It is ridiculously easy to follow bad revision habits.

And ​revising for exams often can already be difficult enough.

Follow these tips to get prepared by studying smarter, not harder!

How to revise

Make sure you know the style of questions that might be asked by reviewing past papers and noting the style of questions. Once you've looked through past papers and considered the variety of question types, you'll know which questions require factual recall and which require you to put together ideas and demonstrating your understanding of a topic. 

Study notes and videos for GCSE subjects are available for free on OxNotes. Use the search or see the full list of GCSE subjects.

Important Command Words

Exam questions contain command words that tell you what the examiners are looking for. It sounds obvious but you need to understand what is required. Here are words to look out for in an exam:

• “State” - Answer with a single word or sentence. These questions are just factual recall (you either know it, or you don’t).
  
• “Describe” -  May have to say what something is like, or write a sequence of events.
  
• “Compare” - Marks can be lost if you fail to complete a comparison. (e.g. Veins have valves, arteries do not. Arteries have thick muscular walls, veins have thin walls. An incomplete answer: Veins have valves, arteries have thick muscular walls.)
  
• "Discuss" - You may have to give advantages and disadvantages and then your opinion.
  
• "Explain" - Give details of why something happens.
  

Planning a revision programme

If you plan set times for revision, this could help you retain more of your revision for the exam.

1. Look at how much time you have until your exams and allocate revision time slots to each subject and possibly which topics you'll study. (This will help to find topics that you find difficult and allow you to allocate more time to them.)
2. Have short breaks in between revision. This gives your brain time to process the information you've just revised.
3. After your break, test yourself on what you've just revised. Afterwards continue revising new material.
4. This process can be repeated over the whole revision session.
5. When you begin on the next day's revision, you could start with what you've revised on the previous day. This way, you're strengthening the connections in your brain and making it easier to recall revision.

Revision Techniques

Everybody is unique and what works for one person might not work for another. It is best to try a variety of revision methods to find the one that best suits you.
Different revision techniques work better for different types of information. (The command words above can give you clues as to the best way to revise certain information, bear this in mind when deciding how to revise).
By using more of your of senses, you can revise better. Riding a bike involves sight, sound, the physical feel of the pedals, and the effect of the movement on our inner ear). Reading about riding a bike wouldn't be the same. In the same way, you need to ensure your brain is fully focused on revision, therefore just reading your notes is inefficient. 

Remember, even though we tirelessly make our content as easy as possible to learn, you must still spend time to learn it. Many students assume that the mind is a bin or a sponge; you just pour information into it, and it stays there. Sorry. For the information to stay there, you have to process it until you get it. We recommend reading a topic on OxNotes, reciting what you have learnt out loud, reviewing the topic again to correct anything you got wrong, or to revisit important information that you overlooked when your recited, and then write notes on the topic.
Here are some revision techniques that can help to trigger your recall:

• Record your notes and play them back later
• Keep a record of what you know and what needs revisiting.
• Reduce your notes (every time you go over your notes, shorten them down)
• Rote Learning - Look, cover, write and check (Look at some information, cover it up, write what you remember and check if you remembered it correctly)
• Question and answer cards - Write a question on one side of a card and the answer on the other. If you get the answer correct, put the card in a success pile, and if you get it wrong place the card in a revise pile. 
• Make a revision mind map - Start by writing a topic name in the centre and key information on lines leading away from it. 
• Write key notes on post it notes - You can stick these around your house to regularly remind yourself of a topic.
• Make practice exam questions - Try to cover a variety of command words and don't just ask yourself simple recall questions.
• Attempt past papers near the end of your revision period.

Exam Tips

• Go back to your pile of revise again notes as well as your success pile to ensure what you've revised is secure in your memory.
• Flick through your revision notes, concept maps and questions on the night before the exam
• Make sure you're physically and mentally ready for the exam by getting enough sleep and eating well. Avoid high energy caffeine drinks as these adversely affect your performance.
• Make sure everything you need for the exam is in a set place to avoid having to rush in the morning.
• On the day of the exam, you may want to take some minimal summary notes to look at before hand (although some people avoid this as it may stress them out).
• Keep in a positive state of mind.
• Ensure you give the examiner what they want rather than what you think they want by underlining keywords/command words. in the questions.
• Double check your answers if you have time, don't sit there doing nothing!
• Once you leave the exam hall, there's no point in worrying on something that is no longer in your control.

Science revision:

Biology is the science that many students are comfortable with as it covers topics that relate to issues from everyday life (such as our diet, how we grow, and understanding the environment around us).

The fact that Biology deals with many issues that we encounter on a daily basis can lull us into a false of security when revising for exams because we feel that we already know about many of the topics.

In reality, Biology can be just as difficult as Chemistry or Physics and effective revision is vital.

Good luck! You can achieve what you set yourself.

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