Study Past Papers
Exam worries often come from a fear of the unknown. Not knowing what to expect under exam conditions can create panic. Overcome this by studying past examination papers to get a realistic idea of what is about to come.
Organise Your Notes
Organise your written material into sub-headings, charts, bullet points, and diagrams. Too much written material can be off-putting. By breaking up your work, exam preparation becomes more productive.
The Bedtime Reminder
The brain remembers and absorbs information especially well just before you fall asleep. During this time say to yourself out loud or inside your mind: "Tomorrow I will work hard from a calm and relaxed state". This will encourage you to start the next day in the best possible way.
Stress Is Not All Bad
Exam stress need not always be negative - it's designed to prompt you into action, so use it to your advantage. In small amounts stress will encourage you to work harder, and think faster. Just don't let it build up too much.
Time Management
Time-management is one of the key skills for effective revision. Stress often comes from the belief that you are running out of time to prepare; by allocating time blocks for each important topic nothing will be missed and your worries will disappear.
Get A Study Buddy
It's good to know others are in the same boat as you. During exam preparation, find someone to study with. This strategy makes each of you accountable to one another, and it makes revision more interactive and enjoyable.
Take Some Perspective
When exams are upon you, it's difficult to think about anything else. Place your examinations in perspective - the world will not end if you fail.
Generate a positive state
One of the biggest predictors of behaviour is your internal state. If you feel good in the build-up to your exams, the chances of performing well are increased. Take 5 minutes before exams to fill your mind with positive material to get fired up for action.
Learn From Your Mistakes
Exam stress often comes from the fear of making mistakes. Unfortunately mistakes are an unavoidable component of exams. Learn from your mistakes by seeing failure as feedback to stay positive.
Don't Aim For Perfection
Exam stress is often the result of worrying about making mistakes. Accepting that perfection can never be achieved, and that there will always be room for improvement, takes some of the pressure off.
Motivation is the fuel behind our actions. Without the drive to take action and make things happen, nothing would be achieved. It is very common to set goals in our lives but then to lose the motivation to see through our positive intentions.
The following motivation tips are based on Positive Psychology strategies to help you build the momentum to achieve the goals you set. These strategies are quick, accessible and practical and the advice can be digested and applied with ease.
They have been written by Chartered Psychologist Sam Kotadia, whose work (now available in several languages) has been used by individuals worldwide to improve their mental well-being. Read and apply one strategy daily to give your drive and motivation a boost.
Energy boost
Our energy levels have a significant impact on our motivation levels. A natural way to keep your energy levels and consequent levels of motivation high is to exercise regularly. Exercise will build up your physical endurance and strengthen your drive to be productive. Devise a weekly fitness plan to help make exercise a healthy habit and protect against low motivation.
Magical momentum
Motivation levels suffer when our goals seem too large to achieve. When you set a goal, identify several simple tasks that you can accomplish immediately to start making progress. The 17th Century scientist, Isaac Newton noted: “An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion”. Take action, because if you start moving towards your goal it may become harder to stop than to keep going!
The magic of music
Listening to music is a powerful way to generate motivation. Create a compilation of motivational songs on CD, smartphone or your iPod. Listening to music before sleep, during work (if appropriate) and whilst travelling will compel you to be positive when your motivation is tested.
Push outside the comfort zone\
To keep your motivation high, push outside the comfort zone. As a rule of thumb, commit to doing one difficult thing every day. Being adventurous day-to-day will inject zest into your life and keep you hungry and motivated for more.
Burn bridges
In Sun Tzu’s classic book “The Art of War”, successful leaders of armies talk about how, during important battles, they burnt their own escape routes, so that they would fight more furiously. At the same time they deliberately chose terrain that created the option of retreat for their opponents. If you are determined to achieve your goals limit your own escape routes, by making choices in which success is only option!
Strike while the iron is hot!
Our energy levels naturally ebb and flow during the day. Make a note of the times during the day when you feel most energised and reserve these times for more intense tasks. When your energy levels naturally dip you will be left with the tasks that are easier to complete. Directing your focus onto the right tasks at the right time is important in maintaining your levels of motivation.
