How important is preparation?
Taking the time to look at what you
need to do and how you need to do it
and where you need to do it - is hugely
important and allows you to ultimately
be successful.
Jane Tomlinson – Terminal cancer sufferer and
charity fundraiser
Collapsed day Wednesday March 13th
Know what you need to do
Have you got a dream grade?
 Write down what grades you need?
 What are you predicted grades?
 What have you got so far?
 How much of your course is coursework and how
much exam?
Don’t settle for your target / predicted grade. Exams can
be unpredictable get grades / marks in the bank and
know what you have to do. Don’t make it rest on the final
exam.
Where are you now!
 Your teacher will have the PROVISIONAL exam
timetable. This does depend on resits and it may
change
 GET OUT YOUR DIARY!!!!!!!!!!
 Look at when your exams are likely to be. How long
have you got? How many exams will you need to take?
 Write down when your coursework deadlines are.
 Write in important events and holidays
Decide exactly what you have to
know for each subject
 You need a checklist for each subject, with all the
topics / parts of topics you need to know for each exam
 Your teacher may give you a check list for each unit
or
 Make your own (use the textbook / your notes / exam
websites to help)
Remember to check with your teacher that you haven’t missed anything
out
Prioritise the list
Questions to ask:
Which topics get the most marks?
How confident do I feel about each topic? (Traffic light
each one – green-great; amber-ok; red-awful)
Use this information to work out which topics you
need to spend most time revising.
Example checklist for Media Studies
Topic: Investment Appraisal Techniques
Purpose of Investment Appraisal
Formula for the Annual Rate of Return (ARR)
Advantages and Disadvantages of ARR
How to calculate the Payback Period (PBP)
Advantages and disadvantages of (PBP)
Formula for the Net Present Value (NPV)
Advantages and disadvantages of NPV
An understanding of the Time Value of Money
Using contextual evidence to explain which method is the
most suitable
Traffic light:
First steps – Getting organised
 Sort out your folders / notes so everything is in order
 Buy pens / papers / index cards...etc
 Decide where you are going to revise and make sure it’s a suitable place




– enough light, warmth, room...etc
For each subject, make a list of what you have to know for the exam
Order it so that the most difficult topics are first on the list
Design a timetable, where you set out what days and times you will
revise.
Practise what you are worst at.
Work out the time available
 Find out when your first exam is
 Sort out when all your exams are (check you exam
timetable provided)
 Work out how many days you have to revise and decide
which day you are going to start your revision
 Most people start about 4 – 6 weeks before the first
exam, but there is no wrong time (except on the
morning of the exam itself!)
Decide on your revision slots!
 Week days will be different to weekends and study leave (less slots
available)
 Each slot, for most people, will be about 40 mins long
 The only rules:
Don’t plan to revise right up until the minute you go to bed – you won’t
sleep
Do plan in some breaks and things you can look forward to
Don’t plan something you are never going to achieve – if you can’t get
out of bed, don’t plan your first session for 7 am!
Be sensible!
 Do you work best in the morning? Plan one for before school.
 Do you have to go to the Gym every week? Don’t plan one for early
evening on Monday
At this point your timetable might look like this:
9:00
–
10:00
10:00- 11:0011:00 12:00
14:00- 15:00- 16:00- 19:00- 20:00
15:00 16:00 17:00 20:00 21:00
Mon 4th
January
Sch
Sch
Sch
Sch
Sch
Tues 5th
January
Sch
Sch
Sch
Sch
Sch
Wed 6th
January
Sch
Sch
Sch
Sch
Sch
Thurs7th
January
Sch
Sch
Sch
Sch
Sch
Fri 8th
January
Sch
Sch
Sch
Sch
Sch
Sat 9th
Lie in
Easte
nders
Gym
21:0022:00
Fill in time table
 Work out how many slots you’ve got in your timetable
 Work out how many slots you will give to each subject
(prioritise them in order of difficulty / amount)
 For each subject, work out which topics need most
slots (from your traffic lighted checklists)
 Fill out your timetable with subjects and topics so you
know exactly what you’re revising
9:00 – 10:0010:00 11:00
11:0012:00
14:0015:00
15:0016:00
16:0017:00
19:00- 20:00
20:00 21:00
21:0022:00
Monday
4th
January
Sch
Sch
Sch
Sch
Sch
Science circulatio
n
English
–
Words
worth
Easte
nders
French
Tuesday
5th
January
Sch
Sch
Sch
Sch
Sch
Business
– break
even
History
– cold
war
Maths
algebra
Chemis
try ethanol
Wed 6th
January
Sch
Sch
Sch
Sch
Sch
English –
World
War One
Lit
Biology
Genetic
s
Geogra
phy –
Urban
Growt
h
PE – the
skeletal
system
Thurs
7th
January
Sch
Sch
Sch
Sch
Sch
Friday
8th
January
Sch
Sch
Sch
Sch
Sch
Sat 9th
January
Lie in
Your timetable should start to look like this...
Sun 10th
Gym
How many different ways of revising do
you know?
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
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Producing mind maps
Summarizing ideas into 10 bullet points…etc
Writing plans and answers for questions
Putting key words on post-it notes and sticking them to the relevant
object
Snap cards – matching terms with definitions
Teaching some one else
Playing ‘Just a Minute’ – giving yourself 1 minute to talk or write
down everything you know about a particular topic
Word association – write down one word from a topic – how many
ideas can you write down associated with that word
Using programs like BBC Bitesize
Re-reading the text / chapter…etc
Generating 10 questions about the topic / chapter / character…etc –
you can use them to test your self another day
Bookmarking –making a book mark for each chapter that contains
summary of the chapter, key pages, important quotations /
theories…etc
The way to get started is to quit
talking and to begin doing
Walt Disney
Now you’ve done all of this...
 START REVISING!
And...
Remember it will soon be
over!