Revision and Study Skills:How to excel in exams

Love them or hate them, exams really do determine the course of professional and personal life. Preparing for exams that can have such an impact on us should not be taken lightly. Yoseph’s ‘The View’ explores the mechanics of the most effective study habits.

REVISION
Why should I revise?
Revision is something all of us in education have to go through to pass exams. Really? Let us say that you understood everything you were taught for the past ten years, you still need to revise. Your brain forgets details of the work you did months ago, but you need these details to answer the questions in class, therefore you need to revise your notes. If you have understood what you were taught in class, then that information is stored in your brain but it is hard for it to be located. By going over your notes, you refresh your mind of that information.
Where should I revise?
We all revise in different places. For you to revise efficiently, for you to make good use of your time, for you to understand what you are revising, you need to be in a GOOD WORKING ATMOSPHERE. The aim is to put all your efforts into your notes and nothing else.
First, there must be good lighting where you revise. If there is no enough light, then you will strain your eyes and a lot of energy is lost when concentrating in TRYING to read the notes rather than UNDERSTANDING them.
Second, and we all know this, is a quiet place. Can you hear and understand if two people are talking to you at the same time? It is the same when you are in a noisy surrounding: your mind is talking to you, but part of it is thinking what the other sounds are, then you have lost track of what you have read so far and you start reading from the start. This will happen over and over again and you will be wasting your time because you are not achieving anything. A room or a library is ideal, where you don’t have any disturbance.
Make sure that wherever you are, there is a comfortable chair and a table to work on. Studying in bed, a very comfortable idea but not wise. First, your body won’t be sitting straight so there would be less blood circulating through your body, and that means that a lot of brain cells are used to pump blood to your crossed legs. Second, thoughts of sleeping are the last thing you need when revising! You would feel like you are forcing yourself to revise, and you cannot focus on your work anymore.
Another idea that works many times is to have a lamp, and its effect is psychological. When you point your lamp at your notes, your eyes are automatically attracted to your notes and that will be your focus. Have you ever been in a completely dark room, where there is a small hole or a small window where light comes from? Without knowing, that becomes your focus. The same applies with the lamp: Your notes would stand out and less chances of you concentrating on other things.
Let there be no distractions in the room you revise in, such as posters, people, or too many objects. In the middle of your work, once something has grabbed your attention, you would immediately forget what you did for the previous minute or more.
Make sure you have a clock or a watch on your table so that you time yourself during each revision period. Look at this image and list down all the wrong things the boy is doing during his revision.
Here are my observations:
Fig. no. 1
1. His sitting position is not good. Little blood is circulating around his body, and very soon he will start feeling uncomfortable.
2. TV is on! Noise. Distraction. He will concentrate on what he is reading. Anytime he looks up, I bet he will start watching the music channel for at least 10 minutes, and when he gets back to his book, he would have forgotten what he had red so far.
3. He looks like he is reading a novel rather than revising. He is just reading! He is not writing any notes, or marking important things on the book.
This guy is lying to himself if he thinks he is studying. At the end of it, he would have grasped very little, and he would forget it few days later, so it is time wasted. The biggest mistake he is making is that he THINKS he is studying. Later on, he would tell himself that he has worked hard and he should play or watch more TV, while in fact he has done nothing! He might do this for hours and hours every day, and when he gets his results he will be wondering why he didn’t get good grades after so much ‘hard work’. Can you see where I am getting to?
Fig. no. 2
Look at this other student. List down what is better here.
Here are my thoughts:
1. He is working on a table and sitting on a good chair with a straight back. This means that blood is circulating through his body easily therefore he can put all his energy into his work.
2. He is reading AND writing notes. He understands the need to write more notes since he would forget some important things, since he has other subjects to revise for.
3. There is a lamp to help him focus on his work, and there is good lighting in the room.
4. He has a clock to constantly time himself.
Can you see the difference? This guy can actually say he has done some revision, and whatever he does he writes in his notes, so no information is lost. He has a comfortable setting and has no distractions. HE IS SMILING! You know what that means? He has probably solved a problem or he was able to understand what he is reading. It keeps him motivated, and he is probably thinking of the high grade he is going to get. Therefore he will not be moaning when he is coming to revise again later on. When you achieve something, chances of you getting bored or tired are low. This guy doesn’t look bored at all! If you apply these, you are doing justice to your time and your grades.