Before you sit the exam your teacher will usually start handing out copies of old exam papers. These are really good to practice on.
- Your subject text book will also usually contain a few example exam questions. More practice exam questions, together with their answers (known as the mark scheme) can be downloaded from the exam board websites.
Organise your revision notes
- Past exam papers are very useful when organising your revision notes. Arrange your notes in the order the topics appear in the exam paper. Once you've done this, try recalling the key facts needed for each topic.
- You'll find that organising your notes makes them easier to remember and improves your memory. The easier it is to remember the facts, the more quickly you'll be able to write them down in the exam.
Practise doing the exam
- Passing exams with top marks means knowing what to write down and what to leave out. You don't have to write down everything you remember and getting this right requires practice. Before you start writing, read the number in brackets after each question. This tells you how many points each question is worth and gives you a clue to the length of the answer.
- For example, a three-point question means you'll have to write down three facts, a question with higher marks will always require more facts and a longer answer.
- Once you have completed your practice exam you can check you answered the questions correctly by comparing your answers to the mark scheme downloaded from the exam board website.
Hopefully with these tips and the notes available on this website, you can do well in your exams! I wish you all the best.
