3 Revision Techniques to Revise Smarter

Students are constantly being told to revise but how can you make studying purposeful and effective so you can remember all that knowledge when you need it?

Let’s look at 3 techniques you can include in your revision routine.

The 1-2-3 method

A great way for ‘chunking’ up any information into organised and manageable pieces. To begin with, choose one topic for the subject you are revising. The first trick here is to be specific; if the topic is too big or covers too much information, it can quickly get overwhelming or, worse, your next steps will be so broad or vague that your revision notes won’t really help you. I’ll look at ‘Macbeth’ as an example - I’m an English teacher so I’m going to stick to what I know best here! I don’t want the whole play as my topic as that’s too much information so instead I’ll choose something more specific like a theme, a character, or perhaps a single scene.

I’m going to choose Lady Macbeth as my topic and next I want to include two facts about her. Depending on the topic you’ve chosen there might be lots more than just two facts that you could include – great! You can repeat this process multiple times and really develop your understanding. For Lady Macbeth my two facts are going to be that she is an ambitious character and that she is presented as a villain in the play. These two facts could be connected but they don’t have to be.

Lastly, I want to find three examples to support my notes. Think of this as including evidence for the two facts you have chosen. Key quotes are perfect for English Literature so I’m going to write down three quotes that show she is either ambitious, a villain, or both. So, to recap:

·         1 topic – keep it focussed and specific

·         2 facts – essential pieces of knowledge for your chosen topic

·         3 examples – evidence that supports or demonstrates this knowledge

The best thing about this technique is how flexible it is when it comes to creating your revision resources. You can easily use this approach when designing flashcards, mind-maps, posters, or any practical revision technique that suits the way you like to work.

Make a Mini Lesson

They say the best way to learn something is to teach it! As a tutor who supports students from many different schools, who all study different exam boards, and are using a range of different texts, I frequently have to quickly become an expert on a book I may not have taught before. Once I have new information to learn, the process of working out how I’m going to explain it to somebody else and help them understand it really accelerates my memory.

In your next study session, instead of approaching it as a student, approach it as a teacher. Imagine you are going to be explaining your revision topic to somebody else, someone who will really need your help to understand it, and plan out your lesson:

·         What is the one thing you really want to make sure they understand from your lesson? Write it down as simply and as clearly as you can.

·         What resources will you need? A short extract from a text? A diagram? Include it on your plan.

·         How are you going to explain it? Keep it as simple and as short as you can. You could write a short paragraph or use bullet points.

·         Create questions you would ask someone to check they have understood – I find this to be the best part of the process as it really helps your brain to start thinking about the information in a different way.

If you really wanted to take this technique to the next level, have a go at teaching the lesson you have created. It could be to a friend you study with or someone you live with. It doesn’t matter if they know anything about the topic you are trying to revise – if you can teach them something about it then you’ve just become an expert!

Pomodoro Technique

Finally, we have more of an approach to revision instead of an activity to try. In my last post, we looked at creating a perfect study space and how you revise in that space is just as important as what you revise. In short, the Pomodoro Technique is a method to keep you focussed and to help you avoid burn out in revision sessions:

·         Study for 25 minutes

·         Take a break for 5 minutes

·         Study again for 25 minutes

I use it myself for any work I’m doing outside of directly teaching and really does help me to stay productive. Personally, I’ve found a lot of my students prefer slightly shorter busts of 20-minute study sessions and there’s been plenty of times where I’ve been really locked into what I’m doing and gone over the 25 minutes! There’s a helpful planner in my Free Resource Library to structure these study sessions and manage how you are using your time so sign up to get your access link if you haven’t already.

Variety is Essential

I’d really encourage you to give these methods a try and add some variety to your revision sessions. Some techniques might work better for you than others but by trying a range of approaches and adding new techniques to your study rotation, it keeps your brain working to make new and interesting to connections with the knowledge you are trying to remember. The more connections you can create with a piece of information, the easier it is to recall when you need it.

Check out some of the other revision tips I share over on Instagram @phtutor and let me know if there are any techniques you have tried that have really made a difference to your revision!