General+revision+tips

//"To avoid procrastination create a revision plan early and stick to it" // Lisa Simpson from the Simpsons //. //
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=Helpful Software= Quizlet (website to make flashcards) http://quizlet.com/ Bubbl.us (mindmaping software) http://bubbl.us/

=Revision tips=

Many students worry about memory especially in relation to exams. This guide offers advice on ways to improve your memory while revising. Not all of these suggestions will be effective for everybody, so experiment and find what works for you.

Getting your timing right
__Time of day__ Think about when you work best (morning, afternoon or evening). When you need to learn facts, try to revise when you are most alert and focused.

__Taking breaks __ Take regular breaks to let your memory recover and absorb the information you have just studied. You will learn best if you revise material, have a sleep and then review the material the next day.



__Pacing your learning__ You will learn best if you spread your learning of a particular topic over an extended period of time. Rather than focusing on similar information for a whole day, change topics completely. When you next pick up a revised topic take a short time to recall what you learned previously and then build on it with new information.

Practising active learning
__Passive learning does not work!__ It's not effective to read your notes over and over, copy out notes or highlight bits of handouts. You need to think actively about ideas if you are going to remember them.

Learn actively by thinking, understanding and connecting the things you are trying to learn to your existing ideas and knowledge. Consider how the information can be used to answer exam questions from past papers. Is it a theory? Or supporting evidence? Do you agree with it?

Ask yourself… <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"What have I just learnt?" <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"How could I use it to answer an exam question?"

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Strategies for understanding
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__Make sense of the information__ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Information is hard to remember if it does not make sense. So you need to understand what you are trying to learn and relate it to things you already know.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Use your own words in revision notes as this connects the ideas to your understanding.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Think about the material… and look for similarities and differences between new information and what you already know. Why was the research valuable? Has it been replicated? Does it support old theories or suggest new ones?

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Explain the idea to a friend as this helps you to organise the ideas and ensures that you have really understood them.

__<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Organise the information __ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It is easier to remember well organised information. Try to find a meaningful structure for the information. Identify the most significant points, break down ideas into sections. Make a concept map to summarise ideas and evidence. It is easier to remember one series of connected ideas rather than a lot of separate points.

__<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Make the information more memorable __ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">One way is to generate sounds or images to go with the information and form mental images to go with the ideas. Or make a concept map using colours to create a visual image.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Strategies for rote learning
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__Learning formulae and brief facts__ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Start learning formulae early in your revision and learn one at a time. Write the information out in colour on a card and stick it somewhere prominent, e.g. by the kettle or in the bathroom. Look at it every time you pass by. Test yourself. If you know it then put another formula in a different colour by the kettle and add the old one to a pile that you test yourself on regularly.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__Mnemonics__ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">These can be a useful way to learn facts. Use the first letter of each word to create an easily remembered phrase or word e.g. Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain (colours of the rainbow in order: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__Using music__ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If you're good at remembering song lyrics, you might try choosing a song and replacing the lyrics with the formulae or phrases you need to remember.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Testing yourself
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__The revision cycle__ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">To get the most from your revision, test yourself again and again but with increasing gaps between tests:

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">10 minutes after learning something (e.g. at the end of the 10 minute study break which you take after learning the topic).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1 day later at the beginning of a revision session. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3 days later... <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1 week later....etc

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If you can't remember the information at any point in the cycle then relearn it and go back to it.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Recalling the information
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__Remembering__ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">Practice planning lots of answers to old exam questions. You don't have to write the answer out in full. Practice plans will get you used to interpreting questions, then choosing and ordering what you know in order to answer them. During the exam this will help your ability to retrieve information quickly and see how to apply it to the particular question.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__Stay calm__ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">During exams stay calm. If you can't remember something move on to another topic. Your mind is likely to remember the information once you stop searching for it.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Source []