!"#$% !'())* +,"-.$#/"(.

,

1hls LuLorlal can be looked on as a qulck sLarL gulde or an overvlew of Lhe whole sLudy process. 1here are
many many Lhlngs LhaL you can do LhaL wlll lmprove your sLudy sesslons and ulLlmaLely lead Lo beLLer
exam resulLs.

MosL sLudenLs wlll have one or Lwo sLudy meLhods" LhaL Lhey use all Lhe Llme. 1hls ls flne buL Lhere ls a
loL more Lo lL Lhan elLher readlng or noLe Laklng or hlghllghLlng LexL. ?ou have Lo be aware of whaL you
are dolng and how much you are acLually learnlng.

8elow are some blg sLudy concepLs LhaL l would use when sLudylng LhaL you may noL even be aware of.
WlLhouL golng lnLo Loo much deLall, Lhese meLhods are Lhere Lo glve you someLhlng Lo Lhlnk abouL, new
ldeas so LhaL you can look aL your sLudy meLhod and elLher add Lhese meLhods, lmprove whaL meLhods
you currenLly use or a blL of boLh.

My whole phllosophy ls based upon looklng aL exam quesLlons and how an exam ls sLrucLured and
worklng ouL how l could besL sLudy for Lhem.

1he alm ls Lo sLudy as effecLlvely as posslble wlLh Lhe mlnlmal efforL needed Lo achleve lL. lL doesn'L have
Lo be Loo palnful!

1he Lwo Lhlngs you need Lo be aware of are Lhe 0#1,"("% and 0#1)("% of your sLudy. 1he quanLlLy parL
should be easy and slmply comes down Lo moLlvaLlon. lf you are noL dolng enough Lhen l can'L really help
you.

1he quallLy parL ls Lhe dlfflculL parL and LhaL ls where mosL people do noL know whaL Lo do. All Lhese
LuLorlals wlll help you lmprove Lhe quallLy.


2-31' +" 4.5,

A greaL Llp for sLudylng ls Lo break Lhlngs down lnLo small secLlons. l puL Lhls Llp" flrsL as lL carrles on
rlghL LhroughouL Lhe whole sLudy skllls secLlon and ln exam Lechnlque Loo.

lor me, Lhls ls posslbly Lhe besL Llp you can geL wlLh any of Lhls sLuff. ?ou can use lL Lo sLrucLure revlslon
sesslons, break up quesLlons lnLo smaller more manageable secLlons or as a general meLhod Lo sLrucLure
anyLhlng.

As soon as l geL any problem, Lhe flrsL Lhlng l do ls Lo look how l can break lL down. WheLher lL's a shorL
Lhree mark quesLlon or a full essay, you can always break lL down and make lL sLrucLured.

Colng back Lo Lhe sLarL, a loL of peoples maln problem ls LhaL Lhey can'L sLarL or lL Lakes Lhem a long Llme
Lo sLarL and Lhey end up wasLlng hours. SLudenLs all have several sub[ecLs, many Loplcs wlLhln each of
Lhose, loLs of course work Lo do, busy llves eLc. 1he end resulL ls LhaL lL can be very .63- 573)8(,9 and
you end up dolng noLhlng or walL unLll lL ls Loo laLe.

lf you have a pro[ecL or a sub[ecL LhaL has many parLs Lo lL, you can'L posslbly do Lhem all aL once, even
Lhough Lhey may carry equal lmporLance. 1haL's [usL Lhe way lL ls.

?ou need Lo devoLe your aLLenLlon Lo one parL aL a Llme and lC8CL1 abouL Lhe resL of lL. 1hls
undoubLedly carrles over lnLo oLher areas of people's llves. l'm sure you know someone who has 101
Lhlngs Lo do and Lhey end up waLchlng Lv all nlghL? 1hls ls Lhe overwhelmlng effecL ln acLlon.
So Lhe flrsL Lhlng Lo do ls break lL down lnLo secLlons, as many as you llke, lL doesn'L maLLer, ln facL, Lhe
more Lhe beLLer. 1hls Lakes some of Lhe welghL of your mlnd and mosL lmporLanLly, allows you Lo acLually
do someLhlng. ?ou Lhen can slmply focus upon whaL small parL aL a Llme, glvlng lL your full focus.

