Year 9. Top Tips for Exam Success. Name: Year 9

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1 Year 9 Top Tips for Exam Success Name: Year 9

2 Introduction You re facing exams in an almost all of your subjects, in one condensed week! How are you going to prepare yourself and give yourself the best chance of success? Preparing for exams is both a challenge and an opportunity to learn how to get ready and practise coping with the workload and pressure that you will face frequently in future years. Exams are not tricks, aiming to catch you out or trip you up. They are there for you to show off what you know. It is possible to prepare thoroughly for them and do very well indeed. Are you up for the challenge? This booklet is designed to offer some guidelines and advice on how you can best prepare yourself for your forthcoming formal exams. 2

3 Getting started The first thing you need to do is find out exactly WHAT you need to revise. Your teachers have compiled an exam paper for you and they will be able to give you information about what is on the paper. Find out which specific topics will be on your exam, this will help you prepare. Secondly, find out WHEN your exam is. Knowing exactly when each subject exam is scheduled helps you plan and space out your revision. Using either the Examination Guide Booklet for Pupils and Parents, or an exam timetable, make a note of which exams you have and on which days they are. My Exams Exam Subject Day of the week 3

4 Plan your revision There is a lot to learn in a short space of time. Planning your revision to start early is very important. Give yourself three weeks to prepare for your formal exams. Write a revision timetable and stick to it. Revise little and often. On schooldays, you may find it easy to revise for an hour before tea and an hour after tea. On weekends you could revise in the mornings to give yourself the rest of the afternoon and evening off. Or, you might not be a morning person and will prefer to revise in the afternoon so that your evening is free. If you have sports practice or a regular commitment, you will need to plan time around it. Get into a routine that works for you, and one that you will be able to follow. It s also important that you build in regular breaks. Trying to revise for a long time isn t very useful. Chunk your revision into half hour to an hour slots and once you have completed it, reward yourself with something you like to do e.g. time on the Xbox or chatting to a friend. But only do these things after you have done your revision otherwise they will be a distraction! Writing a revision timetable 1. Mark on the timetable the commitments that you have 2. Write in the spaces which subjects you are going to revise and when. Aim to revise each subject twice a week. NB: Subjects you find difficult may need more time spent on them! You might want to fit them in on a night when you also are revising something you enjoy. 4

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6 So how do I get started? Create a space where you can study quietly. Not all your learning must be done in silence, but while you are reading your work and seeing if you understand it you do need to be able to concentrate. So making a space for your revision is a good idea. Ideally you will have a desk and chair, a lamp and some note paper. Highlighter pens and post-it notes come in very handy too. Studying in different places in your house is an option too, just make sure you can keep your work organised. Make a list of the things you may need to organise in order to create a good study space for yourself at home: Switch off your mobile phone and other gadgets that distract you. It s only for a short time you won t miss much! After all studying isn t... 6

7 How can I best revise? There is one simple principle that you need to understand. READING IS NOT REVISING Just because you have read through your notes, it doesn t mean that you understand it; can explain it or will remember it. You have to do something more with your notes than just reading through a few times. Your revision should follow this pattern: 7

8 1. Firstly you need to check that you UNDERSTAND the information. You won t know until you read your work so don t delay! Ask your teacher to explain again to you anything you do not understand. Ask yourself questions about this topic to check it. 2. Then SUMMARISE your notes. You won t be able to learn your whole folder or book full of information without identifying the key points. A good way of doing this is reading your information and then highlighting the important pieces of information. Once you have identified the key pieces of information then you can create flash cards; posters or mind maps. Using coloured pens or post-it notes are useful here as a visual cue will help you to remember the information. Stick the posters; mind maps* or post-its up in your study space or anywhere in your house where you can see it frequently and refer to it easily. (Use post it notes on your walls or on your revision notes. Make flash cards with colour) 8

9 3. Next is the need to MEMORISE the information. Repetition and frequently checking that you know it is essential. Speaking out loud as you read or think can really help facts stick in your memory. One of the best ways of checking that you know something is to try and explain something to someone else. Ask a friend (who isn t going to distract you from your work!) or a family member to test you or simply listen to you as you explain what you know. It helps if you can give them your post-it note; flash card or poster on the topic you are trying to remember, that way they can prompt you and be of help. What does this tell us about how we should revise? WE REMEMBER 10% of what we read 20% of what we hear 30% of what we see 50% of what we see and hear 70% of what we discuss with others 80% of what we personally experience 95% or what we teach others - Edgar Dale 4. Finally REVIEWING what has been learnt is necessary frequently checking that you still know what you have learnt by testing yourself is important as it shows you what you might need to go over again. 9

10 Is there anything else that will help? There are some other basic things that will help you during the exams. Get yourself organised with basic equipment like pens; pencils; ruler; rubber and calculator in advance so that you are ready for the exam day. Look after yourself during the revision weeks and the week of the exams. Get plenty of sleep and avoid late night cramming, it really won t help you as you will be too tired to think properly in the exam. Eat sensibly and drink plenty of water. Water has lots of benefits not just for your health but also for your ability to concentrate and feel less stressed. Remember... Start Early Only you can do it! Understand it first Then teach it to others Help is available just ask Learning requires effort Always make the time for it Never give up! Do it now, don t put it off Success is worth the effort! 10