When should you start revising for exams?

Exams are a stressful time for anyone. You have piles of notes built up in the corner of your room, you stay up late glued to your laptop, and your skin starts to break out from the stress. It’s safe to say that exams are anything but fun. What makes them an even more challenging time is when you leave your revision to the last minute, and you’re left cramming months' worth of studying into the last few days before your exams begin.

If this sounds like you, then hope is not lost! There are things that you can do to organise your time better and bring your grades up from a D to an A.

Understanding the exam schedule

Ideally, you should aim to start revising for your exams one to two months before. This way, you can set aside time to revise certain topics in bite-sized pieces to prevent panic. It is suggested that four to five weeks is a sufficient amount of time to retain the information you need to succeed.

To do this, it is important to get your exam schedule first and organise your studying according to the dates and topics of each exam.

For example, if you’re studying for the first written paper of your online English A-Level course, you’ll need to pay close attention to the modules most relevant to that exam. Break down your modules into bite-sized chunks, making unit-by-unit revision cards or note packs containing all the information you’ll need to learn to succeed. You can do this for any of our A-Level courses, whether you choose Biology, French or Law.

Once you have received your timetable from your teacher, colour code each lesson to make it stand out so you don’t forget to check them. Schedule certain hours in your day for each one: for example, if you have your English exam two days before geography, you can aim to allocate more hours in your day to study for this test until it is due.

If there are gaps between your exam times on a specific day, you can use these breaks to schedule last-minute revision sessions. It is also important to identify the difficulty of each exam so you can plan your revision for the subjects you struggle with the most.

Factors that affect revision success

There are many factors that affect revision success, which most people will face when preparing for an exam. 

1. Lack of preparation and time management 

Adequate preparation and time management are crucial factors for exam success. When you fail to prepare a revision schedule and collect all the resources you need, it is more difficult to cover all the bases in the time you have before the exam.

2. Not utilising practice tests and previous feedback

Practising exam questions and mimicking exam environments at home is one of the most effective ways to prepare. When you are aware of the types of questions that will come up and you consider feedback from previous tests, you have a better chance of achieving a high mark.

This is a great tactic, especially if you’re taking one of our GCSE or AS-level courses. If you’re enrolled in our Maths GCSE course, for example, there will be an abundance of online resources for you to work through.

All you’ll need to do is find past papers from the same examiner as your course (in our case, AQA), which will be located on their website. Then, you can work through a number of past papers to prepare for your non-calculator and calculator exams.

 

3. Revising without considering your learning style

Not every revision hack or approach works for everyone. Some people find it more effective to create revision cards and ask friends to quiz them on the answers, whereas others find it more helpful to set a timer as they work their way through a mock exam paper. You need to discover which methods work best for you for the information to stick.

4. Stress and anxiety management 

If you are someone who deals with exam anxiety, stress management may be the answer to your prayers. Getting enough sleep every night, using breathing exercises, practising mindfulness, and setting aside time for hobbies and rest in between revision will help to regulate your nervous system. You may feel much calmer and capable of the task at hand.

5. External distractions and lack of motivation

If you revise for an exam with your phone next to you, your TV on, and your friends trying to convince you to go out instead, chances are you won’t stay focused for long. Removing any distractions from your room or going to the library to create a mock classroom environment will place you in a much better mindset to learn. You also need to be motivated to do well. Figure out why succeeding is important to you and how much your life will improve if you put in the work now. It helps to picture your future self at the job you’ve always wanted or the city you’ve always dreamed of visiting so that you feel more driven to create this life for yourself.

Developing a revision timetable 

So, with that being said, it is best to start revising for your exams around a month before you have to sit them. The best way to begin your revision is by creating a thorough revision timetable to organise all of your lessons by day and then allocate set times to work on them.

You can do this by writing one out or creating a timetable online and adding each subject and weekday to a table. Then, under each weekday you can set certain times that you want to stick to for each subject. For example, on Monday, you may work from 2-4 revising for your English exam, and then 5-6 on Wednesdays, depending on any other commitments you have that you need to schedule around. This way, you have a visual aid to keep you on track with your time management and organisation. You can either keep it as your laptop background or print it off and stick it to your bedroom wall so you don’t forget.

It may be helpful to schedule one day off from revising or only take two hours out of your day for revision if you don’t want to miss any days. It may be best to allocate a day off on Wednesdays so you have a mid-week breather or on Sundays, which you can spend on self-care or fun activities.