, Hey all! I have collaborated with @allergictostudying to bring you this post :) I hope this is helpful. If it is, please do like and share :) I have divided this post into essay based, non-essay based subjects and general advice. I will try to make this as short as possible :3
ESSAY BASED SUBJECTS
This applies to English, Philosophy, History, Sociology etc
1. Don’t spend too much time on content.
My essay-based subject was economics and I spent more time on exam technique than on content which really helped me secure a good mark! You can know all the content inside out but if you cannot apply it and present your knowledge in a format that the examiners want, you won’t get as many marks. My tip would be to try to learn and understand all the content/clear up any problems you have, then focus on exam practice a month or so before your exams.
2. Make detailed essay plans for as many question possibilities and try remember them.
Essay plans are the quickened versions of writing a full essay. Exam practice usually involves writing tons of essays but this takes a lot of time and can be necessary. Essay plans are great since they save you time but also serve the purpose of writing a full on essay. Simply write a sentence of the point you want to make. You can use bullet points to note down the explanations and evaluations. These are useful to review just before your exam to be prepared for whatever question that could come up since you would have covered the points in your essay plan! If you find an essay difficult, you can write out the full essay and then get your teacher to mark it and get feedback.
3. Get as many essays marked as your teacher will allow.
Connecting to the previous point, give your essays to your teacher to mark. They would give you feedback that you can use to continuously improve until you have reached the point where you know exactly what you need to do. You will not be bothering/disturbing the teachers because that is their job and they want to help you to the best they can.
4. Learn a few random facts to boost your essays
Outside reading (reading outside your curriculum) is a way to boost your essays to get the top marks. For example, for economics, we had to learn some case studies which had facts and figures on developing countries which would be useful in our essays. This is more important for A2 than AS but it is always beneficial to use. The examiner would be impressed with your knowledge and may award you more marks.
5. Make sure you know the structure you should write your essays to.
Different subjects may have different structures, so know what structure you need to use. Structure is a part of exam technique which examiners would be looking for in your writing.
6. Mix up your revision techniques
You can use the Feynman technique (where you read a page of content, write as much as you can remember,compare it, see whats missing and make cheat sheets). Use an essay question, get A4 sheets of paper and put relevant information regarding the different points you have to mention in the question. Obviously, do what works for you but this is a good technique. Find out what kind of learner you are and use the appropriate techniques.
7. Dissect the question.
This relates to above point but basically you write down all the topics you need to mention underneath your question, whether or not you should put both sides according to what prompt is used (e.g. discuss, outline). When you dissect the question, it becomes less daunting and makes it much easier to answer!
8. Practice essays like mad
As I explained before, practice makes perfect!
9. Watch YouTube videos and documentaries
Watch on whatever topics you find difficult and make a cheat sheet of relevant information (THIS ONE IS SO USEFUL, ITS A LIFE SAVER!). Especially if your teachers aren’t that great at teaching or if you don’t feel like asking them. However, remember not to get distracted!
10. Make progress sheets
This is where you write what grade you got on a marked essay and what you need to add/remove to improve your essays and keep that at the forefront of your mind. This would help you know what areas to focus on and review your learning.
NON-ESSAY SUBJECTS
These tips apply to maths, economics, science subjects etc.
1. Past papers
Do a past paper and go over everything you did wrong. Write down a list of these topics and you can use Feynman’s technique to learn the content (As explained previously). Continuously refer to your syllabus so you know you are covering everything that you need, also refer to the mark scheme to understand what the examiner wants (what they are looking for).
2. Grade tracker
I did this for all my subjects on a excel spreadsheet, it was very effective. You can make a digital or physical tracker, whatever works for you. Track every past paper you do and write the topics that you didn’t do well on, this list should eventually decrease.
3. Go through syllabus and write summary of each section of the syllabus
You can get an A3/A4 paper and write a summary which would make it easier to review closer to the exam as well as helping you remember the content.
4. Videos again, watch relevant tutorials
I’ve explained this before, there are so many videos that teach/explain your subject well :) It will give you a better understanding if you are unclear.
5. Flashcards and the leitner system
Make a bunch of flashcards/cue cards and put them in a pile and test yourself on how well you know them. If you get the card wrong put it at the bottom of the pile, if you get it right move it to a second pile and you should have a pile you got wrong and one you got right. Make sure to go over the ones you got wrong every 2 days and go over the second pile every half week. If you get one from the second pile right move it to a third pile, if you get it wrong it goes BACK TO THE FIRST PILE. No matter what if you get a card wrong it always goes to the first pile where you review every 2 days. The third pile you review every week. Keep utilising this system as you add to your card pile! Flashcards tend to not be as useful for essay subjects as they are for the non essay subjects.
GENERAL TIPS
