CVS Exam Hacks #ExamHacks

EXAM HACKS

#EXAMHACKS

“An exam hack is a way to improve your exam revision, exam technique or something to remember when you’re sitting in the exam hall. It follows the idea of @LifeHacks – by tweaking little things, it can make your life much easier!”

EXAM HACK BY:

MR WEBBER

EXAM HACKS

#EXAMHACKS

“The day before your exam, go out for a 20 minute walk. Exercise stimulates the brain – and the fresh air will give you thinking time.”

EXAM HACK BY:

MR WEBBER

EXAM HACKS

#EXAMHACKS

“Don’t just read your revision, speak it out loud.

You’re 50% more likely to remember the revision if you’re saying it while reading.”

EXAM HACK BY:

MR WEBBER

EXAM HACKS

#EXAMHACKS

“Don’t type your study notes on a computer – it’s much better to write them by hand.

That said, if you’re downloading study notes to print out – ensure they’re in a good, readable font.”

EXAM HACK BY:

MR WEBBER

EXAM HACKS

#EXAMHACKS

“Reward yourself for reading a difficult chapter….”

EXAM HACK BY:

MR WEBBER

EXAM HACKS

#EXAMHACKS

“Don’t leave it too late to get started! Plan your revision well in advance of your exam periods.”

EXAM HACK BY:

MR LOYNTON

EXAM HACKS

#EXAMHACKS

“Take breaks during your revision. It allows your memory to recover and retain the information you have studies.

Revise, rest and then review the material again the next day or week”

EXAM HACK BY:

MR LOYNTON

EXAM HACKS

#EXAMHACKS

“Learning is easy, just practice and practice until you go crazy!”

EXAM HACK BY:

MISS LYONS

#EXAMHACKS

EXAM HACKS

“Make sure you sleep enough to allow your brain to function properly. Also make sure that you take a short break every hour of revision to keep focused!”

EXAM HACK BY:

DANIELLE IRELAND (YEAR 13)

EXAM HACKS

#EXAMHACKS

“Routines are the secret: e.g. 5 words a day for your foreign language, learned and tested at breakfast or tea. Learn a quote a day for your Literature while you’re getting dressed.”

EXAM HACK BY:

MR MALLETT

EXAM HACKS

#EXAMHACKS

“Create a revision timetable, but put school events, exam dates and things you don’t want to miss out on it too. This ensures you can still see that Saturday football match or go to a friend’s birthday party. It’s all part of your planning.”

EXAM HACK BY:

ASCL

EXAM HACKS

#EXAMHACKS

“Don’t spend ages making a timetable or your revision notes look pretty. This is called revision avoidance!!”

EXAM HACK BY:

ASCL

EXAM HACKS

#EXAMHACKS

“Find somewhere quiet to revise – your bedroom, school, your gran’s house – and refuse to be interrupted and distracted.”

EXAM HACK BY:

ASCL

EXAM HACKS

#EXAMHACKS

“Mix up the way you approach revision by trying different techniques” MIND MAPS FLASH CARDS READING POST-IT NOTES SPEAKING PAST PAPERS REVISION GUIDES TALK TO YOUR TEACHER EXAM HACK BY:

ASCL

#EXAMHACKS

EXAM HACKS

“Do lots of past papers and familiarise yourself with the mark schemes so you know the buzzwords and specific phrases examiners will want to see in your answers. This can also help you identify the holes in your revision.”

EXAM HACK BY:

FLORA CHAMBERLAIN (YEAR 13)

EXAM HACKS

#EXAMHACKS

“Keep a large jug or bottle of water and a cup next to where you study. Drink LOTS of water. Your brain needs it, and will mean you can revise more effectively for longer. It also gives you a reason to take little breaks, which is also useful for your brain” EXAM HACK BY:

MS HIBBS

EXAM HACKS

#EXAMHACKS

“Press the record button on your phone and read 5 – 10 pages of a revision guide – INCLUDING the questions. Then play it back straight after and listen to it. This stops you playing on your phone, and keeps you on task.”

EXAM HACK BY:

MR WEBBER

#EXAMHACKS

EXAM HACKS

“If you’re struggling to remember something, break it down into small chunks and associate it with something weird or funny. If it makes you laugh, you will definitely remember it in the exam!”

