Revise actively

As well as planning your overall revision strategy (see 'Revision: the grand plan'), it's important to overhaul the way you revise. Most of us have a routine for revision which isn't actually all that effective. Do any of the problems beflow seem familiar? If so perhaps you need to try out some of our ideas for Active Revision!

Problems with typical revision

  • Boredom: Reading notes over and over again doesn't make you think. Once boredom sets in your learning becomes much less effective and your morale takes a nose-dive.
  • Over-familiarity: Your notes will all look pretty familiar to you, and it is not easy to sort out the points you really know from those you half-know but which really need more work. You do need to revise material that you are comfortable with but your most significant advances will come from identifying and tackling the 'grey' areas at the margins of your knowledge.
  • Inflexibile thinking: Exams require you to think on your feet, using old material in new ways. Preparing for exams is as much about developing mental flexibility as it is about remembering details. If you re-read your notes you are going through material linked together in exactly the same way, every time.

Ways to revise more actively

  • Make a set of condensed revision notes: Doing this not only involves you in re-writing but also forces you to think about the relative importance of the points you are dealing with. To condense information you have to decide what is important and what can be left out. Keep your new notes for last minute revising. Some people keep condensed notes on cards which can be carried around easily. Condensed notes do not need to be in the form of prose; you can display topics visually in a 'Mind Map' or Spider Diagram.
  • Self Testing: Before you open your notes to read over a topic, get out a blank sheet of paper. Think hard about the topic you are about to revise, and then spend 5 minutes jotting down as many of the main facts/ideas as you can remember, almost as though you were making a general essay plan on the subject. Then start reading the notes. You should find the actual reading much more productive. You are less likely to spend a lot of time learning things you already know and your attention will be directed to those aspects you couldn't recall when you were testing yourself. These are obviously the areas which most need learning.
  • Practice past papers: Doing old exam questions is a valuable revision tool as well as a means to practicing exam technique. The 'toughest' way to use questions is to do them in strictly limited time without looking the relevant topic up. This is the closest to actual exam conditions, but may be a bit scary. A less head-on approach is to look at the question (and if necessary revise the topic) and think it over in unlimited time. Then close your books, start the clock and write your answer. Once you have finished, put your answer away for a while, then go back to it, and try to mark it yourself, using the book as need be. This is not a substitute for teacher marking, but you can learn a lot from assessing your own efforts.
  • Revise with a friend: Working with friends can be double-edged - it is easy to end up talking about work rather than getting on with it. However, when revision really begins to drag, you might find taking turns to quiz each other injects an enjoyable mix of competition and mutual support.
  • Find something new to revise from: Get hold of a new text-book or a Revision Guide and use it in with your notes, comparing as you go along. You will find plenty of points at which they are identical, but you will also find differences which it can be very worthwhile trying to reconcile. Puzzling over whether one example is better than another gets you thinking about important principles...mental flexibility again.
  • Make the best of revision classes: Dovetail your own revision with any revision classes your teachers may hold. To get the best out of a revision class you should review the topic yourself a day or so before. Note down anything you are unclear about, so you can ask about it. You will find that you get a lot more from the lesson because you have already got the main ideas sorted out, and you are ready to absorb the finer points. After the class check your notes to make sure that they are accurate
  • Ask your teachers for help:The suggestions above are only some of the ways to set about injecting new interest to revision. Your teachers may well have their own views on revision in general, and on revising their own subject. Find out what they think, and seek their advice whenever you need it. Teachers are there to help you - but you must ask !