THE ULTIMATE A-LEVEL REVISION HANDBOOKUr fn CN a Achieve Better Grades with Less Stress High quality, personalised support that is more effective than private tutoring available 24/7 at a fraction of the cost. a OCU Bite-size Mini Revision Personalised Videos Guides Learning Paths Smart 24/7 Tutor Predicted Quizzes Support Exam PacksContents 1 Preparation & Planning Breaking down your revision into SMART objectives 2 Time Management Organising your weekly schedule to meet your objectives 3 Calendar Case Study A look at a typical week in the life of a student 4 Sitting Down to Revise Five tips on creating a productive workspace 5 Learning Styles Understanding the three most common ways people learn 6 Ways to Revise Reading, note-taking, past papers, videos and online learning 7 The Specification Document Your bible for the necessary course content 8 Specification Example Notes How to follow the specification to create useful notes 9 The Art of Note-Taking What should you really be writing down? 10 Tips from the SnapRevise Tutoring Team Our A* Oxbridge tutors share their advice 11 Staying Motivated Keeping yourself going when you're under pressure 12 Exam Technique Pointers that will help you crack an exam paper 13 Top Exam Tips Steps to take on the big day 14 Practising for Exam Day Four steps to replicating exam conditions at home 15 Rewarding Yourself Making the most of your revision breaks 16 Going the Extra Mile Five additional steps you could take to prepare for success 17 Additional Resources A list of useful websites to further your revisionPreparation & Planning Breaking down your revision into SMART objectives What is a SMART objective? SMART stands for: - Specific - Measurable - Achievable - Realistic - Time-limited Using this framework will allow you to split out your subject revision into more manageable daily or weekly goals, meaning you can track your progress and see what you have left to cover. Setting an objective like "| want to revise for my exams” is too vague, meaning it will be hard to keep track of whether you are achieving it or not. An objective like “In this hour session, | want to revise the components that make up the GDP = C +1 + G + NX formula in Economics” satisfies the SMART criteria and will allow for easy progress tracking Once you have an idea of your objectives, it is important to plan exactly when you're going to cover them. Managing your time successfully will be a big factor in getting everything done, so this will be looked at in more detail on the next page RAPID FIRE TIPS Stock up on everything you need to achieve your objectives, from snacks to keep you going, to stationery to keep you organised. Try and have everything you need with you, especially a big bottle of water so that you won't have to take as many fountain breaks while studying. Start your plan as early as possible so that you can get started straight away. Your plan should be organic - it’s not set in stone - so the earlier you start, the more time you'll have to learn if it’s working or not, and the more time you'll have to adjust it to suit your needs. snaprevise.co.ukTime Management Organising your weekly schedule to meet your objectives Breaking up your time effectively will be key in understanding what you can achieve with the time you have, especially when it comes to fitting in revision between your classes, exams and social activities Having a defined revision calendar will allow you to track your progress effectively, as you will be able to see what you have covered already and what you have left. Knowing exactly where you are is key in staying organised and reducing your stress. Weekly repeating schedules are a great way to plan out your time, as this will allow you to develop a routine. If something comes up that clashes with your schedule, knowing this in advance will allow you to be more flexible in finding a new time to reassign those revision hours when adjusting your calendar. We've created an awesome template to make this process much easier for you, which you can download here. MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN 9AM 10AM 1AM 2PM 1PM 2PM 3PM 4PM 5PM 6PM 7PM BPM 9PM 10PM snaprevise.co.ukCALENDAR CASE STUDY To give you an idea of what your calendar could look like, we've filled out a mock example based around the week in the life of a given student. We've plotted in lessons first, with revision based around those times, which also allows us to see where we can schedule in social and extracurricular activities, a = So SPM eee em ee =a Notice that the revision sessions we've planned follow our SMART objectives. We've picked specific topics, meaning we can measure what we know and don’t as we go, and are realistic enough to cover in our set 1-hour time slot. How you break down your revision sessions is up to you - as you might find that certain topics require 2-hour slots. How you split your hour is important too, a common method to use is called “Sprints”, which, a bit like the Pomodoro Technique, involves spending 5 minutes planning goals for the session, 50 minutes revision time, and 5 minutes reflection time. Give this method a go and see if it suits you! snaprevise.co.ukSitting Down to Revise