Prelim Revision

You are of course well versed in the formalities of prelims but compared to National 5 this will be a big step up. Not only will the exam be longer it will be more demanding too.

First thing is that we do not want to use any of the full Higher Past Papers. Not only will this worry you as you won't be able to complete most of the questions, we want to save these for the final exam. Don't go near them, we've got plenty to be getting on with instead here:

First Steps

We want to get comfortable with the material before we even think about doing a full prelim paper. There are of course a few ways of doing this:

Past Paper App

The best revision would be to get stuck into questions from the past paper app. From experience schools blatantly copy and paste questions from old exam papers expecting you not to have seen them. Again the more questions you do the more likely you are to see one that will actually come up in the prelim.

Variety is key here, you might be tempted to just do the ones you find easiest so let's mix things up a bit!

Prelim Exam Papers

When you feel you're ready you can start some prelim exam papers.

Top Tips

No distractions

Think of this as a role play. We want to simulate exam conditions as much as possible. This means no snapchat, no tv and no distractions. Find a quiet, unfamiliar space (maybe even a local library) where you won't be disturbed.

Timed Conditions

You also want to try and do it under timed conditions. What this does not mean is you stop after the allotted time. Complete the full paper and try to think what is causing the hold up.

Notes

Try not to look at notes or use a calculator for paper 1. This includes formulas etc on the wall! Again we want to simulate an exam, this obviously won't fly for the real thing. However at the end if you've completed all you can, then look at your notes for a hint.

Better with friends!

Teaching other people is a great way to improve (even me!). Asking friends for help is a great way of you both learning. Start a maths group chat (how cool) separate from your usual one where you can all ask questions. You need to be focused: don't distract each other! Chances are if you're stuck on something one of your friends has cracked it. They'd be much better at explaining it than I am, you are after all on the same wavelength!

Reflect

You can only learn from mistakes if you note them down! Think about what you found difficult and why. Note down the topics you struggled with and use this to shape future revision. Complete similar questions on the past paper app or try a worksheet. Also ask me! I can be a lot more helpful though if you have specific questions so take time to reflect.