Looking for advice regarding revising for exams

[JoeP]

I'm 16 years old, and really like electronics - I plan to study EE at university (it wouldn't be Oxford/Cambridge, as they don't do EE, just general engineering), then go on to be an electronic engineer. I'm good at maths (I was the only one in my year group to sit my maths GCSE a year early, and I got 229/240. I also scored 58/60 in the UKMT intermediate olympiad), and I've had quite a bit of experience in electronics (I lead the winning team of the national PA raspberry pi awards, I'm working on a 250W electric go-cart, and I've done quite a few small projects using PICs, some of which I've started to write up in a sort of portfolio).

I'm looking for some guidance for how much revision I should be doing for my GCSE exams coming up in May/June. I reckon that with minimal revision (enough so that I'm pretty familiar with the subject content), I could get 6-8 A*s (partly due to the extra GCSEs I'm taking, which will mean I have 15 in total), then a few As and Bs, but nothing lower than that. However, there's an ongoing battle with my parents, who think I should do loads of revision to try and increase my grades in a few subjects.

One of those subjects that I'm probably going to get a lower grade in is English, which my parents say is very important and employers will look at. On the other hand, an A/B isn't a disaster at all, and I'm not at any risk of failing it. Also, it's only a GCSE (level 2, taken at 15/16 yrs old), and universities/employers would presumably look more at A-levels (level 3, taken at 17/18 yrs old).

I've been told that when it comes to EE, experience is much more important than exam results for employers, but to what extent is that true? If I have 2 hours a day to spend on either revision or electronics, which should I choose to make me most employable?

The best argument for choosing revision is that a couple of months of hard work is very small compared to the rest of my life, and I can always do electronics after the exams are over.

But how much revision should I do? Any advice from experienced engineers or employers would be greatly appreciated.

[Halcyon]

My experience comes from both as a trainer for a Government organisation (having also completed the nationally recognised Certificate IV in Training and Assessment) and also as a University student myself in both graduate and postgraduate studies.

The most important thing to realise is that everyone learns and absorbs information differently. There are thousands of strategies out there but some won't help you. To avoid waiting your time, you need to identify what works for you and what doesn't.

For example, I can't sit there and read from a PowerPoint presentation and absorb material. Likewise, I can't just read a page of text and expect to remember everything on it. I need to be engaged. One method I used was flash cards (or short Q's and A's on a sheet) and whilst I had some downtime (or even in the car), I would get someone to read the question and we would discuss the answer if I got it wrong. It's important not to just "remember" but "recall" the correct content by applying meaning to the answer. It's no good remembering an answer to be "Capacitance" (for example) when you don't have an understanding of what capacitance is and how it works.

Likewise I was never one to study in the weeks or months before an exam. Nothing would stick. I found the time pressure of "last minute" very helpful and I concentrated and absorbed more than if I had plenty of time to prepare. I've always been like this. Although be careful with this tactic as it's certainly not for everyone and can lead to failure if you aren't otherwise prepared.

As for "how much", that depends on the content and not something I can really answer. But if you're looking at a test of questions and find that you can answer most of the correctly first go, I'd say that's a pretty good test for whether or not you're prepared.

[vk6zgo]

You seem to be on top of things, but what I would suggest is not to just "read through" exam questions & say "Yeah! I know that!".
When you sit down at the exam table you may find that a lot of that certainty has fled.

Instead, work through any sample exam papers you have or can make from material in your textbooks under "exam conditions"----no interruptions, no reference materials, start & finish times by the clock.

This will reveal your strengths & weaknesses, & you can then tailor your revision to match.

In the revision itself, for maths, don't just follow the working in the book, work through each step yourself.
Another trick I found useful for "hard to pick up" nuances was to read & write down the section/pages I was interested in.
There seems to be something in that process which helps,the information to "stick" in your brain.

Also, sometimes it is a good idea to look at another textbook.

