ADVICE-REVISING FOR EXAMS

ACING THAT EXAM-KILLER REVISION TIPS:

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Good afternoon Little Ones! As promised here's a guide on how to revise for your exams, some of you may have mock exams coming up, or maybe you want to prepare for your exams years in advance, whatever the case this is the blog post for you!

This is going to be a heck of a read, but if you want to ace your exams, you will do whatever it takes; even if that means taking 10 minutes out of your day to read this.

To ensure you are keeping up to date with my daily blog posts, click here to read more! Without any further or do, let's roll on the revision tips! (Don't frown)

Before we get started, let's get something straight, this is a guide to help you, if you don't follow through with determination you won't pass your exams. Smell that? Burgers ... Hello McDonald's, is that where you want to be? No? Then focus.
I understand that everyone learns differently, luckily enough you came to the right place, I'm going to portray several different revision strategies; so if you don't feel like one is working out, you can try another. 

When I'm revising I use all of these strategies, as my attention span is disgusting, plus, it makes it more exciting, and yes you can interject the word exciting with revising; believe it or not it can be fun.

MOTIVATION: 

Amy what does motivation have to do with revision? Let me think ... Everything, this is the definite factor that will either get you a C or an A, I've been there and done that, and here's a real life example. When I started my GCSE's I didn't have the pure motivation, which resulted in average grades,
I saw that on paper in year 10 and was utterly disgusted, I used that to punch my way through year 11; every single day after school I revised for several hours, alternating subjects.
Guess what, it damn well payed off, landed myself with several A*'s and A's ... My only C was maths, which was my toughest subject.
But I didn't stop there, I had a reputation to uphold, in A-Level, despite my mental health swallowing me up to the point where I nearly committed suicide. 

I grafted and  walked out with two A's and a B, again I'm repeating the attitude at University, constantly getting A's ... That grade doesn't appear out of thin air, you HAVE to put the work in, regardless of how you feel. 

If you don't want to, then kiss your education goodbye, and land a basic job. 

But I know you can do this, if I can do it, you can do it! When I was at my all time low, I didn't think I was capable of picking up a pen, let alone sit an exam ... It took my head of year, several counselling sessions to put me back on track. You can do this, if you are sitting there thinking you can't ... You can, I believe in you Little One. 

DON'T LEAVE IT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE:

If you've been landed with an exam in 6 months time, don't wait a few days before the exam to start studying, by that time it's too late. You'll put too much pressure on yourself, in which you will forget the relevant information you need to know. If you feel you can perform under pressure then be my guest, I wouldn't risk it for that chocolate biscuit.
Space your time wisely, revise for an hour every day up until your exam, that way you can lock the facts away, until it's time to show that piece of paper what you are made of. 

Additionally, take your time, slow and steady in this circumstance wins the race, learn at a pace where you are most comfortable, there is no point skimming through a page and getting agitated with yourself because it's not sticking; and if you can't get through all the content, save it for another revision session.

REVISING TIP ONE | COLOUR COORDINATION:

Firstly, I've been using this technique since I started my GCSE's, and due to my grades, I think it's paid off pretty well, before you judge try it out for yourself.

What this consists of, is finding any colour of your choice, and delegating that specific colour to a topic, for example, I have to learn three main areas in digital marketing communications, orange is traditional media, green is new media, and blue is relevant theories.
Once you have the basics nailed down, and it comes to writing about said topic, you will start to remember which colour corresponds to each topic, so you can pick up the colour of the pen, and remember what you were writing.

On the other hand, it's also a great way to organise your notes, as portrayed in the images above having dedicated coloured sections for a specific topic is so helpful, when you look back at your revision notes, it'll be easier to differentiate between other information. Whereas, if it was all the same colour, you will waste time scanning through a page. With revision, it's all about making it easier, there it no point becoming stressful when preparing for exams, give yourself a break and relax. 

POST-IT-NOTES:

If you live by yourself perfect, if not then this will irritate your family members or partner, Chris has become increasingly agitated with post-it-notes all over the apartment; but I do whatever it takes to ensure that the information stays put.
Place these notes where you commonly go, for instance, I have one placed where I take my makeup off, meaning when I head off to bed, I can remember that specific fact. If you place these helpful guides everywhere, you are constantly being reminded of what you need to know. So much easier than sticking your head in a book for hours on end.
Additionally, when making these post-it-notes, make sure they are brief, simply because it's easier to remember as there's not much to digest, but you have to make sure that it covers all the relevant content. Also, as you can see in the images above, if you find it hard to remember information with words, draw simple illustrations that link with the point; just a little tip. 

REPEAT REPEAT REPEAT:

Right, this isn't fun, if anything it's really boring ... But it does work. This moved me from a G to a C in maths. It consists of writing the relevant information, and repeating it over and over again until it's turned into cement in your mind. I usually do this tactic, and then write it town in colour coordination, and then finally note it down on a post-it-note. That way, it's staying in my mind, and I can remind myself when need be. 

It's time consuming, but if I was going to recommend any revision tips, this would be the section to take away with you. 

ORGANISE YOUR TIME:

Everyone assumes that you have to spend hours and hours on end, and never have a life ... That's not the case at all! If you've given yourself time in advance for the exam, you are laughing. Get yourself a dairy, and delegate specific time zones where and when you revise, you can organise your personal life, hobbies and work.
It doesn't need to be as stressful as some people make it, just simply organise your time effectively, I come across as a nagging mum on steroids, but it's because I care! I'm trying to make your revision sessions easier, and not like the world is ending. 

GET SOMEONE TO TEST YOU:

How are you meant to know if the information is staying if you don't get someone to test you? Remember you have learnt this information in a very specific way, get your family member, or whoever you have around you, to test you in a different format. That way you are remembering the information and not the way you have written it. 

