Top 8 Tips on Studying for Your GCSE A-Level Examinations
The GCSE A-Level exams are a critical step in which all students of secondary schools must take if they want to get into a good university in the United Kingdom. The examinations are not only open to all current British students of the secondary level, they are also open to non-British students from overseas who want toenroll at a British university as well. If you do well on the A-Level examination, you can pretty much write your own ticket as to which major university in the United Kingdom that you want to attend. The two best choices are Cambridge University and Oxford University.
So, how do you do well on the GCSE A-Level exams? This is a question that a lot of people ask as they prepare themselves for it. The simple answer to the question is study hard. But this doesn’t necessarily mean just picking up your notes or workbook and rereading old chapters on all the subjects of the exam. There are certain methods of studying for the A-Level exam that will help you retain a lot more of the information that you study. That way, when you go to finally take the exam, the answers will come to you faster.
Below are the top 8 tips on studying for your GCSE A-Level Examinations.
Take Practice Exams
The first thing you should do is take practice exams for all the subjects that you’ll be tested on. This is a great way for you to figure out which subjects you are strong in and which subjects you need to study harder for. To create these practice exams, gather all your previous GCSE assignments that have already been corrected and marked by the teacher. Then, take random questions from these assignments and place them into a practice exam that you create for yourself. Make sure the format of the practice exam is the same as the real one. When you go to take the practice exam, set the same time limit for yourself as well.
Write an Outline of What to Study
Based on the results of your practice exam, create a list of subjects that you need to study by putting the most critical subjects on the very top of the list. These are the subjects that you scored poorly on when you took the practice exam. So, you will want to devote more study time for these subjects. As you go further down the list, you will write down the subjects which you did better on. You can still study those, but you don’t need to devote as much time to them. Try calculating the amount of time you want to devote toward studying each of these subjects and on which days it will occur. The better you manage your time with this outline, the more successful you will be on the GCSE A-Level examination.
Mind Mapping for Short Term Memory
As hard as you may study for the A-Level examination, you are not going to remember everything that you study. With all the written notes and visual aids at your disposal, there is always going to be something that you forget. This is especially true for those with short term memory who can only retain a small amount of information in their memory banks at a time. Fortunately, there is a way to compile the information on various subject notes into your short-term memory. Mind mapping is a web-like diagram which visually connects ideas and subject points together so that you can remember them easier. Create mind maps for all your subjects and study them every day right up until the last hour before the real exam.
Study from Anywhere
There is no doubt that the ideal place to study is in a quiet room without a lot of distractions. But if you are a student who has a job or other responsibilities that limit your time, you will need to squeeze in any amount of study time that you can. That is why mobile apps on your smartphone may help you study when you are away from your home. Perhaps you have a lunch break at your job or you’re babysitting at a friend’s house. Even if you have only 10 or 15 extra minutes during the day, you could use this time to study with any number of apps. Some of the best study apps include the Oxford dictionary app, the language translator app called “Babylon,” or any notebook app which lets you enter information onto a virtual pad.
Use Various Forms of Study Aids
Studying doesn’t just mean reviewing notes that you’ve written or reading from your workbook. You need to make an extra effort by creating additional study aids for yourself. These aids can be in the form of videos, PowerPoint slideshows, podcasts, or flashcards. The specific aid you choose may depend on the subject you are studying. For example, if you’re studying for the English portion of the exam, you would want to use flashcards to study for it because you can easily remember word definition and language rules that way. If you’re studying geography, then PowerPoint slides with map images on them might be more appropriate. The idea is to get creative and make your own unique study aids for the subjects that you are studying.
Do Not Burn Yourself Out
If you were to study multiple subjects in one night, you are more likely to forget the information that you studied for each of them because your brain will be overwhelmed. This is especially true if you try studying at the last minute. If you cram in days or weeks’ worth of studying into one night, then you are going to fail the A-Level exam for sure. You must pace yourself when you study by reviewing just one subject per day and for only a few hours at a time. If you do this, you are more likely to retain the information in your brain because you will be thinking about the one subject and nothing else.
Get a Study Partner
A study partner can be more helpful to you than any notebook or visual aid ever could. Since they are taking the same exam as you are, they are also eager to get a good grade too. But what is unique about studying with a partner is they may be better than you at certain subjects, and vice versa. This gives each of you the opportunity to tutor each other on the subjects that each of you understands. That way, you can help the other person understand the subjects which they do not understand. It is a win-win situation for both of you. Just make sure you actually study with your partner and not gossip about non-academic related subjects. It can be tempting to do this, especially if you are friends with your partner. That is why you might find it better to pick a partner who you are not that close with so you won’t be tempted to stop studying.
Online Study Group
This is an extension of the last tip about studying with a partner. If you go to an online study group, you will be able to communicate with hundreds or even thousands of other students who are studying for the GCSE A-Level exam just like you are. This gives you a rare opportunity to find study partners who are good at all kinds of subjects, in case you can’t find one in-person who can help you. With all the knowledge sharing and help that you can get from an online study group, it is a sure way to get any questions you have answered.
