AUTHOR

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Selected excerpts from Letts GCSE Success Essentials Study
Skills, by kind consent of the author James Lee.

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 Introduction
Developing better study skills 4

Contents
Managing yourself and your time
Time management 5
Note-taking 14

The exams
Exam technique 18

3
 Developing better study skills
Developing better
study skills

As you know, a good set of particular subjects, for

GCSE grades will provide you completing project work or
with a passport to further for revising with a group of
education. In addition, good friends). Above all else,
grades give a strong sense of always bear in mind that
self-confidence in your study skills are meant to
capacity to study and to make studying more
revise effectively that will effective, more satisfying
remain with you for the rest and more fun!
of your life. It is therefore When developing better
really worth preparing as study skills, it is especially
well as you can for your important to recognise that
GCSEs – by starting your we all have unique learning
revision earlier rather than styles. Some ways of learning
later, by staying positive and studying suit some
throughout, and by people better than others.
developing better study As you try out the various
skills. techniques and exercises
As will become increasingly outlined in this book, be sure
apparent as you work to keep a mental note of
through this book, one of which approaches help you
the beauties of study skills is most. Once you have
that they take so many finished this book, keep
different forms. Some relate coming back to read through
to managing yourself (e.g. the various sections again.
Introduction

time management and stress This will ensure that you

management), others are strengthen your study skills
about the nuts and bolts of in the run-up to your exams.
revision (e.g. reading and Good luck!
note-taking techniques), and
there are other tools to use
in specific situations (e.g. for

4
 Time management

Time management
Making your revision a priority

1 A long tree trunk has been laid out in a park and you are offered
£1,000 if you manage to walk from one end to the other without
falling off. Would you have a go?
2 The same tree trunk is balanced across the summit of a giant
waterfall. Would you still have a go for £1,000?
3 Finally, this trunk is balanced across the same waterfall but
someone is holding your friend hostage at the other side and
threatens to throw him/her into the waterfall if you don’t walk
across. Would you try?

In terms of the next few months, place these activities in order

from 1 (the most important) to 10 (the least important):
• Socialising with my friends • Earning some extra cash

managing yourself and your time

• Looking after my appearance • Keeping fit/playing sports
• Planning my next summer holiday • Finding/spending time with
• Contributing towards local a/my partner
charitable projects • Watching TV
• Spending time with my parents • Revising for my exams.

The exercises above are about your values and your priorities.
When we say that we don’t have time to do something, often
this is not strictly true. Instead, we don’t see it as a priority. Do
you currently view your revision as a high enough priority? Are
you being too strict on yourself?
Good time managers are good at asserting their priorities. For
example, if a friend asks you to go to the cinema then you will
need to assert yourself with a response such as: ‘Not today
because I need to work. How about at the weekend?’
You should not, however, view your revision as your only
priority. It is important that you also keep fit and fresh. At
times you will therefore need to assert (e.g. to parents) that
you need to rest, to play sport or to go out with friends.

5
 Beginning to organise your time
Like being asked to recruit and train a football team, or write
Time management

and direct a play, or organise an art exhibition, or market a

new pop-band, revising for GCSEs is best viewed as a project
that needs to be managed. An important project management
skill is the ability to create good plans. When revising, this
means creating good revision timetables.

Some initial questions

The best timetables are realistic and flexible. When creating
timetables, begin therefore by answering some important
questions:
1. How many days are there until my first exam?
2. What is the maximum amount of time that I am willing to
revise on a typical weekday, on a typical Saturday, and on a
typical Sunday?
3. Are there any dates between now and my first exam when
it will be very difficult or impossible for me to revise?
Managing yourself and your time

4. How many subjects am I studying?

5. How many topics am I expected to revise for each subject?

The amount of time available

Having answered these questions, you can now estimate the
total number of hours available for revision between now and
your first exam. You can calculate this (a diary and calculator
are helpful here!) by following these steps:
1. Multiply the number of weekdays between now and your
first exam by the time you intend to revise on weekdays.
2. Multiply the number of Saturdays between now and your
first exam by the time you intend to revise on Saturdays.
3. Multiply the number of Sundays between now and your
first exam by the time you intend to revise on Sundays.
4. Add these three totals together.
5. Subtract any time that is unavailable because it would be
very difficult or impossible for you to revise on these days
(e.g. you are playing in a sports tournament all day).
6
Amount of time for revision: an example

