Effective Revision Methods - Learn Smarter NOT Harder
Hi everyone!
I hope you are all well! Lets jump straight into it!
Revision. The daunting task for every student, with the hardest thing being where to start. So, today Iāve decided to share with you my process, things that have worked for me, things that havenāt, and where to start.
What type of learner are you?
This is such an important question because you need to cater YOUR revision to YOU. This being visual, auditory or kinesthetic/tactile learning. If you arenāt sure just google āwhat type of learner am I quizā you can find hundreds of quizzes to find out. Or usually, you can deduce it from your current revision methods or the methods you know you defiantly hate. But remember you can be a mix, e.g. Iām both a visual and kinesthetic learner. Auditory learning is not my jam ā seriously I hate it⦠haha.Ā
Once you know this you can make your learning EFFECTIVE, use your EVERY ADVANTAGE to learn content. No point listening to your notes if you are visual learner right? Catering to your style means that content which took you 1 hour to learn before could actually be learnt in 30 mins. Who doesnāt want SHORTER REVISION TIME but with the SAME quantity of information absorbed?
Ineffective revision methods:
1. STOP READING THE TEXTBOOK. ā Iāve said it, your teachers said it, EVERYONE has properly said it. So STOP! This passive revision method well sucks. If you do not attempt to recall information from your brain you are not making āconnectionsā between neurones (cells) within your brain ā or at least not at the rate you could be. More āconnectionsā = More information learnt (more or less).
2. Copying your notes ā Not as horrendous as the devils spawn above, but still not ideal. You are not retrieving this information from your brain, and as mentioned above this is a really important factor.
EFFECTIVE revision methods:
This section is split into 2 parts depending on the type of assessment.
For multiple choice questions/ short answer questions:
1. Flashcards - Flashcards are my favourite.Ā
Writing the cards allows you to consolidate your learning, find out what you donāt understand and what you do understand. I recommend Anki or Quizlet for my visual/kinesthetic learners and recording your cards on your phone for my auditory learners. You canāt write a card on something you donāt understand! Once youāve consolidated into cards you can go straight to learning! Skipping the time consuming and ineffective ācopying your notesā stage. More Time spent Learning the cards, rather than copying notes = more knowledge obtained, and most likely better grades!Ā
I know a lot of people are guilty of writing their notes out, then writing flashcards - me included. But this is essentially the same step. Iām not saying you wont absorb any knowledge from doing this, but you will learn more from practicing the flashcards... hence why you write them in the first place ;)
2. Practice papers/ Questions
Would you go into a driving test without ever driving a car before? No? Then, why are you doing this for exams? Practice papers donāt only allow you to test your knowledge but also practice your time-management during the exam. And if you are lucky sometimes questions can be repeated between each different exam years. FREE MARKS ā HELL YES!
3. Focused group revision
I use the word āfocusedā for a reason. Going to the library with your friends to āreviseā aka chat about last nights football game or the latest group gossip isnāt really going to help your grades ā but you already know that. However, coming together, each with a set of questions, and asking each other about them will help. You will consolidate further the information you do know, and you will learn new information from your friends and vice versa. This method is great for kinesthetic and auditory learners.
For essay-based assessments:
1. Essay plan mind maps
Mind-maps. Mind-maps are a great way to plan potential essays for an exam, but you donāt want to be writing out full essays word for word. Hence why I recommend mind-maps. This style forces you to stay concise so you do not run out of room on the page. Try and keep 1 essay plan per page.
2. Recalling essay plans
Writing them is great, but no point writing them if you canāt remember them. So practice writing them out from memory and then fill in the gaps. Great for information learning but also great for structure learning too! This also helps you link ideas together, practicing what the youāll be required to do in the exam. This is often a problem I find with using flashcards for essays, you are ātriggeredā by the MCQ (multiple choice question), whereas in an essay exam you must create your own triggers to unlock the information you have learnt, from the previous sentence you have written
3. Essay plan lists:Ā
For my friends who hate mind-maps. I use essay lists ā picture below. Simply write those mind map branches in a chronological bullet-point list. I use different colours to separate the information. Try and keep all the information on one page!
4. Group Study:Ā
This is the same as the group study above but this time discuss topics as a group, as though you were writing the essay aloud. Or work together to plan an essay together, using as much detail as possible. You will learn new phrasing and information from your peers. Use mark schemes too if they are available, but often at university level, they are not ā a bit annoying I know.
But what if I love note taking/ reading from the textbook?
Okay, letās make your note-taking a bit more effective.Ā
Write out your notes, but ensure you are consolidating and not copying. Copying wonāt help. At the end of each page or each topic, write yourself a list of questions about the information you have just written. And then when you come to learn the information e.g. by reading it out loud to yourself hundreds of times; make sure you test yourself with these questions at the end and see what you can recall. This way you are still actively recalling this information.
My experience:
What I am trying to āsellā you is this concept of active recall. If you actively recall something you are more likely to remember the information than if you are passively writing or reading. Once you have done this you need to go over this information at different time intervals i.e. spaced repetition. Anki ā the flashcard app I mentioned earlier really helps me do this. If you want more information on space repetition or how I do this then let me know in the comments.
All of the above information comes from my education experience, I have tried note copying, reading my notes throughout GCSE and A level. Yes, they got me where I am, but using my time with efficient methods could have given my grades an extra boost like it has done at university. Once I took some time to look into āeffectiveā revision methods AND implemented them, my revision game changed ā and so can yours.
Ā The information Iāve provided above is based on studies, not just some fairy-tale I have made up ā This source and others online can show you the real positive impact active recall methods have on your learning. My explanations above are purposely ānot scienceyā but understanding this concept matters not the exact science. Active recall sounds like a big word, but its literally just testing yourself from the earliest opportunity.
Conclusion
I think by now you get the point and I donāt need to keep babbling on. But if you are to take anything from this post about revision is to:
1. Revise by the type of learner you are
2. Test yourself from the earliest opportunity.
Switch up your learning, make it exciting, make it effective. Then, you have more time to learn different content or for your leisure activities. More knowledge in less time!
As always youāve got this!
Speak soon,
Lucinda x
P.s If you have any methods that work for you, mention them in the comments below!














