exam revision techniques?

well i got these exams on thursday and i wondered if any of u guys got any techniques you use to revise certain topics.. be it a mindmap or bullet points etc.

what do you find the most effective way of revising? :)

thx :P
Comments
41
Just cheat.
past papers, with answer sheet, so can practice questions and see what im doing wrong.

other than that i just write pages and pages of notes and nothing really goes in.
ye i tried some past papers aswell seems to work ok and i have same problem of reading sth and then straight away cant remember what it is if someone asks me :(
Parent
past papers are the best but they're not where you should start

1. write up notes
2. go through notes highlighting important bits or stuff you don't know/understand
3. google the stuff you don't understand and add it to the notes


THEN

3.5 Repeat any class tests or mini tests you did - checking the answers after and adding to your notes

4. Past papers - if you don't know the answer to a question, write it down and check your notes, if its not there google it later and add the information to your notes
5. Repeat step 4 but just do one paper a day per subject otherwise you'll go mad
6. Take your highlighted an extended notes and read them on the way to the exam :)

Just remember:
- Dont start past papers too early or you'll run out (like I did) and then you just get bored
- The human brain can only concentrate for short periods of time, so revise for an hour on something then stop for lunch and come back later on a different subject
- Adding to your notes will help information go in as you have to understand it to be able to type it into your notes
- Highlighting will forces you to actually read your notes
- by the end of it your notes will contain everything you need for the exams (hopefully)

Final thing (which i did last year) was to get some A4 paper and stick it on the wall with things I needed to google on them and then their answers when I did and also things which keep coming up. I didn't do too badly from it :) (4 A's Alevel, 72% average 1st year uni)
Parent
hey man , thx alot for ur help and i think i am definately gonna use these tips to help with these exams and any others i gotta get out of the way :p

again thx so much for ur help :))
Parent
No worries

i used to hate revision and there aren't many good 'guides' around, let alone ones I would want to read, but I guess I learnt by trial and error and thats what Ive come up with

just dont revise too much or you'll go mad :) start early, do some and then you can relax and play ET in the evening :)
Parent
ye already done quite alot.. :p

luckily we have been allowed study leave this year, the exams start tommorow and go on untill wednedsay next week (obviously excluding the weekend ':D') so i am gonna work on the revision for the exam i have the following day.

your tips helped alot btw :) <3
Parent
I always concentrate just on few topics, trust my knoweledge on those and get points for them + some random stuff from classes.

Well, this was in highschool, haven´t bothered to read anymore.
ye focusing on just a few topics to get a really solid understanding of them could be a good idea so at least then i can guarantee myself some marks
Parent
It depends which subject but most of the time I use stupid things to remember for example U=R.I yoU = Retarded on the Internet
It seems totally shit but it helps me a lot x)
If you have to revise History /Geography etc I read it many times and then i try to underline important dates / words then you revise only important things.

:>
u meen like when little kids learn how to spell because? - Big Elephants CAnt Use Small Exits

:D
Parent
I don't know what you study but it helps for mathematics / physics "formulas"
Parent
ye got same sort of thing coming up in physics learning formulas for speed=distance/time , force=mass*deceleration , momentum = mass*velocity etc ... i think i might try ur method it could be useful ;p
Parent
in gcse physics you'd actually get a mark just for remembering s=d/t, v=ir, etc, could get a C just by doing that alone, ridiculous.

as soon as they say go, just write down all the equations you might need on the front of the paper

we did have some memonics, v=ir veronica in richard, e=vq everyone values quavers, q=it queers in tim, etc, and i know they helped some people

if you do physics at alevel you'll be reeling off T^2 = (4pi^2(h+R)^3)/(GM) like it's your birth date. seriously wish i could go back to getting marks for s=d/t :(
Parent
Same.. Find myself remembering all kinds of weird-ass stuff without putting any effort into it.. Application on the other hand..!
Parent
ah that was a classic..

i liked the gravitational force ones

F = G*M1*M2/r^2 if I remember correctly...where m1 and m2 are masses and G is the gravitiational constant (6 x 10^-11 i think)
Parent
ye atm that stuff does look very complicated but as i am taking physics at Alevel i am sure it wont be so mind crunching later on :P
Parent
it's the hardest alevel next to maths, best of luck with it

i'm taking it at university, that is, if i actually get round to starting my application :D
Parent
:D i know its hard but what i wanna do in life (commercial airline pilot) definately requires some sort of physics/maths grade :D
Parent
beware, even easy maths looks ugly :(

image: 2rpa6bk
Parent
What crmbs said, for my ICT A levels I just remembered every answer to every question using past papers and made notes on every single one. In theory, for ICT you could get 90% doing this alone and still not understand what the fuck you are writing or know shit all about ICT...it was such a flawed subject and still is. Tbh it depends what subject you are revising for...like for Maths you can't really revise from past papers until you know what you are doing. The mark schemes don't tell you how they got that anwer but instead just give you the answers so it's useless because it won't help you at all. For maths I just revised from the text books or notes and when I was confident enough moved onto past papers and mark schemes.

This is a really good site for help on stuff like this http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/
hey ye site looks great man thanks alot :))
Parent
definitely depends on subject

i'm generally bad at keeping in information so about a day before my philosophy exam i just wrote down everything i needed to include in my essays on a few sheets of A4

a close friend at the time had been doing that (re-writing notes on paper over and over) for a few weeks, i just sort of stole her method but did it half assed, i got a higher grade. i think not overdoing yourself is important.
+1 on not overdoing. But also it depends on the person so much.
Parent
depends, but I usually make summaries. If I didn't, I revise titles/subdivisions and try to memorise keywords to keep the bigger picture intact and still knowing the important details.
Study the night before/morning, otherwise you'd forget it if you've only started revising now *_*
get your course outline, and highlight all major topics ... get old papers and question spot. Revise the topics most likely to come up ... fuck the rest off
Run some old exams, find your weak spots.
disconnect your internet is the 1st and most important step. too many distractions.
can i just leave a random reply? since ure one of the few ppl posting?
Parent
disagree, internet was the only thing that kept me not BORED during exam period because everyone is at home doing work and being BORING
Parent
listening to the teacher.
first read, then build the tree (meaning learning the grand structures and similarities and differences between topics) then add the branches later on (details)

works bestest!
skim over all your work for the year and if you aren't confident that you remember something then read about it again and make some shorthand notes on it

on the day of the the exam skim those notes again and it should all be fresh in your mind !

this way you don't actually have to memorise anything which suits me
My study advice for any subject:
- Never study non-stop: study in blocks (50 mins, 1 chapter, whatever, then add a 15 min break)
- Sleep when you're not studying: helps processing everything
- eat stuff
+ what nakato said with the tree and the branch thing

Mind mapping helps, but don't 'overfocus' on them



Now, back to my mexican flu
Assuming you know most of the subject, just re-read areas you know you struggle with + Attempt a couple of past papers (assuming you have a few to take, otherwise wait until you've done more work) catch up on anything you repeatedly struggle with. Rinse and repeat. + Make notes on anything that you do forget often. Also, for me I find brainmaps and other such visual techniques completly useless. Different things for different people
dont do it. the key solution for every multiple choice test is to draw out to christmas tree


Christmas never fails.
in my opinion, all the extra work like mind mapping, making short notes, etc, is just a waste of time

just learn all the stuff once, and memorize the important stuff very good :D!
doing nothing is an art. I don't do anything and I hardly go to anything but I still get 1st's and 2:1's everytime at uni. I call my form of working the "bullet point technique", but you need a prerequisite high lvl of intelligence first.
thanks all for the positive responses you helped alot ;)
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