Revision techniques<?>

[Stace234]

Anyone got any good revision techniques???? i get bored and cant concentrate!! ive tried putting music on, doing brain storms, spider diagrams, note taking you name it ive tried loads of things!! anyone got any suggestions? must appriciated!

stacexxx

[Vic]

Regular breaks, and vary the topic that you're studying if you can so that you're not spending too long on the same thing. Try to minimise distractions by making sure the room is nice and warm, and quiet. Make sure you have lots of space to spread things out as you need to and that you're comfortable. Also make sure that you've got plenty of light. Make yourself a drink and get some fruit / other snack, so that you don't have an excuse to get up and go and get some! Then set yourself a time during which you'll revise, say 45 minutes, and then reward yourself with a break afterwards. Don't try to work at it for too long in one go as that will make your concentration go down; in the long run, taking regular breaks is more productive. If it works for you, then try to set yourself targets - but make sure that they're realistic otherwise this can get demoralising. So decide that in the next 45 minute stretch you are going to revise particular topic X, and then after your break, move onto a different subject. Sometimes varying the revision by attempting past papers / questions can help. If you have foreign language exams then sometimes revising in pairs can help as you can talk to each other and ask each other questions etc. One thing that used to motivate me sometimes was buying myself some new pens and paper! Some funky coloured pens or something, and a nice new notebook, and then there's motivation to sit down and use them and do work If you're finding it's your environment that's distracting you, then maybe try to find somewhere else to work - one year I decided to work in the library, and I was strict with myself and myself stay in there 9-5 (with breaks) and do work, but then I could go home and spend the whole evening relaxing - and that was useful because it made the distinction between 'work' and 'relaxing'. There's less distraction in the library but the downside is you can't have food/drink, and taking breaks isn't as easy because htere's not so much to do. Good luck for your exams, is it GCSEs / A-levels that you're doing?

[Andrew MacLean]

I do not reccomend this but here is what I used to do:

I used to "spot" questions. Anticipate what was going to come up in the exam. I'd then practice writing answers to those questions as they had appeard in past papers.

In the exam itself, look out for a question that allows a single word answer. Like: "Do you agree that Dostoyevsky was the first modern novelist".

I'd just write "yes" or "no". They would inevitably try to mark me down for having failed to discuss my answer, but then I appealed all the way to the University Senate; if they had wanted me to discuss my answer they could easily have said so. As they did not, my answer was correct and I expected to be given 100%.



All the best

Andrew

[Stace234]

thats amazing andrew but i think ill give it a miss in the exam!! lol i just brought myself some new coloured pens there lush! taking
gcse starting tooo sooon!!!
stacexxx

[kerrie phillips]

This may seem long winded but this is generally what i do.
On my last nursing exam i did a brain storm of everything i needed to cover. I made a point at which i felt i needed to start. i then went through all my books and research articles (via a search from the library), highlighting all the parts important and necessary.making notes on a4 paper some books i almost copied out half a chapter! it is easier to revise when it is in your own writing and in different colours. once i had gone through all my brainstorm and had my notes i then reduced these again into bullet points and most important bits. these i put on to those little record cards and placed in a record card box. everything divided (ie bodily systems and functions.
as repetition is the key i then had the box in my lounge and would keep pulling sections out every now and then and read them. i still have it now and always look through it.
another thing i do also is below
It is always important to pull out what is most important. i have got an exam next week which is a case study. i have pulled out what is signifigent
ie MI/heart failure/smoker/wife disabled/no family/cough/cant breathe/confused/unable to communicate/meds he is on.
so i am looking at each of the set things seperately looking at what they are, then looking at what could be potentially wrong and the treatment needed then looking at necessary care required. this time i have put everything together in essay format and just spend half an hour to an hour every night reading it through.

i was taught to have it in your own writing, use different colours as that helps you remember more, and if you can and it helps use animations do little drawings and use analagies.
I always rememberd that the parasympathetic nervous sytsem works by calming things down ,by relating it to a parachute which brings you down out of the sky slowly
hope my ideas help love k

[kerrie phillips]

another thing our lecturers told us was to listen to classical music, as while you listen to it ( and if you did anyway over time) it actually raises your IQ and brain function. classical music acts as a brain stimulant.
must be why most people who like it and go to those kind of concertos/operas are wealthy and in good high powered jobs!

[Andrew MacLean]

I have heard to the classical music thing. I have been told that Mozart works best. My daughter (professional musician) calls it the "Mozart Effect" and insists that it is well documented.

[kerrie phillips]

did anything anyone said help ?? have you had your exams yet ??

[Stace234]

soz i havent posted for a while!! yeh everything helped (even tired the classical music but dont recomend it!) i have finished my exams now and am relaxing until the results come out it august 23rd! i think they went ok to but u never no ! thanks for the advice every one :):)

stacexxx

[scoobysmurf]

Fingers crossed for you Stace that all went well!

take care

scooby