EXAM HACK BY:

MISS HUTTON

EXAM HACKS

#EXAMHACKS

“Vary your revision techniques, for example: use a mind map to revise. They should be quick to produce and use images to unlock the information that is already in your brain! They are great to have on display as a frequent reminder at home, especially in the run up to an exam.

Tony Buzan's book 'Mind Maps for Kids - Short cuts to success in school' is available in school” EXAM HACK BY:

MR KENNY

#EXAMHACKS

EXAM HACKS “Top tip for revision...DO SOME!”

EXAM HACK BY:

MR BROWN (HISTORY)

#EXAMHACKS

EXAM HACKS Hack for Geography Describing Questions:

Follow this simple pattern to get full marks on "describing questions" 1) Mention the overall trend 2) Give specific examples (places or statistics) 3) Mention any points that do not fit this general trend (anomalies) EXAM HACK BY:

MRS TAYLOR

#EXAMHACKS

EXAM HACKS

“One exam technique that has really boosted my grades was working in silence.

Sitting in silence on a desk with text books to take notes from and equipment alone is like working in exam conditions. This means that when you go into the exam you can recall the information better as you are in similar conditions.”

EXAM HACK BY:

BRIAN MATTHEWS (YEAR 13)

#EXAMHACKS

EXAM HACKS

“Write out notes in full detail so you have the full knowledge.

Then, gradually refine the notes into smaller, more compressed notes that are easier to recall during the exam.”

EXAM HACK BY:

BRIAN MATTHEWS (YEAR 13)

#EXAMHACKS

EXAM HACKS

“Plan your days in into 3 sections: morning, afternoon and evening and have one section off a day”

EXAM HACK BY:

SARAH RICHARDSON (YEAR 13)

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EXAM HACKS

“Never try to revise if you are too tired, save it for when you are more motivated”

EXAM HACK BY:

SARAH RICHARDSON (YEAR 13)

#EXAMHACKS

EXAM HACKS

“If you need a few days off for yourself, take them!!

It will calm you and make the revision you do after much more effective. Overworking yourself will make your revision, your nerves and your confidence plummet.”

EXAM HACK BY:

SARAH RICHARDSON (YEAR 13)

#EXAMHACKS

EXAM HACKS

“Never try to revise for more than 4-5 hours a day, your brain can only take so much”

EXAM HACK BY:

SARAH RICHARDSON (YEAR 13)

EXAM HACKS

#EXAMHACKS

“Three steps to success: 1. Learn the key points of each topic to ensure that you have a good foundation of knowledge.

2. Build on this understanding through definitions, explanations and practical examples.

3. Test yourself by answering past paper questions and self-assessing using mark schemes.”

EXAM HACK BY:

MR JONES

EXAM HACKS

#EXAMHACKS

“Do as many past papers as possible AND MARK THEM or ask your teacher to help you mark them.”

EXAM HACK BY:

MISS JOHN

EXAM HACKS

#EXAMHACKS

“Get some sleep! Don't stay up all night the night before the exam cramming”

EXAM HACK BY:

MISS JOHN

#EXAMHACKS

EXAM HACKS

“You need to revise the subjects you dislike the most.”

EXAM HACK BY:

SARAH RICHARDSON (YEAR 13)

#EXAMHACKS

EXAM HACKS

“Reading the book is not revision!! try past papers or watch Youtube videos on your topic if you really can't be bothered to sit at a desk and work.”

EXAM HACK BY:

SARAH RICHARDSON (YEAR 13)

#EXAMHACKS

EXAM HACKS

“Get some sleep and don't eat terribly, your brain needs good food. You will be hungry all the time because your body hates revision just as much as you do. ”

EXAM HACK BY:

SARAH RICHARDSON (YEAR 13)

#EXAMHACKS

EXAM HACKS

“Break things down... it's super scary staring at pages and pages of notes! Instead learn small chunks of topics until you can link it all together in your head/on a mind map. ”

EXAM HACK BY:

HOLLY WILLIAMS (YEAR 13)

#EXAMHACKS

EXAM HACKS

“Make simple posters of what you need to learn and stick them around your mirror; it’s something you look at - at least twice a day so when you’re brushing your teeth you will also reading those”

EXAM HACK BY:

MISS BROOKE

EXAM HACKS

#EXAMHACKS

“Carry out your revision in silence, with a bottle of water and black pens only. The more you can replicate the conditions in the exam, the less the level of forgetting that will occur between revision and recall. ”

EXAM HACK BY:

MR JOYCE

EXAM HACKS

#EXAMHACKS

“Don't talk to anyone before you go into an exam.

