How to Revise Successfully
Find out how these three steps can make revising easier.
Part 1: Organizing Your Revision
1. Find a good place to study.
Find a quiet, well-lit place to work that will be comfortable and free of distraction. Log out or temporarily disable social media like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
Some studies show that studying information in different places allows you to compartmentalize the information, making it easier to recall at a later date if you can associate the information with the location.
2. Draw up a timetable for your review and stick to it.
What do you hope to cover by the end of the week? By the end of the day? Working from a revision timetable helps you to make clear goals for each revision session and allows you to check them off as you progress. Revision plans can reduce anxiety, reassuring you that you've taken the necessary steps. Alternatively, if this isn't your style and your life is more unpredictable, write up a tick list/ to-do list of all the subject areas or units you need to cover.
3. Set reasonable study targets that you know you can reach.
Going over twelve chapters of trigonometry the night before a big exam is probably going to do more harm than good. Organize in the most effective way to remember the most important information you've got to study.
You could revise throughout the year by spending 15 minutes each day making notes you'll be able to rely upon later. By doing it in short stretches, you will remember more and feel less stressed.
Prioritize the most urgent and important topics on your schedule.
Part 2: Reviewing Actively
1. Engage your texts.
Rather than simply reading quickly over the sometimes-dull texts you've got to study, take a more active role by making Q cards with your own questions, 5 or so questions per card is appropriate and should cover all the information in the text. These questions can then be used for self-testing or get a friend/family member to quiz you, if you get it wrong, the answers are on the back! Bright colors help make this bit more fun too as well as organizing your subjects.
2. Recall and summarize.
As you're studying, stop every few minutes to recap what you've read. Write a short summary--a few sentences--in your notes, or at the bottom of the page. Use your own words. A good way of recalling is writing your notes down from memory and then going back over them and filling in the gaps with another color of pencil or pen. You'll know the different color refers to information you might have trouble remembering. Periodically, Try to repeat the process of summary, writing down on a separate sheet of paper what you know about a given topic or subject without consulting your books or your previous notes.
3. Draw or doodle freely while you study.
For a visual learner, it's important to break down information into drawings or diagrams, to make recall easier in the long run. Diagrams, mind maps, and freehand drawings can be useful ways of improving both your understanding and creating a much easier memory aid than reading the text alone. Do not be afraid to use colors in much the same way––color your drawing or highlight the text.
4. Find someone who knows nothing about the topic and explain to them.
Even if it is explaining to the mirror or your cat, just take the time out to talk to someone as if the person is learning about it for the first time, and you are the teacher. It is hard to forget information once you have done this, and also forces you to clarify the information and lay it all out in the most concise and simple way possible.
5. Try to use a study guide or an old test.
Answering past exams or test papers in the same time limit, as the real exam or test will gives you an opportunity to test yourself under the same constraints. It will be a chance to see whether there are gaps in your knowledge that you need to go back over and it'll also be useful to see if you can get down all that you want to say in the time allotted. Do the practices under timed conditions by using a timer, which could be on your phone.
6. Take breaks periodically to give your concentration a boost.
If you take breaks regularly, your concentration will be better and you will find yourself retaining more information than if you try to plow straight through. Don't waste energy and time revising with an over-tired mind that won't remember what it just read.
Try to stick to your schedule. Make sure to check off topics and subjects as you accomplish revising them. It may even be a good idea to reward yourself with a treat on the completion of a target to help you get there.
Part 3: Finding Support
1. Talk to your teachers.
Look on your teachers and professors as part of your support network and use them for the resource they offer. Ask for their assistance when it becomes clear you need it. Knowing earlier rather than later in your revision will make it easier to approach them and get their help.
2. Revise with other classmates.
Find a suitable group of good students who hope to succeed, and schedule regular meetings in between your other revision activities. Discuss the topics of revision, helping each other solve problems, understand the materials, and test one another over the reading. Studying in a group can be a great way of reducing anxiety levels and making revision fun, as well as productive. Find ways to test each other, playing revision games as challenges. Use flashcards or structure your study sessions like a quiz game. Chat online if you haven't time to catch up in person.
3. Let your family help you.
Your family can help support you even when they cannot understand what you are learning. Ask them to test you, clarify problems for you, read with you, and help you to stay organized. Parents and siblings who have already experienced revision will have some good ideas to help you prepare. Moreover, family and friends can be good moral support when you are feeling down or anxious about the revision.
4. Stay relaxed.
Spend time doing something relaxing each day, such as listening to your favorite music, going for a walk or swim, spending time with your pets, or talking with a good friend. These activities will help you to feel relaxed and connected to others and the world as you keep working through the revision. You can also practice relaxation exercises, meditation, or simply just lay back and chill out now and then ...Possibly with a Q card in your hand.