Time management
Number of days until
the first exam:
50 weekdays
10 Saturdays
10 Sundays 50
I will revise for: 10
10
2 hours on weekdays 70
3 hours on Saturday
s

managing yourself and your time

4 hours on Sundays
I cannot revise on:
5 weekdays
Calculations:
Weekdays: 50 (days) x
2 hours: 100 hours
Saturdays: 10 (days)
x 3 hours: 30 hours
Sundays: 10 (days) x 100
4 hours: 40 hours 30
Total: 170 hours 40
Unavailable: 5 (days) 170!
x 2 hours: 10 hours
Total time available
to revise: 160 hours

7
 Allocating time across subjects
Let’s continue with our example.
Time management

Between now and your first exam you have 160 hours
available for revision. You decide to assume, though,
that you have underestimated the number of ‘unavailable’
Saturdays and Sundays, and therefore you round this figure
down to 150 hours.
You are taking five subjects (English, Maths, French, Science
and Geography) and, on average, you therefore have 30 hours
available to revise each subject.
However, up until now you have spent most of your time
preparing for English and Maths and you are less confident
about your grasp of Science and Geography. You decide to
divide up the 150 hours available as shown in the box below.
There are 10 weeks until your first exam, so you also divide
these figures by 10 to calculate the amount of time available
for revising each subject each week.

rs)
rs) Time (hou
Time (hou
Managing yourself and your time

Subject to revise
to revise
each week
in total
2
20
English
2
20
Maths
3
30
French
4
40
Science
4
40
Geography
15
150
Total

8
allocating time across topics
Before constructing a timetable, you now need to divide up

Time management
this time between the various topics within each subject.
Continuing with our example:
• You have allocated 40 hours to Geography.
• The Geography specification is made up of 15 topics.
• You have begun to revise five topics (tourism, trade and
aid, geomorphic processes, settlement, energy resources).
• One topic you have not revised at all and is very long
(weather and climate). You therefore decide to divide up
the 40 hours of revision allocated to Geography as shown
below.

1. Geomorphic processe
s 1 hour
2. River landscapes
and hydrology 3 hours
3. Coastal landscape
s 3 hours
4. Glacial landscape
s 3 hours
5. Weather and clima
te

managing yourself and your time

8 hours
6. Ecosystems
3 hours
7. Tectonic activity
3 hours
8. Population
3 hours
9. Settlement
1 hour
10. Urbanisation
3 hours
11. Energy resources
1 hour
12. Agriculture
3 hours
13. Industry
3 hours
14. Development, trade
and aid 1 hour
15. Tourism
1 hour
Total
40 hours

Next…
A similar procedure can now be followed to divide up the
time available to revise each of the other subjects that you
are studying.
9
 Constructing weekly timetables
You can now construct weekly timetables. You can follow
Time management

one of two approaches here:

• You can create timetables on a week-by-week basis
(e.g. each Sunday in advance of the week ahead).
• You can create all of the weekly timetables at the
same time.
Returning to our scenario, here is an example of a
weekly timetable. In addition to the topics noted, set
aside 15–30 minutes every day to review topics that you
have already revised.

Weekly timetable
Geography TOTAL
Maths French Science
English (4 hours)
(2 hours) (3 hours) (4 hours)
(2 hours)

Equations Bonding
Monday 2 hours
(1 hour) (1 hour)
(2 hours)
Holidays Tourism
Tuesday 2 hours
Managing yourself and your time

(1 hour) (1 hour)
(2 hours)
Waves
Wednesday Newspapers (1 hour)
2 hours
(2 hours) (1 hour)
Grammar Trade and aid
Thursday (1 hour) 2 hours
(1 hour)
(2 hours)

Friday 0 hours
athletics championships
(2 hours) Competing all day in the regional

