One of the most effective ways of increasing your chances of passing exams at school is to obtain past Test papers.
There are 4 reasons for this:
1. It enables you to establish the type of questions being asked.
2. How those questions will be marked. For exam some answers carry more points then others
3. Carry out a practice timed assessment to establish how to manage your time during the exam.
4. They enable you to go back and review information from books or notes that are most important for the exam.
The earlier you obtain past papers the better as it enables you to gear your revision around the type of questions that you are likely to get asked.
Here is a list of downloadable Past test papers for different age groups for those taking SATs. These are for exams taken in the United Kingdom but these test papers are still helpful for those of the same age taking other exams at school
Over the years I have learned a lot about how to learn and how to learn more efficiently by using more effective note taking strategies, better reading strategies, and improving creativity and memory using hand written mind maps and more recently mind mapping software.
I wanted to share what I have learned as it has been helpful to me when studying for exams and will aid others who want to improve their memory and learning and be useful when studying for exams.
When learning and studying for exams at school I was using incorrect methods and strategies for memorizing information. These would include linear note taking which can be time consuming and not at all efficient for reviewing information. Linear notes involve writing ideas in the form of sentences. They also make it difficult to see how the different key topics and sub topics are related.
Advantages of Mind Mapping
Linear note taking lack the visual cues that aid in recalling key topics and elements of a subject that mind maps have. They can even be a hinderance to revision as too much time can be spent writing and trying to locate the key information and not on memorizing the key information.
More importantly they do not fully utilize both sides of the brain. Imagine running in a race using only half of your body. This would be very inefficient if not impossible. Likewise the brain functions much better when both the right and left sides are being used. Just as you would be able to move many times faster if you utilized both sides of your body so your mind functions many times more effectively when you are fully utilising both sides of the brain.
The left side deals mainly with words, numbers, logic, lists. The right side deals mainly with Colour, Rhythm, Imagination, Daydreaming and seeing the whole picture.
The reason a mind map is such a powerful tool for learning, memory and creativity is because it combines all of those activities and they reflect the structure of thought and memory which work via association, imagination and images. Mind maps provide a very powerful aid in studying, problem solving, note taking, writing and decision making. They can also greatly assist creativity and memory as they enable the visualization, organization, association of ideas and information.
The elements of a mind map are arranged intuitively according to the importance of the concepts, and use branches or nodes to associate similar key topics and subtopics arranged around a central key word or idea. Mind Maps enable quick revision and recall of information and they organize information in the same way that the mind does.
Five Main rules of Mind Mapping
Here are five main rules when Mind Mapping suggested by Tony Buzan, the inventor of Mind Mapping and creator of IMindmap. IMindmap is the only Mind Mapping software that fully utilizes all of these 5 rules.
1. Create your Central Idea.
The image should represent the overall theme or topic for your Mind Map and should stand out using colour and preferably a central image.
If you are creating your Mind Map by hand then insure you have a good sized sheet of paper. Draw a central image in the centre of the paper, of If you are using Imindmap you can choose a central image from the library or create one yourself and select it from your personal collection.
2. Draw the Main Branches and add keywords.
Draw the Main Branches and add a key word for each main area of that theme or topic. Try and use thicker branches near the centre and larger keywords representing the main sub-topics. Making the key sub-topics stand out by placing them nearer the centre of the mind map with thicker branches and larger letters will help your mind differentiate and visualize the key information easier.
Curved organic branches are the most effective as they reflect the structure of your brain and add variety and excitement making the information easier to remember. Straight lines do not excite your mind and are boring. Adding colour and curved branches allow your mind to soak up more information which is crucial for recall.
IMindmap creates organic, natural looking Mind Maps by enabling you to create curved organic branches and organizes the thickness of your branches with the branches nearer the centre of the Mindmap thicker then those on the outside. You can also create the branches in freehand mode.
3. Colour
Colours are exciting to your brain as images. They add extra interest and life and give energy to your creative thinking. Add Colour to your Mind Maps.
IMindmap adds plenty of colour to your Mind Map automatically selecting a colour for you or ifyou want you can add your own colours.
4. Add Child branches
Add child branches and Keywords from your main branches representing sub sub-topics. Try and stick with single words as they will generate many more associations and connections allowing your mind to spark off new ideas and thoughts. Single words will provide power and flexibility to your Mind Map.
If you are using Imindmap you can always add hidden notes or links to your branches so your Mind Map remains clear and easy to follow.
5. Images
A picture can paint a thousand words and images have a huge impact on your brain. The more you use them the better. Try and use images rather then words when you can as they encourage imagination and creativity and make it easier for your mind to recall information. You will also be fully utilizing both sides of your brain in the process.
Imindmap makes attaching images or icons to any branch very easy and has an image library enabling you to search for thousands of images online or offline. Or if you wish you can import your own or sketch your own using Imindmaps drawing tools.
6. Add Connections
Create plenty of connections between the different branches as your mind works best by creating associations and connections between ideas. It likes to link up 3 or 4 things together. If you connect branches and therefore ideas you will understand and remember a lot easier. These connections will start forming the rest of your main branches then your second level branches and then third branches until you run out of ideas.
Relationship arrows should also be used to connect two ideas which are related but may not follow one another.
To enhance your Mind Map, with IMindmap you can insert a collection of different features including Notes, links to websites or documents, clouds, arrows, floating images, text and even your own sketches.
If you think your Mind Map is getting too large you can easily link it up to a child Mind Map.
You can also export your MindMap as a webpage, image, PDF, Word or PowerPoint to be used as a presentation.
In the following video Tony Buzan, who invented Mind Mapping and helped create Imindmap explains the benefits of Mind Mapping and why it is so effective.
Kids’ memory is usually disorganised and that makes them forget quickly. They often forget what homework was given in school; spellings they learnt recently and some times they are unable to recall people’s names. Due to disorganised thoughts they tend to give less importance to these facts and fail to register the information in their [...]
Lots of Kids are anxious about taking tests. They can feel pressured to do well and it can have a detrimental effect on their self esteem should they fail. Children wrongly associate test success with how smart or capable they. The reality is success at tests is in a large part down to factors which [...]
