Friday, July 04, 2014

How to Prepare for Your English Exams



You may be wondering what we could possibly tell you other than that the best way to prepare for an upcoming exam is to do as much revision as possible. However, it’s the way you do this revision that’s important; sitting and reading notes over and over again will bore you and isn’t always the best way to revise. The way you organise your work can make a huge difference, as can the atmosphere you revise in. In this post, we’ll be giving you few tips on exam preparation, which we hope will help you to avoid feeling too stressed and make you feel as confident as possible. If you've been taking English lessons with Twin English Centres and are planning to take an exam soon, make sure you read on!

Advice for the exam:
- Check the time and location beforehand
- Plan your travel; how to get there, what buses/trains you can use to get there
- Allow plenty of time to travel there; never assume that the journey time the internet has provided you with is correct. If you think it will take 1 hour to get there, leave 2 hours before, in case there’s traffic or there are train cancellations
- The address at which you booked your tests will not always be the address you will be taking the exam, so ask your teacher to make sure you go to the right place
- Always read any information, rules and advice available to you about the exam you are taking
- Do not forget to bring photo ID with you if necessary, and fulfil any other requirements of the exam


Here a few tips on how to prepare for exams
It’s crucial you organise your study space well, and study somewhere quiet without distractions where you feel comfortable. Some people find that having relaxing music playing in the background can help them to concentrate, but this doesn’t apply to everyone; you may find you work better in silence. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time for revision, as cramming it in last minute rarely helps, (it will probably just cause you to panic). Plan out when you are going to revise by drawing up a timetable, and make sure you stick to it. Keep the area you’re going to be working in clear so you don’t get paperwork mixed up or become confused. Something that may help to avoid boredom is getting together with class mates and revising together, so you can help each other out with things you struggle with and maybe even have a go at quizzing each other. Make sure that when you’re revising you’re eating a good, balanced diet; ‘brain’ foods, which can help with concentration, include fish, blueberries, yoghurt and nuts. Also, make sure you keep yourself hydrated by drinking plenty of water, as this can help you to stay focussed too.


Don’t forget to allow yourself regular breaks, so you can stay focussed and take in as much information as possible. We advise asking your teachers/tutors about what will be included in the exam, as they will probably be able to give you a good idea of what topics you will be tested on and what sort of questions you will need to answer. Different people learn best in different ways, so you should experiment with different ways of revising. Many people find it difficult to just read a lot of text and take it in, so often drawing diagrams and flow charts using key words can be a great way of remembering things.

Last of all, try not to let yourself become too stressed! Hopefully if you follow our tips and spend a good amount of time revising you will feel confident, and you should get the results you deserve.

Good luck!