By Tom Eason
REVISION is often seen as the necessary evil of the exam process, but it is far more than just a chore. At its most fundamental, good revision underpins exam success if you are confident about your subject then you will be less nervous on the day but it also enables you to consolidate your learning and really understand the subject you’ve been taught. A closer look at what revision can achieve will help you understand why it is so important.
First, remember the basic principle of an examination that it is to test understanding, not memory. Obviously, knowledge of specific facts, names, dates and so on is essential, but the examiner does not want to see your classroom notes remembered word for word he wants to judge the way in which you draw on the knowledge gained on your course in order to answer the exam question.
Revision allows you to review what you’ve learnt, and consolidate your knowledge. A review of past papers which often forms a key part of a revision programme will show the type of questions examiners set, and therefore the level of understanding required. Exam boards such as CIE provide schools with copies of past papers, and these are an essential revision tool.
Revision will also highlight any gaps in your knowledge you may have missed some classes, for example, or mislaid a set of notes. More importantly, as you revise you may return to subjects you didn’t really understand when they were first taught. Now is the time to raise specific problems with your teacher, and focus on gaining a thorough understanding second time around.
Revision technique is also important and is a skill in itself. The following advice should help:
Plan your revision: Far better to do a little every day than too much too late. Draw up a revision timetable and allocate regular slots for each subject and don’t forget to build in free time. It is a good idea to set specific objectives and then reward yourself if you achieve them. A morning’s break from revision, or a trip to the cinema or a swim will act as an incentive and refresh you for more work.
Simplify: Make clear, simple notes to help you remember important information or complex arguments. Techniques such as mnemonics can prove useful when revising specific facts, for example Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain will help you to remember the order of the colours in the spectrum, OIL RIG (in chemistry) stands for Oxidation Is Loss, Reduction Is Gain of electrons. Representing information diagrammatically may also be helpful.
Create the right environment for study: Revision requires concentration which requires peace and quiet. Make sure you have space to spread out papers, books and notes, that your desk or table is well lit, your chair comfortable, and that you can work undisturbed for as long as you like. Some people find music helps, but make sure it’s supportive, not distracting. TV? Definitely not!
Look after yourself: Sometimes revision can become a competition who stayed up latest, who worked longest, who’s worrying the most. But the more tired you are the less efficiently you’ll work. You need to rest as well as study, eat well, drinks lots of water and make sure that you pace yourself. Don’t rush, and equally don’t over-revise by doing too much too soon.
Vary your revision techniques: Revision doesn’t have to be a solitary experience. You can revise with friends, or in study groups at school. There are also many revision resources around to help you, especially on the Internet. One word of warning with Internet-based revision make sure you keep to the subject in hand and don’t get distracted!
As you can tell, there is more to revision than simply cramming information into your brain taking a sensible structured approach will not only help you to do better in your exams but also help you achieve a greater understanding of the subject, an understanding which will last you for a very long time.
Tom Eason is Director for Europe, Cambridge International Examinations (CIE), part of the world famous University of Cambridge. CIE offers a wide range of qualifications to students in more than 160 countries. Visit the CIE website at www.cie.org.uk or contact The British Council for details.
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
