As hard as you try to recall everything you learn during the academic year, by the time exams roll around you’ll likely need to refresh your memory. This is why revision is crucial.
But good revision isn’t as simple as flicking through your lecture notes and then heading down the pub. To ensure you revise effectively, you may need to do the following too…
Before you even start revising, you should plan your revision. To do this, find out the dates and times of your exams and work out a schedule for when you’ll revise each subject.
Don’t forget to put your plan somewhere you can see it, too! There’s not much point in planning your revision if you don’t check it again until after your exams have happened!
Hopefully you’ve been keeping good notes throughout the year, as this will give you something to work with while revising. Before you start, however, it might be a good idea to organise your notes.
Time to invest in a highlighter. [Photo: Guido “random” Alvarez/Wikimedia]This will make it easier to find the information you need when you need it, saving time and frustration when the day of the exam is closing in.
Just re-reading your notes is rarely enough. Instead, try briefly summarising key information in your own words. This will not only help you remember it on the day, but also allows you to practice expressing your ideas succinctly (a key skill for answering essay-style questions).
When it comes to exams, using past papers in your revision is strongly advised. It’s especially helpful if you practise under exam-style conditions, giving yourself a time limit and working without notes.
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If you’re not sure where to get copies of past papers, your lecturers/seminar leaders should be able to help.
You can’t revise every minute of every day. Not if you want to stay sane, anyway.
Remember to look after yourself during the revision process. This means eating well, getting plenty of rest, exercising now and then, and even taking time to socialise and have fun!
If nothing else, this will help prevent stress in the build up to your exam, thereby ensuring you’re in a good frame of mind come the big day.
Maybe nobody plans to pull an all-nighter. Maybe they just leave everything to the last minute and panic. But lack of sleep is very unlikely to improve exam performance.
This, again, is why a revision schedule is vital. It ensures you turn up to your exam ready and rested, while all those around you are confused and exhausted.
Just try not to be too smug about it when they start weeping half way into the test paper.
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