Five tips on creating a productive workspace Before you're sat down and ready to start revising, it’s important you take some steps to ensure you have an effective session. Here are some of our tips that will help you create a good workspace allowing you to stay focused Finding a good spot to revise. Making sure you're comfortable is the first thing to do, as you want to reduce the urge to get up or readjust which will be distracting. Find somewhere that you will be ready to commit to for however long you've set out for yourself. Take yourself away from distractions. Reducing the external influences that will stop you revising is the best way to make sure you have a good session, so if that means leaving your house and going to the library so that you're away from the temptations of TV and video games, then do it! Turn off your phone. Notifications will disrupt your rhythm, so it’s important these are minimised. If you don't want to turn off your phone, why not try downloading a productivity app like Forest, which rewards you by planting trees for inactivity on your device. Keep your desk tidy. Having everything in the right place means you'll know where to find what you need and will mean you won't waste valuable time looking for things! It’s very easy to accidentally create clutter, so stay on top of this and you'll find it much easier to work. Rotate your study locations. Sometimes a new place will bring new ideas, so even if it just means sitting in a different seat at the library, switch it up so you don't get stuck in one headspace. Having a few different options when it comes to places to work will keep your mind fresh snaprevise.co.ukLearning Styles Understanding the three most common ways people learn Different people prefer to learn in different ways, with three main styles of learning being the most common. These are visual, auditory and kinaesthetic. Visual learners prefer to see and picture information when recalling it, auditory learners prefer to talk, listen and hear when recalling information and kinaesthetic learners learn by doing, so touch, movement and practical tasks are the best way for them to learn. If you have an idea of what style you might prefer, try to use the learning methods that will suit you. If you aren’t sure what style you prefer, try this quiz. Create visual notes Design information posters Use colour to differentiate Visual Stick post-it notes around Look for podcasts and videos Record and listen back to notes Talk to and quiz yourself Create revision rhymes or songs Auditory Visit museums Use revision cards Play pair up games with them Act out what you are learning Kinaesthetic There are various different ways to revise, such as reading, note-taking, past papers, videos and online learning. It’s important to rotate these different styles to engage different parts of the brain and to keep revision fresh and different. snaprevise.co.ukWays to Revise Reading, note-taking, past papers, videos and online learning Revising can be a bit of a mental exercise, and like physical exercise, it’s important to rotate between methods to keep it interesting and engaging. Here are a few different ways to revise and flex different parts of your brain! Online learning. There are lots of online platforms that will incorporate all aspects of learning in their courses, from notes, videos, reading, multiple choice quizzes and so on, so make use of these too. Reading. Taking in and learning the information you need is going to be key to success in your exams, and books are hugely important for absorbing as much information as possible. Don’t just read what you need to, try and read around the subject you're studying to give yourself context. Past papers. To get a sense of what it will be like in the exam, it is a good idea to download past papers from your relevant exam board and use these as practice questions. You can even put yourself in exam conditions, which we'll look at later on in more detail in this document. Videos. Videos can be a great way of ingesting lots of information quickly, as they engage both your audio and visual senses. Not only that, but most platforms like YouTube can also be sped up and slowed down, and some even have subtitles to read along to. SnapRevise has a lot of video content available for all your subject needs, so click here to view some of this content now. Note-taking. Once you understand the specifics and have a clear idea of what you need to remember, it’s time to start taking notes. Note-taking not only means you can quickly refer back to your database of information, but the process of writing information down will also help to forge what you need to know in your long term memory. snaprevise.co.ukThe Specification Document Your bible for the necessary course content Something that will be incredibly helpful in guiding you through what you should be revising is each exam board's subject specification document. For example, the OCR A-Level Biology specification will list out exactly what will be taught and covered in exams, from cell biology to ecology. When you know what subjects you are taking and what exam board you are in, it is crucial that you look up the specification document