Many of the Year 12s won't know about this website so here's a bit of info.
You will need a username and password which I can't publish here but it's on the student intranet in a document called examstutor website details.doc plus you can ask your teacher for it.
The examstutor website includes summarised information on all the AS and A2 topics, good quizzes, audio revision and because you create your own account, it will also keep track of your scores etc. There is also a revision planner and revision tips.
AND there are also sections for AS and A2 Chemistry and Physics.
8 weeks is not a long time. It's 56 days.
If you're working on the basis of about 2 hours revision a day that's 112 hours.
112 hours to prepare for 3 maybe 4 exams turns into roughly 35 hours per exam.
Does that motivate you to work?
Motivation is a multi-million pound industry. There are books, posters, workshops, online tutoring, tweets and more. But what motivates one person may not motivate another. Find out more on the BBC website here.
Here are a few ideas to help you motivate yourself or your friends:
Have a goal - Have a goal or target and think about it, alot. Not to the point of dispair, but remind yourself why you're doing all this work.
Consequences - Think about the consequences if you study hard and get the grades you deserve. Some cash from a parent? Tickets to a summer festival? That feeling you get when you open the envelope with your results in? Knowing you won't have to resit? It's usually better to think of the postive consequences but some of us are more motivated by thinking about what would happen if it all goes wrong.
Rewards - Similar to consequnces. Arrange a suitably motivating reward for yourself if you make it through all this revision time in one piece. Or, keep your favourite treats nearby for small and regular rewards for completing each revision task that you set yourself.
Use the alarm function on your iphone
Share your revision schedule - Firstly, if you haven't made a revision schedule then get one. Then let someone else have a copy. If, say your parents, know what you plan to achieve each day then it's harder to put it off. Yes they will nag but you probably need to be nagged. It's much easier to convince yourself that you're working hard than it is a parent.
.Motivational messages - Sounds cheesy, but write some positive quotes and notes to your self on Post-it notes and stick them around your work area and house. It's hard to ignore a note to self whilst sitting and watching morning TV.
You could even extend this to setting up reminders or named alarms on your mobile phone (see right).
Avoid distractions - MOVE AWAY FROM THE PHONE!
Put it in another room and put it on silent. Same goes for the laptop. Once you've made the effort to actually get on with some work you need to make sure there is nothing tempting you away. No checking of facebook updates or spending ages thinking of an amusing tweet to send!
write ideas and facts on to cards to use as ‘prompts’
create memory aids such as diagrams or mnemonics (e.g. initial letters to
make a word you need to remember or SMART objectives: Specific; Measurable;
Achievable; Realistic; Targets). These will help you remember key facts
write key facts/notes out and display these around the house where you will
see them
record yourself reading notes to listen to
Study with a friend and test each other’s knowledge, but remember you are
meeting to revise rather than to chat!
Work through past question papers – and use a watch to time them so that you
can practise timing your answers.
Choose study and revision guides sensibly. It’s not hard to find help with
revision – as well as established published revision guides, there are hundreds
of websites offering help and advice. The problem is not how to find such help,
but how to judge which is the best source for your needs. Save valuable time and
get recommendations from your teachers
Remember lesson notes are also a valuable source of extra help
Keep yourself more alert by changing revision methods during a session. For
instance, try switching from note taking to memorising; from reading to asking
someone to test you
Attend any revision classes that your teachers may be running at school and
get their advice on revision methods
Look after yourself – The more
tired you are the less efficiently you’ll work. You need to rest as well as
study, eat well, drink lots of water and make sure you pace yourself. Don’t
rush, and equally don’t over-revise by doing too much too soon.
As frustrating as the OCR website can be at times, there are some useful documents on there if you can find them. An example is the Examiner Reports.
They help explain the subtle differences between correct and incorrect descriptions and explanations in answers.
For example, in the June 2012 F212 paper, the examiners reported that many students "failed to score because of the omission of key terms such as ‘optimum’ and ‘kinetic energy’. Stating that enzymes ‘work better’ is really not a suitable AS level response. "
They frequently note that "Centres are making use of previous mark schemes to inform candidates of the level of precision required in answers. Candidates need to realise, however, that they cannot use a ‘one answer fits all’ approach to questions. Care is taken in the phrasing of questions and it was evident in a number of cases this session that the context and approach of the question had not been appreciated and that a generic answer would not be applicable. Highlighting or underlining key words or phrases in the question can help provide focus for the answer."
The Examiners also advise that in the June 2012 paper only 42 out of 100 marks were allocated to recall of learning objectives. Almost half of the available marks test using knowledge in context. So it is really important that you don't just 'learn the textbook' and that you read other sources such as Biological Sciences Review, news articles and watch science programmes on TV.
Last year we organised our first post-exam celebration Biology trip. About 15 of us jumped on the train and headed to the Animal Inside Out exhibition at the Natural History Museum.
It's something I'd like to do it again this year, so leave a comment below if you have any ideas (has to be Biology-related!).
This is an important time to prepare for your Summer examinations.
It would be wise to fill in a calendar for the next few months with details of exam dates and other events so you get an overview of how much work you have to do and how relatively little time you have to do it in!
You can use Word to create a blank monthly calendar or go to Calendarlabs.com
One of the best ways to prepare is to do lots and lots of past papers and do them more than once - first time using your notes and then again on a later date under exam conditions.
It will ask you a few questions the first time you log on (pretty much just agree to everything) and then you log in using your school username and password.
You should then be able to see the files you can normally see in the Science folder.
It's worth doing this before we break up for the holidays so that you can access all the lesson powerpoints and useful resources for your Easter revision.
