Revision Tips
There are different ways to revise - it’s a question of finding the one that works for you. By now, you’ll probably have seen enough exam papers to last a lifetime. Unfortunately, unless you’re doing a purely coursework- or vocational-based subject, you’re going to spend some more time in a hall with a paper in front of you.
There are literally dozens of ways you can approach revision, some of which work for some people but others find impossible. Some people can study perfectly happily to the strains of music, while others have to have complete silence. The key is to find which method(s) you’re most comfortable with.
Regardless of which method you use, there are some things you should bear in mind when revising:
- Devise a timetable before you begin and stick to it
- Take regular breaks to go and do something else
- Make sure you have enough to eat and drink (keeps the brain functioning) but don’t drink too much caffeine as it has a tendency to make your brain think less clearly
- Test yourself as you go along
- Try out some relaxation techniques, from yoga to listening to chill-out music to practising tai-chi
- Don’t rely on last-minute revision
The following are some popular and useful revision methods:
Making notes
Take your stack of lecture notes (or borrow someone else’s) and condense them down into the most relevant points. The art of note-taking keeps your brain active and helps you remember what it is you are writing about.
Post it notes
Putting Post-It notes in prominent places can help you remember key facts and points by triggering your memory. They are also useful in ensuring you do not spend hours and hours reading the same passage over and over again.
Index cards
Get a set of index cards and note the key points about a particular topic. Then test yourself and check your answers at the end.
Flow charts
Putting facts into flow charts or diagrams often helps bring a logical order to what you have to learn. And again they offer triggers to aid your memory.
Writing answers
It helps to practice writing answers. If you have previous years’ exam papers, you could have a go at answering some of the questions if they contain topics covered in your revision. Don’t waste time writing about topics that aren’t going to be covered in your exam but this method can be useful in getting used to writing under time restrictions.
Mind Maps
The author Tony Buzan created Mind Maps, memory aids made up of words, colours, lines and pictures. The following is an example of Mind Map:
There are nine Planets in the Solar System. In order from the Sun, they are:
- 1- Mercury (small)
- 2- Venus (small)
- 3- Earth (small)
- 4- Mars (small)
- 5- Jupiter (big)
- 6- Saturn (big)
- 7- Uranus (big)
- 8- Neptune (big)
- 9- Pluto (small)
In order to memorise the Planets for life you are going to use a Linking System, in conjunction with your imagination, to create a linked and fantastic story. If you follow it carefully and completely, it will be harder to forget than to remember!
Imagine that in front of you, where you are currently reading, is a glorious SUN. See it clearly, feel its heat, and admire its orange/red glow. Imagine, next to the Sun, a little (it’s a little Planet) thermometer, filled with that liquid metal that measures temperature: MERCURY.
Imagine that the Sun heats up, and eventually becomes so hot that it bursts the thermometer. You see all over the desk floor, in front of you, tiny balls of that liquid metal Mercury. Next you imagine that, rushing in to see what happens, and standing by your side, comes the most beautiful little goddess. Colour her, clothe her (optional!), perfume her, and design her, as you will. What shall we call our little goddess? Yes, VENUS!
You focus so intently on Venus with all your senses, that she becomes almost a living physical reality in front of you. You see Venus play like a child with the scattered Mercury, and finally manage to pick up one of the Mercury globules. She is so delighted that she throws it in a giant arc way up in the sky (which you see, as light glistens off it throughout its journey), until it hurtles down from high and lands in your garden with a gigantic ‘thump’, which you both hear and fell as a bodily vibration.
And on what planet is your garden? EARTH.
Because of the power of her throw, and the height of the arc, when the globule lands it creates a small crater which sprays earth (EARTH) into your neighbour’s garden.
In this fantasy you imagine that your neighbour is a little (it’s a little Planet), red-faced (it’s a red Planet), angry and war-like character carrying chocolate bar in his leading hand! And who is this God of War? MARS.
Mars is furious that the earth has gone into his garden, and is just about to attack you when, striding on to the scene, comes a giant so large and powerful that he shakes the very foundations (and you must feel them) of where you are. See him standing a hundred feet tall, and make him as real as you made Venus. He tells Mars to calm down, which Mars immediately does, for this new giant, with cow-lick ‘J’ on his forehead, is your best friend as well as being the king of the gods, the fifth Planet: JUPITER.
As you look up to the hundred-foot-high Jupiter, you see the word ‘SUN’ emblazoned in flashing gold letters across the giant T-shirt on his enormous chest. Each of these gigantic letters stands for the first letter of each of the next three big Planets of the Solar System: SATURN, URANUS, NEPTUNE.
Sitting on Jupiter’s head, barking his little heart out with humour because he thinks the episode has been so hilarious is a little (little because the Planet is so small) Walt Disney dog by the name of PLUTO.
Did it work for you?
Summing up
Don’t leave your revision to the last minute. Remember that there will be plenty of time to do all those things you could be doing instead like going out with your mates, watching TV, going down the pub, etc. Go at your own pace and listen to your body when it tells you it needs a break. Good luck.