Revision and Exam Preparation Tips

It's that time of year - exams. As all older teenagers in the UK (and US?) will know, this time of year is stress-filled and revision-heavy. It would be fair to say I hate revision, and my study time is usually not very effective, but I have learnt some techniques which work for me, and hopefully might work for you too.

1. Make a timetable

Structuring your time is essential, because otherwise I am prone to zoning out and playing on my phone (not good). Having a clear plan allows you to be purposeful, and know exactly what you're supposed to be doing when, which helps. 


2. Have breaks

I definitely know from experience that trying to do 4 hours of solid revision will not work. After around an hour of productive revision, my brain just becomes fuzzed, and all further revision is unproductive. It's much better to do effective blocks, rather than hours of bored, bad revision.

3. Break topics into chunks

I always do this with topics, especially things like biology and history, where there is just so much content to learn, that just to sit there and read years worth of notes is not very effective. With biology, I made an A4 page or two of typed notes for each topic, which didn't take too long, and is a lot more manageable.

4. Make flashcards

I used to loathe flashcards because it took hours to write them out. Then I discovered the world of online flashcard websites, and my life was transformed. www.cram.com is my personal favourite, although there are many others. They are an excellent way of learning, for example dates, or specific facts.

5. Don't over-revise

This may sound stupid, but while these exams are extremely important, getting too stressed will be counter-productive and end up making you do worse. Doing revision is necessary, but doing too much, or cramming crazily, won't help you get the grades you want.

Hope this helps!
Love Lucy xxx