I’ve been having my mocks for this past week, therefore I've been dead for 2 months (math studies student’s logic). I hate exams so much, they are so stressful and annoying. I’ve been struggling with my Art exam the most, I am not really good with analyzing and writing in general, so I get 3 and 4 most of the time.
It’s almost over though. I just have paper 1 and 2 for biology and paper 2 math studies.
Anyhow, remember to take a deep breath and not stress. YOU GOT THIS! I believe in you <3
It’s a bit self explanatory that to do English especially at higher level you need to read A LOT. However, a lot of us find ourselves putting off reading books for other things like homework. The key is to start early and use time to your advantage.
1. When on the train or bus home whip out your book!! It can be one for class or for extra reading but it keeps the mind healthy and active and makes good use of your time.
2. Go to the library! This is a bit boring to most people but it’s so good to get an idea of things to study maybe for your Extended Essay and to read outside of lessons or for other subjects like History.
3. If you have a kindle - use it. Kindle’s a very handy because you can make notes on them and highlight and I find it so useful when I’m going back through a book and trying to find quotes as it also comes up with what people have mostly highlighted. It is also good for book recommendations and most of the books you study in school are free on there!
4. Use your holidays like half terms and extended weekends to catch up on a book you're studying or want to read as even getting ahead a little bit helps as you already know what you’re going to cover in the lesson.
5. Buy a study guide like york notes as this helps a lot with context and key themes that will be covered in exams. It gives you all the info without having to ask teachers or look it up.
6. Use online resources like essays, sparknotes, LitCharts and cliffsnotes. Even if teachers advise against them they help a lot with revision and refreshing your knowledge.
7. Use websites like education umbrella to buy school novels cheaper and related ones for extra reading for example I bought Careless People by Sarah Churchwell as it is all about The Great Gatsby and this will help me for my exams later on.
This one is tough, especially when you probably have friends in your classes and subconsciously compare yourself to them or even feel threatened by their achievements, which either makes you even more disappointed, or less proud of your own achievements. So I think we can all agree that this isn’t healthy, as it can lead you to become stressed.
Here’s how we can tackle this:
1. Educate yourself: How are you going to stop doing something when you don’t even know it’s bad for you? You need to firstly identify whether you get upset about something you’ve done after seeing that other people have done better than you.
2. Know what a reasonable goal is for yourself: For example, if you usually get 4s in Biology, then why should you compare yourself to your friend who usually gets a 6? it’s important to know that people have different abilities. It’s not reasonable to compare yourself to someone who loves Biology and is more -able at it when perhaps you don’t like Biology as much and it’s not your strong point.
3. Compare yourself to yourself: If we’re talking test results, then think “What did I get last time?”, look at what your strong points and weak points were, did you get a higher mark or lower mark? All that matters is that your hard work is reflecting in your grades. No one cares that Jenny did better than you, she’s a different person with different abilities.
