Turbocharge Your Revision

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Contents Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 2

10 tips to mentally prepare for exams .............................................................................................. 3

8 tips to get and stay motivated ........................................................................................................ 5

8 ways to beat exam stress ................................................................................................................ 7

8 ways to improve your memory ....................................................................................................... 9

5 ways to win over the examiner ..................................................................................................... 12

Avoid these 10 common exam slip-ups ........................................................................................... 14

Turbocharge your revision ................................................................................................................ 16

Mind Mapping ................................................................................................................................... 16

Use your super brain ......................................................................................................................... 16

Flow-State ......................................................................................................................................... 16

Breaking up your revision ................................................................................................................. 17

Avoid Distractions ............................................................................................................................. 17

S-cool Extras ........................................................................................................................................ 19

Terms and conditions ......................................................................................................................... 20

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Introduction

There is no correct way to revise. Everyone recalls and memorises information in many different

ways so it’s important to find out what method is most effective for you.

Effective revision involves approaching your work in an imaginative and active manner as types of

information can lend themselves to being memorised in different ways.

Revision is the key to exam success but often students can get weighed down by the pressure and

stress of looming exams. In this S-cool guide we’ve collected all the tips from our recent Revision

Season and National Revision week campaigns into one handy combined eBook.

Take a look at tips and tricks to help you supercharge your revision technique!

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10 tips to mentally prepare for exams

Often poor performances under

examination conditions can be traced back

to a negative mind-set, usually in the form

of stress, anxiety and a lack of self-belief.

Take a look at these tips to mentally

prepare for your exams.

Study Past Papers

Exam worries often come from a fear of

the unknown. Not knowing what to expect

under exam conditions can create panic.

Overcome this by studying past

examination papers to get a realistic idea

of what is about to come.

Organise Your Notes

Organise your written material into sub-headings, charts, bullet points, and diagrams. Too much

written material can be off-putting. By breaking up your work, exam preparation becomes more

productive.

The Bedtime Reminder

The brain remembers and absorbs information especially well just before you fall asleep. During this

time say to yourself out loud or inside your mind: "Tomorrow I will work hard from a calm and

relaxed state". This will encourage you to start the next day in the best possible way.

Stress Is Not All Bad

Exam stress need not always be negative - it's designed to prompt you into action, so use it to your

advantage. In small amounts stress will encourage you to work harder, and think faster. Just don't let

it build up too much.

Time Management

Time-management is one of the key skills for effective revision. Stress often comes from the belief

that you are running out of time to prepare; by allocating time blocks for each important topic

nothing will be missed and your worries will disappear.

Get a Study Buddy

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It's good to know others are in the same boat as you. During exam preparation, find someone to

study with. This strategy makes each of you accountable to one another, and it makes revision more

interactive and enjoyable.

Take Some Perspective

When exams are upon you, it's difficult to think about anything else. Place your examinations in

perspective - the world will not end if you fail.

Generate a positive state

One of the biggest predictors of behaviour is your internal state. If you feel good in the build-up to

your exams, the chances of performing well are increased. Take 5 minutes before exams to fill your

mind with positive material to get fired up for action.

Learn From Your Mistakes

Exam stress often comes from the fear of making mistakes. Unfortunately mistakes are an

unavoidable component of exams. Learn from your mistakes by seeing failure as feedback to stay

positive.

Don't Aim For Perfection

Exam stress is often the result of worrying about making mistakes. Accepting that perfection can

never be achieved, and that there will always be room for improvement, takes some of the pressure

off.

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8 tips to get and stay motivated

Motivation is the fuel behind our actions.

Without the drive to take action and make

things happen, nothing would be

achieved. It is very common to set goals in

our lives but then to lose the motivation

to see through our positive intentions.

The following motivation tips are based on

Positive Psychology strategies to help you

build the momentum to achieve the goals

you set. These strategies are quick,

accessible and practical and the advice can

be digested and applied with ease.

They have been written by Chartered Psychologist Sam Kotadia, whose work (now available in

several languages) has been used by individuals worldwide to improve their mental well-being. Read

and apply one strategy daily to give your drive and motivation a boost.

Energy boost

Our energy levels have a significant impact on our motivation levels. A natural way to keep your

energy levels and consequent levels of motivation high is to exercise regularly. Exercise will build up

your physical endurance and strengthen your drive to be productive. Devise a weekly fitness plan to

help make exercise a healthy habit and protect against low motivation.