8y breaklng Lhlngs down, Lhls ls really Lhe flrsL sLep ln glvlng your sLudy some sLrucLure and organlzaLlon.
AnoLher word assoclaLed wlLh sLrucLure ls prlorlLlse'. lL may seem borlng or lrrelevanL Lo your speclflc
sub[ecL buL Lhls ls masslve. lf you are noL sLrucLured and organlzed Lhen you are ln Lrouble.


:1'3 1 !"1-"

Pavlng Lalked abouL overwhelm, we can even break down how we prepare Lo sLudy by slmply maklng a
commlLmenL Lo begln. uon'L worry abouL whaL you're golng Lo do, any speclflc problems or Loplcs, your
sole focus should be [usL Lo sLarL.

Maklng a sLarL ls by far Lhe hardesL parL. SLarLlng mlghL seem llke Lhe mosL baslc Lhlng we could Lalk
abouL buL maklng Lhe menLal efforL [usL Lo open a book ls ofLen a huge problem. lf you can make sLarLlng
a hablL, Lhen you wlll flnd LhaL sLudylng lsn'L a blg deal and nelLher wlll revlslon be.
lL's ofLen Lhe LhoughL of sLudylng and Lhe (8;)(3$ paln LhaL lL brlngs LhaL ls Lhe real problem. Pave you
ever found LhaL you worrled abouL someLhlng for days Lhen when you were dolng lL or afLer you flnlshed,
you LhoughL, whaL on earLh was l worrled abouL?

SLudylng ls Lhe same. 1he acLual dolng lL parL ls nowhere near as bad as Lhe Lhlnklng abouL lL parL. 1he
problem ls LhaL Lhe Lhlnklng parL can paralyse you menLally and you end up lnvenLlng 100 reasons why
noL Lo sLarL.

<(;= someone gave me a Llp LhaL before you go Lo bed, wrlLe down or Lhlnk of whaL you are golng Lo do
Lhe nexL day. lf you have loLs of Lhlngs Lo do, Lhen plck .,)% one or Lwo of Lhem, and no more. WrlLe
Lhem down. 1hls goes back Lo prlorlLlzlng and breaklng Lhlngs down. lL should enable you Lo do
someLhlng lnsLead of noLhlng. lL's [usL one or Lwo slmple Lasks.

lf you are sLlll sLruggllng, Lell yourself LhaL you wlll sLarL Lhe Lask aL say 10am and you wlll work aL lL for 3
mlnuLes Lhen sLop. no more Lhan 3 mlnuLes. 1haL's easy lsn'L lL?

1he beauLy of Lhls ls LhaL once you do begln you Lend Lo keep on golng. lL wlll geL you sLarLed and Lhe
more you sLarL Lhlngs Lhe easler lL becomes Lhe nexL Llme.


>1-(3"%

Assumlng LhaL you have sLarLed sLudylng or revlslng, one of Lhe blggesL problems ls boredom. l used Lo
haLe revlslng, so l know whaL lL feels llke. lL mlghL be sunny ouLslde and you don'L wanL Lo be lndoors, you
mlghL noL even llke Lhe sub[ecL very much or you mlghL have oLher Lhlngs you'd raLher be dolng. 1hls
leads Lo a menLal confllcL beLween whaL you wanL Lo do and whaL you know you should be dolng, so you
become very resLless and aglLaLed.

8oredom ls ofLen Lhe resulL of Lhls Loo, whlch wlll affecL Lhe CuALl1? of sLudy LhaL you do. lL's noL [usL
abouL sLudylng for hour upon hour buL how you can use Lhls Llme effecLlvely: 0#1,"("% 1,$ 0#1)("%.