Shakespeare Vectors Transport 3 hours

Saturday
(1 hour) (1 hour) (1 hour)
(3 hours)
Digestion Weather
Sunday (2 hours) 4 hours
(2 hours)
(4 hours)
4 hours 15 hours
2 hours 3 hours 4 hours
TOTAL 2 hours

Remember
Timetables reduce stress levels by putting you in
control of your revision. Stay calm if you get
behind. By working towards the completion of all
of your revision before your first exam, you will
keep free all of the time between your exams, if
necessary, to catch up on certain topics.
10
 Using mnemonics

Using mnemonics
A quick memory test
A mnemonic is something that Warehouse
helps you to remember information.
To help you understand the principles Brother
underpinning the use of mnemonics, give
yourself 30 seconds to try to remember Mop
the following 15 words. Then try to write
down as many as you can. Tea
Mobile
Try again
Did you remember all 15 words? Surfboard
Now read through the following story. Try
to recount it to a friend or family member, Lipstick
or aloud to yourself (if no one else is
around). Water

memory, reading and note-taking

You wake up to find yourself in a huge
warehouse. The voice of big brother suddenly Mirror
asks you to pick up the mop at the other end of
the factory and to clean the whole factory floor.
You work all morning but then you become tired
Wall
so you sit down on a bench to have a cup of tea.
As you drink your tea your mobile phone rings. Desert
You look at the screen and there is an advert of a
girl carrying a surfboard. Suddenly she breaks Snake
through the screen, sits down beside you, puts on
some lipstick, throws a glass of water into your
face, smashes a mirror and then jumps through
Wind
the factory wall. You follow her and discover that
you are in the middle of an enormous desert. Rainbow
There is nothing to see other than a snake that
slithers towards you. As it gets closer the wind Diamonds
begins to blow very strongly. You put your hand
down to stroke the snake and it transforms into a
rainbow and a bag of diamonds.
Read through the list of words one more time before trying to
recall them once again. This time have a go at remembering
all 15 in the correct order.
11
 Principles to follow when using mnemonics

Symbols
Using mnemonics

The manipulation of symbols allows us to represent

information in simple and memorable ways. To remember, for
example, that at the end of World War 1 a peace conference
took place in Paris, you could think of a dove (a symbol of
peace) flying over the Eiffel Tower (a symbol of Paris).

Outstanding
We are more likely to remember mnemonics that are
outstanding. In the story there was therefore a ‘huge’
warehouse, an ‘enormous’ desert and shocking experiences such
as a girl who threw water in your face, smashed a mirror and
then jumped through a wall.

Links
Mnemonics make clear links between symbols. To remember, for
example, the link between the depletion of the ozone layer and
increased rates of skin cancer in Australia, you could think of a
memory, reading and note-taking

kangaroo (for Australia) that takes its jacket off (symbolising

that it is no longer protected by the ozone layer) to reveal that
it has blotchy white skin (for skin cancer).

All five senses

Mnemonics are easier to remember when they evoke all five
senses. As you read the story you might, for example, have
imagined the smell of freshly brewed tea, the taste of water
thrown in your face, the sight of a snake transforming into a
rainbow, the touch on your skin of a strong wind, and the sound
of big brother’s voice.

Repetition
We also remember mnemonics through repetition. Good ways
of repeating and reviewing mnemonics are:
• Explaining them to friends.
• Keeping a written record of them using creative note-taking
techniques based on the use of symbols and colour.
• Taking short ‘memory walks’ where you test your memory of
various mnemonics as you walk.
12
 An example: memorising chemical processes

Reactivity

Using mnemonics
The reactivity series Not reactive at all – gold
Some metals are more reactive Not very reactive – tin
than others: Quite reactive – aluminium
Very reactive – potassium
Some reactions
When metals react with oxygen a metal oxide is formed.
When metals react with water a metal oxide (or hydroxide) and H2 are formed.
When metals react with dilute acid a salt and H2 are formed.

