Effective Revision and Exam Preparation

What to revise

There is no universal revision technique which is suitable to all people in all situations. Which method you choose depends upon your personal way of working, the type of course you are revising and type of exam you will do, the amount of time you have allowed yourself to revise etc.

For example, you may like to work through the whole course, covering all topics, if you have sufficient time. However, you should bear in mind that even knowing all your notes, word for word, will be insufficient in an exam situation. The examiner is not going to ask you simply to regurgitate everything you know on the subject. The questions will explore your ability to apply your knowledge, or to bring together different aspects of your course, so your revision needs to be a more active process. We will discuss this further below.

Alternatively, you may decide to focus on a number of topics. How will you choose which ones? Topics that you enjoy? Ones you know you have difficulty with? Topics which seem to crop up regularly on past exam papers? Before you limit the topics that you choose, you should check the format of the exam. For example, a multiple choice question paper of 50 questions will be able to cover a wider range of topics than, say, a three out of five choice of essays exam paper, although you will be expected to demonstrate a much greater depth of understanding in the latter. You may then decide that for essay-type exams, you would be better to choose to concentrate on those topics you are best at. This may be a good idea, but you should also consider the likely questions that may come up on the paper, based upon past examples and the importance of particular topics to the course. If an unpopular or difficult topic is likely to be assessed, then perhaps it is worth putting in the extra work to grasp the essential concepts of this topic.

Active revision

Reading and re-reading your class notes is not an effective revision technique. You need to do something with the information to help you understand and retain it.

You could summarise it, and then summarise your summary, until you have the briefest notes to revise from which are still enough for you to make sense of the topic.

You could re-write your notes in a different form, e.g. pattern notes, where you start off with a topic keyword in the centre of the page, and surround it with associated keywords and concepts, linked by lines of association. This can be a useful exercise, not only in understanding the topic under revision, but in making links to related topics or courses.

Ask yourself questions as you read through your notes, and follow these up by further reading or by consulting your teacher or others in your class.

Test yourself: when you think you have learnt a topic, try to jot down a list of keywords associated with the subject, or ask yourself a specific question and try to write an answer. If your exam is the written essay type, practise writing your answers within a given time, as this is something which often causes students to lose marks: they know a great deal about a subject but are unable to write it concisely within the time, and then leave themselves short for the remaining answers.

Revise with a friend, or in a group. Discuss the more difficult concepts, in order to clarify your own understanding; ask each other questions that you think might come up; give each other advice on revision techniques that work for yourselves.

Organising your revision

The first rule of revision is –START EARLY!There are a number of good reasons to follow this advice: long-term memory is far more reliable than short-term memory; once something has been learned, even if you think you’ve forgotten it, it’s far easier to re-learn it, and if you’ve left yourself lots of time, then this isn’t a problem; it will avoid the feeling of last-minute panic.

The more well-organised your revision materials are, the easier the task of revision will be. Try to keep your lecture notes, and notes made from background reading, filed neatly and logically so that they are easy to find. Ideally, you should read through these and improve them just after they were made, so that they are completely understandable now at this later date. Make sure that you have all the materials that you need for each revision session before you begin, so that you aren’t constantly looking for sets of notes or a particular article or reference book.

Identify a place and time that you work best. This might be in the library, or in your own room. It might be first thing in the morning, or in the evening. Of course, you will need to be doing revision at all times, but if you have a particular time when you work best, then this might be the time when you tackle a topic for the first time, or a particularly difficult subject. With regard to the place, it usually needs to be quiet, although some people claim to work better with background music. It does need to be without distractions though: TV, friends wanting to chatter, temptation to get something to eat or drink (although it’s also important that you are not hungry or thirsty before you begin).

Plan your revision timetable. Decide how long you have to revise before the exams, how long you can concentrate for at one time, what subjects you have to revise, what else that you have to do during this time (including eating, housework, socialising etc.), and put them all into a timetable. Some hints:

  • Forty minutes is probably the most that anyone can really concentrate for at any one time, so divide your days up into 1 hour slots to include 40 minutes revision on one subject, with a little break to allow you to do a quick test or recap and to organise your materials for the next session; however, some revision tasks may be sustained for longer, e.g. writing practice 1-hour essays, or group revision sessions
  • Try to vary the topics (or subject areas) from one session to the next, as this will help retain interest and concentration
  • Allow yourself plenty of breaks for a cup of coffee or a walk; always make time for meals; don’t become a social recluse - you should still be able to fit in recreational activities (especially if you have planned you revision well in advance); always try to get a good night’s sleep
  • If you fall behind in your revision, don’t completely abandon your plan: just accept that you may have to revise it and carry on.