Lven Lhe mosL moLlvaLed people geL bored and Lhelr revlslon suffers. 8uL Lhey wlll ofLen flghL Lhrough Lhe
boredom Lhrough sheer wlll power, sLlll puLLlng ln Lhe hours, buL Lhe quallLy of Lhelr sLudylng won'L be as
good as lL could be.

1he besL way Lo Lackle Lhls ls noL Lo flghL lL buL Lo prevenL lL as much as posslble. 1hls means addlng
vA8lL1? Lo your sLudy. 1here has Lo be varleLy ln everyLhlng LhaL you do, from whaL you sLudy, where
you sLudy and how you sLudy.


?)1"31#*

1he boredom problem ls sLrongly assoclaLed wlLh plaLeaus". A plaLeau [usL means LhaL your mlnd
becomes used Lo whaL you are dolng and Lhe Lechnlque sLops belng as effecLlve. ?ou could be dolng
amazlng Lhlngs for a week or Lwo, feel llke you are learnlng a loL buL aL some polnL lf you keep dolng Lhe
same Lhlngs over and over, you wlll hlL a plaLeau.

ln Lhls slLuaLlon you need Lo change someLhlng. And agaln, Lhls ls achleved by keeplng your sLudy varled.
1hls scenarlo ofLen applles Lo people who are Lrylng very hard and are sLlll noL geLLlng Lhe grades Lhey
wanL. 1hey [usL keep dolng Lhe same Lhlng over and over for 7 hours a day! 1hey could probably geL by
wlLh dolng 3 hours lnsLead.

A plaLeau can also be looked aL as a comforL zone and once you are ln lL, lL ls dlfflculL Lo geL ouL of. So, be
aware of whaL you are dolng and how long you have been dolng lL for. uo you have more Lhan one sLudy
meLhod LhaL you consLanLly use? uo you mlx lL up? lf noL, Lhen you have Lo change someLhlng and glve
your braln someLhlng new Lo process.you need Lo challenge yourself and LesL yourself.lL's a consLanLly
LvCLvlnC process.

<(;= lf lL feels dlfflculL or hard work aL flrsL when you change someLhlng Lhen LhaL ls acLually a good slgn
as your braln ls Lelllng you LhaL lL ls noL used Lo lL. lL ls llkely Lo be helplng!


@71))3,93*

Along wlLh varleLy, you also need Lo be consLanLly challenglng and LesLlng yourself. lL should be an
obvlous Lhlng Lo do buL noL many people do lL. ?ou MuS1 know lf whaL you are dolng ls worklng and lf
you are learnlng as much as you Lhlnk you are.

SLudenLs ofLen overesLlmaLe how much Lhey know. 1hey Lhlnk LhaL Lhey know someLhlng well as Lhey
have been lmmersed ln a book for an hour or so. Powever, lf someone asks Lhem a really slmple quesLlon
on lL, Lhey can'L answer lL.

So you need Lo do Lhls for yourself. ?ou need Lo be asklng yourself loLs and loLs of slmple
quesLlons...consLanLly. noL aL Lhe end of a secLlon or Loplc. 8uL all Lhe Llme.

AnoLher way Lo look aL challenges ls Lo make Lhlngs dlfflculL on purpose. lf lL feels hard work or palnful or
dlfflculL Lhen lL ls sLreLchlng you and your knowledge ls growlng ln some way.

+A %.# A33) /.8A.-"1B)3 "73, (" (* ;-.B1B)% ,." 5.-'(,9

Some sLudenLs unforLunaLely shy away from LesLlng Lhemselves as Lhey feel LhaL lL ls golng Lo harm Lhelr
confldence. uon'L do Lhls. ?ou need Lo know where you are. And you need Lo now as soon as posslble. lf
you can'L answer a slmple quesLlon Lhen go over Lhe noLes agaln unLll you can do lL.



