how to revise for igcse without course materialtutor

by Jess Olson 9 min read

Mindmaps at the end of the revision will round up a revision session. Students should do this last summary mindmap without any reference material near them. Draw a mindmap connecting all the topics you have gone through and try to recall as much as you can when drawing it.

Full Answer

How should I Revise for my GCSEs?

How you revise depends on your degree, but for 'bookish' subjects ensure you've learned key concepts, examples and evaluations, along with at least one conflicting argument. Don't waste time copying out paragraphs – this is laborious, time-consuming and totally unnecessary.

How do I prepare for my GCSE exams?

1. Know your weaknesses… and your strengths! As you only have a limited amount of study time before you take the exams it’s probably a good idea to make that amount of time as efficient as possible. Working out what you need to work most is essential to planning your revision.

How can I study for my GCSEs without a phone?

As tough as it may seem, opting for a day without your phone, laptop and tablet will really help you to study for your exam. Not only will you be able to focus more on the task at hand, but writing things down (as opposed to typing) helps your brain to process the information better.

How do I Revise quickly for an exam?

Apply the previous steps to every topic until you have everything covered. Learning to revise quickly is really just a simple process of writing, condensing, taking a break, reviewing and then moving onto the next topic. Easy peasy.

How do I start revising for IGCSE?

Looking for the best way to study for IGCSE? ... Build yourself a revision timetable two months or three before your IGCSE examinations. ... Having a revision timetable will help you to know which subjects need to be prioritised. ... Allocate your time for each subject diligently. ... It is also good to plan every day the day before.More items...•

Is it easy to get a * in IGCSE?

It's not that hard to score an A*. If you're and average student then all you need to do is keep up your head in class. Make sure to revise your book and notes occasionally so you don't forget anything.

Is 1 month enough to study for IGCSE?

There is not minimum I would suggest, just do as many as you can! To conclude, yes, you can study all IGCSE math material in 2 months, but I would highly recommend at least a month after that, for exam preparation. How many subjects should I take in IGCSE? I just have one year to prepare.

How do you get all A's in IGCSE?

How to ace the IGCSE exams (even if you're not a genius)Study for the long-term. You may find yourself studying the day before the class test or mock exam set by your teachers. ... Study from multiple sources. ... Do Past Papers. ... Pay attention in class. ... Be an independent learner. ... Stay ahead of the curve. ... Set high standards.

Which subject is hardest in IGCSE?

Further MathsThe hardest GCSE subject was decided to be Further Maths by a consensus of students....So, without further ado, let's look at the hardest GCSE subjects:Physics.English Literature.Maths.Computer Science.Economics.Biology.English Language.Modern Foreign Languages.More items...•

Is 2 Months enough to study for IGCSE?

If you are getting all As in your exams, it is probably fine if you start revising 2 months before the exams. On the other hand, if you are getting below B in any subject, it is probably advisable to start revising 5 months before the exam.

How much is an A * in IGCSE?

90-100If a student studies more than 7 IGCSE subjects, the 7 best results will be used to calculate the Cambridge ICE grade....GradePercentage Uniform Mark RangeA*90-100A80-89B70-79C60-694 more rows

Can you study 12 hours a day?

Yes, it is possible to study 12 hours a day. It seems like a lot of work because it truly is, but if you can persevere and follow the helpful tips in this article, you definitely can do it. It is just like any other activity. As you can learn how to swim or dance, you can also learn how to study 12 hours a day.

Can I self study IGCSE?

Login to Academic Camp from the comfort of your own home and study up to five Cambridge IGCSEs in just one year instead of two years or just choose one or two subjects, such as English and Maths, alongside your normal school work.

Who topped IGCSE 2021?

Yashvi Kudrigikar (97%), Arham Aneeq (94.8%), Shaunak Kulkarni (94.6%) and Palash Shah (94.4%) stand as the proud toppers of this year's IGCSE exams. Meghna Girishankar of A level has brought accolades, standing as our proud topper of A levels with 90.4%. Heartfelt congratulations to all our students!

Is 8 an A * in IGCSE?

For highly-competitive courses, some International university admissions offices state that they would expect successful applicants to have As and A*s at IGCSE. Under the 9-1 grading system, 7, 8 and 9 would be seen as equivalent.

Is a * in IGCSE good?

E is considered the first point of Failure! following along the other 2 losers, F and G which is worse than failure but classified to 2 more pointless levels. So, an A is good in all cases and better than all the following grades.

1 – Flashcards

One of the most useful and effective revision methods for students is no doubt flashcards. Flashcards are mostly used when students need to remember a substantial amount of information. They are useful for remembering:

2 – Mindmaps

When we were younger, we were already taught to draw mindmaps to summarise and connect the dots with other chapters of the subject. Mindmaps are great for summary and also testing your knowledge and understanding of all the connecting concepts.

3 – Using post-it notes

This is another great way to summarise and check your overall understanding of a concept or subject.

4 – Cornell style note-taking

The classic Cornell style of note-taking is a great way to section your lecture notes or revision notes into useful sections. This method of note-taking helps students think metacognitively and analytically. It has 3 main sections in this note-taking and they are your Notes, Cues, and Summary.

5 – Engage in teaching

Teaching is a great way for students to solidify their understanding and learning. When students are teaching to peers or doing imaginative teaching, it helps them to organize their understanding and thoughts into comprehensible points.

6 – Past year papers and worked solutions

Past year papers are a staple when it comes to revising for final examinations. This is because these past year’s papers are a good representation of the format of the examination. It helps students to have a sense of what the test would turn out to be. Additionally, it tops as a practice for all the students.

