"Revising isn't something that should be challenging or difficult at all. What revising is, unfortunately, is time consuming. It takes awhile. That's why you might like to start early..." -Author Unknown
What comes to mind when you hear the word revision? Well, if you're a secondary school or Uni student, the first thing that you might think of is preparing for exams and reviewing the necessary information to get the highest marks in the class.
Known by most as the action of revising, editing, correcting, and updating your personal information of a particular subject, revision is one of the essential keys to prepare for assessments and ace them like the boss that you are!
Nevertheless, although not necessarily complicated and particularly challenging in comparison to most other things, revising notes and past instruction is a harrowing experience that requires a lot of time. It's very easy to lost interest in reviewing and quickly abandon it altogether.
However, there is no need to fret since, after decades of careful trial and examination, the most qualified educators, past students, and examiners have come up with revision techniques that work wonders no matter the age, race, and past antecedents. Really? Tell us more!
In today's article, we shall examine some revision strategies that will make studying for your next exam seem like a piece of cake.
Different Active Revision Techniques For Students
- Active Recall: Test yourself on the material by trying to remember key concepts without looking at your notes. This helps reinforce your memory and identify areas that need further review.
- Flashcards: Create flashcards with questions on one side and answers on the other. Review these cards regularly to reinforce your memory.
- Mind Mapping: Use mind maps to visually organize information, making connections between different concepts and improving overall understanding.
- Summarization: Summarize complex topics in your own words. Teaching someone else what you've learned can also help solidify your understanding.
- Teaching Others: Teach the material to a friend, family member, or even an imaginary audience. Explaining concepts to others reinforces your knowledge.
- Practice Problems: For subjects that involve problem-solving, practice a variety of problems to build confidence and improve your skills.
- Chunking: Break down large amounts of information into smaller, manageable chunks. Focus on mastering one chunk before moving on to the next.
- Pomodoro Technique: Study in focused intervals, typically 25 minutes, followed by a 5-minute break. After completing four cycles, take a longer break of around 15-30 minutes.
- Variety of Resources: Use a mix of textbooks, online resources, videos, and practice tests to get a well-rounded understanding of the subject.
- Space Repetition: Review material at spaced intervals to optimize memory retention. Focus more on challenging topics during these review sessions.
- Utilize Visual Aids: Create diagrams, charts, and graphs to illustrate complex concepts. Visual aids can make information easier to understand and remember.
- Group Study: Study in groups to discuss and explain concepts to each other. Group discussions can provide new perspectives and help fill in gaps in your knowledge.
- Active Note-Taking: Instead of copying verbatim, summarize and rephrase information as you take notes. This engages your brain and helps you process the content.
- Reflect and Review: Set aside time at the end of each day to review what you've learned. This reinforces the material and prepares your brain for the next study session.
- Stay Healthy: Get adequate sleep, eat balanced meals, and engage in physical activity. A healthy body supports a healthy mind during the revision period.
Remember, different strategies work better for different individuals. Experiment with various techniques to find the ones that suit your learning style and preferences the most.
Pomodoro Technique Fore Revision
The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method that involves breaking your study or work sessions into focused intervals, usually 25 minutes long, followed by short breaks. This technique can be highly effective for maintaining concentration, managing distractions, and improving productivity during revision. Here's how to apply the Pomodoro Technique for revision:
- Choose a Task: Select a specific topic or subject you want to revise during your Pomodoro session.
- Set a Timer: Set a timer for 25 minutes (one Pomodoro interval) using a timer app, your phone, or a physical timer.
- Work Intensely: Focus solely on the chosen task during the 25-minute interval. Avoid distractions and immerse yourself in the material.
- Take a Short Break: When the timer goes off, take a 5-minute break. Use this time to stretch, walk around, or do a quick relaxation activity.
- Repeat the Cycle: After the break, start another 25-minute Pomodoro session and continue this cycle. After completing four Pomodoros, take a longer break of 15-30 minutes.
- Note Progress: Keep track of how many Pomodoros you complete and the tasks you've covered. This can provide a sense of accomplishment and motivation.
- Adjust as Needed: Customize the Pomodoro intervals and break durations based on your preferences. Some people find 25-minute intervals too short or long, so adjust to what works best for you.
- Limit Multitasking: During a Pomodoro session, focus on a single task. Avoid multitasking, as it can reduce your productivity and focus.
- Use Tools: There are various apps and online tools designed specifically for Pomodoro Technique timers. These tools can help you manage your intervals effectively.
- Stay Consistent: Incorporate the Pomodoro Technique into your regular revision routine to develop a consistent study habit.
The Pomodoro Technique helps prevent burnout and fatigue by giving your brain regular breaks while maintaining a high level of focus during work intervals. It can be particularly useful for tackling large amounts of material during revision and preventing procrastination.
Quiz Yourself
To prepare for an upcoming exam, you must test yourself and see if you are up to the challenge!
Hundreds of thousands have used quizzing and practice tests, maybe even millions, of Uni students for decades. Why? Because it's a classic revision technique that boasts results and effectively puts students in the appropriate frame of mind to undergo an examination.
By frequently creating small quizzes for themselves, stressed-out pupils hone extensive knowledge, acquire the ability to correct and learn from their errors, and remember weak concepts that would otherwise be forgotten.
