revisio The 7 Factors Holding GCSE Students Back from Exam Success (And How to Overcome Them)
A letter to GCSE students You are approaching an important point in your I m here to tell you that it is absolutely, life your GCSE exams, the culmination of 11 definitely, most certainly possible for you to years of education. excel in your exams. Every early morning, the thousands of hours sat In this paper, I ll help you overcome some of in classrooms, each and every individual piece the obstacles you may face in your quest for of work has been leading to this moment your GCSE success. GCSE exams. Good luck!! Having spent 11 years preparing for this you will want to do the best you can your GCSE results will determine your choices in life, will determine your next steps and the path you ultimately take... Nick Now you have just a number of months until crunch time. NICK Nick is studying history at Cambridge University and sat his GCSE exams in 2013. Nick s GCSE study processes and experiences provided much of the inspiration for Revisio and he was one of the many student advocates in its development.
1 There is TOO much to do!! You need a plan Getting ready for your GCSE exams seems like a lot of work, doesn t it? possible unless you have raced hard enough throughout to put yourself in the leading pack. Think about all your subjects - everything that you will have to know, understand and remember come exam time. Intimidating? Of course it is intimidating. These are important exams and you want to do the best you can. It s no surprise that you can feel the pressure building already. The good news is that if you are prepared you will do well. You are in control and you have people all around you who want to help you succeed. Every step you take is one step closer to satisfaction at the finish line. Although the race is won in the final moments, victory is not Well that all makes sense. But where do I start? This is where time management HAS to come in. You need to see the bigger picture. Understand where you are in relation to your exams and what needs to be done in each stage of the journey. Believe me, once you put a plan of work together you will feel so much more confident as this will eliminate the sense of unknown. You will know what you are going to do and when you are going to do it. Look half the battle is won! It is simply a case of sticking to the plan now. Easy. Revisio s set-up process allows you to easily create your study plan in minutes.
2 I don t have a good working environment Revision isn t a magic trick. Unfortunately, you can t just flick through a text book and absorb everything you need to know. No, revision requires a very high level of attention and focus. It s very important that you give yourself the best chances possible by creating for yourself an effective working environment. In two words: remove distractions. For the periods of revision that you have planned you must ensure that there is a suitable place in which to work. Take the executive decision to turn off your mobile phone whilst revising (the world will still be there when you turn it back on). Turn off the TV, close the door and resist that temptation to check Facebook on another tab. You must be strong. Find the edge over the competition they re all checking their Facebook. Ha, you shall not be lured. So, that s distractions sorted. Next up, the physical environment. Try and make sure you have a desk. This will be so much better than the sofa or the bed, believe me. Also, it needs to be quiet. Sometimes it may not be quiet at home so why not consider finding a quiet classroom at school or heading down to the local library. Use the resources in your local area to give yourself the best possible chance in your exams. These considerations may be small but it is these 1% gains that will be the difference in the end. Do not let yourself be on the wrong side of that 1% The Revisio dashboard tells you whether your study plan is on track.
3 Exams seem so far away! I can t find the motivation right now Exams are ages away! I don t need to be working now do I?! No! I ve got loads of time to do that later! Caution: The thoughts stated above are extremely dangerous. If you are a GCSE student reading this message I urge you do not fall into this trap. The inconvenient truth is that you would just be kidding yourself. You don t have loads of time. In fact, time is slipping through your fingertips with every day that passes and you desperately need to make the most of what is left. Imagine yourself sitting with that exam paper in front of you. How does it feel? Are you prepared? Snap back to reality. Look at a calendar. How many weeks left? Not so many in the grand scheme of things. But certainly enough to massively alter the grade that you will achieve in your GCSE s. The worst thing to do now is shy away from the situation because that leads us down the slippery path to regret and guilt. Instead let s build a highway to pride and satisfaction with a long term plan that takes us all the way to our final exams. A planned series of tasks is much less ominous than complete empty space. Preparing for exams is a process and the sooner we get that process into action the better. Imagine yourself waiting for results day. Can you really convince yourself that you put in the work that top grades deserve? The Revisiometer tells you whether you have enough time left to complete your study plan.
4 Parent pressure Your parents love you. Remember that. Even if they really, really, really want you to get certain grades and they really, really, really let you know that they want you to get certain grades they still love you. Pressure can sometimes be a good thing but in this case it is best the pressure comes from within the pressure that you put on yourself. If you want to do really, really, really well then you will do really, really, really well. After all, you will be the person sitting in that exam hall; not your parents, your teacher or your older brother. The thoughts in your head need to be your own positive thoughts. Only you know how to fulfil your potential! Plus, when you do then everybody will be happy (parents included). In order to keep those around you as calm and collected as you are, make sure to keep them informed. So long as they can see that you are organised, focused and committed they will feel much less of a need to intrude. Don t give them something to worry about through poor planning of work or through poor communication. Even if you think you know what you are doing get your plan written down and available for all to see. Then those around you will be able to help you carry out the plan. The choir sounds best when everybody is singing from the same hymn sheet. Even the greatest soloists need supportive accompaniment. Set up a Revisio parent account so that they can keep track with your progress to provide you with support.
