Examinations guide

It is that time of the year again - yes, the exams are approaching. Now is the time you may begin to regret spending quite so much time at the shopping mall or chatting online.

Panic sets in and you are frantically searching for anything that will get you through the next few weeks in one piece. Well, don't give up yet - help is at hand.

Here are some tips to guide you through preparing for the dreaded exams.

Before you start your revision…

Set yourself up for success: Make a timetable. Yes, we know you have heard this before from your parents and your teachers. But remember they have been through it before and it really is very important.

Put your exam dates on your calendar as soon as the schedule is out so that you know what you are aiming for. Then you can work backwards and plan your revision.

This doesn't mean you have to allocate the same amount of time for each subject.

You need to think which are your strong subjects and which you find the most difficult so that you can spend more time on them. But don't neglect the others.

When you have made your timetable, stick it on your wall next to your bed/mirror/toothbrush - wherever you are sure to see it.

As you complete your planned revision sessions, cross them off your timetable with big, bright colours - you will be surprised at how good this makes you feel!

Find out about the exam: Make sure you know the exam format - is it multiple choice, short essays, problems to solve, case studies? Check with your lecturer or teacher, and try to get hold of past question papers if you can.

The type of exam will affect the way you revise. For example, you may need to memorise formulas or lots of facts and figures for some exams, while you may have to focus on explaining concepts and relating them to a variety of situations for others.

You also need to know how long the exam is going to be. Find out how many questions you have to answer in the time allowed and if there will be any reading time at the start of the exam.

It is also a good idea to find out if you will have to choose which questions to answer, or if there will be compulsory questions - this will affect what you revise.

Above all, make sure you know exactly what you have to do before you enter the exam room.

Create a comfortable study environment: Try to find a place you can call your own for your serious revision. Make sure there is enough space for you to spread out your notes.

You need to keep the temperature on the cool side, and make sure you have a comfortable chair to sit on - but not too comfortable or you just might fall asleep!

It is not always a good idea to lie on your bed to revise - beds are for sleeping, not studying.

Wherever you choose to study, try to keep away from distractions. By all means listen to music if you find that it helps you, but TV is not a good idea.

Put your mobile on silent, or better still, turn it off, if you can bear to do that.

Be prepared to be anti-social for a while; your friends and family will hopefully understand. You could even make a Do Not Disturb sign for your door to get the message across.

During your revision…

Adopt a revision pattern: When you start to revise, make sure you are in the right frame of mind. If you are too tired or upset about something, you will not do very well.

Find the right time of day for yourself - some people prefer early morning sessions, and some choose late night sessions.

Make sure you have enough to eat and drink - your brain needs lots of energy, so keep the snacks handy. You should try to take regular breaks.

This will help you internalise what you have studied so far, and give you a chance to mull things over for a while before you move on to the next topic.

Give yourself plenty of rewards - set goals, and rewards for when you reach them. For example "when I learn this section I am going to watch my favourite TV show for half an hour".

Focus on what you do know, rather than what you don't: Sitting through all those classes must have taught you something. Start you revision sessions by sitting down quietly somewhere.

Take a blank piece of paper and write the subject at the top. Then write down everything you can think of about that subject.

Don't worry about putting things in order or how trivial some things seem or not being able to describe things in detail. Just jot them down.

We would be very surprised if the paper remains blank for long. It is amazing how quickly you start to remember things when you focus.

To really get you going, why not compare notes with a friend? Two heads are often better than one, and you might find that you each remember something different.

That way you have already widened your knowledge about the subject. Then you can start organising your ideas into topics and concepts.

Try to see things as a whole: It is very tempting to learn as many facts as you can, but it is often ineffective, especially if they are unrelated facts.

Instead, you should study topics and try to find a way to make them meaningful to you. Try to see the big picture rather than isolated bits of the subject.

One way to do this is to relate the topics to your own personal experience or to your friends.

If you focus on topics you will be surprised at how quickly your subject knowledge increases.

You will also need to think how you can apply your knowledge of the subject in different situations because you will find that in a lot of exams your lecturers and teachers will be looking to see how well you can do this.

Get to know your learning style: We all have different ways of learning, so it is a good idea to find out what suits you best. Some of you may prefer a visual style, in which case you can make lots of lovely, colourful charts and mind maps.

Post-it notes are great for colour-coding topics - you can stick them around your room, or even all over the house if the rest of the family don't mind.

Some of you may find you are more comfortable with an auditory style of learning, so why not read your notes out loud to yourself?

You can even use a silly accent if you find it helps! (Another reason to keep your door firmly closed to family and friends.)

In the end, the important thing is to find what works for you, and stick with it.

Improve your memory: It is very likely that you are going to have to memorise some information at some stage, so you need to develop some strategies for this.

One good thing is to use mnemonics. These are sayings or sentences using the first letter of the words you want to remember.

For eg, Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain for the colours of the rainbow (red-orange-yellow-green-blue-indigo-violet). Do you remember doing this kind of thing in primary school?

Well, it can work for you now just as well. Try to make up some really funny or unusual sentences, and see how easily you remember those formulas.

There are plenty of other memory aids around, so find yourself a good guide such as www.mindtools.com/memory.html or another such website.

Think of possible exam questions: Try to anticipate the kind of questions you may be asked and then prepare some model answers. Old question papers are very useful here.

If you can get hold of a series of them, you can look for patterns of topics which come up regularly.

If you can't get any old papers, go and ask your lecturer or teacher for some sample questions to help