How to Revise For An Exam

Yes, I know, sometimes quantum physics isn't the most interesting thing in the world, and learning quotes from "Romeo and Juliet" isn't your idea of a relaxing day in, but in order to absorb information, you have to want to learn. Even if the subject itself isn't hugely interesting to you, think of the outcome of doing well in the exam and how relieved you will be to pass.Promise yourself some sort of reward if you do well, and let that be your motivation.

Read about the subject and find out more about it in your own time, so it doesn't feel like a chore, and perhaps you will like it more. Find out interesting facts and trivia (if it's applicable to your subject) and who knows, it might be useful in the exam.

If you are telling yourself you don't want to learn it and it's a waste of time, you will find it much more difficult to learn, so at least try to be positive about it.

Yeah, yeah, you know you should start studying early, but it never happens, does it? We always say to ourselves "I'll start tomorrow" but of course never do. Finding the motivation to actually sit down and start studying is absolutely the most difficult part of it, so we need to be firm with ourselves about when we decide to begin. Look at the workload you have and assign yourself plenty of time to learn what you need. Write down a definitive date and stick to it. It might not be easy, but it is simple. Be tough with yourself, and you'll thank yourself for not leaving it to the last minute.

Making sure you are well organised before you begin studying is important so you don't have to be wasting time looking for things every 5 minutes. Find all the stationary equipment you need and keep it in a bag or at least together somewhere so you don't have to go hunting for a ruler every day.

If you have end of year exams spanning multiple subjects you have to study all at once, a good idea is to separate your subjects into individual titled files inside a big binder so everything is in the same place. It may seem childish but simple things like making it colourful will make it much less daunting and making lists of the main topics covered will help keep it organised.

If you are studying for a single exam, this perhaps isn't necessary (unless it's very complex, in which case you may want to break it up into separate topics), but if you have several exams, make a varied timetable so you dedicate enough time to each. It always happens that we prefer studying the subjects we are good at and prefer to forget about the ones that need a little extra tending to, so make sure you allow for enough time for each subject.

You will probably know how long you can study for, so cater it around your particular needs. Some people prefer to do it in short concentrated blocks of 30 minutes with a 10 minute break between them, but I tend to sit for hours at a time trying to learn as much as I can. If you can concentrate for that long, great, but don't force yourself if you can't, because you will just be wasting your time as you'll probably get distracted or bored if you sit still for too long. Be sensible and don't overwork yourself - give yourself plenty breaks, and if studying over a couple of weeks, have one or two days completely free so you can relax.

Some people are morning people, but like most I know, you probably aren't thrilled with the idea of studying at 7am. You don't need to start quite that early, but if you begin at 9 or 10am, you'll at least get a couple of hours in before lunchtime, and you'll hopefully finish what you've assigned yourself for that day by evening, so you have a while to relax. The worst thing is staying up late studying because you didn't start until 6pm, and then being exhausted the next day. Your brain learns best in the morning, so don't leave it too late.

Obviously, what you write will depend on your subject, but for most things, you will have information you have to learn about a specific topic (whether it be dates, formulae, or just dry facts), and it's important you lay these out as clearly and concisely as you can so you can learn them more easily.

A technique I use is to write a prompt on the left hand side of an A4 page (Vietnam War, Thermistors, Carbohydrates, whatever) and then write the relevant information in note form on the right side. This way, after I've written it all out and go back to learn it, I can just look at the left side and try to remember the facts on the right side. We learn from recall, and just reading a sentence over and over will not help us learn it.

For shorter notes, I also use small index cards to make it seem less dense, and diagrams to illustrate your point always make it a little easier to comprehend.

Colour coding and highlighting text makes it a lot more readable and therefore easier to remember. Decide on a system to use (for example, in physics, write the formula in green and the unit in red, or if you're learning literary quotations, write them in a different colour.) It has been said that green is a good colour to use as it is more positive than red which we associate with teacher's markings and bad things, but I would take that with a pinch of salt.

Highlight key words in your notes, and make sure they're not one block of text. Use bullet points and shorthand to make sure you know the basics necessary, and hopefully you will be able to fill in around it during the exam.

If you're exhausted and overworking, you're not going to remember what you're trying to learn, so always remember to take breaks. And by break, I mean do something relaxing, just sit with a mug of tea or read for a bit - don't start doing something else stressful or you'll work yourself into the ground. Take short 10-15 minute breaks around every 40 minutes to make the most of your time.

