With the clocks having gone back last week, and what seems like less available time in the day to get things done, efficiency is an incredibly important skill to master.
Now is most certainly the time to start getting plans in order for future progress.
We’re now two months into the academic year: enough time has passed to settle into learning; enough time has passed to look back on what has been learned so far; enough time has passed to identify areas for improvement.
It’s time for that dreaded word to resurface: revision.
In terms of the College calendar, there are now 30 days until our Christmas mock series.
There are 135 days until our Easter Mock exam series.
There are 185 days until the formal exams begin in May.
Those numbers seem rather large, and far away – but they are certainly not if one wants to enjoy success in them. The hard work should start now.
In a similar vein, I set myself one of the biggest challenges in my life on Saturday, signing up for the Edinburgh marathon next year. According to Strava, I’ve now run the equivalent of a half marathon distance fifteen times, consistently hitting a time of around 1 hour 45 minutes. It seemed like a logical step to give myself a bigger challenge. And so, it’s time to double up. I have 200 days or so to prepare.
I’ll be gradually upping my miles every week, varying my runs between longer, slower efforts, tempo runs, intervals and hill sessions, and, in a new move for me, spending time in the gym working on my strength and conditioning, both to prepare my body for the distances to come, and to protect it from injury. I’m excited about the race, but also apprehensive.
Students should be feeling similarly about their ultimate test – the exams.
Like me, they know what is required of them. They know how much time they have to prepare. They have targets which they are planning to meet.
Like me, the only thing standing in the way is a lack of application.
So what does a plan for exam success look like?
Here is a 12-Step guide to setting yourself up for success – and I’ll be taking all of our students through it this week during assemblies, as well as some practical examples of how best to make the information stick:
- Start early
You’re much better off creating a revision timetable very early on in your studies, so you can start small and build confidence. Manageable steps at the start will lead a path towards success. It also gives you time to adapt where additional problems emerge.
Instead of spending 2 hours per day revising for 1 week, it’s better to spend 1 hour per day over 2 weeks. This also gives you time to review information learned most recently, a week ago, a month ago, and longer.
- Get to know the syllabus
A good revision technique is to make sure you know what to aim for.
Check which specific qualifications you’re taking and look up the syllabuses on the exam board websites. Everything you’ll be expected to do or know will be in there—it’s a ready-made revision checklist.
Once you’ve started exam practice – identify your specific weak areas and start revising these first. Mark off what you’ve covered – to ensure you don’t miss anything out. Look up key terms – so you can familiarise yourself with the vocabulary and learn the definitions you’ll be expected to know. Rate your confidence – on each point, and review this as you go – this is a great way to track your progress.
There are often other resources available from exam boards that are worth checking out, including reports explaining where past students could have improved. Reserve yourself some revision time to take a look through these, as they can offer incredibly enriching insights on how to improve your exam techniques.
- Be prepared to overcome procrastination
You will want to procrastinate. There’s no avoiding it. And it doesn’t mean you’re a bad student. Nobody has endless willpower
Instead of pretending this won’t happen, it’s best to accept you’ll have bad times and have strategies for dealing with them. It might be that you save an easier topic for when this happens, or promise yourself a break after a short session as long as you get started. When you’re restless, go for a short walk first.
Also look for patterns in the times you’re lacking motivation. Ask family and friends to be mindful of this.
All great revision timetables will allow for downtime from your studies and offer flexibility within your schedule for when you’re not in the right headspace to study – make sure you have this option in yours too.
- Interleave short chunks on different ideas
Now, as a good revision technique, this relies on being able to strike the right balance. When studying a specific topic, don’t focus your time on one idea for too long, but remember to give yourself enough time to understand each idea before moving on to the next one.
A good student understands all the principles, while an excellent student knows when to use each one. There are some other benefits to interweaving similar topics into one revision sessions:
You’ll revisit each topic several times and this repetition will help your memory. Each time you meet ideas in a different order, you’ll make connections that strengthen your understanding. You won’t feel stuck for ages on a topic you don’t like learning about
Interleaving ideas is harder than studying each idea separately. As with most of the best revision techniques out there, if it feels more challenging then it probably means you’re learning more.
- Start exam papers early and do them all – this is why the College holds mocks in December and Easter
One of the biggest pitfalls students face during their revision time is not looking at exam papers early enough. Exam papers aren’t a precious resource to be saved until closer to exams. Instead, to make them one of your best revision techniques, you should be using them very early on in your studies, consulting them right up until you sit your exams.
There’s a few reasons why you should consider using exam papers very early on in your revision:
Unless you test yourself first, it’s impossible to know which areas to focus on – there’s no point revising things you’re already great at. Exam papers can be intimidating, so if you get used to them early you’ll be prepared for the real thing. In a few months’ time you can try the same paper again and see how much improvement you’ve made.
But how do you go about looking for past papers?
The best place to find exam papers is on the exam board website. Once you’ve got everything you can out of them, there are plenty of unofficial exam-style papers freely available online. There might also be relevant papers in old versions of the same qualification, or from different exam boards. Just check that you’re only answering questions covered by your syllabus.
- Never leave a practice exam question unfinished
As good revision techniques go, completing past papers is only effective if you’re answering every single question out of them. You can squeeze so much more out of an exam paper by attempting every question, opening your eyes to areas where you’re probably weaker and need additional practice.
When you’re working on a new paper, follow each of the steps below in a different colour:
First, try it in exam conditions with a time limit. Then, carry on until you’ve done everything you can without help. Use your class material to complete the paper to the best of your ability. Fill in any gaps and make corrections using the mark scheme. Finally, add anything you looked up on your list of topics to revise as part of your study schedule.
