How To Revise Somewhat Successfully

HOW TO REVISE SOMEWHAT SUCCESSFULLY

It's that time of year again, dear readers. Exams. Oh the joys. Oh the wonder. Oh how I do love spending endless days revising when I could be out actually living my life. But lo and behold, it is something we must do in order to keep moving forward in our lives. And although revision is a complete pain in the rear end, it isn't that bad, when you think about it. For starters, its entire existence is dedicated to helping you learn new information, most of which will help you better your life in some shape or form. It also gives your brain a good workout too. Plus its a reason to slob in your pjs all day and raid all the junk food in the house, because that brain of yours is one heck of a powerhouse, and it needs all the energy it can get.

If I'm still not selling it to you, don't worry. I don't think revision has ever made anyone jump for joy, in the whole existence of this universe and mankind. Lets face it, revision is one almighty, problematic drag. It also feels like a great injustice too, especially at Christmas time. When you've spent 12 odd weeks away from home, it's mindboggling why lecturers think you'd rather be revising models of sentence comprehension deficits, instead of spending time with the people you love. What's more, there's lots of different information to go over, condense and remember in a relatively short space of time. You have to figure out how to actually use the information in an exam, in order to pass the damn thing. You have to figure out where you're going to revise, how you're going to revise, when you're going to revise. Do you go the library, or stay at home? Do you start light years before, or do you cram it all in the night before? Do you go down the obsessive highlighting route? Do you make a revision timetable? SO MANY QUESTIONS.

Now I understand this post has not come at the most convenient time. I don't know about you, but my last exam is tomorrow (bar a lovely video exam next week, yay!), so I've definitely missed the bandwagon this time round. But I thought I'd share my tips anyway because they may still be of some use, and hopefully of more use next exam season (does the joy ever stop?!). They're usually somewhat successful for me, and its what I've found works, having spent the last five years of my life doing exams (yes I feel sorry for me too). So I hope something I write helps you out in some way, and I wish you all the luck in the world with whatever exam-related event you have to endure.

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TOP TIPS 

001. I know it's a drag, and yes I know that like me, you'd rather be watching Keeping Up With The Kardashians, but do the extra reading as you go along, and make notes of the potentially useful things you come across. That way you don't have to do it all later, and it normally helps you understand things better too.

002. Find out as soon as possible when your exams are, as it will help you prioritise what to revise, and give you an idea of when to start revising.

003. When it comes to making a start, chose a module and aim to go over a couple of lectures a day (aka. break it down to avoid having a Vesuvius-like brain explosion). 

004. I get a piece of paper, either A4 or A5, and I pick out the key things from each lecture/ extra reading, or summarise key things as briefly as possible, and then I write them all down on to a piece of paper or two. Nice and concise. It's a way of condensing the workload into something manageable, and pinpointing the most important information to take away from that particular lecture. 

When it comes to deciding what's important, I tend to follow the lecture headings or the ideas that seem worthwhile remembering. Condensing also makes revising easier, as you can easily take your notes with you anywhere. Literally, anywhere.

005. I try and do the above 3-4 weeks before the exam. I know it sounds nerdy, and not a lot of fun, but it means that 1) I have my resources ready to use nearer the time, and 2) it gets me subconsciously thinking about things, and remembering what I actually spent the last however many weeks of uni learning.

006. Google or YouTube anything that doesn't make sense, and try and find the simplest, clearest explanation online so that you've got it straight in your head first. Think of it as a platform you can then build on.

007. If you have to learn references for your exam, don't fret. Learn the names alongside the key fact/ idea, eg. Eggman (2013)- fried eggs are superior to boiled eggs, so that you learn to associate the two together. 

008. When deciding where to revise, I personally like to do a mixture so that things don't get boring. Sometimes I go to the uni library or the library in town, so that I actually get out the house and feel like there's some purpose to my day. Sometimes I stay in my room in my pjs and dressing gown. Judge it by how you feel when you wake up in the morning.

009. When trying to organise my time, I like to 1) write a list somewhere with my exams, dates & tick boxes, so I can visually see that I'm making progress, and 2) write a list each day of the things I want to do, and again put tick boxes so you can see what you've done, what needs doing, and relax when you've done.

010. Take breaks regularly, and use those procrastination activities as motivation. E.g, telling yourself you can go eat a whole packet of biscuits/ make a cup of tea/ check social media/ reapply your make-up/ chat to your friend/ like funny garlic bread memes/ find world peace, once you've done xyz. 

011. If your lecturer sets you questions, holds a revision session, puts intended learning outcomes on lecture slides, says you should revise certain things, follow their advice like its the word of God.

012. I sometimes make little info sheets or posters of info, as another way of condensing info down further. You can see how things link together better, and it's also a great opportunity to do some excessive highlighting.

013. Spend time just looking at your revision resources. Look at what pieces of information are where and what comes before/ after them, how you've arranged the information on the page, colours and words, used. I don't know if I have photographic memory or what, or if everybody can do this, but I find that by doing this, in an exam I can usually remember the resource in my head, and almost read it in my mind, which is pretty useful when I forget things. 

014. Use funny links to help remember things. For example, in my exam the other day, one of my references was 'Arehole', so naturally I thought of 'arsehole'. Therefore, when it came to using the reference in my exam, I thought of the idea, which reminded me of arsehole, then Arehole, and bam, I had my reference.

015. Like the last point, link information together, as when you're trying to remember things long-term, your ability to retrieve the information depends on how you encoded it. So like the previous example, I linked Arehole to the key idea, the word arsehole, the year 2009, where I was when I learn that bit of information, the format that the information came in (powerpoint in this case), how it linked to the subject matter and other pieces of information, etc. Lots and lots of links, so when I needed the information in the exam, I had lots of potential routes to help me get to that lil nugget of knowledge.

016. Personally I like to recite information out loud, in my head or under my breath, depending on whose around me. I look at the piece of paper and focus on a particular fact, then I look away and try and remember it. I keep doing this till I can remember the fact in my head clearly, then I repeat it a few times over. Some time later, I'll then question myself on it, and if I can't recall it, I go back and repeat the same process. I find this works really, really well for me.

017. Do a little bit every day, just to keep the juices flowing. You'll find that you'll gradually need to spend less and less time. 

018. Sleep lots during revision, because that's what your brain needs to consolidate information. See, there are some perks to revision.

019. A couple of days before the exam, just flick through the lecture slides again to make sure you haven't missed anything. If you have, the fact you've got most of the core stuff already down, means it's a lot easier to remember new things.

020. Eat everything you can possibly put in your mouth, cos that energy is going to make your brain one happy bunny.