Revision Techniques That Actually Work

There are some revision techniques that actually work and there are some which are a complete waste of time. You don’t want to spend hours and hours ‘revising’ and then realise you cannot recall a single fact when you are sitting an exam. But Fear Not! I have worked in education for over 10 years and served as an academic mentor. Plus, I have previously worked for an examining board, so I know revision techniques that actually work and will give you a higher grade than you ever expected.

Best Revision Techniques

• Study in the right environment
• Know the subject specification for each subject
• Use your whole brain – Connect words and terms by association
• Create a Mind Palace
• Use Revision Tools
• Repetition, Repetition, Repetition

Study in the Right Environment

One of the cool things about being an only child is that you probably have your own bedroom. You don’t have to share with an annoying brother or sister who demands your attention all the time. You should have a nice quiet place away from distractions to study.

Make sure your bedroom has a desk you can work at. Avoid reading or studying on your bed. This is because your bed has been designed to sleep in. Your brain will associate your bed with your sleep space and there is a danger that if you sit or lie on the bed your brain may trigger the sleepy hormone ‘melatonin’. That will make it harder to concentrate on your work. I have dozed off many times on my bed when I tried to study in the past.

Do not have any distractions on in the background such as the TV, radio or podcast. If you listen to music then listen to music with no lyrics, such as classical music. There are some YouTube videos that contain music to study by.

If you want to snack then have healthy brain-boosting snacks.

Know the Subject Specification for Each Subject

All your exams have been written by the examing boards. The curriculum for all your chosen subjects has been written by the examining boards. Your teachers use the Teacher Guide Books and Core Subject Books written by the examining boards to teach you the topics that you will be assessed on. So, the best way for you to succeed in your exams is to know the subject specification for each subject. You can obtain the Specification for each subject from the examining board.

Links to all the major UK examing boards are at the end of this post

Each year the examiners meet for every exam to go through the specification and check they are marking to the specification of each exam. They look at sample papers students have completed and identify which paper meets which grade. If you want to know how to get a high grade know the subject specification. It literally explains to teachers and examiners what grade to offer depending on how well the student has answered the question. This is especially important for essay-heavy exams such as English and History etc.

Don’t waste your time learning useless facts you are not likely to be assessed on. Know the Specification!

Use your whole brain – Connect Words by Association

When you learn something new, your brain makes brand new neuro connections. For example, if you are learning a new piece of music on an instrument your eyes will read the notes and send a message to your brain, which will then send a message to your fingers to move them to the correct keys in the correct order. If you play the same piece over and over again you will create a permanent link, so you can play that piece of music from memory.

If you can link one sense to another or if you can link an abstract concept to a concrete concept you are using both sides of your brain and you are more likely to understand and remember.

A good example of this is in the film The Color Purple. Celie’s sister went to school, but Celie was forced to marry someone whilst she was a teenager so could not go to school. Her sister taught her to read. Nettie put labels on all the items around the house and Celie would say the word and then spell it out.

This is a great system if you want to build your vocabulary when studying a second language. Be sure to spell the words as the girls do.

The labels are on the items, so Celie can picture the object of the noun she is using. Eventually, her sister will be able to take off the labels and Celie will know the correct word and spelling for each item. You can try this method at home with your family.

Create a Mind Palace

Another way to connect your neurons is to create a mind palace. This is an ingenious method to remember facts. It dates back to the ancient Greeks (doesn’t every great idea date back to the Ancient Greeks?) All you have to do is picture a building you are already very familiar with such as your house or your school. As you walk through the building with your mind attach a piece of information you want to remember such as a date or chemical equation. If you make a strange connection such as imagining Shakespeare quoting one of his plays whilst lying under your bed you are more likely to remember the piece of information.

This video gives an excellent example of how it all works:

Use Revision Tools

When I say ‘use revision tools‘ what I mean is ‘make revision tools‘. If you are planning to read your class notes and textbooks page by page and do nothing else with the information you will not be able to recall it all. You need to break down the information into easy bite-size pieces. You need to rewrite your notes and ensure you understand what they mean.

Here are some revision tools you can make:

Flash Cards: These are great tools to use if you want to learn quotes. You do not need to add too much information to the cards. I have seen students add huge paragraphs on their cards and colour-code them, but they struggle to recall all the information. The best way to use flashcards is to write a short piece of information you need to learn by heart such as a quote from a novel, and then test yourself with a friend or family member.

Mind Maps: A mind map is a little like the mind palace, but you draw it instead of just picturing it in your mind. It can help you group concepts together. It’s even better if you can add little images, but don’t waste your time on drawing a beautiful mind map and realise you haven’t actually submitted any of the information into your brain. Think very carefully about what you want to add to the mind map that you will need to recall in an exam.

There are some mind-map-making tools online. Check the useful websites list below for links.

Infographics: Infographics are great for presenting key facts in different subjects, such as a timeline for History or a human body for biology. Just make sure you add correct facts to your infographic and make sure the data you add is information you will be tested on. There is no point in creating an infographic of all the monarchs of England since William the Conqueror if you only need to know key dates from the Tudor period. You can always show your infographic to your subject teacher to fact-check it.

Repetition Repetition Repetition

Whether you like it or not repetition is one of the best ways to remember information. The more you repeat your actions the greater you will fuse those neuropathways and the more likely you will recall the details you have learnt. But it only works if you use what you have learned regularly. The best way to learn a language is to be fully immersed in it and use it all the time, otherwise, you will forget key phrases and words. Eventually, you will forget the vast majority of what you have learned unless you regularly speak the language.

The same principle applies to learning a musical instrument. You need to practice it every day or you will forget everything you have learned and you may only be able to recall a couple of songs.

This is what Riley from Pixar’s Inside Out did. She didn’t practice the piano so her own mind threw away everything she had previously learned except a couple of songs.

So if you want to succeed in your exams you need to keep going back over the topics and repeating everything you have learned without using notes. You need to know that you can recall the information easily during an exam.

The Do’s and Don’ts of Revision Techniques

Useful Websites

NB: I have not used any of the mind-mapping software mentioned below. Remember to read reviews before you try it and remember not to waste precious time creating a revision tool, but not utilizing it. Sometimes it is better and easier to draw your own mind map.

AQA Examining Board
Edexcel Examining Board
OCR Examining Board
Coggle – Mind Map Software
Gitmind – Mind Map Tool
Learning about Shakespeare
BBC Bitesize