Together we'll succeed - March 2007
succeed@kirklees.gov.uk
Remind yourself over and over
If you revise something tonight, by this time tomorrow you'll have forgotten at least some of it.
So take another quick look at it tomorrow, to "top up" your memory.
Take another quick look next week, and keep "topping up" until the night before the exam.
This doesn't take long to do, and is usually quite comforting - you feel good because you find that the stuff looks familiar each time you look at it; because it's quick you can easily fit it in with all your other revision.
Look, Cover, Write, Check
This is probably the way that you learned spellings.
- read it
- hide it away
- write it out
- check to see if you got it right.
This technique is good for spellings, diagrams, equations, lists of facts and a whole lot more.
Remembering labelled diagrams
Draw a copy of the diagram - but without the labels. Then try to fill in the labels from memory.
Highlighting
Go through your exercise books and notes highlighting key words / key ideas. Not only does this make it easier to revise later, but the act of scanning through your books looking for the key stuff helps you to remember it. (Might be an idea to ask your teachers first, before you do this to your books, but if you explain why they'll almost certainly be delighted that you're getting on with your revision)
Make summaries of the information
For example, try to get the whole topic onto one side of A4 paper. It's the act of making the sheet which fixes the information in your mind. You might like to use
Mindmaps. Ask your teacher how. They really help to show what's in a topic.
Make your own "Flash Cards"
These can help you to remember facts and equations. The idea is to carry them with you, and look at them when you have a spare moment (lunch queues, break times, on the bus...) You could put headings on one side and details on the other.
Make jigsaws
List things on a sheet of paper, cut the paper up, jumble it, then sort it out.
Here's an example:
This works for Kings Queens and dates, who did what in a play, and much more.
It is the act of making and using it that really helps
Work out "what could they ask me about this?"
For example, in a question about acids and alkalis, it's a safe bet that you'll be expected to know about
the numbers on the pH scale, the colours that Universal Indicator goes, and what "neutralisation" means.
In questions about the planets, expect to be asked about their names, the order that they're in
counting outwards from the Sun), which ones are hottest/coldest, which ones go round the Sun fastest.... you've got the idea.
Practice on real exam questions
The more you can try, the better. You wouldn't expect to do any other performance without a realistic rehearsal, and this is no different.
Be clear about what you're expected to know
Otherwise how do you know if you've revised it all? Check with your teachers if you're not sure. Go along to any revision sessions that you can. These can really boost your confidence, which is what many people need the most. You'll probably also be able to ask a different teacher about any bits that confuse you, and have it explained in a different way.
Identify your strong and weak areas
Then you'll know where to concentrate your efforts. Go through your books and put green blobs beside stuff that you're happy about, and red blobs beside the bits you find more difficult. Then you know what to ask your teachers about at those revision sessions.
Work with somebody else
There's an old saying: "the best way to learn is to teach". Try it! If you can explain stuff to somebody else, then you know that you've got it straight yourself.
