For starters, any good study habits need to have planning involved. Your study environment is another key factor to consider.
Remember to allow yourself time off from revision otherwise you’ll burn yourself out mentally and physically. When it comes to allotting time to different subjects, be aware of your strengths and weaknesses so you can spend more time on your weaker subjects.
Some Basic Revision Techniques
- Re-reading class notes. Pretty basic method or revision but can come in handy when you need to remind yourself of the key facts. Don’t spend all of your revision time reading though. There are some far more effective methods and techniques.
- Revision guides. You don’t need any more than one per subject.
- Copying out key points from your notes onto small revision cards.
- Make use of diagrams. Draw your own diagrams so that you can remember them better.
- Use mnemonics to help you remember certain patterns or sequences. A mnemonic is a way of helping you remember information using abbreviations, words or phrases. For example, to remember the colours of the rainbow, you could use the mnemonic: Richard of York Gave Battle In Vain, using the first letters of each word to remember the colours Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet. Simple!
- Make audio notes by reading your notes onto a voice recorder. You can then play it back to yourself whenever you like!
- Write important words and phrases on sticky notes that can be stuck where you’ll see them every day. On your walls or doors… anywhere will do. Your parents may start to think you have a fixation for sticky notes but at least you’ll be making the most of your revision.
- Get friends and family to test you on various facts vocabulary etc… This will help you keep your mind alert and it will give you an idea as to how much you really know.
- Share ideas with friends and give support to them when they need it. They should do the same for you!
- As the exams get ever nearer, try doing some timed practice papers which you can either get off your teacher or off your examination board’s website. This will really test how much you know, and in certain subjects such as English, you’ll be able to practice your reading and writing skills.
Of course, not all the above techniques have to be used but they give you an idea as to what you can do to make your revision more productive.
Remember, it’s all worth it in the end!