:1(, @.,/3;"*

Cne of Lhe key Lhlngs when sLudylng ls Lo look for Lhe lmporLanL concepLs and Lo undersLand Lhem. 1hls
ls whaL examlner prlmarlly LesL you on. 1he core or baslc concepLs are Lhe mosL lmporLanL Lhlngs LhaL
Lhere ls. 1here are of course loLs of llLLle deLalls Loo buL you need Lo nall Lhe maln concepLs as Lhey wlll
counL for a hlgh percenLage of Lhe exam.

1he ldea ls LhaL you can Lake a concepL, learn how lL works lnslde ouL and Lhen apply lL Lo as many
dlfferenL examples as you can. 1he amounL you have Lo remember" ls Lherefore mlnlmal. Some people
do lL Lhe oLher way round where Lhey Lry Lo flnd every example ever wrlLLen. 1he problem ls LhaL Lhe
quesLlons wlll change every year, and even lf lL ls only a blL, sLudenLs Lhen can'L do lL as Lhey don'L know
how Lhe maln concepLs works".

So alm Lo undersLand flrsL and foremosL. lL mlghL seem llke lL Lakes a whlle Lo learn one llLLle parL buL ln
Lhe long run lL wlll save you loLs of Llme and marks.


?1""3-,*

8elng able Lo spoL paLLerns wlll enable you Lo cuL down on memory work Loo. 1here are paLLerns
everywhere. ?ou need Lo sLudy wlLh Lhls ln mlnd Loo. Always be on Lhe look ouL for slmllarlLles and
dlfferences. 1hls ofLen means LhaL lf Lhere are Lwo slmllar concepLs LhaL you can remember one and
slmply reverse lf for Lhe oLher, Lherefore cuLLlng your revlslon down by 30 lmmedlaLely.

Always be asklng why dld Lhey use LhaL here buL noL Lhere? Where else can Lhey use lL? ?ou are
consLanLly bulldlng llnks and Lhese llnks are how you make exam quesLlons a loL easler. 8uL you need Lo
be looklng for Lhem. When you Lhen sLarL pasL papers Lhe llnks and whaL Lhey are asklng you wlll be more
obvlous and auLomaLlc Lhan for someone who hasn'L sLudled wlLh Lhls ln mlnd.

lf Lhere ls a loL of lnformaLlon on a Loplc, lL ls llkely LhaL Lhere are general Lhemes ln Lhere somewhere. lf
you can ldenLlfy Lhese, klnd of llke flndlng a general formula, Lhen you can apply lL Lo Lhem all and noL
have Lo worry abouL rememberlng so much.

AdopL a sclenLlflc loglcal approach Lo Lhls. lor example, Lngllsh essays, all you need Lo do ls see an
example of a good essay and analyse lL, Lear lL Lo pleces, whaL have Lhey done, whaL secLlons, whaL
words/phrases and you have a ready made LemplaLe. 1hen use Lhe same sLrucLure for yours.
Lven use pasL papers wlLh Lhe alm Lo ldenLlfy whaL core concepLs Lhey are asklng you on. 1here wlll be
paLLerns Lhere Loo and lL should become very repeLlLlve.


<73 3,$ -3*#)"

1he polnL of Lhls ls for you Lo pass Lhe exam or Lo geL whaLever grade you deslre.

LveryLhlng you do has Lo be wlLh Lhls ln mlnd. LveryLhlng l Lell you ls wlLh Lhls ln mlnd. lL may sound
ruLhless, and lL ls. l am noL here Lo wasLe your Llme. l am glvlng you Lhe essenLlals and provldlng you wlLh
a sLrucLure Lo perform Lo your poLenLlal. LveryLhlng ls geared Lowards Lhe exam.

1hls can resulL ln you seemlngly belng .63- ;-3;1-3$, whlch ls Lhe way lL has Lo be. ?ou wlll approach Lhe
exam wlLh convlcLlon and a quleL confldence. ?ou wlll be able Lo use Lhese skllls over and over ln llfe from
[ob lnLervlews Lo sporLs Lo drlvlng LesLs Lo everyday offlce llfe. unforLunaLely, Lhese exam/sLudy skllls are
noL LaughL ln schools, Lhey have Lo be learned and many people never geL Lhe full plcLure.