Below is a copy of my exam technique and revision guide. This was written mainly for my GCSE and A-Level students, but is also relevant to students sitting their key stage three tests at the end of year nine.

This guide can be freely copied and printed by all who find its contents useful.

For those who wish a copy in PDF format can do so by using the link below. You may wish to right click this link and save a copy to your hard drive.

Revision Guide, PDF

                                           

EXAM TECHNIQUE

REVISION

Revision is an important process in successfully completing any formal course that includes a final exam, which is part of the courses assessment criteria.Therefore it is extremely important that in carrying out your revision, that it is done in a systematic way to ensure that you will gain the maximum benefit from your revision.A good starting point is to begin your revision approximately one month before the date of the examination. Before starting your revision try to set aside at least one hour a day at a regular time, do not fall into the trap of thinking that you can get away with doing a seven, or eight hour block of revision in one day. The reason for this is that after about one hour of concentration your brain will switch off, consequently the next six or seven hours of study will be a complete waste of time. Remember the golden rule in order to derive the maximum benefit from your studies, including revision" little and often."At the start of your revision briefly go through the whole course, identifying the key concepts, points and equations. Your teacher should be able to help you in this, if you do not have access to a good text book or revision guide. After you have identified the key concepts etc, identify the ones that you do not fully understand. These are the ones that you need to concentrate your efforts on for your revision. Work through these in the order that you studied them during the course.When you have carried out your revision, as outlined above, where possible look at some past exam papers, about a week before the exam. This will allow you to become familiar with the type of questions you can be expected to be tested on, the structure of the exam, how many questions you need to answer, and the time allowed for the exam. From the duration of the exam, and the number of questions you need to answer you can work out the time you should spend on each question. Remember to leave at least five minutes at the end of the examination, so that you can check through your answers.

THE NIGHT BEFORE THE EXAM

The night before the examination, go through one last time any concepts you are still not totally sure of. Again do not spend to much time on this, and do ensure that you get a good nights rest by retiring to bed at your usual time. Remember a "tired brain does  not concentrate".Also on the night before the exam make sure that you have all the materials needed for the exam, and that they are all in good working order.

Given below is a checklist of all the things you will require:

1) At least one pen, with plenty of ink,(NOT RED).

2) At least two good HB pencils, sharpened.

3) Calculator, ensure the batteries are not flat.

4) Geometry set, or at least a ruler and compass.

THE DAY OF THE EXAM

On the day of the exam make sure you know the time, and the place of the exam, and turn up for the exam at least fifteen minutes before it is due to start.You should be allowed into the exam ten minutes before it starts. This allows you to read the instructions on the front of the exam paper, and to fill in your name and examination number etc.Once the exam starts briefly read through the paper, and decide which questions you are going to answer. If you have to complete all the questions still do this, for this will allow you to see which questions will give you the least difficulty in answering.Firstly answer all the questions that you can in the time that you have allocated to answer each question in. After this go on to answer the questions you could not answer first time round. Remember even if you can only answer parts of a question you should still answer these parts, for you will be given credit for all the parts you successfully give answers to.Five minutes before the end of the examination go through all your answers, to check for any mistakes, remember any answer crossed out will not be marked, for the examiner will assume that any crossed out work is not to be marked.Finally if you have carried out the above procedures for your revision, and in the exam, then it is only left for me to wish you all the best in obtaining the results you set out to achieve.

Graham George Green Private Tuition Services 1993

Revised 1998

 

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