What kind of reviser are you

You can either choose boring, ineffective revision techniques like passively reading your text-book on your bed checking your phone every five minutes. Or, you can choose revision techniques that are more effective, more efficient and more active and actually get you great results. The first thing to realise is that not every revision technique works for every person.

Before you start revising take some time to reflect on how you learn best. Use these prompts to help you. For example, if you learn particularly well from class debates you might like to think about how you could mimic class debates in your own bedroom. Maybe you could get a group of fellow students together to have your own debate.

Now, you need to creatively apply your best learning methods to your own revision. How well am I remembering this? How well am I understanding it? Sometimes you might just be tired and need a break. Other times you might just need a change which you can get by using a different revision technique. Identify the problem, find a solution and go with it.

One thing lots of students put off doing is past papers. This rarely works well as you end up not having enough time to do enough past papers. A great way to solve this problem and to monitor how successful your revision is as you go along is to do revision power hours.

Revision power hours have five simple steps:. This could include techniques such as creating a mind map for each of the topics you learn about, with the topic name in the middle and arrows pointing off it to facts you need to learn.

Some people find that they work best with other people this is known as social learning. On a related note to social learning, you might find that you learn things more easily if you have to explain a concept to someone else.

This is because in order to explain something clearly to someone else, you have to have a thorough grasp of it yourself.

For example, giving a presentation to fellow students will require you first to have an excellent understanding of the topic and then to put together materials from which the others can learn.

Some people find that watching or listening to things helps them absorb information more easily. One of the most effective learning styles is to learn by doing. For example, you could conduct a scientific experiment or see how a chemical reaction works practically. You could visit the site of an important historical event, such as the Battle of the Somme. You may have the kind of mind that enjoys solving problems. Rather than being told the answer, you may find that you learn best by working through the problem for yourself.

This style of learning will be best suited to mathematical and scientific types. Some people enjoy tests and mock exams because they provide strong motivation to succeed. A more fun variant of this is the quiz, which you could arrange with your friends. Some people like to knuckle down and study something for hours until they really get to grips with it.

Others have shorter attention spans, and need to study intensively in short bursts. Or supporting evidence? Do you agree with it? Make sense of the information - Information is hard to remember if it does not make sense. So you need to understand what you are trying to learn and relate it to things you already know. Use your own words when writing revision notes as this connects the ideas to your understanding.

Think about the material … and look for similarities and differences between new information and what you already know. Why was the research valuable? Has it been replicated? Does it support old theories or suggest new ones? Explain the idea to a friend as this helps you to organise the ideas and ensures that you have really understood them. Organise the information - It is easier to remember well organised information. Try to find a meaningful structure for the information. Identify the most significant points, break down ideas into sections.

Make a spidergram to summarise ideas and evidence. It is easier to remember one series of connected ideas rather than a lot of separate points.

Make the information more memorable — One way is to generate sounds or images to go with the information and form mental images to go with the ideas. Or make a spidergram using colours to create a visual image. Learning formulae and brief facts - Start learning formulae early in your revision and learn one at a time.

Write the information out in colour on a card and stick it somewhere prominent, e. Look at it every time you pass by.

Test yourself. If you know it then put another formula in a different colour by the kettle and add the old one to a pile that you test yourself on regularly.

Mnemonics - These can be a useful way to learn facts. Use the first letter of each word to create an easily remembered phrase or word e. Using music - if you're good at remembering song lyrics, you might try choosing a song and replacing the lyrics with the formulae or phrases you need to remember.