No matter how old you are right about now you are a month away from sitting a set of very important exams. I have my AS exams in exactly 21 days from now and others might have A2, GCSE or even Uni finals.
Heres a list of things that I have found to be effective when revising.
Get organised!
This is a lot easier said than done, I am quite a disorganised person who has her stuff laying around all over the place. Make a timetable, plan out how your week is going to go and how much you plan to finish by the end of that week. Make sure you have spaces for recapping and past paper practice.
The amount of revision you do depends on how soon you start revising. If you have been working for months then you are safe to be doing less revision than someone who has decided they're going to start after reading this post. I recommend doing 5 hours on a weekend and 3 on a school night and taking Friday as a rest day.
Chase after your teachers!
If like me any of you do essay subjects write out practice essays and make sure your teacher marks them. Doing 2/3 past papers or essays a week and getting criticism on them is the only way you are going to improve. Ask your teacher for extra recourses, see if they have any specimen papers or question sheets.Sacrifice your lunch break or a free period to sit down with them and ask about things you don't know, get them to explain it as many times till you fully understand it. They are getting paid to do this so make sure you utilise them.
Revise everywhere!
Make sure your revision is portable. Flash cards are the best for this, you can get these at your local supermarket for no more than £1.50. Carrying a few of these in your bag will ensure you will remember that information. Read these cards whilst on the bus, laying in bed, on the train, walking around, ANYWHERE. Download apps on your phone or revision games, I have some for psychology but i'm sure there are apps for every subject to exist. I doubt anyone leaves their house without having their phone on them; take pictures of your notes and read them whilst on the go. Even if you think you're stopping for 5 minutes and theres no point in getting your notes out, there is a point. Anything you do will help when it comes to the final exam.
Eliminate distractions.
This is probably the hardest of all the steps. Don't revise in your room because you will find something to distract you, I personally revise in the kitchen as theres only so much food I can eat until I get down to actually working. Give your parents your phone whilst you're working, turn it off and give it to them. You can use your phone in your revision break but as long as its there and accessible you will never get work done. Your phone is probably the reason you don't get as much work done.
Revise in groups.
This doesn't work for all people, but I know it works for some. Sitting in a group with people and exchanging notes or having someone to explain something you don't understand and vice versa can be effective but can also go very wrong. You have to stay focused and work, its very easy to go off topic and end up talking and laughing for hours rather than revising. I would recommend doing this when you have finished all your revision and all you have to do is recap.
Take breaks!
Revising for hours can really get to your head. Take breaks, sit in the garden get some fresh air, have some lunch, watch an episode of friends. Don't over work yourself as you will just want to give up. Everything is good when taken in the right amounts.
Make sure you get as much sleep as you can and not work when your tired cause there is just no point in working whilst tired as nothing goes in (I speak from experience).