Web resource links

General Strategies for Studying - York University, Ontario

When to Study, Where to Study - University of California, Berkeley

Improve Your Studying Skills - University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Better Concentration While Studying - University of Texas, Austin

Reducing Exam Anxiety and Improving Concentration - York University, Ontario

Revision and Exam Technique - University of Bradford, England

Revision and Exams - University of Oxford, England

Preparing for Exams - University of Waterloo, Ontario

Preparing for Multiple Choice Exams - York University, Ontario

Preparing for Essay Style Exams - York University, Ontario

Remembering - Virginia Polytechnic Institute and StateUniversity

Cramming - University of Waterloo, Ontario

Preparing for the exam

The large majority of people are nervous before an exam, and one of the best ways of coping with nerves is to arrive at the exam feeling thoroughly prepared and organised. Most of this will rely upon having done appropriate and sufficient revision, but you can also help yourself by heeding a few suggestions on what to do before the exam:

  • Make sure that you know exactly where the exam is to be held (and that you know where that particular building / room is), and at what time
  • Make sure that you know, as far as is possible, what type of exam it will be:
  • Essay questions
  • Short-answer questions
  • Objective tests (e.g. multiple choice, true/false, assertion/reason)
  • or a mixture of these. It could also be:
  • an unseen exam (no prior knowledge to the exam content)
  • a seen exam (e.g. essay titles given in advance; open book, which allows materials to be taken into exam)

Try to get a good night’s sleep. Avoid last minute cramming the night before: it’s usually ineffective, adds to your nervousness, and will result in you waking up feeling tired.

Arrive in plenty of time, but not too early, so as to avoid the usual pre-exam conversation along the lines of what certain people think will or will not be on the paper. (Inevitably someone will be sure that a subject that you are not confident in will be on the paper, and this is really not helpful to your nerves).

Make sure that you have everything you need for the exam: spare writing tools, a fresh battery in your calculator, any materials for a seen exam, a watch.

Starting the exam

Once the exam has started, the most important thing is to try and remain calm. If you suffer badly from nerves, try some deep breathing or other relaxation technique before you attempt the paper.

First of all, check the rubric of the exam paper: how many questions must be answered, are any compulsory, does each question require a fresh answer book, do the questions carry equal marks? Check that there aren’t more questions overleaf.

Read through all the questions before deciding which one(s) to do if there is a choice.

Answering the questions

(i) Objective tests

For objective test exams, work through the questions methodically, but if you cannot answer one, mark the place, pass on and come back to it.

If you really do not know the answer, then a guess is better than leaving it blank (there will always be a chance that you guess right, whereas a blank will guarantee zero marks). However, make it an informed guess: look at the options, reject any which are obviously false, carefully relate the others back to the question, and choose the best remaining option.

Opinions differ as to whether you should go back and change an answer that you are not sure of, or to stick with your first choice. There is no real solution to this problem. If you do not know the correct answer, then your first or second guess is equally likely to be right, so this is something that only you can decide in each case.

ii) Essay-type exams

When you have read through all the questions and decided which one(s) you will attempt, before you begin to write the answer you should:

  • underline or highlight the key words or phrases
  • decide exactly what the question is asking, i.e. decipher the instructing words, such as ‘discuss’, ‘evaluate’ or ‘contrast’. Is there more than one part to the question? Does it specifically ask for examples?
  • spend a couple of minutes planning your answer, e.g. jot down any keywords which you associate with the topic; plan the essay structure: how will you order your themes into a logical argument, where will you include examples, how will you link to another component of the question?

When writing the answer, remember to include a strong introductory statement, demonstrating that you have understood the question. Finish with a concluding paragraph, which is not a reiteration of the essay title, but is an indication of how your answer has taken the argument forward, and identified any implications arising from it.

Don’t be misled into thinking that marks will be given purely for the amount that you write: they won’t. Examiners are looking to see that you have answered the question, and not merely regurgitated all that you know about the subject. Check back to the question from time to time, and make sure that you have not wandered from the point.

Remember that essays for an exam, as for course-work assignments, should not include unsupported opinions, but demonstrate an understanding of the subject backed up by evidence from the literature.

Keep an eye on the time. If you are answering a question on one of your better subjects, make sure that you do not run on too long, as this will give you less time to answer the others. If you do find yourself running out of time, then it is better to attempt to write something on each question than leave one out completely. You may accrue more marks from two half answers (which probably contain the major points about each subject), than from getting a good score for one and zero for an unattempted question.

Write legibly. There is no point in making some excellent points about your topic if the examiner cannot read it.

Use diagrams when appropriate, as they can often explain something more succinctly than words.

Try to allow yourself 10 minutes at the end of the exam to read through your script. Check for mistakes or omissions. Does what you have written make sense? Is it legible? Look for ways to tidy it up e.g. underlining.

Web resource links

Dr King's Exam Hints - IdahoStateUniversity, Pocatello

Multiple Choice Exams - The GeorgeWashingtonUniversity, WashingtonDC

Taking Objective tests - The George Washington University, Washington DC

Help with Multiple Choice Tests - Edinboro University, Pennsylvania

Organisation Ideas - Edinboro University, Pennsylvania

Test-Taking Strategies - SamHoustonStateUniversity, Huntsville

Test-Taking Strategies - University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Exam Stress: Help Yourself - KansasStateUniversity

How to Answer Essay Questions - The GeorgeWashingtonUniversity, WashingtonDC