A mnemonic on the reactivity series could be based around the

symbol of a big fire into which different objects are thrown
with different effects.
1. When you throw a gold watch (gold) into the fire there is
no effect because gold is not reactive at all.
2. When you throw a tin can (tin) into the fire there is a very

memory, reading and note-taking

slight crackling because tin is not very reactive.
3. When you throw an aluminium can (aluminium) into the
fire there is a bang because aluminium is quite reactive.
4. When you throw a pot (potassium) into the fire there is a
huge explosion because potassium is very reactive.
The three reactions mentioned are with oxygen, water and
dilute acid. A mnemonic to help remember each reaction could
be based on the symbols of an aluminium can (for metals) and
three buckets (for the three types of reaction).
1. When an aluminium can is placed in an empty bucket
(reaction with oxygen) it changes colour (forms an oxide).
2. When an aluminium can is placed in a bucket of water
(reaction with water) it changes colour (forms an oxide
or hydroxide) and lots of little ‘H’s float into space
(releases hydrogen).
3. When an aluminium can is placed in a bucket of thick
smelly liquid (reaction with dilute acid) it turns into table
salt (forms a salt) and lots of little ‘H’s float into space
(releases hydrogen).
13
 Note-taking:
Summary shapes
Summary shapes
Note-taking:

Developing a portfolio of summary sheets

In the run-up to your exams you will spend a long time taking
revision notes from textbooks, from handouts or from your
own class notes. Instead of copying these out in your own
words (you can copy out a whole book and still not remember
or understand what you have written), try to work towards
developing a portfolio of summary sheets.
For each topic, create summary sheets on plain A4, A3 or A2
paper. Instead of sentences, these sheets should use key words,
symbols and colour to summarise and highlight important facts
and concepts. This chapter introduces you to the use of
summary shapes to help revise less complex texts. The next
chapter then outlines the use of summary maps to help revise
memory, reading and note-taking

more complex texts.

Using annotations
Whatever text you are studying, it is very helpful to
have the freedom to write annotations (e.g. key
words or symbols) in the margins. Annotations are
best written using a selection of colours, but if the
texts that you are reading belong to a library then
you may need to photocopy sections or to use a very
light (e.g. 2H) pencil and then carefully erase all of
your annotations before returning texts you have
borrowed. Page 38 illustrates how you might use key
words, symbols and colour to annotate text – in this
case about the life of David Beckham.

14
Key words
You do not need to use sentences when writing

Summary shapes
revision notes. You do not, for example, need to

Note-takng:
write ‘David Beckham married Posh Spice in
Ireland’ in order to remember this section of his
life. Underlining the key words ‘married’ and
‘Ireland’ would be enough to trigger your
memory. Similarly, you do not need to write
‘Beckham’s first child was called Brooklyn and
was born in 1999’. Underlining the key word
‘Brooklyn’ and the date ‘1999’ would be enough.

Symbols
Symbols represent or remind us
of
something else. A symbol of Big
Ben with
the number ‘75’ next to it will,

memory, reading and note-taking

for example,
remind us that Beckham was bor
n in
London in 1975. Similarly, drawin
g a cap
and a trophy with the number
‘02’ above it
will remind us that Beckham cap
tained the
England team during the 2002
World Cup.

Colour
When studying and revising, use a selection of fine-
point coloured pens to discriminate and highlight
information. Look again at the text on the life of
Beckham. You can see that all of the key words or
symbols referring to his personal life or family are
underlined, written or drawn in blue. All of the key
words and symbols referring to Beckham’s career
are underlined, written or drawn in red.

15
Summary shapes

The Life of David Beckham

Note-taking:

75 1. Born in North London on 2nd May 1975.

2. First played for the Manchester United
MANU17
senior team at 17.
98 3. Blamed for England’s defeat in the 1998

World Cup after being sent off for

a foul against an Argentinean player.
BROOKLYN99
4. First child, Brooklyn, was born in March 1999.
5. Married Posh Spice (Victoria Adams) in
99
Ireland in July 1999.
02 6. Captained the England team during the

2002 World Cup.

7. Second child, Romeo, was born in
memory, reading and note-taking

O02
ROME September 2002.
8. Transferred to Real Madrid in summer
RM 03
of 2003.