Prioritise
Setting too many goals may lead to disaster; even if it doesn't, the stress of constant effort will reduce your effectiveness and make you miserable. Prioritise your goals and complete the high-priority tasks before attempting anything else. Focusing effort in a systematic way will ensure that you meet life methodically and without stress.
Learn to say "no"
Learn to say no to other people's requests, if appropriate, in order to reserve enough time and energy to live calmly. Think twice about giving into the wants of others and avoid sacrificing your own quality time by over commitment. It will strengthen your sense of identity and help you to maintain a calm and well-grounded sense of wellbeing.
Stress in small doses can be a good thing as it pushes us to get to work and focus on what needs to be done. The stress response can be triggered by physical or emotional pressures or by
anything perceived as a threat or challenge.
If you are experiencing stress, your body will be stuck in a constantly heightened state. You will feel tense, anxious and irritable most of the time. You may suffer from headaches, panic attacks, stomach complaints and insomnia.
Exams are a common source of stress for many students and can prevent you from performing at your best so it’s important to be aware of how to tackle it head on.
1. Eat Right. Treat your body like a temple and fuel that brain. It’s mostly true that you are what you eat. Have plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables on a daily basis and make sure you have a good breakfast every day. No one can think properly if they’re running off sweets and coffee.
2. Exercise. Exercise is a great way to relieve tension as it releases endorphins, which are 'feel-good' neurotransmitters that are released in the brain. Try exercising a couple of times a week to help you unwind. At the end of a hard day it is more tempting to collapse in front of the TV with a tub of ice-cream, but if you incorporate some gentle exercise into your week you will really notice the difference to your stress levels!
3. Join a yoga class. Or try Qigong or Tai Chi, which are two types of martial arts that can improve relaxation skills. Qigong (pronounced "chee gung") is an ancient Chinese discipline that uses breathing, meditation, visualisation, and repetitive physical exercises to cleanse and strengthen the body. Tai Chi aims to harmonise the body, mind and . It uses flowing movements and does not rely on speed, strength or force.
4. Get enough Sleep. This is often easier said than done. Lack of sleep can lead to a ' vicious cycle' of daytime behaviours which make the situation worse; if you are tired you may try to your lack of energy and concentration by excessive caffeine intake, you may be too tired to exercise and you might nap during the day which will reduce your ability to sleep at night.
5. Bridging objects. Some people find it helps to wear or carry something that has positive associations with another place or person. Touching this bridging object can be comforting in its own right, then allow yourself a few minutes to think about the person or situation which makes you feel good. This can have a calming effect.
6. Avoid Caffeine. Caffeine is a stimulating substance which has a number of physiological effects on the body, including a slight increase in blood pressure and pulse. It has been proven to worsen symptoms of panic and anxiety, and it can interfere with sleep which in turn will make you more irritable and unfocused. No caffeine after 4 or 5pm is a good rule to follow. Remember that chocolate also contains a small amount of caffeine.
7. Green Therapy. Nature is soothing for anyone suffering from stress. Natural settings will clear your mind and encourage you to relax. Allow time in your daily routine to enjoy and appreciate nature, even if only for a five-minute walk around your local park. Numerous health organisations and independent academic bodies have shown that “Ecotherapy” is effective in improving mental wellbeing.
8. Hug a Pug. Yep that’s right.
We are all aware that having a good memory will give you a major advantage when it comes to revising and sitting your exams.
As part of revision season, we are going to give you the 5 top tips from our memory secrets app. This will give you a major advantage during the rest of the week whilst revising.
1. Association
The brain is very good at learning through association. Association is a method by which you link two objects or events together, so that become reminders or triggers for one another. For each subject place a random object next to you whilst revising for that subject. For example when you are doing your maths revision, keep a photo of past holiday near you. Whilst you are revising your brain will form an unconscious and powerful connection between the two. When you enter your maths exam picture the photo in your mind and it will boost your memory for maths!2. Make a story
Memory experts state that they most effective way to boost memory is to make connections! A common strategy to advantage of this is to turn sections of your revision notes into a story. Make the key terms that you need to remember as characters in your made-up story and link them all together in a funny memorable narrative. For example; remembering the order of the solar system may lead to a bizarre story like this: “My Very Energetic Monkey Jumped Straight Up Near Portugal!” The more creative you are, the easier your funny stories will be.
