When it comes to last minute revision, the internet is full of advice – some of it good, some of it terrible.
In this article, I will give you five of the best last-minute revision tips to help you improve your confidence and lower your stress in a short time.
Prioritise the Most Important Topics
When time is short, knowing what to focus on is essential. Start by getting a list of all the topics you need to know from an exam syllabus and rate them based on how confident you are. Highlighting green for confident, yellow for not very confident and red for not at all confident.
This will then provide you with a shorter list of topics to focus on – just the red ones. If you are already confident with the green topics, wasting a valuable study session on then is not a good approach. Your productivity will be greatly improved by treating the red topics you struggle with as your absolute priority.
Do this for each A-Level or GCSE subject and you will start heading for the top grade before you know it.
Eliminate Distractions
Although this is a list of last-minute tips, it is fair to say that this is an all timer. However, in the day or two before an exam, it is even more important to eliminate distractions and ‘lock in’ to get revision done.
Get someone in your home to hide your phone. Use a browser extension to block distracting websites. Disconnect the wifi.
Whatever helps you focus on the task of revising – it will be worth it to dedicate a block of distraction free time now to reap the rewards on results day.
Create a Summary Sheet
This is a favourite of a large number of young people I work with. Sometimes this is called a knowledge dump or a knowledge organiser – whatever it is called, the principle is the same: get everything you know about a a topic down on a single side of A4 paper.
Doing this from memory is the most powerful, however if it is one of the ‘red’ topics you prioritised earlier, you may wish to use this technique whilst going through your notes to look for the answer or key content.
This technique works so well because it forces you to consolidate your revision and knowledge and is much more effective than any last-minute cramming.
Read your condensed notes
Hopefully throughout the duration of your studies, you have gathered a collection of notes from your lessons.
First things first – DON”T just re-read them. This won’t work.
What you need to do is condense them – select the post important information and structure them so they can be easily read to take in all of the key content quickly.
Many students use this trick successfully – its easy to do and super effective.
Practise Past Papers
Perhaps the most effective technique is to find a past paper and practice answering all of the questions. This is effective as it forms you to retrieve the information in your memory and apply it to an exam scenario.
furthermore, as you are about to sit an exam, its really good to build your familiarity with what the paper will be like and how to manage your time during the exam.
Make sure to stick to the time limit for the paper and not to look at your notes!
How To Revise Last Minute Summary
In summary, in the day or two leading up to an exam, do not panic. Just use the simple and effective techniques outlined here and you will be fine. You already know the content, you just need to remind yourself of it and ideally, practice writing about it.
Good luck!
