EXAM REVISION/STUDY TECHNIQUES

I am a very proud and determined mum of one son who is now a graduate aged 28 years old. Born, raised and a native of Leeds in the UK and an ex-secondary school teacher, tutor, trainer and homeschooler. This blog gives my opinion, tips etc on homeschooling from 3 years old up to the age of 18 years old, in general and not just in the UK - where Iam located. These views will be unbiased and updated at least 5 times per week. If I think that something education-related is rubbish, excellent, angers or is funny or sad, I will say so in no uncertain terms. I will also give opinions not just on homeschooling, but on teacher, school, pupil and backup educational support and performances etc..... This is a blog for everyone that is interested in education a lot of content relates to the USA. So come in .. take a seat, relax and give us a read and give your opinions.

EXAM REVISION/STUDY TECHNIQUE

The time to revise/study

Take the time to make practical arrangements for your revision. Even if you are raring to and feel that such arrangements will take care of itself, take my word for it, it won’t.

Revision requires time and you need to set aside a certain amount of time each for it. This should be time when you are not busy with other things and when you won’t be disturbed. Arrange at the beginning of the week, when this time will be, as it is easy to go through a complete week meaning to revise but never quite getting around to it.

As an ex-schoolteacher, homeschooler, tutor and trainer, I recommend the following times for revision purposes based upon what type of school/university you attend:

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - 5 hours per week
MIDDLE SCHOOL - 7 hours per week
SECONDARY SCHOOOL - 10 hours per week
COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY - 15 hours per week

This is to tackle the learning materials themselves, that you get as handouts at school and recommended textbooks. However, this does not include include reading other books, talking to a variety of people, or perhaps joining a discussion or study group of your topic – in person or online.

You may be unsure of the amount of time you can spare, but if you make a simple chart, like the one I have included below, you may find this assists you.

MORNING AFTERNOON EVENING TOTAL
SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

Total time
=============

Fill in the amount of time in each of these sections and each day, the amount of time that you have available to revise. Then add up the total number of hours that you have available for that week. Don’t forget you have to complete a new chart EVERY WEEK.

You must also consider the following:

1. Is anything in your life going to happen to you in the next academic year, that
would alter the number of hours that you have noted down? Eg holidays etc.
If there is, fill in the chart again, for a week during that time.

2. Do you have the full amount of hours noted down, according to which level of schooling you attend? If not, then you need to consider how you are going to
make the hours up. Eg you could find some ½ hours you have not considered before.

3. Do not note down any periods of longer than ½ hour, if you are in Elementary
School, ¾ hour if you are in Middle School, or 1 hour if you are in Secondary School/University without a break. Longer than this, then you will find it hard
to concentrate and find that you are spending a lot of time revising, getting very
little done and becoming tired, frustrated and fed up.

4. Find out in which sections you have the most time available. You may find that
you can revise better at one time of the day than another. However, you will only
find this out by trial and error, in the beginning. When you do find a preference,
then adjust your revision plans accordingly.

THE PLACE TO REVISE

Set aside a particular place to revise, a separate room would be ideal; but a quiet corner of a room, or even a particular table. Make sure that everyone in your household knows that this is where you will be revising and that when you are there you do not want to be disturbed. It is pointless planning are reserving the hours you need to revise a week, when you are being disturbed for 90% of those hours.

Choose an area that is well lit, warm and well ventilated. You need to be able to see what you are doing, stay awake and be physically comfortable.

Besides an area that is quiet, well lit, warm, well-ventilated, with good lighting; you also have to ensure that the area that you are choosing has sufficient space to use and store all the different items needed for your revision. Books, leaflets, handouts, notes, forms, writing paper, pencils and other books and materials of different kinds. You may also wish to keep a digital dictation machine with your revision materials also.

If you are unable to find a convenient place to revise, you could consider using the local library, community centre or other local facilities, where you are ensured of peace and quiet. You may need to do all of your revision there, perhaps just 1 day a week, or at any time that you know you are likely to be disturbed.

If you don’t have much permenant storage space in the room where you are studying, purchase the largest old suitcase you can from a jumble sale, rummage sale, or charity shop, (preferably with wheels) and use that to store your revision materials in. This has the advantage of being portable.

Use the chart I have included below to compare different places for your revision in your home. For each place give it a rating of 1 to 5. 1 for if it is useless and 5 if it is very good. Then total up the scores at the bottom of the column.

Place 1 Place 2 Place 3
Conditions
Light
Heat
Space to work
Quiet
Convenient
No distractions
Comfortable
Storage Space
TOTALS

The place with overall highest score will be the best place for you to study.

Find your way around a topic area of a subject

The main text of a subject area is made up of a number of topics, which focuses on a single issue, or a related series of issues. It can be between 2 – 8 pages in length and can be revised on its own, or as a separate item.

TITLES. This will give the topic title, followed by a couple of lines explaining in more detail what is going to happen in the topic. The text will be then subdivided into sections, each starting with a heading of a certain size. MAJOR HEADINGS – large in size informing you of what the majority of text comes next. SMALLER HEADINGS – giving more detail of the content of the bigger chunks. Use the headings to glance over topics, what it contains and what weight is given to it. This will give you an immediate feel for what the topic is about.

BOXED TEXT – Not really part of the main subject but is interesting and may be useful to you.


