Hello everyone!
This is the second post in my new series - Relieving Stress (and study tips!). I hope you all enjoyed the last one, if you haven't read it yet check it out here. I recommend you to read that one first because it's the first step in getting the problem solved. Hopefully this post (and the upcoming ones) will be more broad so that they can be applied anytime!
I must admit that today's topic is quite a boring one - however, if you stick with me, I have a great idea for DIYers out there!
Today, I will be talking about how to revise. "Ugh, studying. Is there any way to get good grades without studying?", you may ask. Sorry, but no. The only way to guarantee good results is if you put in 110% effort.
"Genius is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration."
The way I see it, studying for exams can be compared to baking macaroons (this is my inner fat kid talking). As we all know, macaroons are a very delicious but expensive luxury dessert. This is because making macaroons requires high-quality ingredients, accurate proportions, and precise methods to make sure they turn out aesthetically attractive and taste amazing. In the case of studying, you can compare the work required to make the macaroon to the amount of preparing and studying for your exams. The finished product would be a satisfactory (or absolutely stellar) grade!
One thing that you should never forget about studying, is to never rush it. My mother always tells me to study regularly, even when there aren't tests or exams coming up. I know what you're thinking; this is probably what most of us won't do. It's one of those things that we know we should do, but we choose not to because we're too lazy - but trust me on this one. This way, you actually learn the content better and you won't have to spend as much time studying for that particular exam when it comes up, because you'll already know it very well and looking through notes would already be enough! This also allows you to prioritise your time so that you can spend it on subjects that you have more trouble with. Also, if you encounter any gaps in your knowledge whilst studying, you can always go back to school and ask the teacher. By the time you're on study leave and in need of help, finding a teacher would be quite difficult!
Referring back to my previous post, some people might have problems with understanding the question or problems with deciding how to answer the question. The best way to solve this problem would be by looking through and completing some past papers. Most exam boards will have these on their website, otherwise your teacher or Xtremepapers is a good source too. By familiarising yourself with the types of questions asked and the amount of marks awarded for that type of question, you will be much more confident in how to approach the question. Also, bring a highlighter into the exam with you to highlight the question words. The 'question words' are the ones which tell you what to do, such as define, explain, describe, show that, calculate, etc. Below are some examples of how to approach these questions:
Define: Give a definition of the term. You should be able to find these in the textbook, so make a vocabulary list to prepare for these types of questions.
Explain: Pretend that you are teaching someone with no knowledge of the subject about this topic. Use the proper terms and make it as easy to understand as possible.
Calculate: Show every step of your working out, even simple additions such as 1+1. It's easy to mess up numbers if you try to do them mentally under a pressured-condition!
That's it for today! Good luck everyone!
xx,
J