At the end of the test, you will know your strengths and weaknesses, which mean if there is something you are struggling with, you revise it, until it becomes your strength. 

I find this tip extremely helpful, besides it's a break from writing and being quiet, at least you get a form of human interaction. 

Now Little Ones! Time for me to head off and prepare for my video! I hope you didn't find this too nag worthy, but I'm doing it because I want you to pass your exams! Oh! And I haven't forgot my marketing clan, I know some of you have been asking for a marketing revision blog post; that is coming don't worry! 

I love you all so very much, I will see you tomorrow with something special! Remember to stay safe and stay tuned! :) x x x 

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Storytime-teacher lost my A-Level Photography coursework

Teacher lost my A-Level coursework

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Good evening Little ones, I've been working hard the past few days, but I miss you all so very much; so I'm here typing away. I thought that it was about time that I let you know me a little more, and by doing this, I thought that by telling you one of the most devastating stories would do the trick. Evidently, by the title of the blog post, most of you will understand why this was extremely stressful; and some of you may know how heartbreaking this situation is ... If one of you individuals have experienced this, I feel utterly sorry for you, because it breaks you down as a person.
Anyhow, I lived on and I'm now at University, if you want to know the details then have a wonder down below :).

If you want to read another story time click here!

Plus if you haven't already, check out my recent blog giveaway click here! 

Background information:

First and foremost, I was in Sixth Form for three years. Not because I failed my first year but because I didn't want to carry on what I was studying in the first year. I walked out of first year with 2A's and a B ... In English, Business and Finance. SO many people have stated, "why did you change your subjects, your grades were amazing". The truth of the matter was, I wasn't happy with what I was studying, I was so depressed and lost with what I wanted to do with my life. School lead to you to believe that this was it ... What you do know embodies you into the person you will become, which in my mind meant,if you mess it up due to low grades and sluggish passion; you might as well be on the streets. The pressure and wanting to succeed lead me to pick the subjects I've always wanted to do ... And I did, even though it meant staying an extra two years in Secondary School.

I decided to go down the creative route, and selected: Photography, Media and Product Design. I adored the first year, apart from the fact that somebody destroyed my Product Design Final, which I had to drop in the end, (that'll be another Storytime). I finished the first year with an A and a B, which again, I was over the moon with, I thought my final year would be the same, but it wasn't and you'll find out why in the next section.

What happened?

Fundamentally, it was a new start to the year, in Photography we were given a topic, in this case it what surfaces, we had to find artists in which we thought used multiple surfaces in their work; it could literally be anything, as long as you could analyse and justify why and how it was relevant. I went with 4 different artists, as I could differentiate the variety of styles each photographer used; as it would give you higher marks. Being an analytical person, I thought I would do well in that aspect. We all had to find the photographers, analyse their work, respond to their work by taking images of your own, edit them and select your final pieces and analyse them. This process took several hours, and you had to do at least 3 photo-shoots, for each individual artists ... Estimations, you had to take at least 200-250 photographs for ONE artist ... And I had four. You can only imagine the amount of time I had spent on my work. 

But it wasn't about just taking the images, the way you edited your images and why was the most important factor, this is where all the marks came from. In my case I had an artist which hand embellished their photographs, just to let you know how long it took for me to edit ONE image ... 3 hours. I had to hand-sew sequins and string to an a2 piece of paper ... I had 4 of these as my final piece to one artist. After I had actually completed my work, which took 7 months it was time for our review.

This is where the teacher would modify and mark your work, I was being told from the amount of of effort I was putting in, it was worth "at least an A".

When it came to find out my predicted grade my teacher sat me down and gave me a yellow slip of paper. It stated "U". I thought that it was upside-down, or she was having a bad day, because from what they were saying, it was worth AT LEAST AN A. She then said, "Amy, I'm really sorry to inform you but your work has been misplaced, so I had to mark you down as Upgradeable".

I heart stopped beating, my hands were sweating, I went into a full panic attack ... And then stopped. So much was going through my mind, I had been working on this for 7 months, we were about to be set our exam work, we had no more time to go back to our coursework, which was worth 60% OF OUR FINAL GRADE. For once, I actually stood up to myself and swore at this teacher, I went on about how she incompetent and why this was wrong on so many levels. My work my A grade worthy and she had the nerve to not only downgrade me, but to LOOSE my work. She has always gone on about how she adored my inordinately, and how I was different from all the other students. She didn't "misplace" anyone else's work but mine ... In which I thought she kept it for herself; or she's just stupid enough that she can't track where she's kept A-LEVEL WORK!

I refused to re-start my entire project, as that meant staying up various nights ... So I cracked on with the exam work, and complained to my head of year and refused to re-do my coursework. There were threats of them kicking me out because I was being so rude to my teacher ... But come on?! She lost my work, she should lose her job! If she can't look after A-Level work then she shouldn't be a teacher, it's disgusting. I had other subjects to revise for, and this incident made my world tumble around me. 

Luckily enough my head of year reviewed my work, and said, "because it was worth an A that's what we will grade you". 

I remember walking in the last day, and stating to other students that this teacher couldn't be trusted ... With her right there. I held my head up high, and was proud when my results came in for both my A-levels, because I managed to achieve good grades, with the stress of this awful indecent. 

I now study Marketing, and I adore it. I should have just stayed studying business, but at that time in my life I wasn't interested, but now my entire life is focused on Business and Marketing. 

This is now the end of the blog post Little ones, if you have any further questions please let me know in the comment section down below! I have so many other stories to tell you about my School life! 

If any of you have gone though this, as mentioned previously I really do feel for you; but it does make you a stronger person.

I love you all so very much, see you again very soon! Merry Christmas Little ones! Stay safe and stay tuned! :) x x x 

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