{"id":4491,"date":"2016-11-07T20:16:26","date_gmt":"2016-11-07T20:16:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/?p=4491"},"modified":"2022-07-06T16:59:39","modified_gmt":"2022-07-06T16:59:39","slug":"making-mocks-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/parents\/a-level\/making-mocks-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Making Mocks Work for You: guest blog by Alice"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><i>Alice tutors <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/view-tutors\/English\/\">English<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/view-tutors\/Latin\/\">Latin<\/a> with MyTutor as well as working in the art world; she considers what to do before, during and after mocks to make the most of the revision and exam process.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n<p>At this point in the academic year, you won\u2019t know everything on the syllabus. You are not expected to. Luckily, you can use this to your advantage; the fact that there is less material to learn means you can spend more time sharpening your exam technique.<\/p>\n<p>Even more than in the real thing, then, mocks are by no means merely about what you know, but what you do with that knowledge. Doing well in mocks is not just about getting high marks (although you should strive for this too!). In order to get the most out of mocks, you should pay attention to how you revise before the mocks, how you respond to questions during mocks, and how you learn from feedback you receive after them. \u00a0\u00a0<!--more--><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Learn <em>for <\/em>your mocks as well as <em>from<\/em> them<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Set yourself feasible, focused targets. It is great if you do well in your mocks; but it is even better to learn from them. First of all, you should make a clear timetable listing the dates and contents of each mock. It is all too easy to confuse modules; but careful planning means you can avoid any surprises on the day. By familiarising yourself with the exam topics, you can also anticipate which questions are likely to come up. Exam boards often have areas they like to test every year. If key-terms recur in past papers, learn them. If you are unsure of any words or definitions, get clarification before you start revising.<\/li>\n<li>Know your enemy, and it might become your best friend (or at least a little less daunting). Familiarise yourself with the syllabus, the Examiners\u2019 Reports, and the exam board\u2019s Assessment Objectives. You will no doubt be taking exams issued by a variety of boards, so be totally clear about the specifics of each paper. Make sure you know how many marks will be rewarded for different questions \u2013 this will give you an indication of how much you should write, and how many points to cover.<\/li>\n<li>A lot of the time, examiners are looking for <em>breadth <\/em>as well as <em>depth<\/em>. Neither a mock nor the real thing can encompass <em>everything<\/em>. But with thorough <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/parents\/mytutor-for-students\/mytutors-2022-exam-revision-toolkit\/\">revision<\/a>, the depth of your knowledge should become clear even when you\u2019re writing concisely on specific topics.\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-4492 aligncenter lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/pad-520x360.jpg\" alt=\"pad\" width=\"520\" height=\"360\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 520px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 520\/360;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-4492 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/pad-520x360.jpg\" alt=\"pad\" width=\"520\" height=\"360\" \/><\/noscript><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>What to do before your mocks<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Get kitted out with highlighters, coloured pens and revision notepads. Bedeck your desk with flashcards (a good self-test tip is to write key-words \u2013 or foreign vocab \u2013 on the front, with answers on the back). Revising, at this stage, should also involve learning how best to revise. Experiment with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cgpbooks.co.uk\/interactive_tips_exam\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">different learning techniques <\/a>\u2013 try mind-maps, audio guides, diagrams and all the mnemonic delights you can think of. \u00a0See if there are any apps you can download to supplement your learning. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.memrise.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Memrise <\/a>is especially good for learning vocab. You can even specify on Memrise which exam course to follow, and which topic you\u2019d like to develop.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>During your mock exam<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Focus on the terms and wording of the question. Make sure you know exactly what you are being asked to do. It goes without saying that you should answer the question in front of you, not the one you wish you were being asked. When revising, it\u2019s helpful to organise topics by themes. This means that once you open the paper, you can match key-terms to your themed notes. To begin with, revise your notes in their logical order (i.e. the order in which they were taught to you). Once you think you know them, mix them around to ensure you know the \u2018ins and outs\u2019 of each topic.<\/p>\n<p>Try to create exam conditions for yourself \u2013 in and out of the classroom. Get a good night\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/parents\/adult-education\/happens-dont-get-enough-sleep\/\">sleep<\/a> before an exam, take regular revision breaks, and reward yourself for your hard work.<\/p>\n<p>Try things out: if you have an idea you\u2019re unsure about, or that\u2019s slightly bolder than usual, mocks can serve as a good testing-ground. This is less applicable to science and maths exams, but it\u2019s useful for essay subjects.<\/p>\n<p>After each mock, it\u2019s a good idea to write down what you found challenging. If, for example, you didn\u2019t have time to check your answers, know that you\u2019ll have to finish a few minutes earlier in the real thing. It\u2019s worth noting that you\u2019ll also get marks deducted if your hand-writing is illegible! If you\u2019re used to typing your essays and revision notes, now is the time to get reacquainted with ink pens (sometimes for over an hour in one sitting)!<\/p>\n<h2><strong>.. And after<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Look after your revision notes! It\u2019s tempting \u2013 and all too easy \u2013 to lose them, thinking you\u2019ll make better ones when the real exams come. Not only will you save yourself time if you keep your current notes, it\u2019s also helpful to compare your initial ideas from mocks with the ideas you have once you\u2019ve covered the whole course.<\/p>\n<p>Making mocks work for you means learning from them &#8211; not just from your mistakes, but from your successes too. Hopefully your teachers will give you detailed feedback, so take time to consider their suggestions and develop your understanding. If similar difficulties come up across different mocks \u2013 punctuation errors, time-shortage, misunderstanding questions etc. \u2013 note these down as your main issues to address. After this, select subject-specific targets based on individual papers. This way, you\u2019ll know exactly what you need to do, and you\u2019ll be particularly aware of the mistakes you\u2019re especially prone to making.