3. The Acronym
An acronym can be classed as a word that takes all of the first letters of a set of key words and turn them into a new one. For example; OIL RIG in chemistry is an effective acronym for Oxidation Is Losss, Reduction Is Gain.4. Order facts in alphabetical order easier for your brain to remember
A very simple way to get a quick memory boost is to place facts that you need to remember in alphabetical order. This will help your brain to remember information far easier. As a general rule of thumb when information is well structured and ordered your memory is much more efficient.5. Exaggerate the most important parts of your revision
When you are revising there are always components of your revision that are more important than others. Try to exaggerate the most important parts of your revision by making notes in colourful ink, using large pieces of paper, shouting them out loud, and perhaps even doing something silly when you are memorising your key notes. Jumping on the spot whilst reciting your notes is a good one!
6. Give your Brain a workout
By the time you’ve reached adulthood, your brain has developed millions of neural pathways that help you process information quickly, solve familiar problems, and execute familiar tasks with a minimum of mental effort. But if you always stick to these well-worn paths, you aren’t giving your brain the stimulation it needs to keep growing and developing. You have to shake things up from time to time!Try taking a new route home from work or the grocery store, visiting new places at the weekend, or reading different kinds of books
The more you work out your brain, the better you’ll be able to process and remember information. The best brain exercising activities break your routine and challenge you to use and develop new brain pathways. Activities that require using your hands are a great way to exercise your brain.
Examples are:
Reading different types of books
Take a different route to your routine
Visit new places
Any activities using your hands
Learn new languages, sports or instruments
7 Brain boosting diet
A healthy diet including lean protein, whole grains, fruit and vegetables are not only good for the body but can also help your memory.Eat more fruit and vegetables. This is generally a good thing to do all round but fruit and veg packed with antioxidants will help protect your brain cells from damage. Try “superfood” sources such as leafy green vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, romaine lettuce and Swiss chard. Fruit such as bananas, apricots, mangoes, cantaloupe, and watermelon are also good.
Fish is a rich source of omega-3 and helps the brain. “Fatty fish” such as tuna, salmon, halibut, trout, mackerel, sardines, and herring can help boost brainpower.
Research shows that diets high in saturated fat (from sources such as red meat, whole milk, butter, cheese, sour cream, and ice cream) increase your risk of dementia and impair concentration and memory.
8 Get Your Sleep
When you’re sleep deprived, your brain can’t operate at full capacity. Creativity, problem-solving abilities, and critical thinking skills are compromised. Whether you’re studying, working, or trying to juggle life’s many demands, sleep deprivation is a recipe for disaster.But sleep is critical to learning and memory in an even more fundamental way. Research shows that sleep is necessary for memory consolidation, with the key memory-enhancing activity occurring during the deepest stages of sleep.
It’s an important part of your exam success to get into your examiner’s head. How can you improve your chances of higher marks? What will the examiner look for? Read on..
1. Magic In Method
When you have to calculate your answer by going through several different stages it is important that you document them in the space provided. If the final answer is wrong, your logic and the process that you used can gain valuable marks. A correct final answer without any working can cost your more marks than a wrong answer with the correct working!
2. No Excuses!
One of the most important rules in not losing unnecessary marks is ensuring that no questions are left blank. Attempting questions that seem impossible will often help you to pick-up marks you hadn't accounted for. Often during the process of writing you engage your memory and unlock knowledge that you didn't know you had. The best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing you can do is the wrong thing, but the worst thing you can do is nothing!
3.Tricky Time-Management
In the examiner's reports it is common to read that questions towards the end of exams are often of a lower quality compared to questions at the beginning of an exam. This is usually an indication that students have failed to manage their time properly. Try to plan how long you are allowed on each question by dividing the number of questions by the overall length of the exam. This will give you a rough time-limit per question, and help you to manage your time.
