Revision is scary. Students can be terrified that months of hard work will be undermined by poor revision. In many ways this is an irrational fear: the best way to learn subject content is through understanding the subject throughout the year, not through last minute cramming. Poor revision techniques won't cause anybody to forget things they already know. But good revision can really elevate marks from the average to the excellent. Here are ten suggested techniques for revising essay-based subjects:
Practice Questions
It might sound very obvious, but the most important thing to remember when revising is that knowing the subject is only part of the battle; using that subject knowledge is the real trick. Go through essay questions and mocks provided by your teachers. Then go to the exam board's website (e.g. AQA, Edexcel, WJEC or OCR) and find all other past papers. From here, compile a list of all the short-answer and essay questions. Through the revision period, tackle one question after another. To begin with, use all notes, textbooks and revision guides: this is an excellent way to revise, allowing you to access relevant information as it should be used. As the exam date nears, make less use of notes. This way, the apparently simple activity of doing practice questions allows for an organised approach to working through notes (revision for a clear purpose) and testing yourself.
Mind Maps
While on the exam board website, find the relevant part of the specification (under "key materials") and find key bullet points or headings for the module or topic area you are revising. Make a "mind map" for each of these.
To do this, write the heading in the middle of large blank sheet of paper. From this point, attempt to recall everything you know about the subject, using lines to connect ideas (rather than just a random "brainstorm" which can also be effective). You can also do this with essay questions, later turning points on the "map" into headings in an essay plan.
There is also some software (e.g. MindGenius) that can help you do this online.
Quizzes
If you can get a group together, all studying the same subject, quizzes can be a very effective way to revise. Individually or in teams (depending on the size of your revision group) devise a list of challenging-yet-possible quiz questions. Researching the questions is a good way to go through notes. Then it's quiz time! This can be done in a "pub quiz" format (with a round for each team). Alternatively, consider using TV quiz formats like Eggheads or Blockbusters!
Online Revision Aids
There are a wide range of online revision aids. Various videos can be accessed, both on general websites like Youtube, and on specific academic sites such as "O2 learn" (take this example of a video about A Level History). There are also sites such as S-Cool, Revisionworld and a number of subject-specific sites. Materials on these sites vary; some of it is excellent, others are unlikely to be better than class notes.
Quirky Ideas
Of course, there are always a few quirky ideas. Consider putting key points on post-it notes and sticking these around the room or around the house (e.g. on the fridge door). Another idea might be to record a reading of your notes and listen to this in the car (on perhaps even while sleeping). This could be a straight reading, or perhaps you could turn it into a song or a rap!
Revision is a personal activity. Some activities work better for some students than others. Visual learners will find mindmaps and videos very effective, while active learners will probably find past paper questions the most effective approach, Most people will benefit from using a range of methods and not just one.
Whatever you do, don't just spend the weeks before the exam just reading through your notes over and over again. It's never too late to improve the quality of your revision!
Duncan Hall - Duncan Hall is a semi-professional acoustic musician and lecturer in Government & Politics
