Revision is an integral part of your preparation. If you mess this up, you risk messing up your exam; irrespective of how strongly you prepared. You need to learn how you should revise quickly and effectively. The weeks and days right before class 7 maths are a challenging time for students. Now more than ever, you will be feeling the pressure. This is the time to be smart and have an efficient revision process. There are some techniques that really work and some that are just a hoax. Here are a few things that you can do to revise quickly and effectively:
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Before you start your revision
Eat breakfast
There are a lot of students who skip breakfast on some days or most of the time. There is a reason why breakfast is considered to be the most important meal of the day. Research has shown that if you skip breakfast, you run the risk of reducing your attention span and your ability to recall information significantly. Even having a simple bowl of cereal can give you the memory and concentration boost you need.
Stay away from your phone
Even though this is an obvious tip, there are several students who are unable to do so. Phones can be very distracting. After all, they are linked to the fear of missing out (FOMO). Students who spend more time using social media and texting might not be able to focus on their studies and end up with lower grades. In fact, researchers have found that even the sign of a phone is enough for reducing your ability to focus. Keep your phone out of sight to keep it out of your mind. In fact, have a quiet environment so that you can recall more than the student who listens to music while revising.
During your revision
Start early
Athletes don’t train only for a day before their match. Actors stay for rehearsals until their opening night. If you want to commit something to your memory, it will take some time. So, you have to spread out your revision sessions (for example, one-hour sessions spread over 10 days). This will be more effective than spending the same amount of time in just one go (for example, 10 hours in one day). Known as spacing, this effect can help you as the time in between the revision sessions can make you forget and relearn the syllabus. In fact, this is one of the most robust strategies created after performing experimental research on memory and learning.
Have a plan before starting
Don’t start your revision in a frenzy. If you have only a few days left, it is better that you break the syllabus and work out exactly what you need to revise, instead of cramming all the information you can. Spend some time working out the topics that you have to cover and allot some time to it. You might feel like this is a waste of your limited, valuable time. But, it will save you a lot of time in the long run. This way, you will be breaking down a massive task into something achievable. For example, you can decide to start with NCERT solutions and then move on to the reference materials.
Test yourself
There are a lot of researchers with expertise on memory who consider testing as one of the most effective methods of improving your ability to recall information. By testing yourself, you can also check if there are gaps in your knowledge. A good starting point is practice papers. At the end of each revision session, you should also quiz yourself.
Teach someone
Once you have tested yourself and are confident in your abilities, you can teach the syllabus to someone else. Known as the “Protégé Effect”, this method has been known to help aid recall and memory. When you teach someone else, you have to learn and organize your knowledge clearly and in a structured manner.
Highlighters aren’t of much use
A lot of students love using highlighters while doing revision. However, studies have shown that they don’t work well. You learn and recall information better when it is connected to some other information that you have learned before. Highlighters can’t help you with that as they separate pieces of information. More often than not, you might end up highlighting several passages or the complete text which might look like you have worked hard, but isn’t of any value.
Don’t listen to music
There are a lot of students who listen to music while studying or revising. They believe that it helps them concentrate better on their studies. However, research has shown that students who learn in a quiet environment are able to recall better than the students who learn while listening to music. If you are an extrovert who has the ability to control your attention, you might not get negatively affected by it as much. But, the truth is that it won’t help you either. In the best case scenario, it won’t hinder your learning as much as it would do for everyone else.
Get some exercise and fresh air
It is not possible for you to work 24×7. Revision is about the quality of the hours you spend, and not the quantity. Getting some fresh air outside can help you feel refreshed and able to focus better afterwards. Furthermore, exercising everyday can help you deal with stressful situations in a better way. It also increases your self-esteem and reduces anxiety.
Get proper sleep
Before your exam, you will be working hard and revising a lot. However, a time will come when you just have to stop and start sleeping. Not a lot of students know the correct time to sleep. There is a link between struggling to sleep and being a perfectionist. So, if you are unable to sleep within five minutes of your head hitting the pillow, you should go to bed earlier. There are some other sleep tips that you can use like having a regular bedtime, not using your phone in the bed, etc.
There is no perfect method to revise as it depends on what suits you well. Revision is a challenging time and it will require you to monitor your behaviour, especially when you are preparing for an important exam. The above-mentioned tips can help ensure that you revise effectively and quickly.
Read: The 5 Best Tips to Pass ACCA Advanced Performance Management Exam
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