Ah, revision! That hatred beast that seems entirely
pointless once you sit down in an exam and all possible knowledge required
leaves your head. It seems to drain energy from you and from the day, so that
no amount of flashcards, notes or extremely elaborate spider diagrams will ever
stick in your brain. Indeed, in my experience, revision has only provided me
with some highly irregular results – at GCSE, I revised hardest for my History
exam and came out with a grade lower that initially predicted, and at my
Government and Politics exam in January of this year, my revision became less
of looking at new stuff and more of learning brand new things that hadn't been
covered.
Still, revision seems to bring out in all of us a certain
knack for the art of procrastination. From a quick game on the Xbox that mysteriously
turns into an all day marathon to discovering a sudden urge to clean one’s
room, a chore long put off; or even to writing a long silent blog. Facebook
especially seems to become a black hole of trivial nonsense which suddenly seems
to become incredibly interesting and time consuming (oh Harry Potter memes, how
fast you can make the hours go!). Whichever which way, it seems that revision
is the one thing everyone wishes to avoid. But is it about to get worse? Should
government proposals go ahead, it certainly will be, at least for those taking
A Levels. Having already removed the possibility of January exams, cutting off
the chance of modular tests, education ministers are now considering reducing
the two separate years – AS and A2 – to one whole course.
Of course it means it’s harder (and means twice as much
revising *groan*) but it also means a much better test of knowledge. With the exception
of very few subjects, the whistle-stop one year courses mean that many can get
away with last minute cramming and remembering a few facts that you will never
think of again, just for the sake of the exam. In contrast, a two year course
will much more test the depth of your knowledge than the depth of your memory
bank – and although it may seem like a lot more work, it will be so much more
beneficial in the long run. As a taker of four essay based subjects (seriously,
nobody tried to stop me? Why?!), I can easily say that a two year course would
be much better. Though knowledge is, of course, key, it is the application of
it that really counts and that kind of skill can only be truly honed over a two
year basis. Admittedly, I won’t look forward to the state of my hand at the end
of the exam (likely to be twice as long) which already currently looks and feels
like it’s been put in the washing machine with several sharp knives at the end
of a two and a half hour English paper. The same cannot necessarily be said for
subjects such as the maths and sciences, where it is nearly all facts and knowledge
– and certainly not the same guarantee of crippling agony (though admittedly
they do have the unenviable position of being the last exams on the timetable,
so that they are confined to revision whilst others are free to enjoy the
non-existent sunshine). However I know that I would rather have two years to
practice my equations as opposed to just one – I would certainly find it much
easier to f(x)! (To all maths students and others who understood that, I
apologise for my sense of humour…)
For now though, at least, the endless cramming must
continue. Whilst I may extol the virtues of an extended course, I know I will
never reap the benefits of it and must instead prepare for an eternity of
boredom. One request I would make of examining bodies though – please move the exams
further away from the Easter holidays, so that I do not feel the need to revise
in the presence of a mountain of chocolate. Needless to say it is the most
comforting of procrastination and will inevitably lead to me rolling into my
exam hall rather than walking. As for now, I must return myself to the dreaded
revising – I wish luck to everyone taking exams this summer, at whatever age, and
to all essay writers: good luck to your hands!
Good to see this again! Good luck in your exams :)
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