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University Survival Guide: Part 2 - How To Revise For Exams

The Do's and Don'ts of Revision

By ClarePublished 4 years ago 10 min read
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If there's anything most students struggle with during university and school, it's finding effective ways to use their study time wisely. The ability to balance your coursework and revision equally is essential if you want to finish with good grades. To help, I've listed my best "Do's and Don'ts" gathered during my studies when it comes to revising for exams.

Do:

Ignore people who tell you not to leave your revision work until the last minute. However, this only applies if you know you work well under pressure, and can fit everything you have to do in the time you have left. Everybody works differently, and this advice will not work exclusively for all, but it worked for me. Some people have excellent short-term memories and can revise a whole module of content in a couple of nights before an exam without forgetting it. I found that revising a week in advance was pointless, as I would have forgotten everything by the time the exam came around. This is not a free pass to use as an excuse to procrastinate until the night before though! There are plenty of other things you can do to prepare for exams in the time leading up to this.

Quiz your classmates. This is always a win-win situation as you both need to learn the material, and you'll have far more fun revising together than you would alone. This also allows you to use flashcards, or come up with questions, which can ingrain information into your memory faster. It may also help if you are stuck on a particular subject, as a classmate may be able to explain it to you in a way that a teacher cannot. Not everybody is an ideal revision partner though, and you have to be careful not to let them distract you. It's best to find someone who matches your own revision style.

Keep an organised diary. Even if you don't fully stick to it, having a revision diary can make the whole process feel a little less overwhelming, as you'll have far more control and awareness over the topics you have to learn. It's also an effective way to figure out exactly how much time you need to spend on each topic. You should always allow extra time for your revision than you think you'll need, in case there is something you get stuck on, or you get distracted. Having said that, it is very easy to make the mistake of spending far too much time making a pretty and colourful diary, instead of revising itself. I am guilty of that many times myself.

Free up your time when you need it. It is perfectly acceptable to say no to friends who ask to meet up if you are struggling with your time management. You are also well within your right to ask for fewer shifts from your part-time job to revise if needed. Your degree comes first. When you receive your certificate when you graduate you won't be wishing you went clubbing with your friends on that one Saturday night in May.

Make the most of the people you live with (if they're willing). Whether you live with parents, other family members or fellow students, anyone can help you to revise. Whether they test you on some topic questions, motivate you to do some revision when you need it, or simply help you to take a well-earned break, the people you live with can make all the difference to getting your revision done efficiently.

Take breaks. As suggested above, it is essential to take regular breaks from revision. I would recommend a 10- or 15-minute break every hour, as this will keep you structured, and give you something to look forward to. You could find something to treat yourself with during the break, such as watching a video or eating comfort food.

Eat, drink and sleep well. A bit of comfort food is okay in moderation, but it is important to make sure you stick to normal food habits during revision times. Sudden changes to your eating and sleeping routines will lead your brain to be less effective when you need it the most. You should be getting at least 8 hours of sleep a night, and make sure this is at reasonable hours! Stay hydrated while revising too, as your brain needs every bit of help it can get to stay focused. Try setting yourself a goal amount of water to drink each day.

Clean your workspace. Revision often leads to hours spent in your room, stuck in the same four walls. If you have a desk you like to revise at, clean it before you start. An organised desk will make it so much easier to be efficient, and the last thing you want is dust and food wrappers all over the place. Try to avoid revising on your bed. That way you can mentally separate your bed as a place to rest, not a place to work. This will make it less likely for you to work late into the night without realising, and will probably also stop you from falling asleep while revising. Working at a desk will also stop you from injuring your back from bending at awkward angles for long periods of time.

Find past papers. Previous exam papers are possibly the most useful revision tool. Ask your lecturer or teacher if you can have access to any, or to write you some example questions if there are no previous papers on your topics. This is a sure-fire way to ensure you aren't caught off-guard in the exam. You may notice in some past papers that the same topic comes up every time, meaning you should revise that topic more than the others. Some exams only ask you to answer a couple of questions out of a selection, which may mean you only have to revise certain topics instead of wasting your time revising an entire module when you didn't need to. No matter what your exam style, it is always useful to know what to expect when you sit in the exam hall. They are also very useful to test your knowledge on what you have just revised and can highlight things you need to revise further.

