Raise Your Grade gives students – for the first time – a practical roadmap to guide you to exam revision success. It walks you through the tools and techniques you need to do exactly what it says on the tin. I debunk some popular study myths and lay out the do’s and don’ts of effective revision. In isolation, none of the techniques is new. But brought together in the end-to-end, step-by-step PUMP revision framework, approved by science and successful students alike, this book is unique. You will learn more, in less time.
Plan
Decide what you’ll revise and when. Get your Revision Resources together.
Understand
Strengthen your Understanding and capture it in comprehensive Revision Notes.
Memorise
Condense notes into Summaries to make key information stick. Review + Recall = Remember.
Practise
Apply what you know to exam-style questions. Solidify your knowledge and master your skills.
Looks fairly simple, right? Well don’t be fooled. It’s very simple. Four clear phases to take you from now, right up until exam day.
So the trick is to go through the four phases: Plan-Understand-Memorise-Practise, choosing your favourite tools and techniques – the ones that suit you – at each stage. I’ll show you a whole load of tried-and-tested techniques for getting the most nuggets of information into your brain in the shortest possible time. You’ll just need to pick the ones that suit the subject you’re studying, the type of exam you’re sitting and your personal preference. Be aware of your strengths and weaknesses and use the techniques that match.
This book is aimed at GCSE and A Level students, but PUMP will work at any level of study. The PUMP approach can also be used for all exam subjects, but the way you apply it will differ slightly, depending on the subject. Some subjects are focused on understanding lots of concepts (such as Biology or Economics); some require you to demonstrate skills (such as Maths or French). I will show you how to modify PUMP for each subject.