online and find the one relevant to you. This will effectively act as a checklist and a planner for what to cover when you revise, ensuring you go over everything you need to know for the exams. This will save you huge amounts of time that you might spend making a list of all the things you need to revise. All the work is already done for you, so spend 10 minutes making sure you have every specification document you need and use these as the basis for your revision planning. ALEVEL BIOLOGY A Most of these revision documents can be found as easily as Googling the exam board, the subject, the level of study and adding “specification document” into the search bar. CORRE Ce RMR TIS you have the most up to date version. Each document should be dated and will indicate from which exams onwards it will be relevant for. snaprevise.co.ukSpecification Example Notes How to follow the specification to create useful notes Taking a look at the A-level [3.4.4 Proteins AGA Biology specification, | 3.4 4.4 General properties of proteins we can see the points 5 ‘ontent reaured ‘or pecr¢ topic in the specification - ‘Amino acids are the monomers from which proteins are made. The . general structure of an amino acid as: in this instance, proteins. i Below is an example of HN — GC — COOH how you might make notes | based off of the where NH, represenis an amine group, GOOH represents a carboxyl highlighted specification group and R represents a side chain. The twenty amino acids that points for AQA 3.1.4 are common in all organisms differ only in their side group. Proteins, ensuring that you _ condensation reaction between two amino acids forms a " peptide bond. have covered everything + Dipeptides are formed by the condensation of two amino acids. that you would need to * Polypeptides are formed by the condensation of many amino acids. know for the exam for this _A functional protein may contain one or more polypeptides. particular topic point. The role of hydrogen bonds, ionic bonds and disulfide bridges in the structure of proteins. SAMPLE NOTES Specification Reference: 3.1.4.1 General Properties of Proteins Amino acids are the building blocks used to make proteins - they are monomers. All amino acids have the same basic structure: - They have a central carbon (C) atom bonded to a carboxyl group (-COOH), @ an amino group (-NH2), a hydrogen amino Cy S oe carboxyl group group atom (-H), and an R group (-R) J® ~ There are 20 naturally occurring amino. central ectbenah: RGEOUD acids that each have a different R group hydrogen Each amino acid has a different R group which can vary in size, polarity or charge. This gives every amino acid different properties _ snaprevise.co.ukThe Art of Note-Taking What should you really be writing down? The key to writing notes is to focus on the details you'll need to recall in exams, so you should only be writing down the most important information. There are many TM ole Mel inielels formal methods you can follow, including meme eicaa Cornell, mapping and charting. Do some research into a few and see if you have a preference. Remember, you'll only refer back Lear ole Mia) to your notes if they’re organised and easy to one place will be understand, and a method can ensure that. Writing notes but storing your ul TN important Flashcards are a brilliant visual way of testing Tam=ac-redhYc-) Nz yourself on what you know. Write the preparing Sold question on one side of the flashcard and the answer on the other and go through the pack RTT late uu to practice whether you know the answer. more notes you rece the more You could also play a matching pair game, a and use two cards for the question and you'll improve answer while keeping the back clear. Place these skills and the cards out face down and see if you can the more flip over two cards that match by remembering where the correct pairs are! valuable Sheds Flashcards are very popular, but there are notes will be. many note-taking methods out there to choose from. For more insight, refer to our in-depth note-taking guide, where we'll look at some of these methods like Cornell, Mapping, Outlining, Charting and Sentencing. You can find it here! snaprevise.co.ukTips from the SnapRevise Tutoring Team Our A* Oxbridge tutors share their advice "Don't study in bed. Whilst it may seem comfy to study in your bed, it is an easy way to get distracted. Your brain associates your bed with relaxation, so when you try and study there, it is much more difficult to keep focused.” "Dump your information. Before you go into an exam, get a piece of paper and write down all the key information you can remember about a topic. This also works well for important questions before a maths or science exam. The aim is to get you thinking about the content before you sit down to start the exam and calm your nerves slightly.” “Read before lessons. Reading over your notes from last the lesson means that the content will be fresh in your mind as soon as the lesson starts. Doing this will make it much easier to cope with new information and also link them to the things that you have learnt previously.” "Don't make it pretty. If you know that taking notes is a good revision method for you, then don't be afraid