Magical momentum

Motivation levels suffer when our goals seem too large to achieve. When you set a goal, identify

several simple tasks that you can accomplish immediately to start making progress.

The 17th Century scientist, Isaac Newton noted: “An object at rest stays at rest and an object in

motion stays in motion”. Take action, because if you start moving towards your goal it may become

harder to stop than to keep going!

The magic of music

Listening to music is a powerful way to generate motivation. Create a compilation of motivational

songs on CD, smartphone or your iPod. Listening to music before sleep, during work (if appropriate)

and whilst travelling will compel you to be positive when your motivation is tested.

Push outside the comfort zone

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To keep your motivation high, push outside the comfort zone. As a rule of thumb, commit to doing

one difficult thing every day. Being adventurous day-to-day will inject zest into your life and keep

you hungry and motivated for more.

Burn bridges

In Sun Tzu’s classic book “The Art of War”, successful leaders of armies talk about how, during

important battles, they burnt their own escape routes, so that they would fight more furiously. At

the same time they deliberately chose terrain that created the option of retreat for their opponents.

If you are determined to achieve your goals limit your own escape routes, by making choices in

which success is only option!

Strike while the iron is hot!

Our energy levels naturally ebb and flow during the day. Make a note of the times during the day

when you feel most energised and reserve these times for more intense tasks. When your energy

levels naturally dip you will be left with the tasks that are easier to complete. Directing your focus

onto the right tasks at the right time is important in maintaining your levels of motivation.

Prioritise

Setting too many goals may lead to disaster; even if it doesn't, the stress of constant effort will

reduce your effectiveness and make you miserable. Prioritise your goals and complete the high-

priority tasks before attempting anything else. Focusing effort in a systematic way will ensure that

you meet life methodically and without stress.

Learn to say "no"

Learn to say no to other people's requests, if appropriate, in order to reserve enough time and

energy to live calmly. Think twice about giving into the wants of others and avoid sacrificing your

own quality time by over commitment. It will strengthen your sense of identity and help you to

maintain a calm and well-grounded sense of wellbeing.

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8 ways to beat exam stress

Stress in small doses can be a good thing

as it pushes us to get to work and focus on

what needs to be done. The stress

response can be triggered by physical or

emotional pressures or by anything

perceived as a threat or challenge.

If you are experiencing stress, your body

will be stuck in a constantly heightened

state. You will feel tense, anxious and

irritable most of the time. You may suffer

from headaches, panic attacks, stomach

complaints and insomnia.

Exams are a common source of stress and

can prevent you from performing at your

best so it’s important to be aware of how

you can tackle it head on.

Eat Right.

Treat your body like a temple and fuel that brain. It’s mostly true that you are what you eat. Have

plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables on a daily basis and make sure you have a good breakfast every day.

No one can think properly if they’re running off sweets and coffee.

Exercise.

Exercise is a great way to relieve tension as it releases endorphins, which are 'feel-good'

neurotransmitters that are released in the brain. Try exercising a couple of times a week to help you

unwind. At the end of a hard day it is more tempting to collapse in front of the TV with a tub of ice-

cream, but if you incorporate some gentle exercise into your week you will really notice the

difference to your stress levels!

Join a yoga class.

Or try Qigong or Tai Chi, which are two types of martial arts that can improve relaxation skills.

Qigong (pronounced "chee gung") is an ancient Chinese discipline that uses breathing, meditation,

visualisation, and repetitive physical exercises to cleanse and strengthen the body. Tai Chi aims to

harmonise the body and mind uses flowing movements but does not rely on speed, strength or

force.

Get enough Sleep.

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This is often easier said than done. Lack of sleep can lead to a ' vicious cycle' of

daytime behaviours which make the situation worse; if you are tired you may try to your lack of

energy and concentration by excessive caffeine intake, you may be too tired to exercise and you

might nap during the day which will reduce your ability to sleep at night.

Bridging objects.

Some people find it helps to wear or carry something that has positive associations with another

place or person. Touching this bridging object can be comforting in its own right, then allow yourself

a few minutes to think about the person or situation which makes you feel good. This can have a

calming effect.

Avoid Caffeine.

Caffeine is a stimulating substance which has a number of physiological effects on the body,

including a slight increase in blood pressure and pulse. It has been proven to worsen symptoms of

panic and anxiety, and it can interfere with sleep which in turn will make you more irritable and

unfocused. No caffeine after 4 or 5pm is a good rule to follow. Remember that chocolate also

contains a small amount of caffeine.

