The Art of Revision

You’d think that after seven years of exam seasons, multiple assignments, and two degrees that I would have revision down to a T. However, every time I need to revise something, whether that be for an exam or presentation, I try to use new ways of absorbing and retaining information to keep myself interested. Don’t get me wrong; I know exactly what revision techniques don’t work for me and have cut them out when revising (mind maps!). But there is definitely merit in exploring new ways of learning, particularly if your current approach feels like you’re banging your head against a wall.

As touched upon in our previous educational insight, learning and revision is an entirely individual process. Everyone learns in their own way and at their own pace. One of the biggest challenges you’ll face during school is figuring out what works for you. What makes you tick and what doesn’t. Here are just some hints and tips that I’ve used during my time at school and university to make sure that I’m learning in the most effective way possible.

1.    Explore different revision strategies and techniques

In school, we’re often taught that there is only one CORRECT way to learn and revise, and not using this method will result in us failing our exams. This is ENTIRELY false. Every single person learns in their own individual way. For me, creating A3 posters summarising important sections from every topic of the syllabus worked great. I would spend hours making posters with detailed diagrams to visualise large portions of text and use colour to draw my eye to essential facts. I didn’t realise that the time and effort I spent condensing information onto these posters was a form of revision and helped me excel at any in-class tests or exams. There is also nothing else more satisfying than taking down a poster when an exam is finished. I know posters are not for everyone, but there are many different strategies to try; flashcards, revision apps (see bottom), talking out loud, teaching someone else, watching videos. One of the most powerful revision tools that I used was YouTube. There are so many excellent teachers and Vloggers on YouTube with great resources. These videos are often short, sharp, condensed forms of longer content, making them great to listen to while on the school bus or cleaning your room. The main point here is to try different forms of media, other techniques and approaches until you find a method that allows you to revise (almost) any subject or topic.

2.    Be an active learner

Active learning is all about engaging and interacting with the content you’re trying to learn or revise. Consider how the information you’ve just learned can be used to answer exam questions from past papers. Or maybe the topic overlaps with something you’ve covered previously. Learning in an active way helps ensure anything you’ve learned is retained as long as possible. This is in contrast to passive learning, which involves just skimming through notes or copying textbook sections word for word. I myself am guilty of this while procrastinating, but passive learning is ultimately a waste of time because as soon as you walk away from that book, all the content has slipped out of your head. You need to think actively about ideas if you are going to remember them. Learning actively can take many forms. One great way is past paper questions from exams. Answering these questions requires thought and may include several syllabus topics at once. This also allows you to see how the exam board may translate the content of your textbook into a question for your exam. Another helpful way is learning with friends. Getting other people from your class and school to ask you questions they think could be on the exam is excellent to cover a lot of content in an interactive and social way. This is a form of active learning as they could pick any subject to challenge you on.

3.    Start early

Your teachers have probably said this a thousand times, but it is true. The earlier you start to learn something the more confident you’ll be with it during exam season. It is also important to understand topics and subjects throughout the year. You’ve probably heard the horror stories of students cramming the whole course the night before an exam. Don’t be this person. This will bring you unnecessary stress and anxiety. A well planned and balanced revision strategy will help you nail any exam without any sleepless nights. This is easy to do as well. I always used to make a detailed revision plan in the Easter holidays of the subjects that I wanted to revise and for how many hours a day I would do this. Creating a timetable is also a great way of allocating time to subjects you find more challenging so that you can spend extra time on them.

4.    Learn when to revise and when not too

It’s very easy to get carried away with revision and plan a timetable in which you study for fourteen hours a day for six weeks. This is very unrealistic and will likely cause you to burn out by the end of week 1. Set realistic goals for yourself of how much content you would like to cover each day. During A-levels, I would work for two hours in the evening, with a one-hour break between each session. The rest of my day would be a mixture of going to school and doing other hobbies such as running. During exam seasons, running was always my escape from revision, to clear my head and refresh before returning. This switch-off time allowed me to absorb any content I had learned while also getting out of the house. It’s also important to make time for the people in your lives; friends and family are often the best support network you’ll have during the stresses of exam season. The main point here is finding that balance between working hard and still doing the things you enjoy.

5.    Sleep.

That’s it. No explanation is required. Sleep. Sleep is so important at all times of our lives, but even more so while you’re gearing up for an exam. When we sleep our bodies process all the information we’ve learned throughout the day. Therefore, if you don’t want all those hours of revision to go to waste, make sure you’re sleeping for at least seven hours a night. And whatever you do, never stay up the night before an exam to cram. Never. You’ll end up tiring yourself out and exhausted for the exam. The best thing you can do before an exam is to get an early night (easier said than done).

The main thing I’ve tried to highlight in this post is that everyone learns in different ways. Never let anyone tell you your revision technique doesn’t work. As long as your method requires active learning and you can focus for extended periods of time, you’re on the right track!

Here are some great resources to check out if you’re looking for some new revision techniques :

• Quizlet - creates games and tests from flashcards and makes learning interactive

• Adapt​ - creates a revision timetable especially for you.

• Seneca​ - makes fun revision courses suited to your exam board.

• Flipd​ - allows more productive and real-time off.

• Unjaded Jade blurting video - the original source of the blurting revision method.

Kyle Greenland is Co-Founder and Director of STEMaccess, at the time of writing completing a PhD at Imperial College London Investigating Novel Drug Delivery Methods to Treat Prostate Cancer.