<\/p>\n<p>Mocks might not seem like fun right now, but when it comes to the real thing \u2013 with organisation, confident preparation and focus \u2013 you can have the last laugh, and some stellar scholastic success, too.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-4494 aligncenter lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/win-520x360.png\" alt=\"win\" width=\"520\" height=\"360\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 520px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 520\/360;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-4494 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/win-520x360.png\" alt=\"win\" width=\"520\" height=\"360\" \/><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p><i>Written by <\/i><i>Alice Theobald<\/i><i>, who tutors <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/view-tutors\/Latin\/\">Latin<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/view-tutors\/English\/\">English<\/a> with MyTutor.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alice tutors English and Latin with MyTutor as well as working in the art world; she considers what to do before, during and after mocks to make the most of the revision and exam process.\u00a0 At this point in the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4497,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12,108,299,11,788],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Making Mocks Work for You: guest blog by Alice | MyTutor<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Our top Latin and English tutor, Alice, shares her advice on how to ace your mocks with her top tips on what to do before, during and after.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/parents\/a-level\/making-mocks-work\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Making Mocks Work for You: guest blog by Alice | MyTutor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Our top Latin and English tutor, Alice, shares her advice on how to ace your mocks with her top tips on what to do before, during and after.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/parents\/a-level\/making-mocks-work\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/en-gb.facebook.com\/MyTutorUK\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-11-07T20:16:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-07-06T16:59:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/owl-1.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"764\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MyTutor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MyTutor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/parents\/a-level\/making-mocks-work\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/parents\/a-level\/making-mocks-work\/\",\"name\":\"Making Mocks Work for You: guest blog by Alice | MyTutor\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/parents\/a-level\/making-mocks-work\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/parents\/a-level\/making-mocks-work\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/owl-1.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-11-07T20:16:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-07-06T16:59:39+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c73140197d1bbf1aa85ec442089e7403\"},\"description\":\"Our top Latin and English tutor, Alice, shares her advice on how to ace your mocks with her top tips on what to do before, during and after.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/parents\/a-level\/making-mocks-work\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/parents\/a-level\/making-mocks-work\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/owl-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/owl-1.png\",\"width\":764,\"height\":720},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c73140197d1bbf1aa85ec442089e7403\",\"name\":\"MyTutor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/45c16c6d2547a06e1dbc76d3f7e1d2d7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/45c16c6d2547a06e1dbc76d3f7e1d2d7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"MyTutor\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/author\/robert\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Making Mocks Work for You: guest blog by Alice | MyTutor","description":"Our top Latin and English tutor, Alice, shares her advice on how to ace your mocks with her top tips on what to do before, during and after.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/parents\/a-level\/making-mocks-work\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Making Mocks Work for You: guest blog by Alice | MyTutor","og_description":"Our top Latin and English tutor, Alice, shares her advice on how to ace your mocks with her top tips on what to do before, during and after.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/parents\/a-level\/making-mocks-work\/","article_publisher":"https:\/\/en-gb.facebook.com\/MyTutorUK\/","article_published_time":"2016-11-07T20:16:26+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-07-06T16:59:39+00:00","og_image":[{"width":764,"height":720,"url":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/owl-1.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"MyTutor","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"MyTutor","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/parents\/a-level\/making-mocks-work\/","url":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/parents\/a-level\/making-mocks-work\/","name":"Making Mocks Work for You: guest blog by Alice | MyTutor","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/parents\/a-level\/making-mocks-work\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/parents\/a-level\/making-mocks-work\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/owl-1.png","datePublished":"2016-11-07T20:16:26+00:00","dateModified":"2022-07-06T16:59:39+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c73140197d1bbf1aa85ec442089e7403"},"description":"Our top Latin and English tutor, Alice, shares her advice on how to ace your mocks with her top tips on what to do before, during and after.","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/parents\/a-level\/making-mocks-work\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/parents\/a-level\/making-mocks-work\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/owl-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/owl-1.png","width":764,"height":720},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/","name":"","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c73140197d1bbf1aa85ec442089e7403","name":"MyTutor","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/45c16c6d2547a06e1dbc76d3f7e1d2d7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/45c16c6d2547a06e1dbc76d3f7e1d2d7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"MyTutor"},"url":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/author\/robert\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4491"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4491"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4491\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11784,"href":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4491\/revisions\/11784"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}