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Study skills

Need to develop your time management, research and note taking, writing, and presentation skills? Have a look at our Study Guide for post-16 learners:

Revision help

Everyone knows that leaving revision to the last minute is really not a good idea. Start in good time and plan your time properly - make a timetable and stick to it. Get Revising includes a tool to help you create your revision timetable.

It's really important to take breaks, every 45 minutes if you can - this gives your brain time to absorb what you've been studying and you'll come back fresh. Also, allow days off between different topics or aspects of a subject. Try the BBC's Bitesize revision site for help with particular GCSE topics.

Other tips:

• Some people find writing things down helps them remember information better, so summarise topics on paper or record cards. Maybe a spider diagram or mind map work better for you.

• Get plenty of sleep to give your mind a rest - 8 hours of kip a night if you can.

• Don't be tempted by convenient junk foods - a healthy diet will help. Brain boosting foods include oily fish - they are proven to increase levels of concentration and intelligence.

• Keep active when you're not studying - this will help you think more positively and take your mind off your workload.

• Study groups make learning easier and more fun - just make sure you study and not play computer games all day!

• Reward yourself when you have achieved certain goals in your timetable - perhaps watch your favourite TV show, or some chocolate perhaps?

• Work through past and mock exam papers - you'll become familiar with the way the exams are laid out and be prepared for the type of questions likely to come up.

It's really important that you don't feel overwhelmed by what you need to learn - you probably know more than you realise.

Dealing with exam stress

Many people find exams stressful - you're not alone. Everyone's exams and how they approach them are different, but here is some general advice you might find useful:

• Try to have an early night before the exam. Don't focus on passing or failing - just keep calm.

• On the day, leave plenty of time for the journey, don't forget to have breakfast, and make sure you have everything you need - pens, pencils, etc.

• Read exam questions carefully. Many people go wrong in exams because they're not answering the question that was asked.

• Look through the whole paper first to see which questions carry the most marks and concentrate on those first if you can. The marks available will also indicate how much you are expected to write.

• If you're confident you know the answer, write it down. If you're not, move on to the next question - don't waste time panicking about questions you are unsure of until you've looked at the whole exam paper.

• When you've finished, check your answers carefully including spellings. Proofreading your work could mean the difference between a C and a B.

Remember, it's not the end of the world if you don't do as well in your exams as you wanted to.

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