Hi, I’m Tim from the Student Learning Advisory Service, here with a few hints and tips as you prepare to resit one or more of your exams.

Firstly, stay motivated. The satisfaction of successfully passing your exams awaits you, so stay highly-focussed on reaching this important goal over the coming weeks, and free up as much time as you can to ensure success, perhaps by rescheduling some less important activities.

Consider any feedback that you may have received on your previous exams. What did you not do well enough first time that you can focus on improving for the resit? Perhaps it was your depth of knowledge around a particular topic, or perhaps it was that you failed to include key ingredients in your answer. Identify and use feedback to help you steer your preparation.

Reflect on how you managed the previous exam. Perhaps it was not your lack of knowledge that was problematic, but your exam technique. Perhaps you lost track of time so that you failed to answer all the questions. Perhaps you forgot to plan before writing and ended up getting lost halfway through an answer. Identify and make a note of any potential improvements to your exam technique that you can remember to do, or even practise, for your resit.

Plan and use your time most efficiently between now and your resit. Having identified gaps in your knowledge or aspects of your exam technique that require improvement, draw up a schedule that will address all of these issues in time for the resit. Plot what you need to do on a time planner leading up to the exam. Break each day into one or two hour chunks of study time, each allocated to an achievable goal – be that revising from your notes on a specific topic, practising writing an essay under timed conditions, or committing important facts, formulas or theories to memory.

Remember, too, that your exam is a performance. Although you will want to work very hard between now and your resit to achieve the best possible result, stay fit and well as you do so. Establish a routine that balances your revision with enough sleep, regular breaks, good food and fresh air to keep you in good shape for when you resit the exam.

We also offer a range of events for resitters to help you feel more prepared.

Finally, if you would like a 1-1 with a student learning adviser to discuss revision skills, exam techniques or any of these topics before you resit your exam just book an appointment with an adviser on our Student Learning Advisory Service website, where you will also find printable time planners to help you plot your course to success.

Good luck with your resit.