Revision Diaries: Day 25

DAY 25: RETURN OF THE NIGHT OWL

Its Day 25 of Revision Purgatory and my sleeping pattern is officially ruined!

As I have stated before, I’m the type of student that burns the midnight oil. I can only revise in the evening and ‘early’ morning as I feel the lack of distractions along with the complete and utter silence (minus the birds singing) provide the optimum conditions for effective revision.

My four exams will take place at the end of May and the beginning of June so the stress and anxiety has started to really kick in.

I have spoken previously about my particular process that I like to follow during the revision period so take a look below for some Top Revision Tips:

Top Tip #1: PLAN

• My first tip, is to make a list of every subject that you are studying.
•  After you have done this, note down every topic or module that needs covering for that particular subject.
•  By doing this you cannot deny that you are completely aware of everything that needs covering.

Top Tip #2: REALISTIC TIMETABLE 

• After you have completed #1, you should be able to make a timetable.
• Make sure you know what the dates are for your exams so you can plan properly what you will need to cover for each day.
• Be realistic when you make your timetable – don’t plan to learn half a subject’s worth of work when you know it will really take four days – as you will be preparing yourself for more stress and not success! (Apologies for my rubbish rhyme.)

Top Tip #3: UNDERSTAND

• Something I can say I was occasionally guilty of, was to memorise lots of information but not really understand what on earth I was reciting.
• It may sound silly but I know I am not the only one, so make sure you actually understand the topic properly.
• Make sure, especially for humanities subjects, to understand the issue that the topic or module is focusing on.
• This will honestly make revision much easier because you will be engaging properly with the subject that you are studying!

Top Tip #4: PRACTICE EXAM PAPERS

• Again, to some people, completing loads of past papers is an absolute no-brainer!
• However, I think we can all admit that we have, at times, focused too much on the content of the subject and neglected to apply what we have learnt by answering those practice questions.
• Therefore, try to do as many past papers as possible as it will allow you to get used to the type of questions they may ask and, over time, will be the best way to improve your answers!

Top Tip #5: SENSIBLE BREAKS

• Students, often suffer many (often extreme) types of insanity during the revision period. Amongst other things, this is often the product of taking no breaks or too many breaks.
• Make sure you achieve the right balance!

I hope that the above process is somewhat helpful to any of you studying for exams this summer.

However, whilst I am on the matter of over-indulgent breaks, I’d better sign off and get back to revising!

Until next time,

Zara 🙂