How a private tutor can help you A*CE your upcoming exams :)

It's that time of the year again...where exam season is beginning to come into full swing.  Therefor,e it is essentail that you spend time revising all the key concepts you need to know for the exam.  But what if you are really struggling wiht your revision, and are looking for a tutor to help?  Here are some ways in which a tutor can be indispensable to your tuition journey, instead of going over the exam concepts alone :

1. Go over concepts you do not understand interactively

A good private tutor is someone who spends time going over concepts that you don't understand, and finds ways to help you consolidate your knowledge quickly and effectively.  For instance, if you do not understand the process of photosynthesis and carbon fixation in biology, a tutor cna help you interactively and engage with you directly to strengthen your understanding and retention.  He/she will use a variety of tried-and-tested techniques ot help get these concepts into the core of your memory!

2. Pick out what you need to go over

Many students, especially new students, tend to struggle with finding out what they need to go over, as well which topic they need to spend more time working on.  For instance, they may spend too much time reading over the notes for electrolysis when in reality, they understand the full process already.  Therefore, tutors can help you fill in the gaps of your learning without you wasting valuable study time on topics that you already know inside out.  This can be done in a variety of ways, such as :
- Using flashcards to test your memory

- Asking you to teach a topic out loud to the tutor themselves

- Discussing the topic with you as a class

- Asking you to complete a test paper under exam conditions, then giving you the marks for the questions.

3. Lots...and...lots of resources

Tutors and teachers often have a vast wealth of information that they can gather from, since they often have access to the resources they used when they were studying the subject themselves, or when they were tutoring other students before you!  Therefore it is vital that you spend time thinking about 

4. Teach you study techniques

A top rated tutor will not only go over the key concepts for any course that you are studying, they will also go over any good study technqiues they can use during their study sessions.  For instnace, they may teach you the importance of using flashcards, spaced repetition and mind maps when revising for your A Level Biology, since this course requires lot of repetition and rote memorisation.  In addition, when they have time, they will try and incorporate this leanring strategy into your lessons so your memory retention can improve more effecively over time, without having to spend your whole day doing solitary revision.

5. Team based learning and discussion

Since you are not studying alone, you will be given the opportunity to discuss and talk over any questions you have with your tutor, and raise any concerns you have about exam questions.  This also includes any tips and tricks you have to memorising content and helping you ace your exams - you can also ask your tutor whether they used them or not, and whether those technqiues worked well for them!  This is because many tutors have experience teaching and studying the subject themselves so they are often in a qualified position to speak about the subject themselves.  

6. Taught by someone who has done the course themselves!

Many tutors become tutors because they have studied the course themselves, and often have aced the subjects many years ago for their exam.  Therefore, it is highly likely that vyou are being taught be someone who knows the syllabus inside out, or someone who has done the course before by themselves.  For instance, I tutor GCSE Maths and GCSE English Language/Literature because I have studied and gained an equivalent A* in those subjects, and feel confident at answering a variety of questions that a student might have!

In conclusion...

If you are struggling with your studies, one of the best ways to help improve your confidence is to seek help from a private tutor, who can help solidify your knowledge base, while understanding what you are going through.  He/she will then use the time to help consolidate your weaker areas of the subject so you can have a solid grounding of the knowledge you need for the exam, since they know exactly the ways in which they can target students' weaknesses.