Triple check the exam timetable! This should go without saying, but during almost every exam during my university experience, there was generally a student who didn't show up or was late. Not only do most places not let you retake exams that you miss, but the weeks you spent preparing for these exams are pointless if you show up late. Confirm with other people in your class if you don't know where you have to go for exams, or if you are supposed to arrive early. Check with your lecturer for other details, such as needing a student card with you, or if you have to write in black/blue ink! You can never be over-prepared. On the night before your exams, make sure you have an alarm that you cannot oversleep. If you struggle with oversleeping a lot, tell the people in your house that you need to be up at a certain time so they can make sure that you are awake, or get someone else to call you to wake you up.

Find out what kind of learner you are. Most people fall into one of three categories of learner: visual, auditory or kinesthetic. Once you know what kind of learner you are, you can adapt your revision style to fit it. Visual learners generally find the best methods to be rewriting notes, highlighting important information, creating posters and mindmaps, and using flashcards. Auditory learners usually learn best from listening in class, recording lectures, asking questions, repeating facts with their eyes closed, and studying in a quiet environment. Kinesthetic learners will struggle the most with standard revision, as the education system is not generally set up to support their style of learning. Nevertheless, they can learn well from making models, giving presentations and demonstrations, and going to museums. There is a website that can allow you to determine which group you belong to with a short quiz here.

Ask for help! Lecturers and teachers want you to pass your exams, and they want to help you succeed. If there is a teacher you struggle to talk to, find someone else in the department who can give you advice. Teachers will come out looking better if their students do well in exams, so you are on the same team! You can talk to them in classes or lectures, or send an email if you would rather not do it face-to-face. Most universities also have assigned Academic Advisors, for this very reason. There is no excuse not to ask for help.

Don't:

Compare yourself to others. Do not feel guilty just because someone else in your class started revising before you. Work to your own schedule and do not let others' revision habits influence your own. You may work differently to others, and only you know your own way of learning.

Only use the lecture slides to revise. Lectures are there to give you the base of the information around a topic. But, every student in your class has seen those slides, so you aren't going to stand out from the rest if you write about something that everybody else is writing about. If you are doing a subject which involves a lot of written exam work, make sure you expand your knowledge beyond what the lecturer has told you. Your exam answers need to impress your lecturer, which isn't going to happen if you just repeat back the things they've already said. The implications that you can use your initiative to find other relevant information shows a deeper understanding of the topic and will get you better marks.

Let your phone distract you. The easiest distraction from revision is almost always by our side 24/7. When you sit down to revise, make sure your phone is far away from you, or on silent, to prevent a constant distraction. Let the people you talk to know that you will be unavailable for a certain amount of time and do your best not to distract others who you know are revising. You can use those short breaks that I mentioned earlier to treat yourself to some phone time.

Have the TV on in the background. This is an even worse distraction than your phone. Your eyes and brain will have enough to focus on if you are revising efficiently. Even if you don't think you are watching the TV fully, it will still cause distractions. Try to avoid revising in rooms where others are watching TV or listening to music, especially if you are an auditory learner.

Avoid the hardest subjects. This is the opposite of what you need to do, even though it is extremely tempting. Almost every subject has certain modules and topics that are harder than the rest, whether it be Maths, Biology, Geography, etc. If there is a topic you struggle to revise with the most, make sure you work on it before the rest (unless you know you won't need it for the exam). Ask your lecturer or classmates to clear up any confusions you have, and ask them for advice on how you can revise the topic if you find it particularly difficult. Once you have got that topic cleared up, you can spend your time on easier ones.

Just read things. Simply reading things is rarely the best method to absorb information quickly. After a certain amount of time your brain struggles to compartmentalise this information if you have made no effort to help it. Unless you are lucky enough to have an eidetic memory, this is not an effective strategy.

Overwork yourself. It is very easy to put aside your own well-being when under high time pressure. However, you should always put breaks from revision at high priority, and keep good care of yourself to ensure your brain is functioning as well as possible. Don't take all-nighters before exams just to cram in every morsel of information, because even if you manage to remember everything, you will probably be too sleep-deprived to work at your best when you get there.

Remember that everybody learns and works differently in various situations, and don't torture yourself with revision. Make it as comfortable and organised as possible to avoid last-minute panic, and adapt your methods to what works for you every time. The more you revise, the more you will know how to revise!

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About the Creator

Clare

A 22-year-old graduate from the UK. Writing for fun, trying to spend my spare time somewhat productively.

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