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 —your teen has to juggle all of these things at once during the school year. It is no wonder that so many teens have no idea where to start when it comes to school and studying, and no idea how they’re supposed to wade through so many different bits and pieces. … [Read more...]
Guest Article – Top Tips For Avoiding Exam Stress
There are many ways to revise and you will find out what works best for you. Exams can be an extremely stressful time, but so long as you revise well and avoid feeling stressed on the day, you should be able to succeed. Here are some tips to help you: 1) Learn and revise your subject - the basics Don’t study late into the early hours on coffee or the latest stimulant. Studies have shown that you will remember things more clearly and effectively if you revise when you are fresh. Practise … [Read more...]
3 Ways To Maximize Your Output During An Exam
Good grades are won and lost in the way students approach the actual sitting of the exam. Obviously it’s the hard work put in before exams that counts the most, but it would be a huge mistake for your teen to not appreciate how important having an in-exam strategy is. Today I’m talking about the 3 most important things to do in an exam to ensure your teen gets the most out of their exam time. 1. Make the most of your reading time Most exams allow for about 15 minutes of reading time … [Read more...]
5 Quick-Fire, Must Know Study Tips for Your Teen
Sometimes I can babble on for way too long about just one tiny aspect of studying. Whilst this can be a good thing when I’m trying to explain something really important, I also think it’s sometimes best if I (try to) keep things short and snappy. So here’s me trying to be short and snappy – 5 Quick-fire must know study tips for you to relay to your teen: 1. Studying EVERYTHING is not the answer First and foremost your teen needs to study what is central to their subjects. There’s no … [Read more...]
Sitting An Exam Is Like Going For A Run
When it comes to exams, we like to think of our brains like our muscles when we exercise. Most of us don’t launch into exercise like an Olympic marathon runner. We take a bit of time to warm up, to override the niggly pains, to come into our stride. Sitting an exam is exactly the same. It’s our experience that for the first half an hour or so of an exam, your brain is just warming up. It’s only jogging – not quite ready to get into a full sprint. At the beginning stage of their exam … [Read more...]
Cheat Sheets: How to Secure More Marks In The Last Week of Exam Study
With exams just around the corner we know how stressful things can get... Especially when you’ve got a number of teens at high school! If this is a position you’re in at the moment – may the force be with you. Hopefully your teen is going OK and isn’t too stressed! If they are panicking, we’ve got a tip for them to help remember much more in the last few days leading up to each exam. Make a Cheat Sheet No, we’re not saying your teen should smuggle in bits of paper into the exam! A Cheat … [Read more...]
How To Check if You’re Ready For Your Exams
There's not just one right way for your teen to go about studying for exams. However, there is something that every teen should do during their exam preparation. Something so effective in helping students prepare for exams in fact (we speak from personal experience), it almost feels like you're cheating! It doesn't matter what your teen's predominant learning style is or how they prefer to go about studying for exams... Every student should use Past Exams to study Past exams are an … [Read more...]
Timetable Magic – The Simple Tip To Rule Them All
Exams in New Zealand are about 3 weeks away, so we’re now well and truly in the countdown stages. [Clare] A few days ago, while tutoring one of my regular students, something struck me… He simply isn’t doing enough to pass. Because spending an hour a week with a tutor isn’t study! Yet, despite my complete honesty about the fact that he isn’t doing enough (or actually any, for that matter) work outside of our lessons, he still hasn’t got the message. And if he keeps this up (with his math … [Read more...]
Get Top Marks With Simple Exam Answers
Studying hard for their exams is not the only thing your teen needs to do in order to be well prepared. They also need to dedicate time to planning how they’re going to answer their exam questions. Because there’s actually a right and a wrong way to tackle exam questions. And this is most apparent with short answer questions (those requiring one or two lines maximum), and long answer questions (those requiring possibly a paragraph or two). The best exam answers are the simplest … [Read more...]
Exam Success 101: How To Study For And Sit Exams
Between the two of us we've sat quite a large number of exams since high school. In fact, we estimate we've sat 98 2-3 hour exams between us. This doesn't even include tests or assignments or internal exams. (That's not supposed to impress you by the way... Only to inform you we really have sat a lot of exams!) And on top of our own experiences, we're each currently spending three to four hours a day tutoring high school students about to sit their own round of exams. I think it's fair to … [Read more...]