Next year i have to take quite a few exams but i don't feel ready to do exams
i'm scared i'm going to get lots of Ds on the exams
i'm rubbish at revising i find it difficult to just sit down and start revising but if i don't revise it woulds effect my grade results.

so my question is
do you have any tips for revising?

I like to study while I'm working on other chores, so I have breaks built in. For example, today I put a load of dirty clothes into the washer, and studied until they were done. I moved the load to the dryer, made a snack, and returned to my textbooks. Don't try to study everything all at once in big chunks, break it down into smaller pieces and study them one at a time. A little bit every day is a lot better than one big cram session right before the exam.

Mammal is on the right track. Research suggests that frequent, small study sessions are more effective than lengthy ones. Also, when you first get material, quiz yourself after about 30 seconds and see if you can recall it, then go back and review, wait a longer period (maybe 2 minutes) and quiz yourself again, then wait a longer period (5 minutes?) and do it again. I don't remember the exact time intervals, but the idea is that they get slowly longer. This technique is supposed to help you move information from your short term memory to your long term memory.

Other things that can help include putting information on something that causes you to move it physically, such as an index card that you flip or match (answers to questions), or pieces of paper that are folded and have to be opened. The physical act of moving things around is supposed to help your memory.

Use different colors to categorize your notes.

Study in different places so that you generalize information and do not just associate it with one place (or one time or tables or whatever).

And, surprisingly, a peppermint candy while taking a test is supposed to help with alertness.

Read, go to classes, do assignments, make study charts, and do whatever else might help you remember stuff. Study over time so you'll remember stuff better, and don't procastrinate by doing only last-minute reading.

Which is about the complete opposite of my study technique (mine doesn't work, sadly - I've tried). I do go to classes - which is actually the most important thing you have to do. The teachers know what's important and what's not, and if you don't go to classes you'll end up having to read twice as much because you don't know what's important.

I'm rubbish at revising. When I sit down with the books, it's as if my brain just shuts off and doesn't want to take in anything much. My brain likes best to get an overview, and that's why going to classes is the most important thing for me. The overview is often more important than the details, because you'll usually forget most of the details if you don't know where they belong.

I really want to help, but I'm not sure how your exam system works (I'm assuming you're American). Could you maybe explain to me what exactly you have to do, and what 'revising' means? If it's too bothersome that's okay

Study sessions with others are also very helpful since others might have caught something you missed and a good group can get to the root of what needs to be studied. Bring snacks.

I wholeheartedly agree with VerDeTerre- study sessions with other people in your lectures is the thing that made the most difference for me when I was attending university. Beyond the fact that you're getting other people ideas and points of view, think about what you're more likely to remember! Will an evening sitting at home by yourself trying to read a book and go over your notes (and probably getting distracted by social media [or MTS ]) stick in your head as much as an evening meeting up with friends and classmates at an off-campus coffee shop to have a lively discussion of the topic(s) at hand? If you're anything like virtually all the students I've known, you'll remember meeting people more than you'd remember studying by yourself, so by extension, you're much more likely to remember what topics you covered at your meeting!

(If you're meeting off-campus, you can also have some fun just keeping track of the looks you get from passers-by too- one of my Political Science group study sessions usually met at an off-campus coffee shop, but on the evening it was closed, we just took over the dining area of the Starbucks at the Target next door... somehow, I don't think a dozen people sitting around discussing the various ways Karl Marx's and Friedrich Engels' ideas apply to the modern American state was what people expected when they came in to Target that evening! )

no i'm not american, i live in the UK (the united kingdom)

revising means

to prepare for for something e.g exams

basically you look through the stuff you have writen and you have to try and remember it so when you answer the questions in the exam it would be easier answer because you have revised for the exam

these are the things i am going to have exams for
- English
- Maths
- Science
- History
- Geography
- Business studies (this subject is the one i'm most worried about)

I liked to write on sticky notes and stick them around my house (imagine how annoyed my family were when I had about 300+ stickynotes about my A-levels all over my livingroom, bathroom, bedroom, hallway etc) and then when I walk past them, I read them. It probably wouldn't work for some people, but god help me I now ALWAYS remember Cognitive Behavioural Therapy while brushing my teeth because the two stickynotes about it were on the bathroom mirror. I also use to highlight things (or writing in different colours depending on topic). Studies suggest highlighting doesn't work, but I found it the easiest way to pay attention while writing notes, instead of just zoning out, and when I'm reading through them I'm like "it's highlighted, it's important, PAY ATTENTION ME!".

