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GCE O-Level 2024 Exam Tips
It’s that time of the year again.
The GCE ‘O’ Level Examinations are marching towards you and the pressure is on. Every revision session feels increasingly important, and every mock exam paper seems to paint a faint picture of your child’s academic future.
As parents who once walked the same path and breathed the same heavy air of the examination hall, you yearn for the best ways to prepare your child for the biggest milestone in their education journey yet.
However, after a tiring day at the office, the last thing you want to do is to wade through a sea of articles and grope around Google for the most effective revision methods. We get it.
Knowing this, we went ahead and scraped the internet to put together a list of the best tips and tricks you can use to get your child in exam-ready shape.
Tip #1. Structure your revision sessions
Old adages stand the test of time because they’re true. And no saying is more true than that of the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Winston Churchill.
“He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
By sticking to a well-planned timetable structured around specific study goals, your child develops a routine that makes coming to the study table a much easier task. For better knowledge retention, get your child to study each subject in rotation instead of sticking to one subject for an extended period of time.
While time is of the essence, remember to sprinkle in a few short breaks to keep your child motivated and revision enjoyable.
Tip #2. Find a method that works for you
Going into each revision session without a proven strategy is like a gardener showing up to work without his shovel. If your child has yet to find a method they prefer, we recommend giving the Memory Clock Method a try. The Memory Clock Method is a simple 3-step approach (Review, Practise, Check) that’s easy to learn and suitable for students at both Primary and Secondary school levels.
Starting with Review, get your child to look through their notes or past work regarding a particular topic. This should take up a quarter of the total revision time. Next, have your child practise exam questions to assess their understanding of that specific topic. This should take up half of the total revision time. Lastly, it’s really important that your child get feedback on their work. Together, Check through the work and identify areas or concepts in which they need more practice. This should take up a quarter of the total revision time.
To help your child ready for O-Level, download our free exam papers for some extra practice!
Tip #3. Create “Cheat Sheets” that make revision easy
Be it on paper, flashcards, or a small whiteboard that hangs on your bedroom wall, creating “cheat sheets” is one of the surest ways to lock all that knowledge in place. Studies have shown that by putting pen to paper, students synthesise and retain knowledge in a way that mere reading does not.
In addition, cheat sheets also serve as bite-size guides that help your child retrieve forgotten mathematical concepts from their long-term memory like a metal detector with centuries-old gold.
To create a cheat sheet, simply pick a chapter or topic of your preferred subject. Pen down all the key information, formulas, key definitions, and concepts. You can colour-code or add drawings to further explain a definition. Whatever helps your child remember the role enzymes play in the human digestive system.
So, be creative and let your imagination run free. Most importantly, remember not everything needs to go on a cheat sheet. Less is more. Unless it’s an encyclopedia.
In short, be concise.
Tip #4. Use your body clock to your advantage
Is your child an early bird? Or a night owl? If it’s neither, it’s safe to say they might be an afternoon pigeon. Whenever your child’s window of productivity may be, find it, lock it, and use it to their advantage.
Research has shown that students who are not morning people tend to perform more poorly in subjects with classes that take place before recess time. While you can’t reshuffle classes, you can schedule revision sessions for when your child is most alert. On top of that, ensuring that your child has good sleeping habits that keep their mind fresh and absorbent can be a great place to start.
