The most important part of your revision should be doing past questions. But don't just do them for the sake of it — use them to guide your revision.
Past papers are a great way to see exactly where you are in any subject. After you have revised a subject a lot, do a past paper and mark it. Most students make a big mistake here: they only look at their score and move on. That isn't enough. You need to look closely at which topics you did well in and which topics you struggled with.
This will help you see if your revision is working. You can then use your past paper results to adjust your tracker in each subject (see Step 1: Know Where You Are or, even better, click to read the full guide to revision). This shows clearly which topics need more work and helps you focus your next revision sessions.
For Maths and Science, you can usually mark yourself using the mark scheme. But for essay subjects, you need feedback from a teacher or examiner. That's why we created gcsewriting.com, where you can submit English GCSE essays and get feedback from real examiners. The system works like this:
Here's an important story: when I was at school, there were lots of students who always got top marks in essays in class. But on exam day, they walked out looking like they'd been hit in the face. Why? They had never practised timed exams.
Knowing your stuff isn't enough. You need to get used to the exam format. Practise timed questions in every subject so that when the real exam comes, it feels normal and you don't panic.
Past papers aren't just tests — they are a roadmap for your revision. Use them to see where you are, find your weak points, and make sure you are improving in every subject.
Click here to read the complete guide for how to revise for GCSEs
GCSEWriting.com is the only platform where students can submit GCSE English essays and receive feedback from the very people who mark the exams. 10x cheaper than a tutor, our examiners give students all the feedback they need to get top marks in their English GCSE.