With exams just around the corner, we have compiled a top 10 revision tips list for all our students. We have taken the guess work out of revising and compiled a streamlined list for you to follow to help you gain those all so important grades.
1. Make a Revision Schedule
Our first top revision tip is make a schedule. Like all great things, good grades don’t just happen. You need to be organised and plan out your time carefully. Creating a revision schedule will give you a clear plan of attack on getting your head around all that information you need to cover.
Make sure you keep your learning balanced and well spaced. There is no point in cramming in 4 hours of A-Level Mathematics and then following it straight up with A-level Physics! Your head will be fried before your first day is done! Try and keep your study periods closer to 45 minutes and throw in a good 5 minute break between study periods.
2. Create a Revision Space
You need to be able to concentrate and focus on your course materials when revising, so sitting yourself down on the sofa in the middle of the living room with the TV blaring is not an option. Try and create yourself your own little tranquil space that’s clean and tidy with all your learning materials to hand ready for you to sit down and focus.
It doesn’t have to be a whole room, just a corner of your bedroom or dining room will do. As long as it has good lighting, a desk, is peaceful and you can sit there for a few hours as per your revision schedule, then that is really all you need.
3. Notes, Notes and more Notes
An old revision tip, but a good revision tip! Notes are invaluable when revising your subjects. You don’t want to have to comb through an entire set of textbooks all over again when in your revision time. You want to be able to flick through a few pages and post it notes of the core and vital information you need to refer back on.
Don’t waste your time making your notes pretty or unique, lets be honest, after your exams, you’re probably not going to use them again. So make your notes practical, legible and relevant to what you need to know. You will be surprised how many notes you can make and cover when you stick to this rule!
4. Practice with Past Papers
If you Google ‘past papers’ you will get a wealth of links to past papers from awarding bodies that you can complete and use to help you get into the right frame of mind for answering questions during your exam. You can choose to sit them under exam conditions or just for practice, we advise you do a combination of the two options to really get you ready and prepared. To make sure your answers are right, you can either compare your answers to the marking scheme, or ask your tutor for feedback and advice on your efforts.
5. Get Help
Ask family and friends to help you revise. You would be surprised how helpful it really can be to have someone there drilling you about facts and figures from your course materials. If using a friend, you can take it in turns to be the examiner and compare scores and answers after.
6. Set Goals and Rewards
Who doesn’t love a little treat every now and then?! Make deals with yourself, if you complete a whole module of revision and manage to keep yourself focused all day on your revision, then treat yourself to your favourite meal, or that new top you have been eyeing up on your breaks. It’s all about keeping yourself motivated after all.
7. Self Care
Now we know this sounds like a cliche, but if you don’t look after yourself then you’re not going to be functioning or performing on 100%. Think about times where you skipped breakfast and then found yourself listen to your stomach gargle over the top of you attempting to learn your course or complete your assessment. It’s not a tall ask, just make sure you eat a good balanced diet, get plenty of sleep and where possible some form of exercise and fresh air to keep your brain powered up and ready to learn.
8. Start Early
You know the saying, ‘early bird catches the worm’, well it’s based on some truths! The earlier you get yourself down to revising, the better it will be and the more that will sink in! Once you’ve filled your soul with a good healthy breakfast, take yourself off to your revision space and begin. You will find the early start without any procrastination or distractions really will help you with fitting more in.
9. Spice it up
Eh? We hear you cry. We’re talking your revision methods, not your food. Variety is the spice of life and that applies to revision too! Don’t just go over and over your notes all day, try watching tutorials and making notes as you watch, reading your notes out loud in a funny or different accent, flicking through flashcards on the subject. Whatever you decide to do and in whichever combination, just make sure you keep it fun and entertaining to keep you learning.
10. Stay Positive
Again, we know this sounds like a whopper of a cliche, but it’s true! If you spend all your time working through your revision telling yourself there’s no point and it’s not sinking in, then you’re going to become a self fulfilling prophecy! Keep it positive, keep it hopeful and know that all your efforts will pay off and you will succeed at getting those grades you need.