This process means you’ll get to practise everything, not just what you can do in the time. And instead of just finding out the areas you’re less sure on, it actively forces you to revise them at the same time.
- Actively focus on the parts you don’t understand
It’s tempting to put off revising difficult topics when there’s an easier option.
But, there’s much more to gain from familiarising yourself with the areas you find most tricky, than there is from perfecting areas you’ve nearly mastered. The sooner you face the parts you struggle with, the more times you’ll be able to revisit them to consolidate what you’ve learned. Plus, you can explore hard parts on your own terms, instead of when exams are looming and you’re feeling the pressure.
The easy bits that you like will look after themselves because you can cover these when you’re tempted to procrastinate.
- Ask yourself deeper questions, like “How?” and “Why?”
When you first learn something, it’s often in the form of specific facts or methods. However, simply recalling everything you’ve learned won’t be enough for the top grades. In essay subjects you’ll need to include your own original perspective to form constructive arguments; while in the sciences you’ll need to apply what you know to unfamiliar scenarios and situations.
One of the simplest but best revision techniques you can do is to ask yourself “How?” and “Why?” Both will help you build this deeper understanding.
Find similarities and differences between related ideas. Describe what’s going on out loud. Write down accurate explanations that you can refer back to.
- Combine written and visual information
Although a lot of people describe themselves as visual learners, there’s no evidence to suggest that different learning styles are more effective for different people. But everyone will benefit from seeing information in multiple ways as they’re learning.
This technique, sometimes called dual coding, gives you two different ways of remembering information later. Here are some ideas to put it into practice during your revision time:
When you’re reading through material, pause every time there’s a visual and compare it to the words. Look at visuals and use your own words to explain what’s going on. Draw your own images for the information you’re revising.
Visuals don’t just have to be pictures. They could include diagrams, infographics, cartoon strips, timelines – it should just be whatever best suits the information you have.
Test yourself on everything you revise
This is one of the old-age methods which is considered to be one of the best revision techniques for A-Level students and beyond.
Reading and making notes can be helpful, as long as you practise retrieving that information afterwards. This works because it helps to build your long term memory. Make sure you do it regularly for each topic and you’ll find that you remember a lot more.
Here’s how to do it effectively:
Make sure you have a method to test yourself – this could be flashcards, a quiz app, sketching what you know, or simply a huge range of questions. Close the books and put away your notes – then recite everything out loud – recording it as you go to reflect on later. Try to remember everything you can about the topic, making connections between the initial topic and other readings – go beyond simple definitions and short answers. Check your answers and look up anything you missed or got wrong.
Retrieval is meant to be hard!
There are so many benefits to testing that it’s worth the effort, especially when you can use the information it gives you to improve. It’s not cheating to look up answers that you don’t know, because if you look something up enough times, eventually you’ll remember it without prompt.
- Make a note of anything too hard to ask about later
Sometimes, there are some things which are just too difficult to understand on your own at first. This is nothing to be ashamed of, as every student faces something during their studying that they struggle to grapple with on their own.
But, instead of spending too much time re-reading paragraphs of text and getting nowhere, keep a list of questions for each subject. Next time you see someone who might know, don’t be afraid to ask them. Your teachers will appreciate a list of questions because they’ll know exactly how to help you. If it’s one of your classmates, you might be able to work together to come up with an answer, and sooner or later you’ll be able to return the favour by helping them too.
- Get into a good sleep routine
You probably know it’s good to sleep well the night before working so you’re not tired for the next day, but it turns out the night after is just as important.
Much academic research has looked at the relationship between memory retention and sleep. And conclusions have found that if you don’t sleep well after a day of revising, you could actually undo some of your hard work you’ve been studying earlier that day.
Why?
While we’re asleep, changes happen in the brain which allow it to store new knowledge more effectively. Less sleep means it doesn’t matter how good your revision techniques are, you’ll remember less the following day.
Have clear boundaries between study and free time
Work-life balance is something which is talked about more in the workplace, but it’s just as important for you to avoid burnout when you’re revising.
Thinking about them all the time won’t help you learn more, but it will affect your wellbeing. And anything that affects your brain negatively can reduce your ability to learn or recall information.
One of the best revision techniques we can recommend is to work on achieving a healthy study-life balance. This can be achieved by having a routine for just before and just after revision to signal to your brain when it’s time for a break. If possible, avoid doing anything else in your dedicated workspace and close your books when you’re done. When you take even a short break, move away from the desk and focus on something else. I enjoy going for a run. Listening to podcasts, cooking, playing games or other sports, or simply dancing around your kitchen with your headphones in can be good for this – just find something that works for you.
- Remember why you are doing what you are doing.
Finally, one of the best revision techniques we can offer is to remember why you’re doing all of this hard work.
It’s natural to fall out of love with something when you’re being tested on it. After all, past papers don’t usually feature when we think about the joy of learning.
Remind yourself why you chose your GCSEs or A Levels in the first place. It could be a requirement to study the subject you want at university, or as a first step for your dream career. Maybe you’ve had a great teacher who encouraged you to study it further. Perhaps you feel connected to it for personal reasons.
When things get tough, take a moment to remember what you’re aiming for. Find ways of staying connected to the parts you love and being curious outside of revision. This could be through reading, exploring careers or even taking a course for your own interest. Celebrate the progress you make in the parts you don’t love.