Exam period is creeping up, if you’re in need of revision tips to share with pupils or children we’ve got 13 light-hearted yet useful tips to make exam time a little less stressful.
Let us know if you have any super quick revision tips in the comments below. Find us on Facebook and Twitter @SchoolStickers!
Start revising as early as possible
That means not day before your exam, leave enough time to go over all of your subject matter. Make a timetable and stick to it, you can download the free School Stickers revision timetable here.
Take short breaks
Every hour, not every 20 minutes. It’s really easy to get distracted whilst revising, especially when its a subject you’re not very interested in or when you’re tired. Make sure you’re not making excuses to get up and do things after a few minutes, have everything you need around you and power through an hours revision with the knowledge that you get 10 minutes of free time to do what you like at the end of it.
Start revision in the morning
Get up, get dressed, have a hearty breakfast and get started. Get yourself into the mindset that you’re getting ready to do a days work. If you do things this way you can spend the evening relaxing and doing something you enjoy rather than cramming last minute notes in which you could have gone over earlier that day.
Stick exam notes everywhere…
So in the exam you think “aha, osmosis, that’s the funny looking diagram on the bathroom door…”
Sit at a proper desk or table
Surrounded by the least amount of distractions possible, not in bed or you’ll end up waking up with maths notes stuck to your face. Most libraries have a silent areas with tables where you can sit down and work for free.
Don’t just read your notes
Write stuff down, draw funny pictures or read to the cat if you have to, don’t just go through all of your notes 10 times expecting to retain any information. Scientists estimate you can actually only retain 10% of information if you do it that way.
Don’t turn into a revision zombie
Make sure you’re doing other things too such as seeing friends, enjoying hobbies and getting some sleep!
Do exam papers so you know what to expect
Don’t get caught out on the day by question formats you weren’t expecting or a choice between different content matters.
Read your exam timetable properly
Not just once or twice, keep referring to it so you don’t miss anything or have a last minute panic because you forgot you have your French speaking exam in the morning. If you only have one timetable its a good idea to make another one to keep handy, you can download and print our free calendar here.
Don’t hang out with the nervous and unprepared on the morning of your exam
They’ll stress you out, make you doubt yourself and you’ll have lost that exam confidence you worked so hard for. The same goes for after the exam, try not to discuss the questions, if you find out you’ve written something different to everyone else it’ll only make you panic.
Don’t avoid the subjects you hate
You might not want to revise that history timeline but that probably means you don’t know it as well as you should and it’s bound to be the one thing that pops up in the exam.
Don’t waste all of your time colouring
It’s great to have colour coded notes and pretty diagrams but weigh up how helpful they’ll be, remember you’re using precious revision time.
Cross that exam off!
Just come out of an exam? Get your timetable out and put a big line through it. One down means one less to go until you’re free for a summer of well deserved rest and relaxation.