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Young People - Preparing for Exams

Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today

Exams can be stressful and most people will experience some form of anxiety. But you can reduce your stress levels by effective revision techniques and planning your time well.

Studying and revision are important aspects of learning and improving your skills. Revision is just as important as the exam itself - you can really improve your performance if you are well prepared.

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Preparation and planning

• If time allows, start a revision notebook at the beginning of your course, with topics covered and dates; this will help with your revision. If you haven't started this, go back through your books and make a list of the topics you studied for each subject.
• Make sure you have all the notes, books and past papers you will need to revise.
• Write a revision timetable that will work for you and try to stick to it. Note what subjects you will study and for how long. Set yourself achievable targets and build in time for breaks and exercise.
• Find out whether the questions will be essay type or multiple choice. The more you know about your exams the easier it will be to plan your revision timetable.
• If there are topics you don't understand talk to your teachers. The school may also run revision classes to help you prepare for exams.

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Effective revision

• The odd hour here and there will not be enough!
• Try using different coloured paper and pens to help you remember what you have written. Rhymes or key words can help you to remember lists of information.
• For some subjects "spider" diagrams help with connecting relevant facts together. Write down a topic and then draw a "spider" diagram, by drawing lines to show how facts relate to each other. You may find you can visually recall a spider diagram more easily than written notes and they are also a useful way of testing yourself.
• Try revising with friends - this can help you to improve your understanding of a subject.
• Mix up your subjects and topics over the days and weeks - don't avoid weaker subjects, but don't be over confident and neglect stronger subjects either.
• If you have access to the Internet you can find Internet sites to help with revision - type "exam revision" into an Internet search engine for plenty of tips and information on specific subjects. The BBC website is a good starting point - go to www.bbc.co.uk/schools/bitesize.
• If you feel anxious or stressed, you can find out more information on handling exam stress on our page coping with stress.
• Remember - keep positive and be realistic.

Good luck!

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