There is little or no fun in doing revision, if it were all laughter and joy we would all be doing it and having a jolly good time, but it isn't fun and it certainly isn't sexy, and so the fainthearted among us don't revise at all and tell themselves stories that it will be all right on the day.
Decide what to study (reasonable task) and how long or how many (chapters, pages, problems, etc.). Set and stick to deadlines.
Do difficult tasks first. For procrastinators, start off with an easy, interesting aspect of the project and then move on to the hard stuff.
Have special places to study. Take into consideration lighting, temperature, availability of materials, and likely distractions.
Study 50 minutes, and then take a 10 minute break.
Stretch, relax, have an energy snack.
Allow longer, "massed" time periods for organizing relationships and concepts, outlining, and writing papers.
Use shorter, "spaced" time intervals for rote memorization, review, and self-
Use odd moments for recall/review.
If you get tired or bored, switch task/activity, subject, or environment.
Stop studying when you are no longer being productive.
Do rote memory tasks and review, especially details, just before you fall asleep.
Study with a friend. Quiz each other, compare notes and predicted test questions. Ask teachers to set you deadlines for practice essays.
1 Write down a list of central points as you read through a topic in your notes. After finishing the reading, try to remember all you can which is linked with that point.
2 Write a summary of each topic, perhaps on a small card. Include important facts, the main ideas, etc. . . and carry them about with you for regular reference.
3 Read through your notes and use a coloured highlighter pen on the main points.
4 Read your notes and your summary on a topic, put them away and then try to write the summary out again. Check how good it is by comparing it with your notes and your original summary.
5 Read your notes and summary and then enlist someone to test you with questions. Family members, fellow students, etc. may be willing to help.
6 Develop memory techniques to help you recall really important pieces of information. Acronyms such as 'Never Eat Shredded Wheat' is an example.
7 Dictate part of your notes or summary on a topic into a voice recorder, then play it back to yourself from time to time.
8 Practice answering examination questions obtained from your teacher either using notes and books or without them. It may be a good idea to time yourself and see if you can write an answer in about the time which the examination will give you.
9 Find new ways of presenting your notes in areas where your understanding is shaky. For example, building up a diagram showing the main points of a topic might be a better way of understanding it. Flow diagrams, spider diagrams, bubbles, etc. may also help.
Taken from www.m8i.net/revtech.html
4 Revise for long periods at a time without breaks! Plan your revision periods to
have regular breaks built in. Your brain cannot cope with long periods of intense
revision, you have to take a rest. Don't revise for periods longer than half an hour.
Take a walk, or have a drink and then return to it -
3 Just revise the content! Passing an exam is just as much about knowing the exam technique as it is the content. Remember to know what the examiner will expect of you, particularly how to answer particular questions in the correct way. Learn to use 'command words' correctly in the exam questions, they will guide you with your answer.
2 Leave revision until the last minute! No matter how much you try, you will never
revise everything the night before -
1 Just read notes! Reading through your notes alone does not help you remember them.
Exams are written, so you will need to revise how you will use the information in
the exam -
Indeed perhaps the only satisfaction a student can get from revision is the sense that they are on top of their material and because they are on top of their material they feel less stressed and anxious in the face of the upcoming examination.
Those who do not revise spend a great deal of time rationalising their failure to do so and indeed spend a lot of time preparing their excuses for failure.
Some students are afraid of success because success would mean having to make difficult and serious decisions about their future life and that scares them, so macho non revision techniques become a way of avoiding having to take themselves or their future career seriously.
More top tips for revision:
Revision Techniques.
Never . . .
Stress Management:
Because exams and stress go together like love and marriage...
What in normal circumstances might add a little creative tension to your activity can become quite debilitating, and it is important that you learn how to bring stress under control so that it does not impair your preparations and your performance in the exam.
Most people suffer from minor symptoms of stress at one time or another, but in conjunction with examinations the problem can become very acute.
Avoid Facebook and other networking sites -
Get a plan. Make it realistic and don’t waste time beating yourself up about things your haven’t done. Don’t con yourself that you know more than you do, let others test your knowledge and understanding. Some people find it helps to do some of their revision with friends. Make revision/test cards or talk your notes onto your ipad/phone and carry them with you.
The first thing you might do is learn how to recognise it.
Stress can cause feelings of dizziness, weakness, nausea, headaches, a sinking feeling
in the stomach, and all sorts of muscular cramps -