7 – Reflecting

Simple but powerful revision method for students. Reflecting helps students to make improvements, understand as well as plan better for their next revision session.

Wake up early

When you've only got one day to deal with the job in hand, you need to make the most of it.

Choose the right place to work

As much as we wish it weren't true, you really won't get much done from your bed. We'd love to say otherwise, it's just a fact.

Go to the library prepared

Think of every possibility – you might have only used those erasable highlighters once, but if you leave them, you'll probably need them.

Create a plan before you start

Don't go into a blind revision frenzy – you may only have one day, but you'll get much more done if you break it up and work out exactly what you need to know rather than just cram in any old info.

Refrain from panicking

Although the exam is staring you straight in the face with all its nastiness, giving in to a sense of impending doom won't help you one bit.

Use lecture slides and past papers

Lecture slides and past papers are both great ways to work out what's likely to come up in the exam, so make use of them.

Study without technology and social media

As tough as it may seem, opting for a day without your phone, laptop and tablet will really help you to study for your exam.

How to revise: where to start

First of all, create a safe comfortable space where you will do your revision at home. Trying to revise in a messy bedroom will cause too many distractions. Tidy an area where you can work and keep your notes and files organised.

Revision Techniques

So you have created a revision timetable and have somewhere to revise – now how to revise in practice?

What to do on the day of your exam

Hopefully, you have planned your revision well, will be feeling confident about the topics and will be ready for exam success. You can help yourself on the day of the exam by being ultra prepared.

How to revise: the 20 revision techniques that work

Martin Noon has been teaching Mathematics in secondary schools since 2001. He is currently teaching part-time alongside working as a freelance mathematics educational content author.

Practice testing as part of GCSE revision

Practice testing is simply testing knowledge or understanding in a low-stakes way, including things like completing past exam papers, using flashcards, or summarising key information. Dunlosky mentions three key principles:

Distributed practice and interleaved practice

Distributed practice is now common in classrooms as a teaching tool, but the principles also apply to revision. Several short revision sessions are much more effective than one long cramming session.

Using exam papers to revise for GCSE

Working through exam papers is a common strategy used for revision, and feeds nicely into the idea of interleaved practice; GCSE papers contain a mixture of topics and difficulties, as opposed to an exercise focusing on one skill.

Less effective techniques when revising for GCSE

It’s also important that we make students aware that many prevalent GCSE revision tips aren’t particularly effective. Techniques like rewriting revision notes or copying from a revision guide, colour coding, and making posters can be enjoyable, but generally they aren’t the most effective use of revision time.

A suggested approach to GCSE revision

To help students plan their revision, I’d suggest starting with a list of 5-6 topics, preferably identified by the student from past papers, but with teacher guidance if necessary. If your school buys into any online services offering diagnostic testing, this can be another way to come up with a shortlist of key topics.

How to revise for GCSE FAQs

I have included my answers to a few revision FAQs from students below. This could be a good jumping off point to share with your students to begin a discussion about effective maths revision.

How many hours should you revise for GCSE?

Unfortunately there is no magic answer! What’s more important than racking up a certain number of minutes or hours is spacing out revision time throughout the week or month. It is much more effective to spend 20 minutes a night, three times a week, than to try and study for a full hour on one night.

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Know Your Weaknesses… and Your Strengths!

Make Revision Fun!

Rewards.

  • Set yourself a reward when – and only when- you achieve a goal, target or complete a challenge. Your reward can be a snack, a few minutes on Facebook or watching some TV. Don’t overdo it – it’s too easy to get distracted and waste loads of time. Discipline now will pay off later!
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But I Don’T Have The Willpower.

  • You probably do, you just need to work on it! Instead of dodging revision, try to think about what the rewards are for studying hard and doing well in your exams. If you really don’t have the willpower, then you might need to make more drastic steps. There are apps to block access to Facebook and YouTube https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/leechblock/and in extre…
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Exercise!

  • Taking a break from revising to get a little exercise can be incredibly useful. Exercise releases endorphins which make you feel better, refreshed and can be a great reward for studying. This can make revision easier to do, helps you sleep better and makes your study time easier. Feeling confident now you’ve read our IGCSE revision tips? Enrol in o...
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Use Your Tutor Support.

  • All of our students have unlimited tutor support – this means that if you are unclear on something you have a qualified tutor to assist you and help you work through any problems that you have. Don’t be afraid to ask your tutor if you don’t understand, that is what they are here for! Tutors actually appreciate it when a student asks for help, because it mean that they know that student …
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Start Early!

  • Students who enrol now have a full year to prepare for their exams, which is plenty of time to complete the course. A common mistake is to put off revising until the exam is on the horizon. Whilst tempting, this means that you’ll lose a lot of time that could be put to use studying. You don’t even need to do a lot of revision, if you do it regularly and start early. For example, if you en…
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Know Your subject.

  • Psst – want a sneak peek at what your exam marker is thinking? All of Oxford Learning College’s IGCSE courses are Edexcel based – so you can check out their website for useful information. You can find the full specifications (very useful for checking off your knowledge before the exam), past papers (great for practicing exams) and marker guidance papers (these tell the exam mark…
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Keep It Interesting

  • Revision doesn’t need to be mind-numbing. There are plenty of ways that you can make it more interesting, yes, really!< Instead of staring at your book, try to make your revision sessions more interactive. Whether it’s creating quizzes or flashcards, making your study experience more lively will mean you retain more of the information. Speaking of flashcards, we’ve previously mentione…
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