There is a good selection of study support materials available for Standard Grade, Intermediate, Higher and Advanced Higher pupils. The main publishers of Scottish revision guides are:
You should choose the one best suited to your child\'s needs. Make sure you buy the Standard Grade or Higher version - not GCSE or A Level.
There is also a good collection of literature guides in the LRC, either York notes or Brodie’s notes. These are very helpful for students having difficulty in English with extended essays on novels and plays.
Click the desired link to view some handy tips.
Revision
Keep a careful eye on when coursework is due - remember, the sooner it is done, the sooner you can get on with other things! Homework will be designed to help you learn what you need and to help you answer exam questions. Draw up a plan leaving time for all of your activities, including revision.
Simple rules, start as soon as possible, be organized, use a revision plan. You will be tempted to try to work for hours, without a break - especially at night and near exams. Here are some facts you need to know;
How to revise
If in doubt about anything, speak to your teacher.
Most students have some questions about how best to go about revising, whether for upcoming exams or just to refresh knowledge of a particular area. This page offers tips on various revision problems.
| Problem | Tip |
| Getting started with revision | Make a list of what you have got to do, subject by subject. |
| Deciding when I should start revision | NOW! It\'s never too early to start and you can revise until close to the exams. |
| Understanding what I am revising | Ask yourself questions about what you are doing - know what you're revising and why. |
| Leaving my revision too late | Try doing a small piece of revision on a topic that interests you NOW - thirty minutes may be enough. |
| Revising by myself | Know what you're doing - could you and a friend help each other? |
| Making a revision timetable that works | Have a couple of weeks as a trial period, and be flexible. |
| How to use my notes and/or books for revision | Use your notes if they are good enough. Improve and reorganise them if they're not. |
| How to stop getting bored | Vary subjects and topics to keep your interest going. |
| Knowing which topics to revise | Know your strengths and weaknesses - look at old exam papers and speak to people who can guide you. |
| Revising maths and other number based subjects | Practise answering questions without books giving you answers. Time yourself for exam-length answers. |
| Whether to revise all topics or ignore some | You can't usually revise all topics equally well. Know how much you'll need - most people like to cover at least 70%. |
| Concentrating | Make sure you're in a good place to revise, without needless distractions. |
| Making enough time for revision | Although there is never enough time, you need breaks, time off and relaxation. Planning a revision timetable will help. |
| Finding a good place to revise | Find somewhere you like to be, with a good feel to it. |
| Deciding how many hours a day or week to revise | Make a weekly timetable to help you decide the number of hours to revise. This will vary from 15-40 hours a week of private study. Set yourself daily targets. |
| Whether to take time off for relaxation and a social life | Take a short break, and at least a day and an evening or two off each week. |
Note taking is an important revision tactic. If you have coherent and complete notes on all the main topics that you need to revise, it makes it much easier to review facts and test yourself than constantly having to look things up. Note taking also makes you think about what you are studying, improving your own recall and understanding of the subject.
Lists
A list of keywords or phrases is the simplest way to reduce a number of related points, e.g. causes of an event, traits of a character. If you number the points in your list it will jog your memory, making it easier to remember them all.
Split lists
Lists of related key points which balance each other, e.g. sides of an argument - for and against, alternative solutions to a problem, advantages and disadvantages, similarities and differences. Split lists show visually the points on both sides of an argument and are therefore memorable.
Chains
Lists of key points which link in a particular order or sequence e.g. chronological order or cause and effect. Your notes could follow a simple line, or flowchart. Ideally your final notes on a topic should fit on to an index card. You will end up with a set of cards for quick revision.Give your brain some clues! Use mnemonics wherever possible.
e.g. Stalactite? Stalagmite? Tights go down, Mites grow up
Use pictures and diagrams and mind maps. They help to jog your memory.
A bibliography is an alphabetical list of the sources - books, magazines, newspapers, CDROMs, Internet, etc that we have used to prepare a piece of work.
Why do we need one? to acknowledge our sources, give our readers information to identify and consult our sources. Make sure our information is accurate.
What if we don't include one? We may be accused of plagiarism, we may lose some or all of the marks for an assignment.
You must include the following information in a bibliography:
Name of authors (surname then first name)
Year of Publication
Title
Publisher
If applicable - volume/issue number/page number/s/internet address