As summer exams are approaching, it is important to stay on top of your revision and make sure you make the most out of the time you spend studying. I’ve found that using your time well can make a huge difference — it helps you actually understand and remember what you’re learning, rather than spending hours going over things without it really sticking.
I’m currently doing my Master’s, and after three years of undergrad at UoR, I’ve picked up a few revision tips that have really worked for me and I’d love to share them with you.
Revise A Little Each Day
One thing that’s really helped me is revising a little bit each day, rather than leaving everything until the last minute. Breaking my study into small daily chunks makes it easier to remember and actually understand the material — it just sticks better in my long-term memory that way.
Go Over The Difficult Bits
It is sometimes tempting to revise the parts of the modules I am most familiar with, but I’ve that one of the best things to do is to set aside extra time to go over any parts that I find tricky. I try to identify my weak spots and focus on them until I feel confident. That way, I’m not just revising what I already know, but get a real understanding of the module.
Do Practical Exercises
For me, just reading about a topic isn’t enough. I find that doing practical exercises – whether that’s working through calculations, writing practice essays, or tackling past exam questions – really helps me understand the material better. It also gets me comfortable with the kinds of questions I might face, so I can improve how I approach and answer them in the actual exam.
Go Over Previous Exam Feedback
On Blackboard, you can look at previous assignments to see what feedback you have gotten from past exams. I find this useful in finding out how I can improve in future exams and identify weaker areas that I can work on. If the feedback is unclear to me or if I need some extra support, I contact my academic tutor to advise me on how to do better in the future.
Don’t Spend Too Long On A Revision Timetable
Although it’s useful to make a rough plan of how much I’d like to study and at what times, I try to remain flexible and don’t take a very long time making a ‘perfect’ revision timetable. It’s more effective to simply start revising and I get a feel for what I need to study while I progress. For me, a detailed timetable is too constraining and it’s easy to over- or underestimate how long certain topics will take. While when I’m less rigid, I am less likely to give up if something doesn’t go according to plan.
In summary
- The key to effectively revising is to keep ahead of time, without leaving everything until the last minute and panicking.
- Setting aside time most days will help solidify your knowledge and understanding over the long term, as well as make you more confident and feel less anxious around the time of the exam.
- Making sure you understand your stronger and weaker areas will also help you know what to improve, and applying this to previous exam style questions will give you more experience and skill regarding exams.
- Make a realistic schedule of how much you’d like to revise each day, as well as weaker areas you’d like to improve on for each module you have exams for.
- Remember not to take too much time creating a plan, as this can always change and isn’t as effective as taking the time to revise.
What are your top revision tips?
Let us know in the comments!