Also, it's worth mentioning that it has been proven that students who undergo more examinations or quizzes regularly, grasp more information than those who don't and for a more extended period. So, instead of scoffing at the idea of doing plenty of mini-exams when reviewing to prepare for the much larger one in the future, embrace the idea since you will find a solution that works best for you. Oh, really?
It's no surprise that under the broad umbrella of quizzing yourself, there are various types of practice examinations that are accessible, engaging, user-friendly, and useful. Such as? The following are a few types of mini-quizzes for successful review sessions:
- Short-answer quizzing,
- Multiple choice questions,
- Necessary Vocabulary and Definitions,
- Long-answer questions.
Students can effectively create quizzes or tests for themselves following the same format of previous exams that were created by your professors, although at a much a smaller scale. Also, it is helpful to review worksheets and class notes that your educator has deemed as necessary since that will let you know what examiners are looking for during the exam day.
We highly recommend creating a rubric or type of practice exam that can be filled with alternative questions based on the subject at hand and photocopy it a few times so that you can practice it over and over again.
Also, although not all professors might be willing to lend a hand, ask a few of your teachers for some exams from past years. Why? To give you an idea of what you should review and some extra tips about how to fabricate your practice quizzes; you'd be surprised at how useful this might be!
Effective Use of Visual Aids
Being continuously active in revising information for future exams is not merely a suggestion, it is mandatory to ace assessments and ensure a bright future; sounds intense!
Therefore, since the idea of continually reviewing notes is very dull for most, you'll be happy to know that some revision techniques brighten things up and make studying worthwhile and engaging at the same time. Such as? Beautiful, bright, and bold visual aids!
Otherwise known as graphic organisers, visual aids such as Venn diagrams and the Sequential Thinking Method keep things organised and pretty all at once.
So instead of continuing with engrained habits such as writing stale notes, consider reconstructing your class records in a way that contributes to more effective revision sessions later on by making meaningful links and connections that are not soon to be forgotten.
Also, it's worth stating that Venn diagrams are not the only graphic organisers that merit attention. The following are a few more visual aids that can be utilised:
- Chains,
- Thinking of Right Angles,
- Spider Maps,
- Webs,
- Mind Maps.
Consider Googling the previously mentioned graphic organisers to find one that best suits your revision needs; you've got that exam in the bag!
Are you feeling stressed about your upcoming exams? Read our informative article about anxiety fighting techniques!
Flashcards Are a Godsend
Of all the things mentioned in this article, using flashcards is the most highly recommended revision technique. Why? Well, they work better than anything and cause the brain to remember key facts better than quizzes and structured visual aids.
And, although claimed as too generic and boring by most students preparing for exams, there is a reason that flashcards continue to be utilised by many experts in the field of education: they are successful at helping students achieve greatness come assessment periods. Why is that? Psychologists and experts have discovered that flashcards help us learn in the following three ways:
- They effectively engage a mental faculty known as active recall,
- Flashcards active and use metacognitive faculties that can be pretty much summed up as the act of self-reflection,
- Confidence is built up by taking advantage of repetition exercises.
All of the previously mentioned concepts are essential to acquire new information and have it stick long after examinations are completed. Isn't that brilliant? It's always best to gain knowledge, knowing that you will actually use it later on and not just to get high test results.
It is important to mention that flaschards are not only for exam review but are also effective at helping people remember names and faces, acquire the basics of a foreign language, and mastering lengthy poems.
Nonetheless, it is essential to mention that when not used to their full potential and in the best way, flashcards are pretty much useless for students who wish to review for exams. Therefore, how can great flashcards be used to review notes like a pro? The following are some helpful tips to make the best of flashcards effectively:
- Create Your Cards: while there are plenty of online resources that boast great printable flashcards covering a wide range of topics and designed explicitly for helping Uni students review, the best thing to do is take the necessary time and create your own. Why? By designing your flashcards to revise, you're helping out your brain in the best way possible by letting it intake new information and create something new whether it's through pictures, drawings, or keywords. The process of creating personalised flashcards begins something known as vital "neural pathways" which makes you remember an important for later and in your own words.
- Draw Pictures on Cards: I'm sure you've heard the phrase, a picture is worth a thousand words. And, although there isn't room for hundreds of stories on a flashcard, there is space for some memorable images that help the brain remember concepts in a much more effective way.
- Break Down Complex Concepts: to use flashcards effectively when reviewing a complicated theory; it is essential that multiple questions and cards be used and not stuffed onto the same flashcard. Why? Because the brain will be too confused if there is too much info and a series of cards work better. Remember, less is more!
- Use Both Sides: when reviewing for a test using flashcards, it is necessary to utilise both sides of the card entirely. If this isn't done, you'll probably be able only to recall one side of the card instead of both, and this shortens the number of neural pathways that can be created. We recommend writing an essential idea on the front side with a drawing and include points that support the concept on the backside.
If you put the previously mentioned pointers into practice, you'll be golden and possess the ability to successfully review even the most diabolic notions for an upcoming exam.
Also, before concluding this section, we would like to state that for those who prefer to use digital flashcards, we remarkably suggest using Anki flashcards since thousands of content students have utilised them all over the world. They support images, audio, video, and scientific markup.
All in all, we hope that the information presented in today's article provides you will find the necessary revision techniques to prepare for exams and grasp success triumphantly!
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