Revision: Skills

Revision

You are going to be faced with written examination papers at the end of your AS level course and the A2 level course if you choose to continue with the subject. The key to success at both levels is planning.

How to revise effectively

• Be disciplined
  • Stick to your timetable
• Be ready to adapt
  • If something unforeseen happens, e.g. illness, class tests, etc. simply alter your revision plan to accommodate. N.B. It's a good idea to have a 'float' built into your programme - a 'free' Saturday, perhaps.
• Reward yourself!
  • Treat yourself by meeting a friend, watching a favourite TV programme or even with a chocolate biscuit! But you must have reached your target first.
• Revision is more than reading
  • Write down key points and say them aloud
  • Test yourself, use word associations if they help
  • Don't move on to the next topic until you are confident with the current one. Can you:
    • define terms
    • list key points
    • give real world examples
    • draw appropriate graphs
    • write out relevant formulae?
  • Review material covered at the end of the subject block
• Use past questions
  • After revising a topic, try answering a question on it
  • Check your outline answer against your notes, have you missed anything out?
  • Incorporate some timed answers under examination conditions as the final exam approaches
• Get enough sleep!
  • If you have followed a revision programme you will not have to cram the night before your papers so go to bed early and rest your brain!