Quizzing yourself on them works pretty well too. Whenever I have exams in the afternoon, and a whole day in the morning of classes, every once in a while I'd just ask myself "Whats the biological explanation of Schizophrenia?!" or "What does Marla represent in Fight Club?" during other lessons or while walking to classes (I studied Psychology, film studies and media studies in my last year of college) and try to remember without checking my notes, and if I did forget I'd then check my notes the next change I got and try to remember then. Memorizing things by trying to remember them without re-reading textbooks is probably the best way to study.

Personally I suggest revising in your local library or a quiet place like that. I found out that when I am at home, there will always be something ready to distract me, whether it's my phone, the computer, something to eat... In the library it's just you and your book. You are kind of "forced" to focus on that, if that makes sense.
At least that's what I do

One of the best ways to revise and prepare for an exam is to try past exam questions if you have access to them. This not only allows you to go through the material again but also gives you a clearer idea of what and how questions are asked and what sort of answers are needed. You could start by using your notes and books to get the answers to questions and then try it without comparing your answers to your notes afterwards. If your teacher/tutor is friendly and helpful enough and not too overworked, you can also try showing example answers to them.

that sounds like a good idea but i don't think my parents would want hundreds of sticky notes in the house

We go through past exam papers in class but we don't always take them home

Here is a very good online site to use: http://quizlet.com/
You can use other quizzes people have made or do your own. I recommend watching Youtube education videos as well. Find out what sort of learner you are and adapt the information to your style.

I home school my teenage son as well as have an advanced degree in Education/English so if you want any more tips, let me know.

Thanks
i'll let you know when i want any more tips

When I was revising for my exams at college, I made exam notes. I would take sections of coursework and condense them, making them as small as I could. I find writing things down is the best way to get them into your head. I would also highlight things with different coloured felt tips, for example, when I had to learn the muscles of the horse, I would colour each one a different colour, which helped them to stick in my mind.

It might not help in your current situation, but I'd like to share one studying tip with you. At lectures, I write down all the teacher's notes in pencil, and when exam time comes, I go back to all those pencil written notes and rewrite them with permanent ink (on the same paper, erasing the pencil marks). I think this method could help you remember things discussed, and saves paper for you too

Of course the other methods mentioned earlier should work also, especially Dizzy-noddles'. I'm a highlighter lover too!

Writing things down is so important for my study method. I write an initial batch of notes and then make flashcards from my notes so I'm essentially writing everything down twice before I even start reviewing. I've also worked really hard at learning to prioritize. I know which of my classes are relevant to my major, and I spend way more time on those classes than on the rest. Obviously, I still have work to do for every class, but if I've got two tests on one day, I might skip studying for one if it's not related to my major or if it's something I know I'm good at.

Oh no i have a two hour English assessment tomorrow
the grade i will get for it will go towards 22% of the final GCSE grade
wish me luck i'm gonna need it

i started the assessment on wednesday but i have going to continue doing the assessment tomorrow

Good luck!

@VerDeTerre

thanks i have to finnish it of on monday but i have done quite a bit of it today

@pizza
thank
the teachers at school are not allowed to help the students during the assessments and i hate how they will mark you on spellings because i have a bad habit of making silly spelling mistakes and i am not allowed to use a dictionary during the assessment also i am only allowed to use one side of A4 paper with notes on it.

i just thought i'd mention that the assessment is about how John steinbeck pressented the character of curley's wife in the novel called of mice and men.

has any of you done an assessment about of mice and men for your GCSE?

In about two weeks time i have to do an assessment about civil right in america i think that there is about 3 seperate assessment about civil rights in america but because i am in the middle of my first GCSE assessment i am feeling a bit more relaxed about the History assessments because it is suppose to work the same way as the English assessments

@pizza

i've sent you a message about it in your private messages