Whether it's down to extreme procrastination, a killer timetable or genuinely unforeseen circumstances, you probably want to learn how to revise effectively and quickly because you've realised your exam is tomorrow and you're completely unprepared. You spend hours studying, only to find a week or two later, you can barely remember anything you learned.
You might have been told that you need to find a way to learn that “works for you”. The trouble is, science has proved that our own intuitions about “what’s working” are really bad! So most students end up spending most of the time on revision techniques that feel good, but aren’t really making much of a lasting impact on how well they know their course.
Be Organize, but make it make sense to do it.
If you are revising from muddled and unclear notes, then your memory will be just as muddled and unclear on the subject. Group your revision notes into topics. Lecture slides and past papers are both great ways to work out what is likely to come up in the exam, so make use of them. Rewrite your notes - make them clearer and more streamlined.
Use colors to highlight key information and actively associate the color with those ideas to make it easier to remember. Use a maximum of three colors, any more and you will probably get confused between them. Do not take this in the opposite direction either; don’t waste time making your notes look pretty, after your exams, you won’t need them anymore.
Create a plan before you start.
You may only have one day, but you will get much more done if you break it up and work out exactly what you need to know rather than just cram in any old info. Spend half an hour working out what topics you need to cover. It might seem like a waste of valuable revision time, but it will save you much more time in the long run.
Refrain from panicking
Although the exam is staring you straight in the face with all its nastiness, giving in to a sense of impending doom will not help you one bit. Do not worry if you're feeling the pressure – it's perfectly natural! You still have plenty of time to digest information and a positive can-do attitude will go a long way.
Study without technology and social media
Not only will you be able to focus more on the task at hand but writing things down (as opposed to typing) helps your brain to process the information better. And if you need lecture notes, print them off. This will also keep you away from the procrastination devil that is social media.
Sleep well & wake up early!
No matter how stressed you feel, make sure to get some good quality shut-eye for at least six hours (ideally eight or more, though). Exhaustion slows down your performance and your brain needs time to process all the things you have been revising the day before.
Make sure you get up a little earlier than you need to go over your notes. And before you enter the exam room, avoid talking to other people about what you have studied – it will undo all the work you have been doing to manage your exam stress as you'll just feel you've done less than everyone else, or missed out some topics.
At the end of the day, there is nothing more you can do at this point – if you have forgotten to revise something, you can't do anything about that now. It is better to go in full of confidence and just do your best.
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