4.Silly Spelling
Marks are always lost when students fail to spell key words correctly. If you are unsure on how to spell a specific term, focus on ensuring that you can describe the concept using good spelling and grammar. Your understanding of the principle is often enough for you to side-step losing marks by misspelling the key-term required in your answer.
Sometimes Less is More
Examiner's regularly state that students struggle to be selective with the information they use when answering questions. Consequently they are “brain-dumping” as much information as possible hoping to cover all of the required points. This approach can lose students marks! Be selective and intelligent with what you write down, and overall you will achieve a higher mark. Writing unnecessary content also wastes your precious time in the exam and gains you no extra marks.
5. Be Bold
Examiners don't want to catch you out! When examiners write the papers they will often draw your attention to key words in some of the questions by placing them in bold or italic. Make sure that you pay close attention to these words, otherwise it is likely that you will miss the important aspects of your task.
Attention to detail is important to have in all of your exams. This App will give the opportunity to go through several key reminders to ensure that your exam answers are well polished and that you don't lose easy marks on simple slip-ups.
1. The Three-times Rule
The most common slip-up in all GCSE and A-Level exams is failing to read the question carefully. Apply the three-times rule by reading the question three times before you start writing. Even if they are simple questions this disciplined approach will stop your brain from adding and deleting aspects of the question unconsciously.
2. Don't Be Messy
It may sound like quite an obvious tip, but it so important that your hand-writing can be read. Marks are regularly lost because examiners are unable to read the candidate's hand-writing. During your mock-exams double check with your teachers that your hand-writing is clear and easy to read. Well presented hand-writing will also keep the examiner in a good mood!
3. Have I Answered The Question?
Good practice in exams is to ensure that your answer clearly fulfils the demands of the question. Give yourself 15-30 seconds when you have finished you answer to scan the question and your response, to ensure that your are on track.
4. Magic In Method
When you are having to calculate your answer by going through several different stages it is important that you document them in the space provided. If the final answer is wrong, your logic and the process that you used can gain valuable marks. A correct final answer without any working can cost your more marks than a wrong answer with the correct working!
5. No Excuses!
One of the most important rules in not losing unnecessary marks is ensuring that no questions are left blank. Attempting questions that seem impossible will often help you to pick-up marks you hadn't accounted for. Often during the process of writing you engage your memory and unlock knowledge that you didn't know you had. The best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing you can do is the wrong thing, but the worst thing you can do is nothing!
6. Tricky Time-Management
In the examiner's reports it is common to read that questions towards the end of exams are often of a lower quality compared to questions at the beginning of an exam. This is usually an indication that students have failed to manage their time properly. Try to plan how long you are allowed on each question by dividing the number of questions by the overall length of the exam. This will give you a rough time-limit per question, and help you to manage your time.
7. Study past-papers
The most effective way to ensure that you don't slip-up in the exam is to practise past papers. Past papers are the closest tool you have to predicting what will turn-up in your exams. Often you can also spot patterns in the questions that are repeated over the years. Practising past-papers will also build-up your confidence in the exam. If you successfully complete past-papers there is no reason why you cannot replicate this in the exam.
8. The Beginning, Middle And The End
The beginning, middle, end rule is critical advice to ensure that you construct a sound and well-balance essay. A large proportion of student marks are lost unnecessarily because students are so eager to write down what they know, that they forget to structure their answer. Fitting your essay into this formula is a simple rule to use and it will give you the platform to score top-marks on essay questions in your exam.
9. Move On
If and when you arrive at a question you are struggling to tackle make sure that you know when to move on! Often students spend a disproportionate amount of time on one question, and sacrifice quality on questions later on the exam. Give yourself a time-limit, and have the discipline to move-one when your allowed time is up! You can always come back and revisit the question if you have time at the end.
10. Brilliant Bullets
If you find yourself running out of time the exam, in order to pick-up exam worthy marks you can always resort to bullet-pointing your responses. As long as they are written as sentences you will be fine. This approach will ensure that what you write-down is well focused, straight to the point and easy on time!
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