Effective Revising: The Complete Breakdown
1LikeHave you ever sat down to revise and felt like not an ounce of information has stuck? There is a good chance that your revision method is passive and not active. What does that mean? Passive revision is revision where your brain does not need to actively work to recall content from the subject. This would include examples such as: reading over textbooks, looking over notes and highlighting. Whereas when you are revising actively, your brain recalls information, making it more likely to stay in your long term memory. Flashcards and practice questions are some of the most effective revision methods that you can use.
However, if you don't want to ditch your notes and your textbook, you can transform those into sources for active revision. "Blurting" is a revision method where you look over your notes and try rewriting as much of them as possible without looking back. You write the parts you missed in a different colour pen and repeat the process. Furthermore, summarising pages of textbooks or trying to explain whatever you learnt from a section within a textbook make remembering information much easier. Your brain is hardwired to forget stuff that isn't seen as important information, by not recalling information, your brain may deem it as unnecessary and forget it, recalling information helps beat this forgetting curve and the material will stay in your head for longer durations each time. This is why platforms such as Anki are so useful as they utilise spaced repetition which means the chances of you remembering those topics that never seem to stick skyrocket.
What about your revision environment? A frequently asked question is where you should study. Many people swear by their desks and see any other place as impractical. However, they may have a point. Living rooms are often too noisy meaning that sitting on the sofa will make it extremely hard to revise in most cases, unless everyone in your house is willing to try and quieten things down as much as possible, it will most likely not be a long term solution. What about beds? Its less likely that you will be constantly interrupted by others. However, you may be constantly interrupted by the urge to sleep. Even if you don't, it can easily make you feel a little bit too comfortable and cause you to procrastinate. There's no doubt that beds are perfectly fine for some, but for a lot of people, they're not a good solution. Finally, a popular option is going out to a cafe or library, and as long as they're relatively quiet, they can be a solid alternative. Another question is if you should listen to music while studying. The answer isn't too straightforward. In some cases, music can help you concentrate, but in others, it distracts you. If you feel like you need to listen to music, opt for more calming music instead of songs with heavy instrumentals.
Revision doesn't have to feel like an upwards battle, reminding yourself of your goals and where you want to be in the future can greatly help you push forward.
