Exam tutor and education expert reveal the ultimate study hacks to help secure top marks

With GCSE and A Level exams looming, many British teenagers will spend their evenings surrounded by flashcards and papers from the past.

But it can be difficult to know exactly how to prepare for exams when you’re under pressure – from how long it takes to revise to the best learning techniques.

FEMAIL spoke to education experts and teachers to round up their study hacks and the best advice for achieving those top grades.

Robbie Bryant, an education expert at Open Study College, and Ishali Ruparelia, a lecturer and medical student at the University of Nottingham with more than 900 hours of tutoring at MyTutor to her name, each shared their most valuable wisdom.

Read on for six revision tips, tricks, and methods you need to know before heading to the library.

1. Create reminders

The first revision hack is from Robbie Bryant, an education expert at Open Study College.

He explains that creating mnemonics is one of the best ways to revise effectively and also add a “personal touch to your learning.”

Robbie said: ‘Mnemonics are memory aids that use associations or patterns to help you remember information.

‘These techniques can help you remember information more easily and creatively. Moreover, they can make studying more fun and interesting.’

Here are some examples of mnemonics that the expert recommends using:

• Acronyms: create a word or phrase based on the first letter of each item you want to remember
• Rhymes: create a rhyme or jingle that incorporates the information you were trying to remember, such as “i before e, except after c”
• Visualization: creating mental images or stories that connect the information you want to remember, such as imagining a giant tree with branches representing different topics
• Chunking: grouping related items into smaller, more manageable chunks, such as memorizing a phone number in three sets of digits

2. Surround yourself with the information

Secondly, the educational expert advises to surround yourself with the information so that you cannot forget it.

He said: ‘Invest in a few post-its and write down the most important information or facts you need to remember for your exams.

‘Place the post-it notes in places in your home that you visit most often, whether that’s the kettle, fridge door or bathroom mirror.

‘This is also called active memory. This hack allows you to move information from your short-term memory to your long-term memory, making it especially useful for exam revision.”

3. Learn the subject

Robbie’s third piece of advice is that one of the most successful ways to learn something is to teach it.

He suggests, “Teaching your friends or family a lesson on the subject will give you a deeper understanding of the subject.

‘It will also highlight any areas you are 100% clear on, and make your next revision session more effective.’

This is also known as the Feynman Technique, a study approach that teacher Ishali describes as “super effective,” allowing you to “consolidate knowledge quickly and help you see which bits you don’t understand.”

Just choose a concept to learn, teach it to someone else, return to the source material if you get stuck, and then simplify your explanations and create analogies.

4. The Pomodoro Technique

The education expert’s latest hack is to use the Pomodoro Technique: a time management method that allows you to break your study sessions into manageable intervals.

He explains, “Choose a task to focus on, such as revising a specific topic or writing an essay. Set a timer for 25 minutes.

“Work on the task without any distractions until the timer goes off. Take a 5 minute break.

‘Repeat the cycle four times and then take a longer break of 20-30 minutes. This technique can help you stay motivated and avoid burnout by giving you regular opportunities to rest and recharge.

“It can also help you build momentum and tackle more complex tasks more efficiently.”

5. Use examiner reports

Meanwhile, veteran teacher Ishali Ruparelia’s top tip, which she thinks most students forget, is to use examiners’ reports.

She revealed, “This is such an underrated instrument that almost no student seems to know anything about.

‘Examiner reports are published with each previous paper and can be found on the websites of the examination board. They are essentially an overview of all the common pitfalls students make during exams.

‘There are also often sample answers to essay questions with written feedback from an examiner, so these reports can help you gain insight into how examiners think.

‘Reading these in addition to doing past papers is the best way to improve your exam technique.’

6. Manage your time consciously and, if necessary, hire a tutor

Ishali’s final piece of advice is to be conscious of your time and try to figure out what time of day your mind is the ‘freshest’.

She instructs, “Make it a routine to revise intensively during those hours, rather than doing long sessions of unfocused work during the day.

Likewise, during the hours of the day when you’re feeling a little sluggish (for me, this was always right after lunch or after I’d just gotten home from school), you can consciously reserve that time as breaks to do what you enjoy.

Whether that’s going to the gym, seeing your friends or just watching Netflix.’

Because she tutors herself, the medical student also emphasizes how much tutoring can help students.

She added: ‘The teachers are all university students or recent graduates, so we are all super friendly and knowledgeable about how to do well on exams, having recently taken them ourselves!

‘Using a tutor can be extremely helpful, even if it’s just a few weeks before your exam, as they can personalize your lesson, help you fill in the gaps with content, boost your exam technique and give you the be able to share common mistakes students make with questions.

‘Most people are surprised at how much of a difference having a tutor can make; all of these factors could easily get you a grade or two higher.”