How to revise

William Bickerdike on devising effective revision strategies

Time management
As with so many aspects of learning, good time management has a lot to do with success. If you take control of your available time you'll revise more effectively and feel more confident.

Start by identifying priorities: weak areas logically move to the top of the revision agenda, but you'll also need to keep on top of every subject, even those you know well.

Pace your study (you don't want to get stale too soon), and match your revision to the final examination timetable, so you can study according to this ultimate deadline.

Good time management also allows you to factor in free time. Although this may get less as the exams draw near, it's still important and by making it part of your overall schedule, you'll feel less guilty when you take time off!

Active revision
Many students simply sit and read their notes. Although this may work for some, a passive approach is hard to sustain over longer periods.

By revising more actively, you'll find you engage with the material and as a result remember more and understand it even better.

Making notes on your notes is one way to start, and using note cards can work well, helping you sort information into groups. Note cards are also highly portable so you can revise wherever you go.

Remember, your revision notes can also be diagrams, pictures, schematics - anything which helps you recall information quickly and accurately. Even the action of writing the cards will help you absorb more information.

Past papers
Past papers, often the basis of classroom revision, are just as important when revising at home. Past papers reveal how typical questions are phrased, the range of subject matter usually covered, and remind you how the whole paper is structured and marked - all of which helps keep exam nerves at bay.

However, when looking through past papers don't 'question-spot' and try to predict what will come up in the exam.

You still need to study a range of topics in depth.

Focus first on those subjects which interest you most and in which you do well. You'll find these are easier to revise, leaving more time to look at other material, giving you a good spread of knowledge when it comes to the exam.

Understand what you are learning
As you'll have already realised - and past papers also show this - exam questions ask you to apply knowledge, not to 'write down everything you know about'.

Your answers will always be given in the context of a problem, an issue or a situation. Remembering key facts and figures is vital, but make sure you understand what this information means, what it shows, and how it can be used.

Background reading can help make these connections clearer - and may also provide a little welcome (but still educational) diversion from revising core material.

Revision aids
Bookshops are full of revision aids, and the internet, especially, is packed with information. Such revision aids - especially if they're interactive - can really help, and can refresh what might have become stale material.

However, you must make sure that content quality is excellent, and that it's relevant to the exam you are taking. Your teacher can recommend websites or publishers you can trust, and exam boards, including Cambridge, also provide lists of recommended resources.

We say

"Some teachers tend to give vague questions. Just hearing the word exam gives me stomach cramps."
- Mariam Al Shqsi, Dubai Women's College

"Exams are scary, but we should n't panic. Support from teachers helps."
- Balqis Mohammad, Dubai Women's College

"Usually I am confident during exams, but it does not hurt to feel a little nervous."
- Fatima Al Shqsi, Dubai Women's College

"I should be a little scared of exams, [so that I] study harder for it."
- Shaima Al Mu'alla, Dubai Women's College

The writer is the regional manager Middle East and North Africa, University of Cambridge International Examinations (CIE)