Stay focussed on remembering the key trigger words for each subject area you have revised for that exam.”

EXAM HACK BY:

MR JOYCE

EXAM HACKS

#EXAMHACKS

“Listen to high tempo music before an exam.

Exams are environments that require high levels of energy - you need to be ready to go from the start.”

EXAM HACK BY:

MR JOYCE

EXAM HACKS

#EXAMHACKS

“Aim for a state of "flow" in exams - a feeling of transcendental excellence in your performance.

This can only be achieved through practicing exams in timed conditions similar to the exam room so often that you feel completely comfortable and at home in that environment.”

EXAM HACK BY:

MR JOYCE

EXAM HACKS

#EXAMHACKS

“Your arm should be cramped up and in pain by the time you come out of an exam - if it's not, you haven't written enough.”

EXAM HACK BY:

MR JOYCE

EXAM HACKS

#EXAMHACKS

“Your arm should be cramped up and in pain by the time you come out of an exam - if it's not, you haven't written enough!!”

EXAM HACK BY:

MR JOYCE

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Work hard.”

Mr Brown History

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Build up a bank of completed past paper questions. Redraft any questions you got wrong to learn from mistakes & improve. #Active #Repetition.”

Mr Loynton Biology

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“If you need to remember something off by heart (it was quotes from Macbeth in my day), listen to it ten times just before you go to sleep.”

Mr Brown Chemistry

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Use all the time you have, check, check, check and check again!”

Mrs Smith Mathematics

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Read the ques on(!) Make sure that your answer is focused and uses specific evidence to back up the points you make” Mrs Pope PSRE

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Use your senses! Wear a bracelet for a particular subject every time you revise it, then wear it in the exam.”

Mrs Shuttleworth Geography

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Break a number of past papers up into sections of similar questions. You will then see the similarities in the way the questions are written.”

Mr Parfitt Chemistry

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Visualise your success in the exam room.”

Mrs Shuttleworth Geography

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Do some ruddy revision!!!”

Miss Ilderton PSRE

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Use colour, like, seriously colour everything. Draw pictures and diagrams.”

Megan Abernethy-Hope Year 13

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Work hard, play hard! Take regular breaks from revision and pump some iron!”

Mr Dunford Geography

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“The first few marks of a question are always the easiest to achieve so it is criminal to leave questions unattempted!�

Mr Mallett English

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Spend more time revising than creating colourful revision timetables.”

Miss Ilderton PSRE

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Find 10 key ideas from the religions you have studied that can be applied to more than one topic and create ‘magic paragraphs’ that can be tailored to any question”

Miss Ilderton PSRE

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Expect the exam to be predictable. If you are well prepared you should be able to write the exam yourself. Then when your predictions turn up, your confidence increases.”

Mr Mountford Mathematics

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Flashcards for learning key facts that parents can test you on – even if they know nothing about the subject!”

Miss Taylor Chemistry

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Create colourful mindmaps of topics including key words, their meanings, quotes or evidence” Miss Ilderton PSRE

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Use different colour sticky notes everywhere in your bedroom – on desks, walls, chairs etc. You’ll then associate the place with the note” Mr Webber Computing

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“If you don’t understand the question don’t worry, that only makes it worse.

Read the question slowly and underline key points” Richard Stratford-Tuke Year 13

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Colourful mind maps with more pictures than words. When you’re in an exam you can visualise the shape of the page and where the pictures are so that you can just rewrite them.”

Julia Head Year 13

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Re-read through all your notes just before the exam. That got me an A in Chemistry.”

Julia Head Year 13

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“A really good way of learning the information is to reteach it to yourself or talk it through. Apply it by doing past papers and use the mark scheme to understand where / why you get the marks.�

Megan Bendall Year 13

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Make sure you understand everything you are doing in class by making revision posters throughout the year, it's a lot easier to do this once a week than trying to relearn everything you did in lessons a week before your exam!�

Laura Finch Year 13

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Past papers, past papers, past papers! They helped me loads for my exam technique. Getting on with revision early and repeating the hardest parts as often as possible is the best way I found to remember information.�

Dilys Barker Year 13

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Plan ahead - print off a list of the topics and skills for every subject and tick them off as you master them. #satisfying.”