Green Therapy.

Nature is soothing for anyone suffering from stress. Natural settings will clear your mind and

encourage you to relax. Allow time in your daily routine to enjoy and appreciate nature, even if only

for a five-minute walk around your local park. Numerous health organisations and independent

academic bodies have shown that “Eco therapy” is effective in improving mental wellbeing.

Hug a Pug.

Yep that’s right.

Glasgow University recently introduced a hug a pug day to help students reduce exam stress. Read

more here…

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8 ways to improve your memory

We are all aware that having a good

memory will give you a major advantage

when it comes to revising and sitting your

exams. As part of revision season, we are

going to give you the 5 top tips from our

memory secrets app. This will give you a

major advantage during the rest of the

week whilst revising.

Association

The brain is very good at learning through

association. Association is a method by

which you link two objects or events

together, so that become reminders or

triggers for one another. For each subject place a random object next to you whilst revising for that

subject. For example when you are doing your maths revision, keep a photo of past holiday near

you. Whilst you are revising your brain will form an unconscious and powerful connection between

the two. When you enter your maths exam picture the photo in your mind and it will boost your

memory for maths!

Make a story

Memory experts state that the most effective way to boost memory is to make connections! A

common strategy to advantage of this is to turn sections of your revision notes into a story. Make

the key terms that you need to remember as characters in your made-up story and link them all

together in a funny memorable narrative. For example; remembering the order of the solar system

may lead to a bizarre story like this: “My Very Energetic Monkey Jumped Straight Up Near Portugal!”

The more creative you are, the easier your funny stories will be.

The Acronym

An acronym can be classed as a word that takes all of the first letters of a set of key words and turn

them into a new one. For example; OIL RIG in chemistry is an effective acronym for Oxidation

Is Losss, Reduction Is Gain.

Order facts in alphabetical order easier for your brain to remember

A very simple way to get a quick memory boost is to place facts that you need to remember in

alphabetical order. This will help your brain to remember information far easier. As a general rule of

thumb when information is well structured and ordered your memory is much more efficient.

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Exaggerate the most important parts of your revision

When you are revising there are always components of your revision that are more important than

others. Try to exaggerate the most important parts of your revision by making notes in colourful ink,

using large pieces of paper, shouting them out loud, and perhaps even doing something silly when

you are memorising your key notes. Jumping on the spot whilst reciting your notes is a good one!

Give your Brain a workout

By the time you’ve reached adulthood, your brain has developed millions of neural pathways that

help you process information quickly, solve familiar problems, and execute familiar tasks with a

minimum of mental effort. But if you always stick to these well-worn paths, you aren’t giving your

brain the stimulation it needs to keep growing and developing. You have to shake things up from

time to time!

Try taking a new route home from work or the grocery store, visiting new places at the weekend, or

reading different kinds of books

The more you work out your brain, the better you’ll be able to process and remember information.

The best brain exercising activities break your routine and challenge you to use and develop new

brain pathways. Activities that require using your hands are a great way to exercise your brain.

Examples are:

Reading different types of books

Take a different route to your routine

Visit new places

Any activities using your hands

Learn new languages, sports or instruments

Brain boosting diet

A healthy diet including lean protein, whole grains, fruit and vegetables are not only good for the

body but can also help your memory.

Eat more fruit and vegetables. This is generally a good thing to do all round but fruit and veg packed

with antioxidants will help protect your brain cells from damage. Try “superfood” sources such as

leafy green vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, romaine lettuce and Swiss chard. Fruit such as

bananas, apricots, mangoes, cantaloupe, and watermelon are also good.

Fish is a rich source of omega-3 and helps the brain. “Fatty fish” such as tuna, salmon, halibut, trout,

mackerel, sardines, and herring can help boost brainpower.

Research shows that diets high in saturated fat (from sources such as red meat, whole milk, butter,

cheese, sour cream, and ice cream) increase your risk of dementia and impair concentration and

memory.

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Get Your Sleep

When you’re sleep deprived, your brain can’t operate at full capacity. Creativity, problem-solving

abilities, and critical thinking skills are compromised. Whether you’re studying, working, or trying to

juggle life’s many demands, sleep deprivation is a recipe for disaster.

