18 Tried and Tested Revision Techniques for GCSE

School will teach you the content you need to know in your GCSE exams.

But one thing they often won’t cover is how to revise for your GCSEs. Don’t worry, that’s what we’re here for!

Here, we’ll break down 18 effective revision techniques for GCSE – so you can memorise all that info and get exam ready.

18 of the best revision techniques for GCSE

There are so many different revision techniques to choose from when you’re revising for your exams.

But there’s no one ‘best’ revision technique for GCSE.

Rather, the best techniques for you will depend on lots of different factors, like your…

Learning style
Subjects
Strengths
Weaknesses

So, take the time to try several revision techniques to find which ones suit you best.

Here are some top GCSE revision techniques recommended by our team of education experts and tutors, to help you maximise your productivity this exam season.

1. Make flash cards

You can find all sorts of flash cards online to help you with your GCSE revision.

But we always recommend creating your own. After all, sifting through all that information to decide what to put on them is a valuable revision exercise in itself!

Write the topic and sub-topic on the front, with a summary of the points you need to know on the back.

Or, write a short question (eg. from a past paper) on the front, with the answer on the back.

Then, use your flash cards to test your knowledge – or pass them to a friend or family member and ask them to test you instead.

2. Create mind maps

Mind maps can be a good revision technique for GCSE – especially if you’re a visual learner.

Before you start revising a topic, why not make a mind map summarising everything you know about it?

Then, compare your mind map to your revision notes to work out what gaps you need to fill.

You can also make a mind map at the end of a topic, to check whether you’ve absorbed all the information you need to learn – if you leave something off, that’s a sign you need to go back and spend more time revising it!

Top tip: Colour coding your mind maps can help you to visualise information more easily.

3. Look, say, cover, write, check

Some learners learn best by writing, while others learn best by listening or speaking.

This hack maximises all three to really help the info to stick in your mind.

Learn a key piece of information from your textbook or revision notes
Cover it over
Say it out loud
Write it down
Check it
Repeat

Keep repeating the process until you know the content like the back of your hand.

4. Plan revision power hours

A revision power hour is a great way to maximise your productivity – especially if you only have a short time to revise.

It consists of five simple steps:

Choose a past paper question (or part of a question)
Revise the content you need to know to answer that question
Do the question
Mark your answer using the mark scheme from the exam board’s website
Check how good your marking is with a teacher or tutor

Top tip: You can find past papers for your subjects right here on the Tutorful website – get started.

5. Stick up post-it notes

Post-it notes are a great way to absorb short snippets of information without the effort.

Simply write the info you need to memorise on colour-coded post-its and stick them in places where you’ll see them on a regular basis – like the bathroom mirror.

Then, go about your week.

By repeatedly looking at the info you need to memorise, it should eventually stick!

6. Record your notes and listen to them back

On a similar note, why not find ways to revise on the go?

Lots of learners like to record themselves reading through their revision notes as a voice note.

Then, listen to it back on the go – whether you’re heading out for a jog, doing the washing up or sitting on the train.

Repeatedly listening to the information you need to remember can help to cement it in your mind.

7. Make up songs, rhymes and mnemonics

Make up rhymes, change the lyrics to your favourite songs, or create mnemonics to help you quickly recall key info in the exam room.

As an example, the mnemonic ‘FOIL’ can help learners to remember expanding quadratics in GCSE Maths (first, outer, inner, last).

There’s no rhyme or song too silly – if it jogs your memory in the exam room, that’s all that matters!

8. Set a timer

There’s only so much a brain can assimilate in a day.

To help you stay productive without burning out, why not use a timer?

Set it for short intervals – anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour, depending on your attention span and bandwidth – and take breaks in between.

This way, you’ll be putting the pressure on yourself to get work done, without tiring yourself out.

“I would say don’t cram, take 20-minute study sessions then take a break.”

– Katherine R, English GCSE tutor

9. Adapt a boardgame

Keep your revision fresh by adapting one of your favourite boardgames to make it into a handy revision tool.

For instance, you could just swap out the cards for questions about the subject you’re revising that day (better still, if you’ve already made flash cards, just use them instead!).

Who said productivity and fun can’t go hand in hand?!

10. Complete past papers under timed conditions

Completing past papers is a great way to familiarise yourself with the types of questions you might come across in the real thing.

Plus, doing them under timed conditions will allow you to practise managing your time, implementing exam techniques, and dealing with exam pressure.

We always recommend completing past papers regularly during your revision.

This way, you can get a clear idea of where you’re at in your learning, and see exactly where your strengths and weaknesses lie.

Then, tweak your revision timetable to spend more time on the areas that need the most improvement before exam day.

