Free Study Summary Template

Following the popularity of our Personalised Study Summaries for GCSEs, we’re providing the template for all year groups. This downloadable A4 template can be used in all year groups and any subject with an end-of-year test. Simply print and create your own study units. We recommend using textbooks, knowledge organisers or browsing through your schoolwork. The template contains the key steps to be ready for those end-of-year tests.

What is a unit?

A unit is a term that we use for a piece of study. The subject is the big heading (like History, for example). Then you have topics. These are the themes that you work on, perhaps one a term (for example; The Tudors). Finally, we can the smallest element, units. You could also think of them as sub-topics. In our History example, a unit might be Henry VIII These summaries can be used to check your readiness for the tests by making you look back on the whole of the course. Keep thing manageable by breaking subjects down into topics and then bite-sized units. It’s a great way to make sure that you’re on track. Use the icons to monitor your progress through our suggested revision steps.

The checklist contains prompts for:

Taught
Summarised
Flashcards
Self-tested (x3)
Past paper
Confidence level

The granular approach helps to keep students progressing and gives them a sense of success. It’s easier to feel you’ve accomplished something by testing yourself on “Rivers & Lakes” even if you haven’t yet completed all of Geography. Everyone loves a to-do list – and it’s satisfying to tick off what you’ve done. Clear and precise actions help to keep the student in control and stop pressure from spiralling.

How to use the template

At the risk of over-explaining; here’s how we use the template.

Write the name of the subject on the top. Make sure that a subject starts on a new sheet, that way you can stay organised.
Start with the first topic or module – but don’t write it in just yet, you don’t know how many lines the units will take up! Use your textbooks to write in the units. These should be discreet areas of study, the kind of thing you might cover over a few lessons – but not a whole term!
When you’ve written in the units for a given topic, draw a line and write the topic in the side blue box.
Now move onto the next topic’s units.
You may go onto more than one page for a subject. But, as we said, we find it’s easier to keep organised if each subject starts on its own page.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please drop us a line. We’re always happy to help!

Of course, if you want to get up and running quickly, we can create the Study Summaries for you, specifically for the courses being studied.