Which shape you use for your summary will depend

on the number of sections into which you split the text.
If, for example, you split a text into three sections then use
a triangle; if you split it into four sections then use a square;
if you split it into five or six sections then use a five-point or
a six-point star; and if you split it into eight sections then use
a circle. In the case of the life of Beckham, this has been split
into eight sections and therefore we can use an eight-part
summary circle.
16
A summary circle on the life of David Beckham
Draw your summary shape on a plain piece of paper and
fill it in with the key words, symbols and colours that you
used to annotate the text itself. In the case of the life of

Summary shapes
Beckham, this will involve the use of an eight-part

Note-taking:
summary circle. The example below illustrates what this
might look like once it has been completed.

RM 03 75

O02
ROME MANU17

02
98

memory, reading and note-taking

BROOKLYN99
99

Test yourself
shape, test
Once you have completed the
le you could:
yourself. For our Beckham examp
aloud.
• Talk through Beckham’s life
alise the
• Close your eyes and try to visu
min d’s eye.
contents of the circle in your
t circle that you
• Try to fill in a blank eight-par
of paper.
have sketched on a rough piece
your family to
• Ask a friend or a member of
test you on Beckham’s life.
how much you
You may well be surprised just
can remember!

17
 Exam technique
Exam technique

Final preparations

As soon as possible: Visit the room in which you will take your
exams to familiarise yourself with this environment. Remember
that you are highly unlikely to gain free access to this space once
the examination period begins. It is especially helpful to visit at a
quiet time of day so that you can imagine yourself entering and
sitting in this room feeling relaxed, alert, focused and confident.
This will help you to dissolve fears of what can otherwise appear
to be an unknown and very threatening place. Repeat the visit a
couple of weeks before exams start.

The weeks before: Use the experience above as a basis for

positive visualisation exercises. Focus on enjoying a relaxed and
successful experience of each exam.

The week before: Take regular exercise and get to bed early on
nights before exams. Make every effort to maintain good physical
and mental health during the final stages of your revision and
preparation for GCSEs.

The day before: There is nothing wrong with flicking

through your notes (e.g. the summary sheets that you have
made when revising) and testing yourself the night and morning
before exams.

The day before: Avoid activities that create unnecessary tension

and set aside plenty of time to maintain and restore a sense of
relaxed focus. It is especially helpful to get plenty of fresh air, to
the exams

breathe deeply and to stretch.

The hour before: Avoid conversations that might distract you

away from the task at hand. Focus instead on imagining the likely
format and content of the exam paper and the approach that
you will adopt when completing this exam.

18
Looking through past exam papers
It is essential that you familiarise yourself with the format of
each exam paper. As far in advance of your exams as possible,

Exam technique
ask your teachers to confirm the exact names of exam boards
and papers that you are taking, and if possible to provide you
with copies of several past papers or to let you know how to
obtain these from exam boards.
Before taking a closer look at past papers, find out whether
the format is due to change in any way this year. Ask your
teachers or the exam board. Bearing their reply in mind, then
complete a close analysis of the format of past papers. In
particular, pay close attention to:
• Any initial instructions or guidance
• The names of different sections
• The number of different sections
• Which sections are optional and which are compulsory
• The types of questions asked (e.g. multiple choice,
structured short answer, long answer, essays)
• Any topics or questions that appear to crop up each year
• The marking scheme (e.g. the total number of marks
allocated to individual questions and to each section)
• The total amount of time available to answer each section
• Commonly used key words (e.g. describe, explain, compare).
If you are unclear in any way about the requirements of any of
the papers then do not hesitate to ask your teachers or exam
boards to clarify your queries. They will be able to offer you
more comprehensive and detailed advice than the exam
invigilators.
the exams

19
 Allocating limited time
Perhaps the most challenging aspect of answering
questions under exam conditions is the need to work
Exam technique

within strict time constraints. When you practise answering

questions from past papers, limit yourself to the total
amount of time made available in exams. Practise quickly
identifying how much time is available to answer sections
or questions. Here is an example for a GCSE History paper:

GCSE History: Paper 1

Time available: 2 hours
Answer questions in TWO of the following choice of six sections. For each section
answer part (a) and EITHER part (b) OR part (c).
Section 1: History of industry Total marks: 55
Section 2: History of agriculture Total marks: 55
Section 3: History of transport and leisure Total marks: 55
Section 4: History of health Total marks: 55
Section 5: History of education Total marks: 55
Section 6: History of politics Total marks: 55

