Everyone's favourite time of year is back and it doesn't feel like we ever said goodbye. I don't know anyone that gets excited at the prospect of revising hard to help them battle through whatever the exams throw at them but I am writing this today to help make the task a but more manageable by sharing some hints and tips!
Firstly it is very important to manage your time carefully, no matter how little time you think you have, you can always salvage and make the best of the situation. Try using microsoft word like I did in my timetable (below) to open a monthly calendar which will help to keep track of time. Try counting the topics you have to do and dividing them by the days you have until your exam, this way you can work out how many topics you should try to do a day.
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A whiteboard helps to keep track too!
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The next most important thing is knowing how you learn, it is not worth sitting there trying to read through a ruck of notes when your learning style is not reading. Most people have a combination of learning styles, you can find out yours by using a VARK questionnaire. (x)
After you have worked out your revision type come up with tasks you can do and try to keep your revision active. Personally I write notes and keep a separate notebook for each subject to keep my notes neat.
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| Notebooks from Tesco |
After completing a topic I ensure I consolidate my knowledge by answering possible exam questions. This shows up any information I need to go over again and avoids me discovering the night before the exam that I actually haven't taken in the topic.
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| Questions for each topic. |
Use a variety of different techniques to make notes, I use my notebooks as mentioned before to copy notes from my classwork and revision guides. I also write notes on record cards in a condensed form as they help to organise information into bitesize chunks. Making tables has also helped me learn the research studies for my psychology exam as it set the studies out clearly so made them easier to learn.
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| Psychology studies table |
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| Flash Cards |
I always buy revision books to help me revise, I find that they are very helpful to explain things in another way if I still can't grasp it. I also get the revision books that are tailored to the syllabus and exam board I am on because they organise the information into topics and help to fill in any gaps in my notes (no one wants a shock in their exam).
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| Universal study guides for the subjects |
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| Board and syllabus specific guides. |
Once I finish revising the topics and answering the topic specific questions I move on to completing past exam papers. This highlights anything I need to revise again. I use sticky tabs to keep track of topics or questions I need to revisit.
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| Past papers. |
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| Colour coded sticky tabs |
If you need some extra motivation try placing university prospectuses or apprenticeship guides around the house as subtle reminders that you have reasons to give your best, and don't forget that good grades leave the doors open to any career. Don't forget to use colour too!!
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| Prospectuses! |
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| Colours |
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