20 USEFUL REVISION TIPS

One of the key factors in exam success is knowing when to start your revision. Many people procrastinate until the last minute and then struggle. They obviously won't do very well!

It is better to start too early than too late. 

The main methods of revision tend to be either reading the subject, writing notes on the subject, doing past questions and exam papers or a mix of all three. Each of these methods has its good and its bad points. None of them provide a foolproof method of making sure that you know 100% of what you should know.

But first some revision tips...

1.Firstly, don't let people tell you how to revise. Everybody is bound to make suggestions and some may work out and some don't. Take their advice by all means but if you find a method that suits you and seems to work, then stick to it. Only you know what type of method suits you.

2.Start your revision at least 2-3 months before your exams. This will ensure that you won't have a last minute pressure and you will be able to take the odd day off without upsetting your revision.

3.Don't spend so much time on revising. If you start in time then one to two hours of revision a day should be enough.

5.Be punctual in your work and don't keep putting off your revision. If required get a friend or relative to make sure you keep at it. Making your work part of a regular routine makes it easier to get it done and out of the way rather than having it pending on you all day.

6.The human brain is capable of focusing and absorbing information for 30-45 minutes at a time. So revise a little bit-then take a short interval-then do another revision-then break again and so on. Don't sit down and try to work for hours till the end.Remember the quality of your revision is just as important as the quantity.Try not to browse Facebook , Twitter or any other social media that potentially consumes time in your short break.

7.You certainly shouldn't spend hours designing revision timetable as I've seen some people do. Personally I'm not interested on revision timetables because people generally distribute equal amounts of time to each subject without thinking about how much work really needs to be done. In practice you will find that some subjects need less work while others need more. For instance you may be very good at Maths and find it easy but not so good when it comes to theories. Be flexible with the times allocated to each subject.

8.Ensure that the subjects you are less interested get just as much, if not more attention than those you like. The true fact that you dislike a subject probably means that you aren't very good at it. So give it more attention.Leave your favorite subjects to last.

9.Try to create the right atmosphere in which to work. If you like music, then play some soft music in the background. It can help to concentrate on the work in front of you and block out other distractions.Many people will tell you that you can't work effectively with music playing. I would disagree with this - I always had background music on when I was revising during college days and also when i worked as Software Engineer simply because it added a bit of interest to a very tedious task. I believe that if you make the process of revising more pleasant then it can only be beneficial in the long run. Similarly if you have favorite foods then feel free to occasionally 'snack out' whilst revising. Once again the better you feel, the better you will work.

10.Split each subject into different topics for revision purposes. For example Circuit theories topics might be electrical circuits, problem solving questions, laws etc. Revise each topic separately. Although some may overlap, having revised topic by topic you will find it easier to recall the points relevant to your answer. This revision technique really becomes useful when tackling more complex questions since it enables you to think clearly about the different subject areas involved.

11.Most importantly make use of past exam questions, assignments, homework and tests. If you solve previous year questions, you are revising for the exam as well as increasing your understanding of the subject and  fixing the key points more firmly in your memory.

12.Get used to the pattern in which questions are asked by looking through past papers. Working through model answers is an effective way of finding out exactly what the examiner is looking for in order to award full marks for the question.

13.Make use of a variety of sources of information in your revision of a subject, e.g. textbooks, library books, eBooks, skeleton answers etc. This will give you a different viewpoint of the subject and can often help you make sense of things that were previously puzzling you.

14.Find out the format of the exam. Most of this information can be obtained from your lecturers and from past papers but you could also try ringing the so called 'nerds' of your class and ask them too. These things changed from year to year in recent past. So the more you know about the exam beforehand, the less of a surprise it will be on the day which immediately improves your chances of doing well.

15.Find out what information you will be supplied with in the exam. For example you are often supplied with mathematical tables and formula. It is silly to waste time learning things which you will find you are given in the exam.

16.Always keep your eyes and ears open. Listen out for important questions from professors and take note of it. 

17.If possible revise all your subjects fully - every time you leave something out of your revision you risk the chance of losing marks. Many exam questions are designed to cover a number of topics. If you haven't revised fully then you could find yourself unable to complete a question or even worse, completely unable to attempt a question. This automatically makes it more difficult for you to do well.

18.Don't do revision on predictions of questions. You might get lucky sometimes but this is a guaranteed way of flopping. Try to do as much general revision as possible. Predicting questions and using the prediction to determine what you revise will limit the number of questions you are able to answer if your predictions turn out to be wrong. Remember that when the exam is set the examiners take no notice of the questions asked in previous years and therefore the idea that if a certain topic didn't appear last year means that it will appear this year is completely unfounded. The only sure way of doing well is to revise fully.

19.Beware of revising at the last minute. If you have to then it means that your revision program has not been completed and that you don't feel confident about what you have already revised. Unfortunately last minute revision is not normally terribly beneficial apart for fixing a few facts into your short-term memory. Your time at this stage is much better spent casually reading through the revision notes you have already made and mentally preparing for the exam rather than starting on something new. 

20.The stress of trying to learn something new close to the exam will just increase your anxiety and make you nervous. The more you try to learn, the more you will find you don't know and the more anxious you will become. So start your revision in plenty of time and keep an eye on your progress. Anything else is self-destructive.

Thats all ?! If you noticed that I missed fourth tip then you are good at focusing.If not, improvise your focusing ability. Focus on what you learn. Don't get circumcised. This is the most important tip above all. Good luck with your revising.

Have some more revising tips? Comment it below.