A great way of studying for your exams is to complete a past paper or mock exam paper. This lets you experience answering the questions in an exam format and work out what areas you still need some practice on.
Past papers are available online from the exam body websites, books containing mock papers can be purchased or your school/college may have some available for you to use.
Here are some tips to make the most of studying using past papers.
- Don’t do a past paper straight away. Spend some time studying the subject first and build on your knowledge. No point having a go at a past paper if you don’t know much about the subject.
- Try to complete the past paper under exam conditions. Only allow yourself the time that will be allocated for the exam, don’t have any distractions around and don’t check your notes.
- If possible ask someone else to mark it for you, ideally, someone who knows about the subject. Most teachers would be happy to look over any past/mock papers you have attempted and offer feedback.
- If you come across a question you are unsure of don’t be tempted to check the answers or look at your notes. Instead, highlight this question as an area you need to focus on.
