RevisioN

[Younr017]

I really panic under pressure and im terrible at revision , anyone got any tips for revising and not almost breaking down in the middle of an exsam , I have a quarter of my biology , physics and chemistry gcse next week as well as my whole maths gcse and I'm freaking out - classic failing because I'm scared of failing , any particular way u revision anything wOuld be welcome

[suga]

Make a plan today about the headings and topics you need to revise. Then allocate time for each area. So half a day a day depending on what you need to learn and the subject knowledge you have.

Then get started - be it reading the subject matter, trying past questions, drawing mind maps, etc. Spend maybe 30 mins at a time and then take a 5 minute break.

The hardest part (in my opinion). Concentrate on your exams and revision. During day when you have allocated time to revise - no music, no tv, no books, no pals, no computer, social networking etc. Its only for a short time and you can go back to your normal and preferred activities afterwards.

For the exam - I'm not sure if the papers and questions have equal marks or not but for the uni ones I did last year they did. So first five minutes only - read the questions and decide which ones you are going to answer. When you are allowed to start writing - write some prompts down for the questions you are going to answer as bullett points. Then tackle the easiest question first. Remember to work out how long you have in terms of time per question and stick to it. Leave plenty of space at the bottom of each page so you can come back to it at the end.

If you start to panic during the exam - then close your eyes and breath. Breath in through your nose and out of your mouth and feel the panic leaving you on each outward breath. Do this for maybe 5 breaths or so. Remember to open your eyes afterwards and get straight back onto your exam paper.

Good luck. :D

[souffle]

Also the revision books for your particular course are worth there weight in gold as they condense the information in to a manageable load so try and get a hold of these. Maths do lots of past papers and ask if you cannot do one. There are a number of on line tutorials for most areas. Don't spend too long on one area - remember it will only be a few marks for the question on that subject.
Drink lots of water, get lots of sleep and good luck x

[Willow's mummy!]

As a parent of someone else doing Triple Science, I'll tell you what I tell him (& your school may have already said, I know his has) - you would not be entered for Triple Science if your teachers did not know you can do it. They would have changed your exam to Double Science so that you would have a better chance of passing the exams only concentrating on 2 exams rather than 3. They could have changed it after your Mock Exams still, that's 1 of the things Mocks are for. This also applies to Maths - you can do it.

So, that's my first advice: Relax, and stop thinking you can't do it, because you can do it.

Second: as souffle said, lots of water, lots of sleep. Also plenty of good food - you know what's good for hamsters - the same applies to us humans. Eat good quality balanced meals. Have breakfast before you go to school for the exams, take a bottle of water with you & snack to have between or just before you go in, have lunch in between and eat properly in the evenings. It will make a huge difference to your concentration when you are properly fed & watered as opposed to your friends who grab a mars bar & can of coke at lunch time after skipping breakfast because they got up late.

Thirdly: Have you seen a doctor about the potential panic? Elder son has asthma & takes his inhalers into the exams, my friend's daughter has OCD and has a slip that she can hold up to excuse her from the exam to go the toilet (she won't actually use it because with the OCD for her comes a hyper awareness of what other people might think, and she can't cope with being escorted to the loos by a teacher & having everyone know that's where she's been). But there are ways the exams have to be adapted to people's individual needs. With the support of the GP or other professional.

Ok, revision advice now: Look at what you got from school - if you got books for your subjects, start with those because they're for the syllabus you've been taught, for the exam you're going to take. Did the teachers recommend particular websites? Ask them if you can't remember. BBC schools site is good BBC - GCSE Bitesize - Homepage (http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/) As suga said, make a plan and stick to it & reduce the distractions.

Make time in the plan to chat to friends on facebook or play minecraft or whatever works for you, and limit it to those times! I was lucky because I did my exams before mobile phones, so if someone phoned on the landline, mum could say 'She's doing revsion, she'll phone you back.' So turn that mobile off & log out of facebook! If it's an emergency, someone will get hold of you another way. If they didn't need to get hold of you another way, it wasn't an emergency, so could wait till you were ready to talk.

Everyone is stressed right now: you & everyone else doing GCSEs, A Levels etc is stressed; the parents are stressed because we know it's important for you to have all the choices of what to do next; the teachers are stressed because the good grades reflect their good teaching. But in ten years time, the exact grade you got won't be important, passing at C or above will be. Your attitude to the exams is as important as knowing the answers.

(Oh, & I guess you've already got the pens etc prepared, but you are best with a clear pencil case containing ruler, pencils, black, blue & red pens, pencil sharpener, compass...)

Good luck!

(And apologies for the essay...)

[fluffymunchkins]

I'm doing my GSCE's too :) Just got Maths and History left!

Personally, I'm awful at revising, but then I'm always quite laid back about my exams. Everyone is different, but i know for me I can't just read a revision guide and expect it to sink in.
I make my own revision pages by looking at the information I need to know (either in my school books or the revision guide) and putting it in notes/lists/diagrams :)
This way I can make it colourful and easy to remember, you can relate a certain subject to the way you laid it out on the revision page. I also feel calm doing it this way, as I don't have to panic trying to answer practice questions I don't know.

Also, it helps if theres a technique to the questions in the exam, to draw out a structure of how to answer each question.

Best of luck x

[Kissa]

I also feel calm doing it this way, as I don't have to panic trying to answer practice questions I don't know.

I used to do this, and then I got to uni and had to start doing practice papers as just going through the notes didn't help me in exam situations :|

[CoolcatNatNat44]

Mind maps and colour coding seems to help me remember things for tests, i also agree that water and sleep helps! I've only got 2 science exams and maths left thank god lol. And past papers too!

[KitchenZoo]

Oh good luck, try not to worry to much. My daughter sat her GCSE's last year and used the BBC bitesize website as she found it kept her attention for longer than reading books and was more fun. Set yourself goals and break them down and remember to take regular breaks. A Doctor I once worked with said he didn't wonder if he would pass exams but by how much!. I'd love to have such confidence.

Good luck and enjoy your long Summer break once they're finished. xxx

[Younr017]

thankyou every one really appreciate the replys ill have a go at these :)