But sleep is critical to learning and memory in an even more fundamental way. Research shows that

sleep is necessary for memory consolidation, with the key memory-enhancing activity occurring

during the deepest stages of sleep.

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5 ways to win over the examiner

It’s an important part of your exam

success to get into your examiner’s head.

How can you improve your chances of

higher marks? What will the examiner look

for? Read on..

Magic In Method

When you have to calculate your answer

by going through several different stages it

is important that you document them in

the space provided. If the final answer is

wrong, your logic and the process that you

used can gain valuable marks. A correct

final answer without any working can cost

your more marks than a wrong answer

with the correct working!

No Excuses!

One of the most important rules in not losing unnecessary marks is ensuring that no questions are

left blank. Attempting questions that seem impossible will often help you to pick-up marks you

hadn't accounted for. Often during the process of writing you engage your memory and unlock

knowledge that you didn't know you had. The best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best

thing you can do is the wrong thing, but the worst thing you can do is nothing!

Tricky Time-Management

In the examiner's reports it is common to read that questions towards the end of exams are often of

a lower quality compared to questions at the beginning of an exam. This is usually an indication that

students have failed to manage their time properly. Try to plan how long you are allowed on each

question by dividing the number of questions by the overall length of the exam. This will give you a

rough time-limit per question, and help you to manage your time.

Silly Spelling

Marks are always lost when students fail to spell key words correctly. If you are unsure on how to

spell a specific term, focus on ensuring that you can describe the concept using good spelling and

grammar. Your understanding of the principle is often enough for you to side-step losing marks by

misspelling the key-term required in your answer.

Sometimes Less is more

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Examiner's regularly state that students struggle to be selective with the information they use when

answering questions. Consequently they are “brain-dumping” as much information as possible

hoping to cover all of the required points. This approach can lose students marks! Be selective and

intelligent with what you write down, and overall you will achieve a higher mark. Writing

unnecessary content also wastes your precious time in the exam and gains you no extra marks.

Be Bold

Examiners don't want to catch you out! When examiners write the papers they will often draw your

attention to key words in some of the questions by placing them in bold or italic. Make sure that you

pay close attention to these words; otherwise it is likely that you will miss the important aspects of

your task.

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Avoid these 10 common exam slip-ups

Attention to detail is important to have in

all of your exams. This App will give the

opportunity to go through several key

reminders to ensure that your exam

answers are well polished and that you

don't lose easy marks on simple slip-ups.

The Three-times Rule

The most common slip-up in all GCSE and

A-Level exams is failing to read the

question carefully. Apply the three-time

rule by reading the question three times

before you start writing. Even if they are

simple questions this disciplined approach

will stop your brain from adding and

deleting aspects of the question unconsciously.

Don't Be Messy

It may sound like quite an obvious tip, but it so important that your hand-writing can be read. Marks

are regularly lost because examiners are unable to read the candidate's hand-writing. During your

mock-exams double check with your teachers that your hand-writing is clear and easy to read. Well-

presented hand-writing will also keep the examiner in a good mood!

Have I Answered The Question?

Good practice in exams is to ensure that your answer clearly fulfils the demands of the question.

Give yourself 15-30 seconds when you have finished your answer to scan the question and your

response.

Magic In Method

When you have to calculate your answer by going through several different stages it is important

that you document them in the space provided. If the final answer is wrong, your logic and the

process that you used can gain valuable marks. A correct final answer without any working can cost

your more marks than a wrong answer with the correct working!

No Excuses!

One of the most important rules in not losing unnecessary marks is ensuring that no questions are

left blank. Attempting questions that seem impossible will often help you to pick-up marks you

hadn't accounted for. Often during the process of writing you engage your memory and unlock

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knowledge that you didn't know you had. The best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best

thing you can do is the wrong thing, but the worst thing you can do is nothing!

Tricky Time-Management

In the examiner's reports it is common to read that questions towards the end of exams are often of

a lower quality compared to questions at the beginning of an exam. This is usually an indication that

students have failed to manage their time properly. Try to plan how long you are allowed on each

question by dividing the number of questions by the overall length of the exam. This will give you a

rough time-limit per question, and help you to manage your time.

Study past-papers

The most effective way to ensure that you don't slip-up in the exam is to practise past papers. Past

papers are the closest tool you have to predicting what will turn-up in your exams. Often you can

also spot patterns in the questions that are repeated over the years. Practising past-papers will also

build-up your confidence in the exam. If you successfully complete past-papers there is no reason

why you cannot replicate this in the exam.

