First speed draw on YouTube!

So hey everyone! I finally released my first speed draw and it's only 49secs long on YouTube and I'd be really greatful is you guys could watch it comment and subscribe to my channel <3. 

The link is below: 

http://youtu.be/u6m9nsArNRE 

http://youtu.be/u6m9nsArNRE

http://youtu.be/u6m9nsArNRE

Lauren x

Life update!

Hey guys, I'm super sorry for not being here over two weeks... I've been in exam time but! I do have some new interesting posts for you guys. 

I don't know why but In the last two weeks I joined tumblr and I've been so inspired by tumblr rooms! Slowly by slowly I'm making little pots and stuff to decorate my room, so I hope to bring some tutorials for that soon! 

Last month I said goodbye to my promarkers and sent them off to the person that bought them, however I'm enjoying my time with my Copics, they're lovely. 

When I checked my page views it seems that most of you love the study series! So I'm gonna go ahead and carry on with that. I'll post this evening on the study series. 

The study series: How to revise effectively.

Hey everyone, I've decided to launch a new series of posts entitled the study series. This series will come back every year from April - August. I've chosen this time because this is when people start revising for exams coming up. For example mock GCSE's and real GCSE's. I'm doing my mocks at the moment. It's basically going to be a bunch of posts about studying and exams and all that! I've decided to start of with one that I think might help you guys. Everyone (well most people) revises, don't they? Well even if you don't i'm hoping that this post will inspire you to revise and revise effectively!

Resources and Equipment:

1. There is one resource I am totally loving at the moment, and it's Get revising. With a free account you have access to hundreds of resources to help you out with revision. You can make your own revision notes, flashcards, read other people's, look at past papers, make mind maps and so on. The list is endless and it actually makes revision really fun. My advice is after your'e done reading this post, go ahead and sign up and start revising. 
2. Colour is powerful! Revise with coloured card, coloured pencils and pens and bright highlighters! Colour code things - that is how your brain remembers things! 

Lastly a place to get all the info from - this can either be online or in books. However it needs to be legit and true and you need to know that where and what your learning from is the right stuff! 

As with all my posts I like to split them up into segments - It just makes things easier to read and map out.

1. Organisation for revision

• The best way to organize yourself is to make a revision timetable. Once you make one of these you stop doing either one of the following or both of the following: procrastinating or doing too much work. They help you to stick to what you need to revise and how long and they also make time for leisure and fun. 

How to make a revision timetable?

You can always sit down with a pen and paper and just plan it out for yourself. Remember factors like:

• School
• Clubs 
• Religious time of worship 
• Visits
• Holidays 
• Leisure time 

I created my revision timetable online with Get Revising, it lets you fit in all your commitments and basically makes a really cool online revision timetable with the dates of your tests in a pdf file available for saving and printing. Most A students revise about 10 hours for each subject before the exam (not in one day). So try and make this amount of hours your target. 

• Organize your revision space: 

- Make sure it's tidy

- Make sure it smells nice

- Make sure it doesn't have a lot of distractions e.g; people, tv's

• Organize your equipment and papers

- Keep all your revision notes in separate folders according to subjects. 

- Preferably in plastic wallets. 

• Organize your revision

- The best way to do this is to create a checklist of the topics you need to know then colour code the ones you are familiar with and then tackle the ones you aren't familiar with

2. Revision methods.

This is my revision method. I will also list some others. For an example I will use my notes that I did for GCSE Science. 

I go through my revision book and topic by topic I create pages like this. They may be pages and pages of one topic but I just create one page and jot down the important parts. I write down the name of the unit so that I can go back and have a look at it if I need to, the title and I find that drawing a little diagram helps me. Along with these I create online flashcards using get revising (Link under the resources part) testing me on what's on this page to make me get it 100%.

If there is any flashcards I can't answer I put them in a pile and try and tackle them. I keep going through that pile until it eventually becomes none.

Then, I move onto past papers. It's super easy to find these. You can get them on getrevising.co.uk or you can just type in your exam board into google and ask for past papers. Most exam boards have a database of past papers that you can print out for free along with mark schemes. I find this incredibly helpful! It gives me a chance to practice what the real thing is going to be like. I treat these like I do with the flashcards. Just in stricter conditions. I time myself in exam conditions, put my phone away and just sit on my table and have a go at the exam. When I'm done I mark what I got right using the mark scheme. If I got anything wrong, I make a list of those topics and go back and read up on them and do some practice questions on them. 

