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Ask a Question about revising, coping with exams and next steps

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
edited March 27 in Work & Study
:wave:

On Monday 12th May and Thursday 15th May we have an expert dropping by here on the message boards to help with some extra support around exam time.

Her name is Helen Anderson and she'll be online between 7 & 8.30pm to reply to your questions and to respond to threads around anything to do with revising, coping with exams and next steps.

A bit more about Helen...

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Helen is a member of the Widening Participation team at a top university in London. She is responsible for assisting young people with queries about higher education and the application process, as well as creating and developing materials to assist prospective students with the transition from school to university.

She has previously worked as a Widening Participation mentor, where she ran workshops on study & revision skills, and has experience of offering both 1:1 and group support to young people with concerns about exams and their future in education.

Helen is also a helpline volunteer for Get Connected, where she offers confidential emotional support and signposting to young people, and was previously an assistant at the student support charity London Nightline.

She's really looking forward to helping out and meeting you all so why not take a break from your revision and come and ask for some advice, tips or information on getting through the weeks ahead.

You can post your question by replying to this thread or start a new thread of your own :)

:thumb:
Post edited by JustV on

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Hi everyone!

    I hope you are having a good weekend.

    Please feel free to post any questions or worries you have about your exams and revision and I will be online Monday and Thursday next week to try to help with them.

    In the meantime, if you are revising this weekend remember to take a break every now and then - it will help to keep you focussed and give you brain time to process all the information you are throwing at it. For those of you who have exams on Monday - best of luck! At the start of the exam, take a deep breath, read the paper carefully, and make sure you give yourself enough time to answer each question. Then afterwards, take the time to relax and clear your mind before you start revising again - you deserve a break.

    Looking forward to meeting you next week!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Helen will be around tonight from 7pm (Monday 12th) so do ask her a question if you have one and she'll get back to you :)
  • **helen****helen** Deactivated Posts: 9,235 Supreme Poster
    *bump*
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Hi everyone!

    I am online from now until 8:30pm tonight to help with any exam and revision worries. I may also be able to help if you have any questions or concerns about moving into further or higher education, so feel free to ask away!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    What's the best thing to do if you find it's getting very close to the exam and you don't think you've done enough/any revision.

    Is it better to spend all day and night cramming? Or still to follow the advice to take regular breaks? Regular breaks seem like a good idea, but what about if it's all left to the last minute?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    What's the best thing to do if you find it's getting very close to the exam and you don't think you've done enough/any revision.

    Is it better to spend all day and night cramming? Or still to follow the advice to take regular breaks? Regular breaks seem like a good idea, but what about if it's all left to the last minute?

    Good question.

    Staying up all day and night might seem like a good plan, but your brain can only take so much. You need to rest to let it process everything. Also, no one performs to the best of their ability when they are tired, so staying up all night (or even just later than usual) the night before an exam to try and cram is probably not the best plan. If you are tired you are more likely to make silly mistakes like not reading the question properly, and you will probably find it harder to keep yourself calm and focussed during the exam.

    If you have left revision until the last minute don't panic - it's not necessarily too late. Make a quick plan of the topics you need to cover and go through them one by one, giving yourself a short break in between each to move about a bit, have a cup of tea etc. As you have a time limit, focus on making sure you know the key points for each topic first, and then if you have a bit of time left you can add in extra details. It might be good to use bullet points or mind maps, but try to fit each topic onto just one side of A4 so when you are in the exam you can visualise the points you need to cover.

    When you go to bed, don't take your notes with you. Try to get a good sleep so you feel rested, then you can go over your notes again in the morning. If you have time, you could give yourself a little memory test - try rewriting all the key points for each topic then check them against your notes. You'll probably find you have remembered more than you thought you would, and the chances are if you remembered them overnight then you will remember them again in the exam.

    Finally, try to stay calm. The tiniest bit of revision the night before will get your more marks that stressing out over the fact your haven't done any revision will.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    *bump* - Helen_A will be back online tomorrow (Thurs) evening so if you need some support either around exams or your next steps into higher or further education (college/uni) then post here and she'll get back to you :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Hi everyone!

    I hope you have had a good week so far.

    I will be online from now until around 8:30 this evening, so please feel free to ask me anything about revision, exams and higher/further education.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Similar to the previous question but whats the best way to revise for the few days before an exam if you have done alt of revision over Easter holidays? Would it be to go over the notes you've made or trying example questions under time conditions?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Do you also think it's wise to only concentrate on the next exam you have during the exam weeks? Or could that result in forgetting content you learnt for your last exam?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Hi Ybe7,

    These are both also good questions.
    Ybe7 wrote: »
    Similar to the previous question but whats the best way to revise for the few days before an exam if you have done alt of revision over Easter holidays? Would it be to go over the notes you've made or trying example questions under time conditions?

    If you have the time, a bit of both would probably be beneficial. You could spend a little time going over you notes and then test yourself with example questions to see how much you remember and understand. Then you can compare your answers to your notes to see if there is anything you have missed. Having a go at example questions will also help you make sure you understand the format of the exam and the phrasing of the questions, and will allow you to time your answers to make sure you are not spending too long on each one.
    Do you also think it's wise to only concentrate on the next exam you have during the exam weeks? Or could that result in forgetting content you learnt for your last exam?

    They day before an exam, it is probably best to concentrate on that exam if you can to make sure the topic is fresh in your mind. However, you should try and vary your revision schedule and make sure that you devote equal time to all your subjects (maybe a bit extra on any you are particularly concerned about). This is especially important if you have exams on consecutive days - you don't want to spend 2 days revising for Exam A on Wednesday and then only have an evening to revise for Exam B on Thursday. It would be better to spend a day on each if possible, then have a last minute recap of both subjects a few hours/the evening before each exam.

    I hope you exams and revision are going well!
  • JamesJames Deactivated Posts: 1,706 Extreme Poster
    A massive thanks to Helen A for coming in to answer your questions!

    I'm closing this thread now, but best of luck to those of you who still have exams coming up!
This discussion has been closed.