How to revise for your exams

Several students have asked me to guide them on how best to revise for their exams; so I thought I'd provide some advice, based on my experience of setting and marking examinations and acting as an external examiner at other universities.

There's no big secret to successful revision, it's largely about good old fashioned organisation. Firstly, work out your revision timetable well in advance, then stick to it! Do this using a diary or a spreadsheet to record when your exams are scheduled and therefore how long you have to revise (I've provided an example you can download below). Ideally, you should allow yourself at least 4 weeks or revision, but this will be influenced by how many exams you are going to sit. Work out how much time you have for revision before each exam. Don't forget to take account of any other commitments you may have, e.g. other work, and scheduled revision sessions.

Now you need to break down each of the exams you are preparing for, into topics to be revised and then schedule each of these topics into different revision sessions. How do you know what these topics are? Firstly, look at your module handbook or outline and each week's lecture notes. These should give you a good overview of the different topics you need to prepare. Next look for previous exam papers, this approach isn't infallible, as module tutors and exam formats can change. But where the exam papers are similar over several years they can provide you with a great idea of what to expect, both in terms of question topics and question formats. Most module tutors like to vary these from year to year. But, there are normally a limited number of possible topics for a particular module and also question formats. So by looking at a few previous exam papers you may spot some obvious patterns to help you in your revision. 

Next you should draw up your revision schedule. Having worked out the time you have available and the different topics you need to revise, you just need to draw up a revision timetable. I suggest you give yourself revision slots of no more than 2 hours followed by a break. After a break schedule a different topic to revise - preferably from a different module. Personally, I'm not a great fan of cramming - intense revision over a short period of time - if you can avoid it, I think you'll learn more and perform better by taking a more measured approach. So schedule yourself some time off, by including days when you don't have to revise.

On to the revision itself. My philosophy for assessments is to provide the exam candidates with the opportunity to demonstrate what they know and the level at which they can perform. I don't try and catch students out, or identify what they don't know - it doesn't make me look good as a lecturer! You need to remember this, and ensure your revision is enabling you to demonstrate what you know and how well you can apply your knowledge. There are no short-cuts to performing well, you need to read around your subject area - in depth, so gather together all your key resources - and practice answering questions. In general, you can combine these two points quite effectively by writing out summary notes of key textbooks, scientific papers and your own notes. To do this you write out and organise the important "headlines" of the subject area you are revising. To make it more relevant you can structure these headlines to answer questions from previous exam papers. Don't be tempted to use a highlighter pen - see my tips below.

Finally, to the exam itself. Try to go in fresh and as relaxed as possible to help you perform well. For me this does not mean a late night cramming. Instead, perhaps a quick scan through some key notes or headlines from previous revision sessions. Read the exam paper carefully, and work out how much time to spend on each section, and calculating this from how many marks are available. Don't be tempted to stray from this strategy, unless you completely run out of steam on a question. If you do grind to a halt. Leave the question and come back to it later. A significant number of papers I mark have a poor final answer, not because the candidates didn't know enough, but just because they'd run out of time. Yet, if the candidates had allowed another 10 minutes to provide more complete answers they could have netted a significant number of extra marks. Also don't feel obliged to tackle the questions in the order they are set. Pick out your strongest areas and answer these first. But do label your answers clearly - I'd even recommend writing out the question as part of your answer for essays, and don't go over your time limit. 

Good luck!

Top Tips

• Do attend any revision sessions your module tutors arrange, as these can really help inform your revision strategy. Module tutors often use these sessions to review the course, thereby reminding you of the topics you need to cover in your revision, and providing some indication of what you can expect in the forthcoming exam - invaluable. 
• Locate any available past exam papers. These can give you a useful insight into what sort of exam format to expect. Are you preparing for an MCQ paper, short answer, essay style or mixed format? How long is the exam? You should practice answering exam questions and therefore you need to know what format of questions you are preparing to answer.
• Throw away your highlighter pens and do not be tempted to use them as part of your revision strategy. Writing your summary notes is an important part of learning your subject area. You don't get a chance to do this if you highlight text. Moreover, quickly highlighting lots of text can allow you to fool yourself into thinking you have done lots of revision. 
• Take regular breaks when you are revising to help keep yourself fresh and alert. You won't be able to recall much about your revision sessions if you do them when you are falling asleep or struggling to concentrate.
• Allow yourself rewards for sticking to your schedule. Buy (or bake) yourself some of your favourite treats, go for a walk or a run to get some fresh air between sessions, and perhaps watch a film to unwind after a good day revising.

If you have any top tips to share please add them in the comments.