With GCSE and A Level exams just around the corner, many British teenagers will be spending their afternoons surrounded by flashcards and past papers.
But it can be difficult to know exactly how to prepare for exams when you’re under pressure: from how long to review to the best learning techniques.
FEMAIL spoke to education experts and tutors to round up their study tricks and top tips for getting those high grades.
Robbie Bryant, education expert at Open Study College, and Ishali Ruparelia, a tutor and medical student at the University of Nottingham with over 900 hours of MyTutor tutoring under her belt, shared their most valuable insights.
Read on for six tips, tricks, and revision methods you need to know before heading to the library.
MailOnline spoke to education experts and tutors to round up their study tricks and top tips for getting top grades (stock image)
1. Create memory aids
The first revision trick is from Robbie Bryant, an education expert at Open Study College.
He explains that creating memory aids is one of the best ways to revise effectively and also add a “personal touch to your learning.”
Robbie said: ‘Mnemonics are memory aids that use associations or patterns to help you remember information.
‘These techniques can help you remember information more easily and creatively. They can also make studying more enjoyable and attractive.’
Below are some examples of mnemonics that the expert recommends using:
- Acronyms: Create a word or phrase from the first letter of each item you want to remember
- Rhymes: create a rhyme or jingle that incorporates the information you were trying to remember, such as ‘i before e, except after c’
- Display: create mental images or stories that connect the information you want to remember, such as imagining a giant tree with branches representing different themes
- Fragment: grouping related items into smaller, more manageable chunks, like memorizing a phone number into three sets of digits
Robbie Bryant, an education expert at Open Study College, shared his top revision tricks
2. Surround yourself with information
Secondly, the education expert advises surrounding yourself with information so as not to forget it.
He said: ‘Invest in some sticky notes and write down key information or facts you need to remember for your exams.’
‘Place the post-it notes in the areas of the house that you visit the most, whether it’s the kettle, the refrigerator door or the bathroom mirror.
‘This is also known as active recovery. This trick allows you to move information from your short-term memory to your long-term memory, making it particularly useful for exam revision.’
3. Teach the subject
Robbie’s third tip is that one of the most successful ways to learn something is to teach it.
Suggests: ‘Giving your friends or family a lesson on the topic will give you a deeper understanding of the topic.
“It will also highlight any areas you are 100% clear on and make your next review session more effective.”
This is also known as the Feynman Technique, a study approach that tutor Ishali describes as “super effective”, allowing you to “consolidate knowledge quickly and help you see which parts you don’t understand.”
Simply choose a concept to learn, teach it to someone else, go back to the source material if you get stuck, and then simplify your explanations and create analogies.
Ishali Ruparelia is a tutor and medical student at the University of Nottingham with over 900 hours of tutoring under her belt.
4. The Pomodoro Technique
The education expert’s latest trick is to use the Pomodoro Technique, a time management method that can help you divide your study sessions into manageable intervals.
It explains: ‘Choose a task you want to focus on, such as reviewing a specific topic or writing an essay. Set a timer for 25 minutes.
‘Work on the task without distractions until the timer goes off. Take a 5 minute break.
‘Repeat the cycle four times and then take a longer break of 20 to 30 minutes. This technique can help you stay motivated and avoid burnout by giving you frequent opportunities to rest and recharge.
“It can also help you build momentum and tackle more complex tasks more efficiently.”
5. Use examiner reports
Meanwhile, experienced tutor Ishali Ruparelia’s number one tip, which she believes most students forget, is to use examiner reports.
She revealed: ‘This is such an underrated tool that almost no students seem to know about.
‘Examiner reports are published with each past paper and can be found on the exam board websites. Basically, they are a summary of all the common mistakes that students make in exams.
‘They also often contain example answers to essay questions that have written comments from an examiner, so you can use these reports to gain insight into how examiners think.
“Reading them alongside past papers is the best way to improve your exam technique.”
6. Be intentional with your time and potentially get a tutor
Ishali’s final tip is to be intentional with your time and try to determine what time of day your mind is “freshest.”
She advises: ‘Make it a routine to review intensely during those hours, rather than doing long sessions of unfocused work during the day.
Likewise, during times of the day when you’re feeling a little sluggish (this was always right after lunch or after getting home from school for me), intentionally set aside that time as breaks to do what you enjoy.
Whether it’s going to the gym, seeing your friends or just relaxing with Netflix.”
Being a tutor herself, the medical student also highlights how much tutoring can help students.
He added: ‘The tutors are all university students or recent graduates, so we are all very friendly and know how to do well in the exams, having recently taken them ourselves.
‘Getting a tutor can be a huge help even if it’s just a few weeks before your exam, as they can personalize your lesson, help you fill in gaps with content, improve your exam technique and tell you common mistakes that students make with the questions.
“Most people are surprised by how much of a difference having a tutor can make – all of these factors can easily raise a grade or two.”
