Get Revising

Active Revision
The idea behind revision is not just to cover again [or maybe read for the first time!] work you have done in class or for homework, but also to make sure you remember it.

The key to remembering stuff is to become actively engaged with it.

Just reading and re-reading your textbook is largely a waste of time. There is too much information swimming in front of your eyes - most of it unnecessary for exam success. It is much too passive an activity for your brain to engage properly.

There are several ways of actively revising for examinations, all of which give you every opportunity to store information in your long-term memory. These activities include the following:

Brainstorming

Very useful. Find out what you don't know. Surprise yourself with what you do know. Pick a topic that is the likely subject of an exam question then, on a large sheet of blank paper, jot down everything you can remember about it. Just single words and short phrases, no sentences. Do this for three or four minutes then compare your brainstorm with your notes. Learn the information that you had forgotten and then do another brainstorm. You will be surprised by how much more you know after the second brainstorm.

Quick Quiz

You and a friend can sit down and quiz each other about a series of likely exam topics. Again, jot down what you don't know then quiz each other again, either immediately and/or later in the week.

Answer Skeletons

Using notes and/or textbooks, write down skeleton answers, in note form, to past exam questions. Then, without referring to any notes or this skeleton, do a full answer to these questions in exam conditions.

Teach Your Family

As many teachers will admit, in an off guard moment, one of the best ways to learn a subject is to teach it. If you didn't know your subject before you set out to teach it, you will certainly know it a lot better after you have attempted to explain it to somebody. So, be a pain in the butt at home! At dinner, or whenever else you can seize half-an-hour, attempt to teach a subject to family members. Encourage them to ask questions.

Study Cards

Build up a Card Index of Major Headings for each subject. Don't insert any details under each heading: leave these for your notes. Use the headings as prompts to see if you can remember the details under each heading. Refer to your notes to check on the details you can't remember. These cards can be taken everywhere: you can use them in idle moments, on the bus, waiting for a friend, on the loo, anywhere. They assist you in structuring the relevant knowledge for each topic without making you wade through too much information. Invaluable.

The importance of actively engaging in your revision cannot be overstated. Make it fun. Vary your revision activities. Keep that brain working and you will surprise yourself come results day.