to do it. But know that your notes do not have to be perfect every time. Once you have your summaries or class notes to study from, any notes following can be scruffy, because the main aim for them is to cement them in your long term memory.” "Bite the bullet. when it comes to revision or doing your homework, start with the subject you enjoy the least. Once you get it out of the way you'll feel much more relaxed and may even be able to enjoy it. This also ensures that you don’t end up leaving it until the last minute and getting even more stressed.” "Take your time. Everyone learns at different speeds, so don’t panic if your peers seem to understand things much faster than you do. Take your time to go over the material and you'll soon reach the same level of understanding.” snaprevise.co.ukStaying Motivated Keeping yourself going when you're under pressure Staying motivated is hard - and it can be easy to lose sight of your goals when exams are looming, especially as summer approaches and there are activities you'd rather be doing. But stick to the basics here, and they'll have a huge impact. Make sure you get enough sleep. Focussing on anything is difficult if you're tired and yawning, so make sure to get early nights, especially if you're planning on getting up early to start revising. Eat healthy snacks and brain food. Try to avoid food and drink that will make you feel sluggish. Stick to lots of fruit, veg, nuts, fish and fresh produce over junk and processed foods. Do some daily exercise. Exercise or sports will help keep your stamina and energy at higher levels. You'll also benefit from the endorphins you need to stay motivated. Stay hydrated, drink more water. It's easy to forget to stay hydrated when you're focussed, but it’s vital for your body to function effectively, so however much you're drinking - drink more. snaprevise.co.ukExam Technique Pointers that will help you crack an exam paper The first thing to do to a question is to break it up and identify its context, command word and directions. CONTEXT COMMAND WORDS DIRECTIONS is information in the are the instructions tell you what information question and identifies that tell you how you you need to include in which part of the should write your your answer to get full specification it is from. answers. marks, These will be key to structuring your answer, as question types are indicated by their command words. For example, in the question: This question is about a laser pen. Define the terms phase difference and coherence [2 marks] Context is shown in green, command words are shown in red and directions are shown in blue. Command words are key in how you structure your answers - these and the marks available are the two pieces of information that will indicate the type of question you are answering. When you know the question type and have an understanding of the description, you will be able to answer it effectively. A few typical command words you might come across include: Assess Make an informed judgement Calculate Work out the value of something Define Specify meaning Describe Give an account of Evaluate Judge from available evidence Explain Give reasons Name Identify using a recognised technical term Outline Set out the main characteristics Sketch Draw approximately State Express in clear terms Suggest Present a possible case snaprevise.co.ukTop Exam Tips Steps to take on the big day On top of your preparation for the kinds of questions you're going to face in your exams, it’s also important to keep in mind a few other general tips to keep you ready and prepared to hit your targets. Manage your time It’s very easy to get wrapped up and spend lots of time writing as much as possible. Try and avoid this - it’s a waste of time, instead, think about how much time you have per mark. For example, if your exam is worth 78 marks and you have 2 hours, you should be aiming to spend 1.5 minutes on each mark available. Never leave early. Even if you complete your exam at a good pace, use the rest of the time you have to make sure you're achieving all the marks possible. Go back over your answers, review them and make sure you've done as much as you can to get the highest grade. snaprevise.co.uk Reread the question It sounds like common sense, but it's surprisingly easy to get wrapped up in the stress and pressure of an exam and glance over a question without properly taking it in. Make sure you understand exactly what the question is asking of you, and double check before you start planning and writing your answer. Come prepared. Make sure you've practised an exam at least once and bring everything you might need with you - be that enough pens and water to keep you going throughout the course of your exam.Practising for Exam Day Four steps to replicating exam conditions at home Before taking a driving test, it’s likely that you'll drive a few of the prospective routes with your instructor. This is the same principle as doing a past paper - what you're doing is familiarising yourself with the situation, so when you walk in on exam day, you'll be comfortable and ready for the conditions that you'll face during your test 1. Pick one day and follow your prospective exam day routine. Think of this as a rehearsal to the main event. Theatre actors would never go on stage without a full run through, so why not pick a day to do a run through of your own, Think about; what you will eat for dinner, for breakfast, your bedtime, when you'll wake up and when your exam will be. Play it out to see how you perform under these conditions. 