When you're studying, it's important not to get distracted or you will just waste your time and it will take you much longer than should be necessary. Turn off your phone, your TV, and if you can bear it, your computer, so you're never tempted, and only play fairly gentle music. Crashing rock or deafening dubstep won't generally help you learn, though some people say playing the same song on repeat will help them remember a specific set of information as the brain will associate the song with the facts learned during the exam.

Sit somewhere comfortable - if you have a study desk, that's great, but if not, try to at least sit at the kitchen table or somewhere you won't quickly get cramp in your legs or neck from crouching on the floor for too long.

Don't be cluttered. Try to keep your books as organised as you can - I know it's difficult when you need to have lots of things open at once, but give yourself plenty space and put things away when you're finished with them.

Most of you will already know how you learn best, whether it be by writing down the same phrase again and again, speaking facts aloud or drawing illustrations or diagrams to help you. However, the best method to use is to mix up different ways of learning to give you the best chance possible of remembering it all.

If you are trying to learn, for example, "Martin Luther King was born in 1929", write down the fact, say it aloud and read it over. Of course a lot of things you learn will be a lot more complex and perhaps you will have to remember "What impact did Martin Luther King have on the Civil Rights Movement?" for which you could write down a list of bullet points with the keywords from each reason. If you a more visual learner, perhaps a mind map will be less daunting to you. Then, read it over enough so that you only need a one word trigger to help you remember the rest of the point. For example, learn "March on Washington", and during the exam you will be able to expand on this point having written and read it previously.

Don't be tough on yourself by learning big blocks of text. Remember keywords - it will make your life much easier.

I know you know to stay hydrated and I won't insult your intelligence by explaining why it's important, but just try to remember always to have a glass of water beside you while you're studying. If you drink high-sugar drinks you will get an energy high, but this will quickly drain leaving you completely unmotivated. When we're concentrating, we might not feel thirsty even though we are dehydrated, but you will begin to be irritable and feel tired, so an easy solution is just to make sure you drink enough.

It will also force you to take toilet breaks so you at least keep the blood circulation moving. If you start getting pins and needles or cramps in your legs, just take a walk. The minute it takes will hardly detract from your learning, though if you try to ignore it it will start to affect your concentration.

Much like a sports athlete that needs sustained energy levels, our brain also requires more energy than usual when you are concentrating hard on learning, and bananas are the ideal food that provide long-lasting energy.

Well before the exam, make sure you know exactly how the questions in the exam will be laid out. If possible, borrow or buy Past Papers and practise from them. Familiarise yourself with the different types of questions (whether multiple choice, short answer, essays etc) so you know what to expect going into the exam. Set yourself a time limit and do a full exam paper, if possible, to see how you do, and then do further studying on the areas you're not so confident about.

If studying for a subject involving explanations and expanded answers like English, foreign languages or history, a technique I use is to simply choose a topic and to speak aloud for as long as I can about it. Yes, you sound like an idiot, but it is really amazing how many random facts we manage to dredge up from the back of our heads when we let it flow. Try it - the worse that can happen is that it doesn't work for you, but there's never any harm done.

Remember not to be too harsh on yourself, as putting extra stress on yourself certainly won't help your performance. We are animals like any other and we respond to rewards in much the same way as your pet dog - they motivate us into working harder and give us something (even if just some chocolate) to look forward to.

Agree to meet up with a friend (or two, but larger groups generally don't work since you all get distracted talking about other things) to study. Ask each other questions and write notes. It can really help hearing someone else saying what you're trying to learn in their own way as it gives us a different perspective.

Learn mnemonics or phrases to help you remember something. It's especially useful when learning a sequence of things, for example, the electromagnetic spectrum can be learned using the mnemonic "Green xylophones usually vibrate in music teacher's rooms" using the first letter of each word as the first letter of the corresponding wave (ie. green = gamma)

Learn to associate words to the topic by how they sound - no matter how ridiculous it is, if it helps you learn it, it's worth it.

It's only natural to be nervous about an exam, and it's usually a good thing as it stimulates out brain into focusing harder, but try not to worry yourself sick. Do the revision you need, and you will be fine. Test yourself the day before to make sure you know it, but don't stress if there's a couple of things you can't quite remember. You're never expected to get 100%, so don't stress about it.

Even if it doesn't go quite as well as you had hoped, it's not the end of the world. No one exam is ever an underpinning of your life, and no matter how much your teachers or parents pressure you into thinking so, it's not going to ruin your life if you don't do so well in one exam.

I hope you found these ideas useful to you: of course, not every one will be applicable to you, as it depends exactly what you are studying for, and everyone's techniques for revising are slightly different, but hopefully you picked up some useful ideas.
Thank you for reading, and please leave a comment with any further suggestions you think I should add.