Authors, like everybody else have "weak spots", & the explanation which is hard to digest in one book may be crystal clear in another.

Most of these tricks, I learnt the hard way, not as a lad, but as a middle aged person doing a fairly stiff "In house" bridging training course .
As things happened, I probably could have done without it, but it was "full on" at the time!

[JoeP]

Thanks for the advice.

I was never one to study in the weeks or months before an exam. Nothing would stick. I found the time pressure of "last minute" very helpful

My teachers would have me believe that I should be doing hours of revision every day, even though the exams are nearly 3 months off. It seems absurd to me, but I can't help feeling slightly guilty that I should be doing more.

You seem to be on top of things, but what I would suggest is not to just "read through" exam questions & say "Yeah! I know that!".
When you sit down at the exam table you may find that a lot of that certainty has fled.

Instead, work through any sample exam papers you have or can make from material in your textbooks under "exam conditions"----no interruptions, no reference materials, start & finish times by the clock.

This will reveal your strengths & weaknesses, & you can then tailor your revision to match.

In the revision itself, for maths, don't just follow the working in the book, work through each step yourself.
Another trick I found useful for "hard to pick up" nuances was to read & write down the section/pages I was interested in.
There seems to be something in that process which helps,the information to "stick" in your brain.

Also, sometimes it is a good idea to look at another textbook.

Authors, like everybody else have "weak spots", & the explanation which is hard to digest in one book may be crystal clear in another.

Most of these tricks, I learnt the hard way, not as a lad, but as a middle aged person doing a fairly stiff "In house" bridging training course .
As things happened, I probably could have done without it, but it was "full on" at the time!

Some good ideas.

[Ice-Tea]

Thanks for the advice.

I was never one to study in the weeks or months before an exam. Nothing would stick. I found the time pressure of "last minute" very helpful

My teachers would have me believe that I should be doing hours of revision every day, even though the exams are nearly 3 months off. It seems absurd to me, but I can't help feeling slightly guilty that I should be doing more.

From personal experience: cramming right before the exam may be good enough to pass said exam (if your mental capacity supports it) but it's a lot less permanent. The knowledge acquired like this won't make it through the next holiday period.

[Gregg]

If you think of exams as mind games or psychological challenges, the results may return a higher score than cramming.  Develop techniques that work for you such as answering easy parts first before spending precious time struggling with difficult or confusing problems. Many times having read a confusing question but not responding immediately will get your brain started thinking about it unconsciously even though you are consciously responding to other input.  Read carefully before answering as test developers are certain to use confusing language and insert tricky and misleading parameters to separate the upper end of the bell curve.  Develop your right brain and believe in yourself to figure out whatever is thrown toward you; real thinking is far superior to being able to regurgitate facts.

[AndyC_772]

I plan to study EE at university (it wouldn't be Oxford/Cambridge, as they don't do EE, just general engineering), then go on to be an electronic engineer.

Don't knock the Cambridge engineering course just because it's not all electronics. When I did my degree - which was, admittedly, some time ago now - it was possible to do EIST (Electrical and Information Sciences) as a Part II course, so lots of electronics and information theory for 2 years, with a more general background from Engineering Part I.

I spent a long time sitting in lectures on thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, materials and structures, thinking "why on earth do I need this, given that I want to do electronics?".

Now I design electronic flow meters for a living.

Without the general engineering background from my degree course, I wouldn't even understand the terminology used to describe how liquids and gases flow, much less be able to understand, predict and optimise their behaviour.

I firmly believe that the best engineers are those that understand more than one topic. Being able to say "I can design electronics" isn't nearly as useful as being able to say "I have detailed knowledge of <subject area>, and can design electronics which are ideally suited to the needs of that area".

But how much revision should I do? Any advice from experienced engineers or employers would be greatly appreciated.

Get the best exam results you possibly can. Rightly or wrongly, like it or not, your exam results can and will be used as an insight into how capable you are - and I agree with your parents that a top grade in English is important to have if you can possibly achieve it.