Within each section

s 35 marks
Part (a) = shorter-answer question
er question 20 marks
Parts (b) and (c) = longer-answ

Sensible allocation of time

k
tions = approx 1 minute per mar
Time available to answer ques

5 minutes
Read through exam paper
35 minutes
Part (a)
the exams

20 minutes
Part (b) or (c)
35 minutes
Part (a)
20 minutes
Part (b) or (c)
5 minutes
Check answers
TOTAL 120 minutes

20
Answering the question
When allocating the time available within an exam, always
set aside 5–10 minutes for reading through the questions

Exam technique
and for planning. Take very great care to read and analyse
questions carefully before formulating answers. Misreading
even a single word can have serious consequences. For
example:
Explain how agricultural practices have changed over the past 20 years in
developed countries.

Here, you are unlikely to receive any marks for explaining

how agricultural practices have changed over the last 20
years in developing countries.
It is especially tempting to answer the questions that you
would have really liked to have been asked rather than
questions that you have actually been asked! Contrary to
misconceptions, examiners are required to adhere to strict
marking criteria and cannot therefore award marks even to
the most extensive and impressive of irrelevant answers.
Underline and pay especially close attention to key
command words in order to identify the type of question
you are being asked:
• Descriptive questions tend to require the observation or
recall of facts, e.g. ‘Describe what Source A says about
levels of unemployment in the USA in the 1930s’.
• Evaluative questions tend to require the explanation of
causes and processes, e.g. ‘Explain the causes and
consequences of the Wall Street Crash’.

Command words
describe explain compare choose list
what when where how why
the exams

Always mentally rehearse answers to questions before

writing anything. This will help to keep later corrections
and amendments to a minimum. During this process, try to
ensure that answers are as relevant, precise and thorough
as possible.
21
 Longer-answer questions
When responding to longer-answer questions, you will need to
make more comprehensive plans. It can prove especially helpful
Exam technique

to sketch out versions of summary sheets that you have been

revising as a basis to such plans. When preparing, for example,
to answer the question ‘Explain the causes and consequences
of the Wall Street Crash’ you might spend a couple of minutes
making a rough sketch of the summary map on this topic
outlined in the ‘Revising History’ section on page 85:

ic
Cl

est
os

al
ur

Dom
ion
nat
e

Debt RESU r
LTS Inte
N D
DEMA
WALL
STREET
I
CRASH NDUST
R IES Motor
H
AS

Decline
CR

Re
ta
c

i l
ni
Pa
the exams

Some other hints on responding to longer-answer questions:

• Keep to the question, to your plan and to time.
• Write at least one main point per paragraph.
• Use examples to illustrate your statements.
• Define important words.
• Focus on quality rather than quantity.
22
Completing final checks
When allocating the time available within an exam, always set
aside 5–10 minutes at the end to complete final checks. During

Exam technique
this time:
• Make sure you have answered all of the questions. Even if
you are not sure, you will not be penalised for having a go.
It is especially important to answer all multiple choice
questions as you will typically have a 15%–25% chance of
estimating or guessing the correct answer.
• Ensure that you have answered the actual questions that
were asked and that your answers are as relevant, precise
and thorough as possible.
• When answering Maths and Science questions, make sure
that you have shown all of your working.
• Check your grammar, spelling and punctuation. Examiners
can mark students up and down according to the accuracy
and fluency of their writing style.
• If you run out of time when answering certain questions
then try to jot down relevant key words and half sentences.
Examiners may be able to give you a few additional marks
for work of this sort.
• If you finish early don’t sit around twiddling your thumbs!
Use this time to check through your paper carefully to see
whether or not there are areas where you could make
corrections or improvements.

After the exam

At the end of each exam, feel free to debrief on your
experiences with friends. However, don’t allow this to
degenerate into an unhealthy preoccupation with how you
the exams

may or may not have performed. After an hour or so, treat this
chapter of the exam process as closed and take some rest or
begin to focus positively towards your next exam.

Good luck!
23
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Titles in the series:

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