By Caitlin, Mechanical Engineering
College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Birmingham
Studying for exams can be a bit of an experience. It can be hard work and, at times, seem endless – learning every piece of information that has been thrown at you over the past year (or maybe longer)! However, I have come up with four top tips that I have found useful:
- Have a schedule. Every person ever has said this, but if you set yourself a revision timetable and stick to it then it’s likely that you will learn the things you need to learn. However, it is also important to factor in breaks and ‘fun things’ into your revision. Life can’t be all work work work, or you might find that you burn out early.
- Start revising early and set yourself revision targets. There’s nothing worse than running out of time to revise. You might find that there seems to be infinite content to revise, but this will seem less if you start earlier, and you can even set yourself smaller amounts to do each day. Revision targets mean that you know exactly what it is you need to do and, if you factor in having a schedule too – when you need to do it by.
- Learn how you work best. You may want to find out what kind of learner (visual, auditory, reading/writing or kinesthetic) you are. There are simple tests to find this out on the internet. Some people may find it easier to learn things through looking at diagrams, others through hearing the information out loud and so on and so forth. It all depends on what kind of learner you are. Moreover, the type of revision content you create may differ on what you prefer – explore flashcards, mind maps, memory tests, mnemonics and anything else you can think of to see what helps you most. Lastly, different people enjoy working in different types of environment e.g. quiet or noisy, busy or empty, etc.
- Keep your head in the game. The easiest thing to do when revising is to procrastinate and get distracted. It is important to focus on the task at hand and keep at it even when you’re finding it difficult. Letting yourself skip days or even weeks of revision means that you will find yourself rushing to catch back up. You can keep your head in the game by treating yourself to little things when you reach a revision target.
Having said all this, it is important to recognise that different individuals learn in a diverse range of ways. Being told that you must revise in a certain way may not produce your best work and you should be ready to explore a variety of different revision techniques. Keep your mind open when it comes to new things and note down particularly good methods of revising all the information that you need to know.