Tag Archives: study

Key study tip #4 – 1 week and counting!

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Now that NCEA is drawing ever closer your revision planning should include more and more practice of what you will be asked to do in your exams.  That means answering questions with less and less reliance on your notes to help you.  The conditions under which you study should also mimic the conditions of the exam room – sustained quiet while you work, maintaining concentration for longer and longer sessions – up to 3 hours at a time!  You can’t nibble on treats during exams or keep stopping to check your facebook page, cell phone or watch TV so practise the art of ‘going without’ as well.

Treat yourself like an athlete before the big day.  Prepare yourself:

  • mentally – revise your notes and practise exam questions
  • physically – get plenty of sleep, eat healthy food and drink water regularly every day.  A bit of exercise each day is a good idea too and keep to your usual routines.
  • emotionally –  don’t panic or  give up.  Ask for help and support if you need it from teachers, parents, knowledgeable friends.

Key Study Tip #2 five weeks out from NCEA exams

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If you haven’t already done so, NOW is the time to organise the place where you can do your best work revising for exams. You should already have a plan in place of what you intend to revise and when (Tip #1), but WHERE is also important.  You need somewhere free from distraction.  In front of the TV or Youtube doesn’t cut it!  AND if you are someone who likes to shut out the world by playing music while you revise, then pick the slowest and most melodic songs from your playlist.  In fact classical music is the best option for supporting your genius thinking but I know this may not be a realistic option.  Your own quiet space with all the things you need to study is best and let the rest of your family know (politely) when to respect your need to focus on “learning stuff off by heart”.  Of course this does lack some credibility if it is a last minute panic the night before an exam!

NOTE: In terms of all the things you need to study, NOW is also the time to ensure you have all the notes you should have.  If there are gaps then it is up to you to fix this by begging from a reliable friend or your teacher.

So, to recap, by now you know

  • WHAT you are going to study and
  • WHEN as well as
  • WHERE you will be doing this to maximise the results of your efforts.

making flashcards fun

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HI everyone, if you are finding it hard to  get motivated to make revision notes for committing vital information to
memory, here is an online tool that might just help.  It is a website that  lets you make flashcards – can be printed or used on the computer – or even  accessed through a free app that can be downloaded to smartphones.  It’s  free and is simple to use.  I have been experimenting with it to check it  out after seeing a recommendation of it on an education website. (I  actually
downloaded the app to phone first then went online to start creating flashcards  in computer is just  fine.

The address is:  http://www.studyblue.com/  then just register and get on with it.  The process of actually creating
the flashcards is a great way to get thinking about the material being studied  and is also the start of committing it to memory for later retrieval – in an examination.

For English, these would be useful things to make flashcards  of:

  • language terms (writing techniques) from
    toolboxes and glossaries students have been given through year + definition + eg
    from texts studied
  • Key quotes + characters who said them and what
    they mean/ why they are important
  • Important characters + facts and qualities (what
    they are like) + egs
  • Main ideas from texts +  quotes which sum
    them up

The best idea is to have one aspect/thing per  flashcard.  You can even add a voiceover explanation or video if you have a
microphone and/or webcam for your computer and learn better by listening.

Happy revising.