by charby

Created on: June 11, 2009   Last Updated: June 15, 2009

I am a first year student at University, and in order to get here, I had to sit and pass quite a number of exams. I have sat exams at least once a year for the past four years, and am happy to say that I have passed every single one of them. It is true that that is due largely to the fact that I went to a good school and have supportive parents who helped me when I was struggling, and the fact that I was able to choose the subjects that I was best at, but when it comes down to it, I wouldn't have been able to pass those exams without doing a lot of revision by myself. Revision takes time and effort, and is usually boring as hell, but if you have good strategies for managing your revision it can really help you to boost your grade. After all, you could be a genius, but if you don't know the material you're being examined on, you're not going to do well.

So, anyway, the point I'm trying to get to is that I have developed some strategies for effective revision over the last few years that have helped me. I am writing this review to give some of this advice to you, and hopefully it will help you in your revision and in your exams.

1. Manage your time.

Time management is something that I'm terrible at. I'm usually late for classes/appointments/meeting friends/most other things, so it's unsurprising that I also leave starting my revision to the last minute as well. One of the most important things to try to do when you have exams to revise for is to start early rather than late, as if it gets to a week before the exam and you realise that you will have to work night and day to get it all done, you're going to feel very stressed, and stress and trying to revise don't mix well at all. A lot of people find that making a revision timetable and sticking to it rigidly is a good way of making sure that it gets done, which is a good idea if that's how you work too, but it never really worked for me. I often make timetables and then end up totally ignoring them and revising just when I feel like it, though just because it doesn't work for me doesn't mean that it won't work for you.

In terms of revision and time management, the most important thing is starting early enough, as you'll feel calmer and less overwhelmed by your workload if you have more time than necessary rather than less. This also means that you won't feel too guilty if you have a few days off revision, as you can afford to without running out of time.

2. Prioritising

For me, prioritising more important revision

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• Next Page >>