Renewed Learning's Top 10 Revision Tips
‘Revision’ comes from the latin ‘re-’ (again) and ‘videre’ (see), thus literally meaning ‘seeing again’. We know that this process of looking at materials you have already covered in class is challenging; you may feel you are not using your time effectively, and you can easily feel overwhelmed and ‘burnt out’. This is all normal, especially if you are new to revising. Revision skills take time to build. In this blog we would like to share our top ten tips for effective revision - based on Renewed Learning’s expertise as well as the personal experiences of our tutors.
1 - Start revising early
It’s advice we hear all the time, but it really is worth listening to: don’t leave it until the last minute! Once you know when your exam(s) will be, you should immediately think about how much time you will need to leave you feeling as prepared as possible.
2 - Set ambitious but realistic goals
Before you can make an effective revision plan, you need to think about what you are aiming to achieve in your upcoming exams. Do you want to improve on your last test scores? Do you want to achieve a certain grade, or get into a particular school or university? Of course, be ambitious with your goals; they will motivate you to revise effectively. But also be realistic to avoid feeling disappointed and dejected.
3 - Make a plan and stick to it
Making a revision plan is an excellent way to kickstart your revision process. It helps you think through:
What you need to do; the modules you need to consolidate, the past papers you should go through, for example.
And, how much time you need to allocate to each task; perhaps some modules will require more focus than others.
We don’t advise spending excessive amounts of time crafting a beautiful plan but make sure you give yourself a clear and achievable timetable. Then the key is to stick to it!
4 - Revise in manageable blocks of time
To ensure you stick to your revision plan, you should avoid sitting at your desk for painful periods of time. The average adult human has an attention span of roughly 20 minutes. This means that if you are sitting at your desk revising for two hours without breaks, you probably aren’t concentrating for the full period of time. You might notice that after half an hour you can't resist scrolling through Instagram or gazing out the window to daydream. We recommend that students break their revision into shorter sessions, each session will be more focussed and intense and leave you with enough energy for the next one.
5 - Take breaks
In between your (shorter) revision sessions you should definitely take breaks. You could go for a short walk, talk to a friend or family member or grab a snack. These will mean that you are refreshed for your next session. You should also plan longer breaks from revision where you can play a game of tennis, go out for brunch, or watch a film … do whatever makes you happy! These breaks will prevent you from exhausting yourself such that you are unable to be receptive to new information: a state many refer to as ‘burnout’. Taking breaks will also help you stay happy and maintain good mental wellbeing. If you are starting to feel burned out, then it can sometimes even be worth taking whole days or weekends off to relax and recharge.
6 - Experiment with a variety of techniques
Everyone has different learning styles, and figuring out yours can help maximise the effectiveness of your revision. One way this can be done is through trying out different study techniques- for example, first try writing notes, then recording and listening to them. You can then evaluate each method, and choose what to focus on. However, it’s important to remember no-one learns through just one method! Make sure to combine the techniques that work for you, and keep trying new things out. This can also help keep your revision varied and interesting. Some more techniques you could try are drawing out your notes in a visual way, teaching the content to others (more on this later!), making flashcards, and writing quizzes.
7 - Consider working with others
Working with friends can be a wonderful way to stay motivated while incorporating a bit of fun into studying. Talk to your friends and see if you can help them with any gaps in their knowledge, and vice versa. It’s great to have a concept explained to you by a peer, and equally helpful to practise teaching someone else. If you can help someone understand a difficult concept, it’s a sign you’ve truly retained the information. This means you should be able to apply it effectively in an exam. Make sure you choose a friend who has similar goals to you and is someone who will incentivise you to work. Another benefit of working with a friend is that your revision breaks will coincide!
8 - Use past papers and mark schemes
After mastering the content, it’s important to learn to apply it in the right way. Looking at past papers is a great way to do this- try to sort questions into different ‘types’, and master answering each of these categories. Reading mark schemes is essential and, while doing this, remember to judge your answers fairly harshly and from an objective standpoint. This will give you an honest assessment of your current level and where you need to improve. While studying mark schemes you should also try to start thinking like an examiner, so you know how to increase your chances of scoring highly. You might even find certain topics pop up more often than others- although you should cover your entire syllabus.
9 - Stay organised
A tidy study space means a tidy mind! You’ll find that you’ve probably amassed a huge amount of resources towards the end of your revision period, and it’s easy for important texts to get lost in the shuffle. Make sure paper notes are neatly filed away, in dedicated drawers or folders. Even if your notes are stored digitally, remember to store your files in the correct folders from the beginning of your revision. Resources which have been emailed can be especially easy to lose or forget so either download these or sort them into folders on your email platform.
10 - Ask for help when you need it
Working with friends is great, but remember you probably have a variety of avenues for help at your disposal! Speaking up in class when a tricky concept is introduced, asking family members, and finding a tutor to work with you, can all be great ways to move past a study roadblock. It’s never good to struggle alone, so remember to reach out to those around you if you’re having a hard time- sometimes they might not be able to help you with the content, but moral support is always beneficial.
Conclusion
We hope that this brief introduction to revision can serve as a helpful guide to those just beginning to prepare for exams, and can perhaps give some new suggestions to those more experienced. These tips have certainly served us well in our academic education so far! Finally, all this can be daunting to face on your own, so as we have said- consider working with others and ask for help when you need it! Finding a suitable tutor, for example, can help you realise a more effective revision strategy and give you some accountability. We at Renewed Learning are always happy to provide our services in revision support, helping you to be creative, reflective, and effective.