exam tips

Another reason your teen might be struggling is because they have no variation in their Study Formula.
I would go bonkers if all I did to study for exams was read and make study notes. Doing these things is a crucial part of my Study Formula, but if thats all I did, my motivation to study would sink because it would be such a monotonous process. Its really important to try and incorporate different things into your Study Formula.

Theres this thing that students who get good grades do throughout the year. To some students it comes naturally, while others have to work at it.
Its the thing that separates the teens who get fantastic grades, and the ones who get less fantastic grades. Its this little thing called PRACTICE. Theres no getting around this one Im afraid. To get good grades in Math, your teen HAS to do practice problems. To get good grades in English, your teen HAS to write practice essays. This goes for any subject that has essay exam requirements.

Ive had this lesson drummed into me only this week and Im in my sixth year of university study. Im about to sit an exam that requires me to look at about 100 pages of evidence and come up with a theory about what I think happened, along with some other bits and pieces. As my lecturer rightly reminded us many times , do you learn how to ride a bicycle by reading a book on how to ride a bike? Do you watch a video of someone riding a bike? No. You get on the bike and keep riding until you dont fall off anymore. I have done a few practice runs at putting examples of evidence together. And my lecturer was dead right. The first one I did was awful. But the more practice I did, the better my work became. Well your teens school subjects are no different.

If I had to pick one thing that prevents teens from getting the grades theyre capable of, it would be this. Well, maybe its second to not actually studying. Whatever this is really important. If your teen is putting in the effort but their grades dont reflect it, its probably because theyre studying everything, without studying whats really important.

The school year runs for 40 weeks, give or take depending on where you are in the world.
Forty multiplied by 5 equals 200 days in the school year, minus a few days off for public holidays, etc.
200 multiplied by, lets say 5 hours of actual class time each day, equals 1000 hours of learning every year.
Thats a lot of hours. School exams are usually 3 hours long. Do you get where Im heading with this? 1000 hours of learning time squished into 3 hours of exam time. This is why students who give equal weight to everything theyve learned that year when they study dont get the grades their effort deserves.

It requires sussing out before you get stuck into exam study what the really essential must understand topics are, and making sure you understand those with your eyes shut and your hands behind your back like the back of your hand. Once your teen has that sorted, then they can move on to studying some of the more peripheral topics, and scrub up on the things that are going to secure that A grade, such as memorizing facts, quotes, etc whatever it is thats going to make their exam paper stand out from the rest. I cannot stress this idea enough.

Studying can be overwhelming. There are so many pieces to the puzzle.
Different subjects, essays to write, facts to memorise, formulas to figure out, study notes to write, slides to look over, websites to check out, books to read

There IS a way for your teen to make everything simpler. This method streamlines your teens study. It helps them focus on whats really important. Its something good studiers utilise all the time. To have the best chance of getting good grades this year, your teen needs to develop a Study Formula.
For those of you who have completed our Straight As email course, you will already have heard me harp on about the importance of your teen developing their Study Formula.
Because its something so central to the mastery of good studying, I want to reiterate the main points of Study Formulas here.

Students who get good grades follow a process when they study. They follow certain steps. They have a pattern.
Its this collection of results proven practices that make up what we call a Study Formula.
Students who get good grades apply this Study Formula EVERY TIME they study for exams.

A really important point to make is that every students Study Formula is their own. The combination of practices and study techniques that make up their Study Formula will be unique to them.
However, heres a list of study techniques and processes that would commonly be in a straight A students Study Formula.Making a list of all the topics that you need to study.
Looking at past exams to get an idea of the exam format Writing study notes or typing study notes if you prefer Researching topics you dont understand well enough Making diagrams and flow charts of relevant processes Consolidating study notes Attempting practice exams Using flash cards to consolidate facts Thinking about how youre going to allocate your time in the exam