The Beginning, Middle and the End

The beginning, middle, end rule is critical advice to ensure that you construct a sound and well-

balance essay. A large proportion of student marks are lost unnecessarily because students are so

eager to write down what they know, forgetting to structure their answer. Fitting your essay into

this formula is a simple rule to use and it will give you the platform to score top-marks on essay

questions in your exam.

Move On

If and when you arrive at a question you are struggling to tackle make sure that you know when to

move on! Often students spend a disproportionate amount of time on one question, and sacrifice

quality on questions later on the exam. Give yourself a time-limit, and have the discipline to move-

one when the allowed time is up! You can always come back and revisit the question if you have

time at the end.

Brilliant Bullets

If you find yourself running out of time the exam, in order to pick-up exam worthy marks you can

always resort to bullet-pointing your responses. As long as they are written as sentences you will be

fine. This approach will ensure that what you write-down is well focused, straight to the point and

easy on time!

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Turbocharge your revision

Mind Mapping Exam performance is often down to how much you can remember. If you have a good memory, it's

more likely you will perform well.

This is a tip to help organise your revision notes and improve your memory.

When you work through a topic, map it out on a large piece of paper and connect the different

sections of information. This is often called a “mind-map”. The mind map will allow you will see how

all the information connects together. Your brain is much more likely to store it in your memory that

way, because visual patterns are much easier to remember than just text.

Try to write the mind-map with a pen and paper. You can use software, but the action of writing and

drawing your mind-map will help you remember the key points.

1. Write the subject you want to revise in the middle of a piece of plain paper.

2. Create branches or lines from this word and create new key words for each new fact,

concept or idea.

3. Build on the map by adding words, phrases and pictures.

4. Use colour to highlight key areas – this helps stimulate your brain and remember

information.

Use your super brain The brain is a bit like a super computer and in addition to what you are focusing on right now, there

is also a lot of other information going into your brain.

Take advantage of this during your revision. Fill your living space with key revision notes: posters,

diagrams, keywords so when your mind wanders you will see key information and this will sink in

subconsciously. You will be revising without even knowing it!

The mind is divided into the conscious mind (about 12%) and the subconscious (about 88%). The

conscious mind is our ‘doing’ mind, which we use to make decisions. Whilst our subconscious mind

stores our memory, beliefs, personality, habits, etc. So the more you can feed the subconscious

mind with your revision, the more you will take in and remember!

Examples of exactly what to do:

1. Write post-it notes and cover your wall and other places where spend time

2. Play audio revision material in the background or while you sleep

3. Plan a Poster on a topic (just use an A4 sheet) with diagrams, keywords and colour coding.

(See mind-maps)

Flow-State It's a great feeling in any performance, such as sport, when you get into a flow-state. This is when

everything seems effortless and you are ‘in the zone’. You are living in the moment, completely

absorbed in the present activity. Time seems to fall away.

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Positive psychologist “Mihály Csíkszentmihályi” describes flow as "being completely involved in an

activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows

inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you're using

your skills to the utmost."

The best way to get into a flow-state before you start revising or begin an exam is to try and start

with an easy task or question and complete it quickly and confidently before moving onto the harder

items.

This will help you get into that flow-state to build the momentum and move forward.

Breaking up your revision It may sound obvious but many people often make this mistake!

Many students think they can revise for three hours straight and cram in all the information. This will

simply not work. You will get bored and frustrated and your brain will not be able to process all that

information! The most effective way is to revise regularly and often.

The best way is to break up your revision time into small chunks of 20 minute work sessions, with

ten minutes break. That way your brain has been given the space to absorb the information, keep

you interested and prevent boredom.

Scientists have been claiming continuously for over 30 years that taking breaks improves your

memory, as we remember more from the beginning and end of any learning session.

Avoid Distractions In the modern world we are surrounded by mobile phones, social media, internet and our friends

wanting us to go out and do more interesting things than revising.

The only way to avoid this is to simply remove these distractions. Unplug your computer and turn off

the smartphone. Otherwise you might find yourself quickly checking Facebook and before you know

it, hours have passed by.

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Mixing work and play does not work. You need to separate the two and build up your work session

from 10 to 20 minutes or more without distractions.

Take ten minute breaks if you must Tweet or look on Facebook, but keep it to 10 minutes or less.

The best breaks would be to go out of your work environment, away from computers and notepads.

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