When you try to revise an entire year of lessons in such a short space of time, it is no wonder that one would feel stressed out. You should actually start “revising” right from lesson one, at the start of the course. Some may ask, what is there to revise at the start when you have not learnt much? Won’t you forget by the time the examinations come around?
If you have to revise again before the examinations, isn’t it a waste of time to revise earlier on? Such questions will not arise if you view revision as a process of gaining an understanding, rather than just remembering facts. The techniques of revision are thus very much the same as the techniques of studying — pay attention in class, make good notes, ask questions until you understand. When you have a good understanding of the subject, you will remember most things. Any last minute revision that you do will simply involve refreshing your memory to recall what you already know.
Rely on Notes
It is not practical to revise by reading your textbooks, especially in my case when I was doing two courses concurrently and holding a full-time job. There are just too many books and too many pages to read during those few hours or few days that you have set aside for revision.
If you revise by reading books, you will end up with marathon sessions, reading late into the night. If you do this regularly over a period, you will feel very tired and your chances of falling ill are high. If you do this on the night before the examination, you will not be in tip-top condition. Rather, you need to rely on your notes and, if you have, your mind maps. It is important, therefore, to make good notes and mind maps. It is also vital that you already know your subject well. Then, one glance at your notes or mind maps will be enough to refresh your memory. When you revise in this way, you will not feel stressed out, but confident. Making good notes takes time.
During your lessons, you might just spend a few moments to scribble some words that will refresh your memory. Then, after the lessons, spend time making proper notes in a way that will help you to understand. Write out the points neatly and in an organised manner. If necessary, rewrite the scribbles from your lectures. Try to summarise an hour of lessons, plus perhaps many more hours of self-study and discussions with friends, into notes that you can read through in, at most, a few minutes.
Your notes for the entire year should not take you more than a few days to revise. As the examinations approach, your notes will enable you to revise quickly, without stress.
Think About the Exams
Since the purpose of revision is to prepare for the examinations, you ought to also think about the exams from the very beginning. From the first lesson onwards, think about how the topic might appear as an examination question. Consider also how two or more topics might be combined into one question. If you were the examiner, how would you phrase your questions? What aspects would you like the student answering the questions to highlight? Bear this in mind when you make your notes. Gear your notes towards answering possible examination questions, rather than simply listing out facts and figures.
Looking at past examination questions can be very helpful. If one or more questions have already been asked about a topic, think about how the same topic could be asked differently.
Don’t Spot Questions
Do not use past examination questions as a way to predict the ones that you will be sitting for. In other words, do not try to spot questions as a way to reduce your revision workload. Do not assume that if a certain topic has been asked about many times before, it will be asked again, or if a topic has not been asked before, that it will not be asked. Spotting questions is something that students naturally do. In my study groups at university, for example, we would identify socalled “hot topics” and pay greater attention to them. Some books on study techniques strongly advise against spotting questions.
But I think it is pointless to tell any student not to do so, because he or she will still do it anyway. What I can advise is that you should not rely on spotting questions. If you wish to be a top student, you must be prepared to answer any question on any topic. This comes from studying consistently throughout the year, understanding what you have studied, and making a good set of notes and mind maps. When you are well-prepared, you need not worry what questions would be asked, as you will feel confident of answering any question.
Practise Answers
What you can do with past examination questions, however, is to practise answering them. This is an important part of your revision and preparation for the real examination. It is not practical, of course, to spend too much time answering past examination questions. If you are really pressed for time, like I was, the least you can do is to practise answering them briefly in point form. In other words, you can make notes on how to answer these questions. You could also only pick topics that you need extra help with.
Having answered these questions, either fully or briefly, you can then discuss the answers with friends. You might do this in formal study groups or just casually, or simply swap your practice answers and learn from each other.
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