Whilst cramming for an exam isn't something we'd recommend, many students (myself included) have fell victim to time's cruel trick of sneaking up on us and found ourselves just a week from an important examination very ill prepared! But whether you've been revising for months or not, some last minute revision can't hurt and can actually dramatically improve your grades. Take a look at these expert tips for making the most out of your last minute study sessions…
Create the Right Environment
Preparing your workspace is the first step to last minute revision success and finding a suitable place to study is more difficult than it looks, especially in a bustling family home. If you live in a busy household, find a secluded spot in your home, away from noisy family members as well as far, far away from temptations such as televisions, computers and game consoles. Also, be sure to leave your mobile phone behind to remove all distractions from your study sanctuary. If you choose to study using online tools, make sure all social media profiles are logged off.
Be Prepared
Preparing to study is an important ritual too; make sure you have a clear plan of what subjects you are going to be studying for during your revision session. Also, note the amount of time you will be concentrating on each subject for, you may want to spend more time studying for the subjects you are not so confident in or those with more difficult papers such as the cells and simple cell transport module in Biology. Ensure you have all the correct materials at hand too, i.e. notes, texts and books, for the subjects you intend to study for.
Establish a Routine
Revision, especially last minute study, relies on getting into a routine that suits you and your learning patterns. But whether you are a night owl or a morning person, it is important to try and set up a routine during normal school hours. After all, if you have been studying until 4am on the morning of your exam, you will not feel too chipper and find it very difficult to concentrate if you have an exam just a few hours later. Sticking to this ‘school hours-only' routine ensures you spend enough hours studying as well as getting a good night's sleep before those all-important exam sittings.
Keep it Proactive
Making studying fun is a sure-fire way to make sure last minute revision sticks long after the exam itself has been and gone. Don't just sit there reading notes and books word-for-word, make your revision interesting by drawing mind maps to explore a certain area of the subject or read the main points of the topic aloud.
Give Yourself a Mini Exam
You can get your parents involved or work together with friends to ensure you learn as much as you can. Devise a list of questions whilst you're studying and test your knowledge towards the end of your revision session, or get family or friends to quiz you. There are also a wide selection of past exam papers and marking schemes that you can access from your school or via the internet so you can test yourself further and make sure you are fully prepared and walk into that exam with confidence.
These helpful tips were published on behalf of Brittany Moodie from education resource, Getting-In. Their website has a variety of guides to help students of all ages with their revision during exam season.