BLOBBED POINTS – A list of ideas, regard it as a list (even though some may be a paragraph long. You can use these instead of numbers by the side of a list where items are not in order of importance.

TABLES AND CHARTS – A simple, concise way of presenting and recording information.

RECORDING – Make a record of your views, feelings and discoveries for each topic area of each subject.

FEEDBACK – Perform feedback on the main content and conclusion, of each topic area of each subject, with the author’s as well as your thoughts.

EXAMPLES – Easier to understand explanations and instructions on what to do. Eg case studies.

MAKING RECORDS

MAKE YOUR MARK – If you have purchased your own textbooks, or have been given handouts for you to keep, then mark the text, underline it, put a comment by the side where you disagree, mark bits to remind you to find out more.

MAKE NOTES – Making notes is a very personal process and each individual has their own distinctive style. I am not suggesting that one overall method is better or more appropriate than another. However, make notes as concise as possible, (concise enough to fit on a postcard-size filing card) but to the point, including all relevant detail. Here is a few methods I have used:

Lists
Preparation notes to phone……
Answering……….
Instructions for/how to do…………….
Letters

These are used to sort out your ideas, starting with very basic notes using dashes, asterisks, shortened words and abbreviations etc and then improving on them at a later date with more elaborate and clearer notes.

Lists – Use these to collect ideas together and compare and/or categorise them, put items that have something in common on one part of the paper and others that are different on the other, thus sub-categorising them and showing how they
relate to each other. Things that do not fall into any category will stand out on their own.

Extend your list into sentences or phrases that say more about the items.
Join bits of the list together with lines to indicate that they go together in some way. Use coloured pens/mark/highlight common items and key words.

TREES, ROOTS AND BRANCHES

Write an initial idea on a page and then draw out from it various
ideas that
occur to you out of that first idea.

USING CARDS

These can be used in several ways:

• To write summaries of what you have learned in each topic. For
each topic, write 3 things you have got out of each topic.

• To write different sorts of comments on the front and back
of cards, in relation to topics, write about:
What you felt happy about on one side
What you felt unhappy about on the other side
Write the results of an activity on one side, how long it
took you and how you felt about it on the other side
and things you feel you would like to follow up now.

Use a Digital Recorder

This is a further way of taking notes and may suit you more than writing.
Can be used for:

Recording talks with other people, followed by listening to
the recording and then summarizing your ideas afterwards.

Daydreaming – let your imagination take over. Shut your
eyes and talk into the digital recorder.

OTHER RECORDS

Making records in the form of drawings – it doesn’t have to be a work of art,
just good enough for you and no one else.

When you get ‘stuck’ on a topic or the results of an activity and no thoughts
are occurring to you, you may find that changing to a different form of
recording results will help.

Consider the ways of expressing yourself that you feel happiest with and try
to use them as you revise.

……AND EVERYTHING IN ITS PLACE...

* Keep your records organized and keep them in such a way which
means that you can get to them quickly and easily.

• Notebooks are excellent for keeping all your notes together,
but once the notes are in the book, you are likely to see
them in that order, therefore stopping you having any fresh
thoughts about those things, or adding any additional
thoughts you have to an already full notebook.

• Loose-leaf files have the advantage of keeping notes,
where you can reorganize them as you choose.

• Cards are a useful way of keeping flexible records that are
written down on postcards or cards, summarizing your ideas.
Grouping them, rearranging them and looking for patterns.

• Mixed filing the slotting of your notes into the course book,
so that your records are with the page that is relevant
to them. Paper clip them to the page.

• Markers having your records marked with when you
record them and what they refer to, using page numbers and/or
topic/activity titles as headings. By not labeling your
records, you may find yourself completely baffled.

• Make distinctions distinguishing between different sorts of
records, enabling you to see at a glance when you flick
through them, what type of records they are – results of
activities, your own extra notes, rough notes etc.
For example:

o Using a notebook to record working notes or jotting
down notes for a minute.
o Using a loose-leaf folder to record the results of
your activities.
* Using a card index or postcards to make summaries
of topics.
o Using different coloured paper to record different
results.
o Using different coloured pens and pencils to record
different types of results.

PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS:

• Keep a box for cuttings from newspapers, magazines, pamphlets etc
• Pencil in why you cut it out, saved it and where from
• Sort out your box of cuttings and see what you’re going to do with them – a
general collection, to be used as a trigger if you get stuck or to be fitted
into your other records.
• Stick cuttings onto pages and add them to your loose leaf folder using firm
card.
• Buy envelope files and make up your own resource pack to go with each chapter
or theme. Then when you are revising that chapter you can have all your
resources spread out in front of you.
• Buy a cheap photo album that holds that photographs down with transparent
cling film and put cuttings in them labeled with the topic or chapter they
refer to.
• Keep a scrap book and stick of staple cuttings into it.

FINALLY – REMEMBER....

At the end of your revision session – congratulate yourself. You deserve it.
You have persevered through to the end of a revision session. Allow yourself the pleasure and the satisfaction of saying that you did OK. If you enjoy it and feel you are doing your best on it, then it is good to let yourself feel proud and pleased. Congratulate yourself and give yourself a reward – something you particular
enjoy and reserve this until you have finished your topic or chapter.

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