While it’s important to go through notes, practice past papers and draw up essay plans, it can be really helpful to add in some alternative or different techniques to liven up your revision time.
You may have heard of or used mind-maps already, but don’t underestimate them. Invest in an A3 blank notepad and loads of coloured pens and highlighters. At anytime during revision of a topic, experiment drawing out large diagrams and maps of what you remember and how it relates to different areas. This could use pictures or quotations, or equations and diagrams. Do as many, as often as you like, it’s a really good way of visualising what you know and what you might need to work on further.
Doing all of your revision with a friend or in a group probably wouldn’t be very effective as you need to take time to work on your progress. However, getting together with friends to do some light quizzing or subject related games can be very helpful. This doesn’t mean comparing notes or horror stories, but try devising a quiz you can all take part in. Keep it fun and light-hearted and see it as a chance to spend a couple of hours away from your desk, without feeling like you’re not being productive!
Facebook and Twitter are the enemies of productivity, and the best friends of procrastination. However, online applications can be used to complement and enhance revision. During a break or in the evening, why not try making a Pinterest board related to your revision. These are online pin-boards or mood-boards, which you can fill with images, videos and links to useful websites. For example, someone revising Romeo and Juliet might fill it with images from different productions, links to interviews with directors, and clips from audio recordings. These can help you to think about revision in different ways, all helping to boost your in-depth knowledge and understanding.
It can be really helpful to use different media to sum up and collect your revision so far. Why not try recording yourself reading some of your notes, which you can then listen to when out for a walk or in the shower. You could make a video related to some of the topics in your revision, using your audio recording as a voice over. Encouraging your brain to think about the topics from a variety of angles, prompted by different media, will help to make sure you really understand your topic and you will find it easy to remember key facts and figures on the big day!
Adding extra, alternative methods to your revision can help give you that extra boost of motivation and confidence needed to succeed. Revision can feel monotonous and stressful, so breaking up tasks with something a bit different will be refreshing and rewarding. Good luck!
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