Better things to do than study for the exam?!

[tange]

What would you tell someone if they have better things to do in the holidays than doing practice exams? I'm finding it difficult to understand the logic   A student I tutor has given up and believes that there are better things to do than study in the next 4-5 weeks!!
 

[literally lauren]

Reminding them that their exam will be worth more than all of their English SACs combined might be a good start. They might have just 'burned out' if they're not doing anything for other subjects either, in which case the best thing to do is probably let them have a week or two off to recoup and relax. Or it might be an issue with confidence, ie. getting Bs all year in everything with no change can lead to demotivation. Alternatively, they might be overconfident ie. getting A/A+s all year and figure they don't need to do anything else, so they might need to be given some difficult prompts or L.A. articles to scare them (gently) into studying.

But in terms of simply 'doing practice exams,' that might not be the best way to study for English at the moment. Unless they're struggling with timing and need to get used to the 1 essay/hour conditions, then other activities would probably be more beneficial. Going through their Section A text and having debates about the characters and themes can be a good way to find holes in their understanding, as well as get them used to substantiating contentions. Even just planning different essays and techniques can be useful.

I'm not denying prac. exams are useful, but that's not all they can do, so if they're looking for a sea-change maybe shake-up the study regime a bit?

[tange]

Great ideas! I have emphasised the point that the exam is worth more and it can affect the study score. I think that it may be a self-efficacy issue as the student simply refuses to write practice pieces or even paragraphs. 

I usually go through the text to analyse characters, themes, symbols, etc for a few lessons. After analysing the text, I help students to develop essay plans for different essay questions or prompts. However, without writing or revising the lesson content, the student struggles with essays because she tends to forget the content! Therefore, it has been difficult for her to improve because she refuses to put pen to paper. 

[M_BONG]

Yeah I have a similar student for Legal Studies as well and I got upset with myself initially. But it's not worth it. What I do is I tell them straight up (eg. when they haven't done a piece of homework) that they're wasting their money if they aren't doing the work and it doesn't affect me at all if they don't do the work (a gentle way of saying 'your loss')  and the first time I did it, and showed a little bit of apathy, they actually did the work.

When you put the burden ON THEM, they will naturally do the work because at the moment, there seems to be some sort of power imbalance (ie. you seem to be putting more effort than the student). Generally, a tutor who knows the course well should never be putting more effort than the student.

 Also, if you tell them they are wasting their money, they are also more likely to do the work because ultimately they care about how much they are paying you. You may run the small risk of losing the student, but I think the outcome is worth it. Just my two cents!

[BucketPreacher]

That classic money rebuttal never works to motivate someone - it just pisses them off. Tread lightly.