Top tip: You can download tons of past papers for each subject and exam board right here on the Tutorful website!

“I would always favour past paper revision over staring into textbooks.

“Seeing how concepts are applied in question form can be very useful. However, this can differ for some students.”

– Matthew B, Maths and English GCSE tutor

11. Paraphrase what you’re learning

Lots of learners memorise content from textbooks or revision notes by repeating it back – whether that’s speaking it aloud or writing it down.

However, it’s important to make sure you fully understand it – rather than just learning it word-for-word.

Paraphrasing the content you’ve memorised in your own words is a valuable exercise that will help you to check that you really do ‘get it.’

12. Draw diagrams

Drawing a diagram is a great form of active revision.

To give you a couple of examples, you could draw out and label the water cycle if you’re revising for GCSE Biology.

Or, you could create a Venn diagram comparing the similarities and differences between the Church of England and Roman Catholics if you’re revising for your RS GCSE.

Top tip: Stick your diagram up on the wall afterwards so you have a handy revision tool to refer to.

13. Use a range of resources

If staring down at your GCSE textbooks and revision notes is getting boring, don’t be afraid to mix it up a little.

There are lots of resources available to help you revise for your GCSEs, such as:

Revision guides
YouTube channels
Podcasts
Revision apps
Revision websites (like BBC Bitesize)

A GCSE tutor will also be able to point you towards the best revision resources for your learning style.

Student exploring GCSE revision resources online

14. Experiment with sorting and organising activities

Sorting and organising activities can be a fun and practical way to test your recall.

As an example, if you’re revising for GCSE History, you could place events on different cards and jumble them up. Then, try and put them in the right order to create a timeline.

Or, if you’re revising for GCSE French, you could print out key nouns from your vocab list without the articles (le or la). Then, sort them into feminine and masculine, to practise getting the right gender.

15. Start a study group

Starting a study group can be a great way to hold yourself accountable and boost your productivity.

They can be especially helpful for subjects where there isn’t just one right answer – like GCSE English Literature.

In this case, you could spend time discussing potential responses to various texts and exam questions as a group. That way, you can gain different perspectives and ideas to have up your sleeve in the exam room.

Top tip: Choose your study mates wisely – the last thing you need is someone who’ll distract you!

16. Stick up past paper questions

Practise developing arguments for longer essay-style questions by sticking up questions from past papers around your room in large font.

Each time your glance settles on one, take some time to think about possible arguments and supporting evidence.

Then, write these on post-it notes and stick them up around each question to make a giant mind map!

17. Become the teacher

Teaching someone else the content you’ve just learned can help to boost your confidence on a topic.

If you find that you’re struggling to get your student to understand the concept you’re teaching them, that’s a sign that you probably don’t know it well enough yourself yet.

So, spend some extra time revising it and then try again.

18. Keep a log of what you’ve achieved

Last but not least, we would always recommend keeping a log of what you feel you’ve achieved so far in your GCSE revision.

This can be as simple as just ticking topics off a checklist.

Not only will it help you to make sure you’ve covered everything you need to before exam day, but it’ll also increase your motivation by allowing you to see how far you’ve come!

Get an expert’s help finding the best GCSE revision techniques for you

As you can see, there are so many different ways you can revise for your GCSEs. The trick is to find the techniques that work best for you and use them to maximise your productivity ahead of your exams.

But you don’t have to tackle this alone!

Our expert GCSE tutors are experts at bringing their subjects to life.

They’ll be able to design bespoke revision sessions tailored around your strengths, weaknesses and learning style, to help you make the biggest improvements in the time you have left before exam day.

With one-to-one attention and dedicated time that you won’t usually get at school, it’s a great way to improve your GCSE grades and reach your full potential in the exams.

FAQs

Is 2 hours of revision a day enough for GCSE?

That depends on how you learn best and how early you start revising!

Ideally, yes, we’d recommend revising for no more than 4 hours a day for your GCSEs. However, you’ll need to start early to make this possible.

What is the best revision strategy?

The best revision strategy is often to complete a past paper in order to identify your strengths and weaknesses. Then, use your preferred revision techniques to work on the areas that you’ve identified need the most improvement.

That said, the best revision strategy will vary from learner to learner, and can differ from subject to subject as well.

For subject-specific revision tips and tricks, head over to the relevant revision guides:

What is the best GCSE revision tool?

There’s no one ‘best’ GCSE revision tool, as this will all vary depending on you and your learning style.

However, a few great resources include BBC Bitesize, Seneca, and of course, past papers specific to your subject and exam board.

A GCSE tutor can also help to maximise your productivity with one-to-one revision sessions that take into account your strengths, weaknesses and learning style.

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