What Are The Different Revision Techniques? (10 Tips)

Whether you are freshmen, sophomore or senior year, exams are the most challenging part of the school. Preparing for examinations comes with numerous hours of preparation and revisions. In my teaching experience, students who do revisions often have a greater chance of passing their examinations.

Here is a quick look of easy revision techniques:

1. Revise Early
2. Prioritise and Plan
3. Make a Schedule
4. Reward Yourself
5. Take regular breaks
6. Avoid distractions
7. Ask for advice
8. A good working environment
9. Study with Friends
10. Revisit your notes

The list of revision techniques can seem long. These are just simple things that you can use to get through your revisions before your exams. Having these in practice, you will no longer worry on how to go through your revisions. 

Learning and applying these revision techniques give you a better possibility to do well on your examination.

1) Revise Early

Rushing your revision is not good. By starting early and spreading the things you do for each exam ensures a stress-free revision. This will help your brain to retain information easily.

2) Prioritise and Plan

As a student, you need to know what to prioritise on what to do. Panning and prioritising things on what to do helps you to maintain study - life balance. 

Planning your goals is an essential skill needed for success. A careful plan of revisions has a higher success rate of overcoming your problems as a student. If done effectively, it can reduce your stress as a student.

Here are the reasons why you need to set goals to plan for your revision schedule.

1.  You specify. You take full control of all the goals that you set. You must set goals that are attainable for you as a student.
2. You know what to achieve. As a student, you have to identify your goals and how you will achieve them. You have full control over what will be the outcome of your dreams. It refrains you from rushing things on your deadlines.
3. You know your timeframe. You will be on track to meet your deadlines. You know when to finish it and how to finish it.

3) Make a Schedule

Creating a detailed but realistic revision schedule will help you to revise easily. When you do this, it is important that you stick to it as much as possible.

Making a list will help you to make sure you are to go over the needed content. It also helps you to have an easier time organizing and remembering things that you need to do.

You can also start writing your schedule in sticky notes. This will help you not to miss all the tasks that you need to finish. This will train you on how to manage your time and academic priorities.

4) Reward Yourself

For every successful to-do list, you finish, try to celebrate. Celebrating your progress is not a bad one. When you achieve something good, celebrate it. Talk to your friends or find a way to relax. This way is beneficial to keep yourself motivated in continuing your revision schedule.

Every little progress that you achieved is worth savouring.

5) Take regular breaks 

Revising, when you are tired and sleepy, is useless. If you feel that you are tired, then take a break. Sleeping early and taking naps is good for your body to rest.

A night of good sleep will help you better to remember the things you are studying. Also if you have a good sleep and rest, you won’t be under pressure when you are doing your revisions.

One of the best ways to set up a study revision is by using the Pomodoro Technique by Francesco Cirillo. Traditionally, it is a technique that follows 25 minutes in length and is separated by short breaks. It is one of the study techniques that many students are doing today. By using this technique, it helps to reduce your stress. Also, it refrains them from being distracted.

6) Avoid Distractions

I know this is not an easy one. When revising, try to remove all distractions. Distractions like sounds from your television. Make sure that your revision and relaxation time is separated. Separating them will make your revision more effective and efficient.

Also, some students are easily distracted by their mobile phones ringing and vibrating. Turn off your mobile phones or set your phone to silent. This is the best way to decrease your distractions during your revisions. Try to minimize the use of social media as part of your study revision.

7) Ask for Advice

Try to seek advice from your family and your teachers. Ask them questions that will help you improve your revisions. At times, you do get tips from other people's perspectives on what to do with your revisions.

Seeking the advice from your teacher will definitely better help you navigate your revisions. They can give you areas to focus on before your exams. 

8) A good working environment

Having a specific place or room to do your revision is a motivation to finish your tasks. If you have a bedroom, at least find a place where you think you can concentrate on your revisions.

Make sure you have all the needed things when you revise. A study desk that is large enough to study is important. This will allow you to spread your books, learning materials, and study supplies as needed.

You also need to consider your lighting. Good lighting helps you to lessen eye strain or fatigue. This will keep your revision session very effective each day.

9) Study with friends

Is this a good way to do revisions? In my experience as a teacher, this is very effective. Students are able to have fun, and better enjoy their learning together. The good thing is they are able to help each other. 

Joining organized study groups with your friends is a good place to start gaining a deeper understanding of lessons. You can seek advice and benefit from other students on the issues you find difficult or confusing. You can also learn by hearing information and explaining your thoughts about the topic. Study groups can be an excellent way to practice your oral communication skills.

Revising with your friends can make you happy. It can help to lower your stress, as you begin to enjoy the process.

10) Revisit your notes

This is the best way to revise. Looking back on your notes helps you remember things that are important. When you revisit your notes, you can also write outlines for your notes. 

Writing down outlines are best when preparing for midterm and final exams. The purpose of an outline is to organize the information. It is how to review the lesson. It can help you remember the key points of the lessons. It also helps you to ease the burden of bringing books and notebooks during exams.

Additional Revision Tip - Know your learning style(s)

It would help if you considered what your dominant learning style is. By knowing this, you can maximize your potential during your study revisions. You can use this to your advantage to learn and enjoy your revisions.

There are four different learning styles (VARK) by Neil D. Fleming and Coleen E. Mills in their study from 1992. Let us take a closer look at these four learning styles. 

Understanding these learning styles can help you choose an ideal process of revision.

1. Visual Learners - this type of learner is best at learning knowledge and concepts thru the use of images presented to them. You are a visual learner if you are always a highlighter to remember ideas and words on your notes or books.
2. Auditory Learners - this type of learner always finds success in group activities. This learner tends to read his work vocally aloud in front of a group.
3. Reading/Writing Learners - this learner has a strong learning preference for written words. They usually take down notes during the class because they can easily break down the information needed. 
4. Kinesthetic Learners - if you are a hands-on student. Then definitely, you are a kinesthetic learner. This learner usually excels in skills and lab work classes.

Conclusion

There are many revisions guides that you can use. Following these guides can make you a responsible student. It will cultivate your discipline. These will help you to become a better student. 

Having a study routine will make you an organized student. As always, hardworking students beat intelligent students. Now, are you ready to begin your revision plan? 

Before that, one last piece of advice...

Studying takes a lot of courage, patience, and diligence. Even if you follow these simple tips, without courage, patience, and diligence everything will be in vain.

Related Questions

When is the best time to revise? The best time to revise varies between people. Explore different revision time, and determine the time when you feel most focused. You might find yourself preferring the day, while your friends might prefer evening time.

Can listening to music help my study revisions? Listening to music helps your brain to be stimulated. Many studies prove that listening to classical music helps stimulate our brain.