Learning English

Rob
We all know there's no way around it - if you want to succeed in any exam, you have to get your preparation right. And that means knowing how best to revise so that you're ready when it's time to go into the exam room. Here's some advice from examiner Mark Shea.

Mark Shea, Examiner
Remember that language learning takes a long time, it's a slow process of absorption so you need to start revising very early, and don't think that you can learn new things the night before the exam.

So planning when you revise is important. Remember to take into account what time of day you work best – is it late at night or maybe early in the morning?

Be realistic with what you hope to achieve - anticipate and plan for likely interruptions. Maybe tell your friends you're revising and don't want to be disturbed.

Revising can be hard work so take breaks – go for a walk – have a cup of tea – and hopefully you'll return to your revision feeling refreshed. Language expert Karen Adams agrees that planning your revision is very important.

Karen Adams, Language expert
Don't try to push everything into the last two or three days before the exam, try to work

towards it gradually, and leave a day before the exam where you don’t study anything, where you just relax, and think about how much you've learnt already.

So remember, start revising early and then the day before your exam, take a break and don't revise. Being prepared for your revision will avoid stress as the exam day approaches. Good luck!