Mock exams are a rehearsal. They show you which topics you do not know yet, how well you manage the time in a real paper, and what kinds of question catch you out. Revising well for them helps, but the biggest gain comes from what you do with the results afterwards.
Before you start: find out what is in them
Ask your teachers which papers you will sit in each subject and which topics they cover. Some schools set full papers; others test only the topics taught so far. There is no point revising a topic that will not come up this time.
Four weeks before: find your gaps
For each subject, take the list of topics from your exam board's specification, or your teacher's list of what the mock covers, and mark each one:
- Green if you could answer a question on it now without notes
- Amber if you half remember it
- Red if you cannot do it yet
Be honest. A topic you recognise when you read about it is not green unless you can explain it with your notes closed. The ambers and reds are your plan for the next two weeks. The subjects on DoRevision's revision pages are organised by specification, which makes the list easier to build.
Weeks three and two: work on the weak topics
Spend most of your revision time on the red and amber topics, and revise by testing yourself rather than rereading:
- Answer questions on the topic, then check them.
- Write down everything you can remember, then compare it with your notes.
- Use flashcards for key terms, formulas and quotations.
Keep sessions short, around 20 to 40 minutes on one topic, and come back to each topic a few days later to see what has stuck. Towards the end of week two, add past paper questions on these topics so you see how they are examined.
The final week: practise under exam conditions
Sit at least one past paper for each subject in the real time limit, with nothing on the desk you would not have in the exam. This practises your timing and stamina as well as what you know.
Mark each paper with the mark scheme straight afterwards, strictly. Spend the next session fixing what it showed you, rather than starting another paper. The past paper archive lists papers and mark schemes by board and subject.
The night before
- Check which papers are tomorrow, and what equipment you need.
- Look over a few flashcards or a one-page summary, briefly.
- Go to bed at your normal time. A late night of cramming costs more in the exam than it adds.
After the mocks: use the results
This is where mocks pay off. When you get your papers back:
- Go through every lost mark. For each one, decide whether it was a topic you did not know, a question you misread, or running out of time.
- Turn the topic gaps into your next revision list. They go straight back into your green, amber and red plan.
- Fix the exam skills too. If you lost marks for misreading command words or running out of time, practise that specifically.
- Read the mark scheme for the questions you lost marks on, so you can see what a full-mark answer needed.
Students who use their mock papers this way often improve a lot between the mocks and the summer.
Where DoRevision fits
DoRevision modules test you on one topic at a time and check each answer as you go, which suits the weak-topic weeks. For example, Genetics Decoded covers inheritance in Biology and Quadratic Quest works through quadratics in Maths. For how mock revision fits into the rest of the year, see GCSE revision timetable, and for using papers well, GCSE past papers.