Ok - so, you've got exams coming up.
If you've got an exam tomorrow - forget revision. It's too late. You won't remember anything, anyway. Get an early night and have a good breakfast. Exams are hard work and you need energy.
Make sure that you have a bottle of water with you. Nerves dry your mouth and exam halls are always too hot, anyway. If you are hungry or thirsty, you won't be able to concentrate properly.
Go to the loo before the exam. You can't leave once it's begun and if you need to, it will affect your concentration.
Leave your mobile phone/MP3 player/ipod at home.
Revision is not difficult. But you do need to do it, so make a plan. Look at your exam timetable and plan to finish working for your exam at least 24 hours before you take it. That gives your brain time to organise the information.
SATs English - May 7th and 8th
English Literature is on May 20th. You will need to revise the pre/post -1914 poetry bank and 'Of Mice and Men' (if you are doing another text, just change the title) You may also have to revise a play if you are following the AQA B syllabus.
Re-read all the texts, leaving the one you are most worried about till last. Do not write anything down! The best time to do this is over the Easter holiday, when you have most time. Then do nothing for at least a week. Give your brain the time to file the information away!
Remember that you must have a clean text in the exam - no notes! Remember to take a copy of the novel with you! We don't have any spares! Make sure that you know what metaphors, similes , alliteration, stanzas, rhyme schemes and all the other technical terms are and that you can recognise them and know how to use them.
For a novel or play, you need to know about themes, setting, character and what effect they have on the whole text! For a play you need to talk about language, historical context and stagecraft as well. You must never write about one chapter, scene or incident.
To get a good grade when comparing poems you must look at the individual elements and compare them - do not talk about one poem, then another and then write a conclusion.
Look at the texts again and find some useful quotations and remember where they are. It will save you time in the exam (look at my Literature pages for more help on this). This is easy for poems, as they are shorter and in front of you, but much harder for a book or play if you haven't planned properly first!
Do some practice questions. And time yourself! [How long is your exam? How long do you have to answer each question?] Check that you have included quotations and have answered the question you have been asked, not the one you wanted to do.
For SATs make sure that you know what the writing triplets are so that you can find the key word in the questions and that you know the key words for Shakespeare.
Remember to use a highlighter!