2. If you have to, break the exam down into chunks. If you don’t have three straight hours in one day to do a full exam, why not take the questions from an exam and do them over a few days. Figure out exactly how much time you would split for each one in the exam, and just do one question in this time. be 3. Set up a desk as if you were in an exam hall. Try and put yourself in the mindset of an exam day by going through the motions of what you'll experience on the day. Find a suitable place, put your phone away at the beginning, set yourself a time limit and manage your time to stick to it. All this practise will mean that when it comes to exam day, it will feel familiar and therefore you will be more relaxed. 4. Get someone to invigilate you. If you struggle to set yourself these conditions, why not ask a parent, teacher or friend to set them for you? This will force you to replicate the conditions without any possibility for distractions to creep in. snaprevise.co.ukMaking the most of your revision breaks While you might like to spend every waking hour revising, research actually shows this is far less effective than taking sufficient breaks between work Proper breaks make you happier, more productive and motivated to continue Pursue a hobby. It can be hard to relax from revising without something else to focus on, so look for something that you can invest time in when you're not studying. Creative hobbies like photography, baking, drawing, music or sports are good ways to free your mind during downtime. Don’t be hard on yourself. Be sure to give yourself credit in the effort you put in. As long as you're doing the best you can to put yourself in a position to succeed, then that’s fantastic! Be proud of the work you do because it is bound to pay off in the long run Plan in social time. It's important to get a balance between studying and the rest of your life, so make sure you're not burning yourself out. Be sure to plan in downtime where you can relax with your friends and family. Set rewards for reaching targets. Give yourself a little incentive to reach your goals with a reward for achieving them. Make sure they're aligned to your SMART objectives so they're neither impossible to achieve or too easy a challenge.Going the Extra Mile Five additional steps you could take to prepare for success If you feel like you've reached the limit of what you're currently doing, then there are probably further things to do with your time in preparation. 1, Find/create a study group and collaborate with your peers. Fill the gaps in your knowledge by learning from each other. Everyone will be revising, so why not join schedules once a week to get together and go over what you've learnt. Not only might there be lessons you can take from other people, but again, sharing what you know will help to reinforce it and highlight any gaps. 2. Go back over your notes thoroughly by typing them up. If you have time, create a digital copy of your notes, allowing you to refer to them more easily. This will give you the ability to search for specific areas and words. Typing them up will also force you to go through them thoroughly, meaning you'll get the chance to know them inside out. 3. Teach others what you’ve learnt. A good way to master a subject is to teach it to someone else. This will highlight any gaps in your knowledge - if you can’t concisely explain something to someone, you probably need to go back over it! 4. Record audio versions of your notes and listen back to them. Recording your notes will allow you to listen to them on the go, whether that’s on the way to school, an exam or while you're doing something else. This will be especially useful if you are more of an audio learner. If you don’t have the time to do this, just read your notes out loud. 5. Online learning. There are many resources to revise with online, and at SnapRevise, we offer extensive video content, quizzes and assessments for you to go through across your subjects. snaprevise.co.ukAdditional resources A list of useful websites to further your revision Finding a tutor There are now plenty of websites to choose from to find the perfect tutor to suit your needs, so have a look at some of the options below: www.tutorhunt.com www.firsttutors.com/uk www.mytutor.co.uk Free revision resources There are lots of additional places to find free materials to revise from, including: www.physicsandmathstutor.com www.revisionworld.com www.getrevising.co.uk www.bbe.com/bitesize/learn Forums You can contribute and get support from your peers at forums like: www.thestudentroom.co.uk Revision platforms SnapRevise offer online revision content via an intelligent learning platform, filled with video content, self marking quizzes and much more, which is found at www.snaprevise.co.uk Flashcards https://mathsmadeeasy.co.uk/maths-revision-cards/ snaprevise.co.uk