5 How should I split my time between subjects? You re sitting GCSE s. So, I m guessing you ve got around ten subjects on the go right now which constitutes around 25 different exams in the summer. It s a lot of material. Not to mention it s a lot of completely varied material. So, how should you split your time between subjects? Great question! Let s have a think. revision so as to remember specific formula and information. So consider the type of revision a subject requires as well as your proficiency in it. At the start of your revision period consider carefully how you want to spend your revision time, carefully plan this time and then all that remains is the revision itself. You re better at some subjects than others, admit it. So, it is smart to spend more time on the subjects you find difficult - but even your strongest subjects deserve some attention too. This is too complicated to keep track of in your head and, furthermore, you don t want to be thinking about your revision schedule you want to be thinking about your revision! Quite simply, the nature of the subject itself determines how much time it needs spent on it. For example, the languages depend on language and grammar built up throughout the year leaving you with little to revise whereas scientific subjects require a large amount of There is no set schedule for success. This depends on you and it will be different to how other people do it. That s fine the only revision plan that matters is your own. Subject settings let you decide how much study you want to do any subject.
6 Time management Time management sounds boring. Let s be honest, anything including the word management in its title sounds boring. But in this case the management of time is very important and can make the difference between an average performance and the fulfilment of your vast potential. You know the facts. Every day consists of 24 hours, 1440 minutes and 86,400 seconds that s just a day. So in a week that s 604,800 seconds, in a month 2,419,200 and in a year that s 29,030,400 seconds. So in the time that you ve been reading probably around 43 seconds have expired which leaves another 86,357 seconds left today, so another 29,030,357 in the next year. That s a lot of time! Well rather that seems like a lot of time because look another 8 seconds has just slipped into the irrecoverable past never to be enjoyed again. Only 86, 349 seconds left today (and you ll be sleeping for a lot of those seconds) Time doesn t stop. No matter how hard you try time will drag you kicking and screaming up to your GCSE exams and it will drive unflinchingly straight on through. You are strapped to a conveyer belt which will never, ever stop not even for GCSE exams. So the best thing you can do is right here, right now accept that in a finite number of seconds you will be sitting in an examination hall with a fresh examination paper in front of you poised and ready to be filled with your future-deciding answers. Time will then carry you on to the longest summer holiday ever where your exams will become a distant memory (see, time can be useful!). Easily find resources like past exam papers to save time.
7 I can t keep track of my progress With such a huge amount of work to get through we get flustered. It happens to the best of us. We see a mountain of tasks and panic. We rush things, do things poorly, go over work that has already been revised and stagger somewhat hopelessly onto the next mistake. It doesn t have to be this way. 1000%. Of course you re not expected to cover everything in one hit or to cram everything into a few days. This is a long-term project and as any experienced desert trekker out there would tell you Stick to the schedule and the destination is reached on time. Just a few conscientious thoughts can pave the way to an effective and time-efficient revision process that will gear you up for a stellar performance in the examination hall. Task number one: Plan your work. Task number two: Follow the plan. The key here is to be aware of what has to be done at each stage of your preparation period. What has to be done today? Rather than what do I need to do over the next 125 days? It s much more manageable and reduces stress levels by about Little victories. Each unit covered is one small significant step towards an exam performance to be proud of. Reward yourself you re doing it! You re going to make it!! Through ticking off each stage we are keeping track of our progress, and secondly, even more importantly, we are feeling great about ourselves. We can visually see what we have covered and what is still yet to come. The good news the closer you get to the exam the less work you have left to do! The planner helps you focus on today s work so that you will reach your final destination.
How Revisio can help you get ready for your GCSE exams: DASHBOARD Your Revisio dashboard gives you an overview of your progress so that you know your exam preparation is on track. REVISIOMETER The Revisiometer is a powerful visual tool which shows whether you have enough time to complete all the work that is scheduled in your study plan. PLANNER Revisio's algorithms produce your scheduled study plan which can be displayed in daily, weekly and list views. Each study item provides quick easy access to related resources.
SUBJECTS Subjects gives you direct access to all the resources you need. It displays your progress by unit, the status of all key topic study items and the past papers you have sat. EXAM TIMETABLE Here you will find a personalised exam timetable for the exams you are sitting. TARGET GRADES Revisio helps you monitor your progress towards meeting or exceeding your target grades by comparing your results in past exam papers to your target grades. SETTINGS Revisio's setup process will provide a customised study plan for you. Should you wish to change any of the parameters of your plan, do it in Settings and Revisio will recalculate and provide a plan that works for you.
What Next? We hope you have found Nick s paper an interesting read. If you have any questions about how Revisio can get you ready for your GCSE exams, why don t you go to our website at www.revisio.co where you can find out much more. We've got lots of useful resources and videos on there. If you want Revisio, click on Buy Now and in minutes you can be using Revisio. Or if you have any questions please email us at support@revisio.co. Good luck with your GCSE exams!!