The Top 10 Revision DOs and DON’Ts

With exams looming on the horizon, revision can be a daunting and very scary task. But don’t get too stressed! The Hits Radio has handily put together 20 killer revision tips to get you through the weeks and months ahead!

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The Top 10 DOs!

1. Make A Timetable Start planning well before exams begin with a timetable. Some pupils do a daily timetable and others do weekly or even monthly ones. Make sure you cover all your subjects methodically and don’t set your self any unrealistic goals or mountains to climb!

2. Eat & Stay Hydrated It’s scientifically proven that your concentration levels drop when you’re overly hungry or thirsty so have a drink and eat a healthy snack or meal before you begin. Avoid binging on too much sugar, caffeine or unhealthy food as you will be bouncing off the walls!

3. Take A Break If you revise for hours on end without taking any breaks, it’s unlikely your brain will be taking anything information in! Treat yourself to a five-minute break every half hour and your revision time will be much more productive. Make sure you allow time for meals too!

4. Create A Nice Work Area If your workspace is a complete pigsty, it’s likely your head will feel all muddled too! Work in a nice clean space with good light with all your pens, notes and books to hand. Next to a window can be ok, but if you find you’re getting too distracted, it might be an idea to move away.

5. Write Things Down Just reading through textbooks WON’T make all the information stick so write things down! Find a way of writing down your notes that works for you – bullet points, highlighter pens, revision cards, coloured pens, flow diagrams, pictures, key words and spider charts can all help.

6. Reward Yourself Don’t torture yourself and work non-stop - you have to have a goal to aim for at the end of the day! A trip to the cinema, game of football or a visit to a friend’s house could be something to look forward to after a hard day hitting the books. Don’t think you deserve a whole day off after one hour of revision though!

7. Use Guides and Past Papers Depending on the subject, past papers can be extremely useful as you’ll be able to gauge the kind of questions that might come up and what format the exam will take. Revision guides can also be extremely handy, however, it’s always best to speak to your teacher about what the best ones are.

8. Ask For Help! If you’re stuck and can’t work something out, don’t bottle it up as you’ll get stressed and frustrated! Ask a friend, teacher or even a parent to see if they can offer any advice. Remember, you’re not alone and, as long as you haven’t left asking to the last minute, help is at hand!

9. Get Into A Routine Find a routine that works for you and try and stick to it! On study leave, it’s probably best to treat your revision like a day at school or college with plenty of breaks throughout. That means you’ll be done by the evening to have a rest and recharge your brain.

10. Make Revision Entertaining Although it often seems it, revision doesn’t have to be dull! If you’re studying Shakespeare, for example, you could watch a film adaptation to help you understand the plot. You could also read your notes out loud and record it to play back through headphones or use your computer to do research. Find ways to make it a little less daunting!

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The Top 10 DON’Ts!

1. Don’t Get Too Stressed It’s perfectly healthy to have some nervous energy but getting too stressed can be bad. Take a step back and tell yourself ‘it’s not the end of the world, I’m just going to do the best I can.’ Having a relaxing bath, exercising or chatting to friends on your breaks can all help those stress levels go down.

2. Don’t Avoid Subjects You Hate It’s easy to slip into the trap of only studying the subjects you’re good at and brushing the ones you hate or are struggling with under the carpet. This is the WORST possible thing to do! Tackle your fears head on and break those difficult subjects into easily digestible bites alongside subjects you’re more confident with. You might surprise yourself when the tricky subjects finally click!

3. Don’t Have The TV On Some people find that quiet background music helps them with revision and others find it distracting. While background music depends on the person, having the TV on is a bad idea for absolutely everyone! There’s just too much temptation to look at the TV and we guarantee you won’t be as productive.

4. Don’t Leave It Until The Last Minute Another big temptation is to always leave revision until tomorrow. DON’T! Giving yourself more time will help you cover your subjects more thoroughly and learn your notes more efficiently. Throwing an ‘all-nighter’ and cramming all your revision in at the last minute is very ineffective. The day before the exam ideally should be the time when you’re re-reading your notes.

5. Don’t Surround Yourself With Distractions Once you’ve set up your nice clean working space, avoid the temptation to surround yourself with distractions like phones, iPads, magazines and games. The more you have at hand to divert your attention, the less revision you’re going to do. Simples!

6. Don’t Turn Into A Revision Zombie A Revision Zombie is someone who never takes a break, doesn’t sleep and thinks about nothing else but revision. Although they try very hard, they’re usually too zonked out to perform well in exams. Don’t become one! Remember to work hard but take breaks, sleep and reward yourself with time off!

7. Don’t Spend All Day Making Your Timetable As we’ve already said, Timetables are very important so you can plot out what you’re going to revise and when. However, some people take so long drawing up and colouring in timetables that they actually spend barely any time doing the actual work!

8. Don’t Waste Time Making Your Notes Super Pretty Setting your notes out in a clear and concise way (bullet points, highlighter pens, diagrams etc.) can really help but some students are so obsessed with making their notes look super pretty it wastes all their revision time. Don’t go overboard!

9. Don’t Miss Out On Sleep Sleep is vital throughout all your revision time. It recharges your brain and energy levels, helps you concentrate better and reduces anxiety. Sleep deprivation, especially on the night before your exam, is a BIG NO NO! Once you’ve done all your revision, treat yourself to an early night.

10. Don’t Forget To Check The Exam Timetable!! We’ve all heard horror stories about people turning up to a morning exam in the afternoon only to find it happened hours ago. Don’t let that person be you! Check and recheck the exam timetable and make sure you know exactly WHEN and WHERE your exams are! If you don’t, it could be a very costly mistake.