Starting to revise

If you are in the second year of your IB studies and in a May session school, now is the time you need to start thinking about your May exams. The exams probably seem a long way off still but believe me, now is the time to start to prepare for them! In most cases, these exams see the culmination of thirteen (yes, thirteen!) years of education. You may have applied for university and had an offer made according to your grades. Don’t falter at the last hurdle! And in the words of that famous electronic book, the ‘Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy’, DON’T PANIC! [If you think about things now!]

So, now the initial shock and panic is over, what are you going to do? Here are a few suggestions:

1, Ensure your files are organised and in order. Not exactly rocket science but in the process of sorting out your files, you may find yourself asking these questions:

Do I keep this worksheet or not? Are these notes relevant to the course or not?

There are two answers to this – the easy, not very productive route is to ask your friends or your teacher. A more proactive way of answering these is to read through the syllabus and check. This will actually start the revision process off and directly benefit you.

2, Don’t have a copy of the syllabus? Ask your teacher – see if they will give you a soft copy. Print it off, Read over it. Put a copy in your file. Keep a copy on your desk. Leave a copy in your bag.

3, Make some revision notes – how do you do this? Use your class notes, a text book and the syllabus. All three things will help you.

4, Try some past years exam questions – where you get these from? You can purchase them from the IB store or ask your teacher for some. Vary the way you use past papers. Mark some yourself. Ask your friends / teachers to mark some. Mark your friends. This will help you to pick up the odd thing that maybe you weren’t getting right yourself.

Go through a paper answering everything you can from memory. Then, use your book or notes to fill in the gaps. Write these answers in a different colour. Over time, you should find that you start doing this less and less.

5, Breath, relax. Don’t overdo it. Get the balance between work and play right. And who knows, you may find you actually enjoy the revision process!

All this is worth thinking about if you are May school, but what if you are a November session school? Well, if this is the case I suggest you bookmark this post, sit tight for another six months and then revisit it!