Along with this, I watch youtube videos on revision and certain topics. Sometimes it's easier watching someone do it than trying to figure it out yourself. Simply type in the type of exam e.g "A level" followed by the subject e.g "A level maths". So many videos will come up! 

I also use revision apps, I'd tell you the name but the one I have is literally called the revision app lol. 

I don't use these but I've heard these other revision methods are effective:

• Make a jingle - There are some awesome jingles to try and help you remember stuff on youtube especially for maths and science. Youtube: All about that base, no acid. A very cringey way to memorise acids and alkali's but it's catchy and might help you! 
• Sleep and listen - Record everything you need to remember on your phone and fall asleep listening to it. Hopefully it should stay in your head because when you sleep, you remember. 
• Study with loads of breaks. If you're like me and you just can't focus for 10 hours straight, take breaks! It is better to do 15 mins revision and then have a 5 min break then sit there for 10 hours unfocused. 

My Revision and Test day tips:

• Do not drink teas and coffee's when revising. It get's cold, you feel the need to make another one and then you get distracted. Have some energy drinks by your side whilst revsising. (Good ones). I usually have lucozade or supermalt. The best thing is H2o - Water! That is literally like brain food. 
• Make time for the things you like. I know how it feels to not get time to do things you like because of revision and test stress. You begin to not enjoy life because you don't enjoy anything you're doing. 
• Enjoy yourself whilst revising, even if you don't like what you're learning pretend you do. It'll just help you focus more and feel more determined. 
• The day before your test, do something you enjoy - go out with your friends and don't overthink. 
• NEVER CRAM ALL YOUR REVISION INTO THE NIGHT BEFORE. IT IS NOT EFFECTIVE YOU GET OVERWHELMED AND YOU GET HEADACHES AND DON'T REMEMBER ANYTHING. :)
• On the day of the test eat a heavy breakfast (something high in carbs to keep you going) and Take a bottle of water with you. 

Specific subject help:

English: 

For English literature read the book you've been given in detail and make notes on it before hand. Buy or download study notes of the book from either a book store or your local library. Bring the Book into the exam. 

For English language, make a list of devices used in writing and just memorise their meaning and impact on the audience. That'll really help you. 

Maths and Science :

If you struggle with maths and science and you realize early get help. This is something I never did and should have done. If you can't afford a tutor use youtube! You are not the only one who struggles with maths and science and that's the biggest video sharing platform right in front of you. There's got to be some generous bored person out there creating videos on maths and science. You'd be surprised how many there even are. I hate maths, but you have to be active in your approach and not procrastinate otherwise you'll run out of time. 

Languages:

Use memrise.co.uk to help you memorize speeches, it really helps. Also take advantage of your local library and teach yourself. May I also remind you about a thing called google translate? 

The arts:

When I say the arts I am including things like 

• Textiles 
• Art
• Design Technology 
• Food technology

The internet is your greatest hope with these subjects. It's all about being creative and just having fun and going with it. Use stuff like:

• Pinterest
• Tumblr
• Instagram

They'll help you find ideas and just help with wider thinking.

History 

Watch documentaries and the news - they're incredibly helpful but boring. Read biographies. In my opinion most things that happened in History are strange and bizzare so I just have a laugh about it really and end up enjoying it. 

I can't help with the rest of the subjects, super sorry but I just don't take other subjects! 

I hope this helped, if you liked it comment on what you thought of the post below. I'd really like to hear about some of your revision experiences! My next post in this series will be How to pass Art GCSE. 

Lauren x

 

Well... finally a moment to myself.

Up and down, up and down. Do you ever feel like your an overused yo yo? I'm feeling that way :(.

My last post was about wanting to deliver some Youtube tutorials to you guys but it didn't go to plan - my laptop is old, therefore the features aren't as advanced. Windows Movie maker sucks, certain video editors don't download because my laptops too "dated". So guys, I'll be postponing this idea until I can get a new laptop and make cool videos for you guys.

I'm doing my mock GCSE'S at the moment so life is hectic. I just happened to have a free Thursday with no coursework to complete so I thought of my blog and how I really need to get with it and just update... Like seriously.

I'm still drawing but it's really minimal and there's just no time, so guys... I'm really out of blog ideas however, i'm sure i'll come up with something soon...

Lauren x