Why are you taking so many GCSE's anyway? As a prospective employer I'd rate someone with 10 A's over 15 B's any day.

[tggzzz]

I'm 16 years old, and really like electronics - I plan to study EE at university (it wouldn't be Oxford/Cambridge, as they don't do EE, just general engineering),

Take a look at Southampton University. I graduated there 40 years ago, and when I went back to see an open day last year I found they had the same ethos. Basically both theory and practice are equally important: practice without theory is blind fumbling, theory without practice is merely mental games.

No doubt there are still other good unis (think Russell Group), but there are many bad ones and many bad courses. Avoid those that trap you into an overly narrow specialism too early, e.g. telecoms engineering - you want one that gives you a solid grounding in a wide range of topics. You can and will specialise on the job. Speedread this old Isaac Asimov story, since it is as true now as in the 50s: http://www.abelard.org/asimov.php

Having said that, if I was starting again I'd look at biochemistry and the life sciences since that is at the same stage as electronics was when I was your age. I'd also look more carefully at the Cambridge colleges for the reasons others have mentioned.

I'm looking for some guidance for how much revision I should be doing for my GCSE exams coming up in May/June.

That's the wrong question since the answer is simple and unhelpful: you should do the right amount. Too much and you burn out, too little and you foul up in the exam.

A better question is "how do I know when I've done the right amount of revision?". The technique which worked for me was to spend one/two hours reading my course notes a page/section at a time, then closing the notes and validating I could remember everything in that passage. Once I could remember everything that was on the page and why it was there, I moved onto the next page. Of course it is easy to fool yourself that you know something; you have to be brutally critical and honest with yourself!

When I got stale after one/two hours, I went and did something completely different to relax. In my case it was walking the dog. In my daughters case it was learning to fly a glider (you are already old enough to be a solo pilot, provided you demonstrate you are safe). The activities associated with gliding were invaluable to my daughter and made her much more employable in any field. She could demonstrate (i.e. not merely claim) that she worked on her own and in a team, worked in a safety critical environment where she was responsible for other people, and that she could react appropriately when things went wrong. She didn't realise how much it had helped her, until she went to uni and realised how much other people hadn't done. Plus it is great fun

I've been told that when it comes to EE, experience is much more important than exam results for employers, but to what extent is that true?

For the good jobs, it is false.

Crude but useful analogy: doctors know the theory of making people well and nurses know the practicality of making them well. If I want a diagnosis and course of treatment, I want a doctor not a nurse. If I want blood taken or a fracture plastered, I want a nurse not a doctor. The engineering equivalents are engineers and technicians; both are necessary, neither are sufficient, and vive la difference.

However, you will impress employers if you can decide on a project that will stretch your understanding and capabilities, complete the project, and be able to say what you would do better next time. Summary: accurately assess theory practice and your capabilities, predict where the dragons lie and avoid them.

If I have 2 hours a day to spend on either revision or electronics, which should I choose to make me most employable?

At this stage concentrate on revision. But by all means use playing with electronics as a relaxation.

It may be possible to get local advice from a mentor. Contact the local branch of the IET via https://www.theiet.org/

[LaraAbbott]

NOTE: This message has been deleted by the forum moderator Simon for being against the forum rules and/or at the discretion of the moderator as being in the best interests of the forum community and the nature of the thread.
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[tggzzz]

If you think an essay writing service will help you, I've got a bridge for sale.

[ebastler]

If you think an essay writing service will help you, I've got a bridge for sale.

Obviously a spammer: first-time poster, resurrected an old thread to post their link. Already reported; I'm sure Simon will take care of it soon.

[tggzzz]

Yup. I reported it, and left my message (without quoting the spam) so any future newbies won't be misled.

[Simon]

i have locked the thread as it seems to be a constant target. If anyone wants it reopening to reply please contact me or report this post asking for it to be opened.