Mrs Cordle English

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Colour code vocabulary (blue for masculine, red for feminine, green for masculine plural, purple for feminine plural). It's simple and it helps visual learners to focus on agreements�

Miss Iglesias Fuertes Spanish

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“I found drawing pictures really helped, especially revising sciences! I also found acronyms and acrostics helpful for subjects like English when trying to remember the structure of an essay or information in a list! Also add lots of colour!!�

Emmy Mitchell Year 13

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Flashcards for facts and languages question/English on one side, answer/other language on the other. Otherwise, repetition, repetition, repetition.�

Gillian Hutchings Learning Support

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Underline what the demand word of the question is so that you answer what was asked”

Alexander Price Year 13

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“I found writing class work and revision notes in colour worked well-especially if the colour had a link to the topic. Also, I wrote post-it sized notes (also coloured according to theme (writing) and subject (post-it)) and I stuck them around the bathroom�

Natalie Palmer Year 13

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Explain what you're learning to other people -the level at which you can explain something is a good indication of your understanding.�

Joseph Torrible Year 13

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Repeat, repeat repeat. Go over everything at least twice as each time you review it, even if you understand it well, will solidify the topic in your mind.�

Joseph Torrible Year 13

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Don't commit all of your time to just learning theory or concentrating only on past papers. A good mix of the two is the best use of your time.�

Joseph Torrible Year 13

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Save a few full past papers until a few days before the exam, and do them in exam conditions- it builds confidence when the real thing comes while checking your knowledge!�

Joseph Torrible Year 13

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Read the question thoroughly before answering.”

Mr Pearce Year 13

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Understand the key words and phrases in the question. Explain, state, analyse and describe mean different things in exam terms”

Mr Baxter Year 13

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Split your revision time up into chunks to make it easier to digest the information.”

Mr Pearce Year 13

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Use acronyms and Mnemonics to help you remember sets of lists or key concepts. M V E M J S U N (P) and Richard of York Gave Battle in Vain”

Mr Pearce Year 13

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Read the Question!”

Miss Gillespie Biology

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Write a timetable, take breaks and use nonrevision time to play a game of netball / hockey / basketball / tennis - have something to look forward to�

Ms Straw Physical Education

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Don't be put off by hard questions.

Remember, you're competing against everyone else in the country, so most other people will find that question hard too�

Mr Joyce Sociology

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“The question is the cue for the memory - if you are stuck, re-read the question.”

Mr Joyce Sociology

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“When revising, condense your notes on a topic into 1 page of bullet points. Then make bullet points out of those bullet points. Same again. And again. You should aim to take a list of 15-20 words with you to the exam which will trigger off your memory for each of those topic areas.�

Mrs Joyce Sociology

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Get loads of sleep: to bed no later than ten the night before an exam.”

Mrs Currie English

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley “Summarise information in a format that works best for you - bullet points, mind maps etc. Use your time now to try all the different techniques so you know which one you should use for revision. Don't forget to use colour and images which will help trigger the memory for information..�

Mrs Martin Sociology

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Memory is context-dependent. Use smells to help you e.g. sniff orange essential oil whilst revising Biology, and when you go into your Biology exam take a tissue with a drop of the oil on it. Give it a sniff to help you retrieve the memory.�

Mrs Martin Sociology

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley “Find out where you will sit the exam in advance. Whilst you revise, imagine that you are in that room.�

Mrs Martin Sociology

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“In small groups of friends (3 or 4) create revision sheets. Each person takes a different topic and summarises the info on one page.

Photocopy the sheets and share with the rest of the group.�

Mrs Martin Sociology

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley “BUG the question (Box the command word, Underline the key words and Go back and read the question again).”

Miss Gillespie Biology

#1 Exam Tip Tweet by Teachers and Students of Chew Valley

“Write everything for one topic on A4.

Cover, try to replicate. Check original, add bits you missed. Repeat. Take a break, have a biscuit!”

Miss Butcher Physical Education