The winter break is a time for celebration with friends and family, and for many students, it’s also the holiday surrounded by mock exams. So it might be tempting to disconnect from your studies, but the winter break is actually an important holiday to prepare for the summer examination season for all students. So, if you want to know how to boost your grades and turn that C into an A*, read on!
1. Keep a positive attitude
The first, and perhaps most important step, is maintaining a positive attitude in relation to your studies. You might feel burnt out, you might have been disappointed with your most recent test score, but it’s really important to remember that to improve your grades, you need to stay balanced and focussed. There’s little value in immediately spending eight hours a day frantically reading through your textbook with no organization or direction. Instead, take a few days off from your studies and give yourself a break! Once you’ve rested, you can approach your studies again with fresh eyes.
2. Start self-assessing your work
Go through all of the exam-style practice work that you have done. For science and maths-based subjects, dig up every end-of-term or practice paper you’ve completed; for essay-based subjects, find every practice paper as well as every essay that you have completed. Once you’ve collected all of this work together, make two lists. The first should be comprised of all the different topics that can come up in the exam, and the second of all the different types of questions you were asked on each topic. You will notice a pattern in any exam paper because they only have a handful of question types (such as 10-marker essay questions, or 6-marker paragraph questions, or 2-marker single answer questions). Once you have prepared lists for all of your subjects, you can begin to self-assess your work!
Using your lists, start making a tally chart of every place you are losing marks, both in terms of topics, as well as question style. Once you have worked through a few papers, you will begin to see specific topics and question types that have accumulated many more tally marks than others – which shows you exactly where you want to start improving! This method allows you to quickly identify areas for improvement which are hiding right in front of your eyes. This process might take a while, but it’s really important to enable effective revision.
3. Organize your academic life
Another crucial tool in your toolbox is being organized. One important element of organization is keeping all of your work in a logical format so you can quickly access what you want when you want it. If you have notes strewn across your room, buy some big folders and folder dividers, and break up your subjects (e.g. History), into its sub-topics (in my case, this was the Soviet Union, Mao’s China, the British Empire from 1756 to 1914, and the Indian Independence Movement). If you’re unsure, you can easily find all the major and sub-topics for your subject by taking a quick look on your examination board’s website.
Once you have divided your notes into topics, you can start filing away all those sheets, printouts and practice papers in chronological order (yes, this is why your teachers always tell you to put the date at the top of your paper!). Now you will be able to find every piece of work you’ve written in an instant – which is really helpful when you want to quickly look back over your notes down the line.
4. Find the right revision method for you
One trap that students can easily fall into is thinking that there’s only one way to revise, or that if you revise best in one way, you should only use that way for every bit of revision you do. In reality, everyone thinks differently and everyone needs to find the right revision methods for them. Be honest with what works best for you, even if it isn’t your favorite, and don’t be afraid of trying a new method. Some even have fun names, such as the Pomodoro Technique, where you spend 25 minutes revising and then take a 5-minute break.
You should also think about how you structure your time, on a day-to-day basis and a week-to-week. For example, I never enjoyed revising the same subject on the same day every week; instead, I liked to make a list of everything I needed to cover in a week and choose what I wanted to do when I was in the mood. However, you might find that you respond really well to having a repetitive plan every week.
Either way, the winter break is the ideal time to start working out how you like to study – the earlier you find the right method for you, the easier the upcoming months will be for you!
5. Reach out to your teachers
If you’re struggling with your subject and don’t know how to jump up a grade, an obvious person to reach out to is the person guiding you every week – your teacher! If you’re looking for more resources to work from, simply send them an email or ask after a lesson. If you’re studying an essay-based subject, this is especially important, as it’s almost impossible to mark an essay yourself. Similarly, if you simply can’t get your head around a new method in your Maths class, ask your teacher to go over the method again – they’ll almost always make time for you if you show them that you are proactive, ask, and get the most out of your time at school.
6. Above all – don’t overdo it!
The most important thing to remember is that you need to take a break and look after yourself. As school becomes increasingly stressful and exams draw nearer, it’s important to keep a sense of perspective. Always make sure you’re finding time to pursue your hobbies, sports, extracurriculars, and other interests. The time you spend away from your studies allows you to approach work again with fresh eyes.
Similarly, never sacrifice your own health for work. Pulling all-nighters and drinking copious amounts of caffeine almost always results in sub-par work whilst also knocking you off balance for the rest of the week. You need to look after yourself to ensure you achieve the best results you can!
Above all, keep a sense of perspective. Remember that successful revision to boost your school grades is a long game, not an overnight process. Suddenly cramming half a year’s worth of studying in a week is impossible – which is why the winter break is the right moment to organize your academic life and set the course for success in the summer!
By Akshar Abhyankar, December 2021
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