Aquinas Tuition | How To Revise Effectively For An Exam

Time Management

Creating a revision schedule is always the first step in mapping out how to tackle what can seem an overwhelming task.
Our advice is to work in multiple shorter blocks of 30-45 minutes taking regular breaks in between sessions. This ensures that you stay focused during your dedicated revision time, instead of spending hours slogging away making notes and losing focus
It makes sense to divide your day into 3 revision blocks: morning, early afternoon and late afternoon. Perhaps aim to do two 45 minute revision sessions in each ‘block’ making sure you give yourself a 20-30 minute break in between to re-charge.
Pupils like to schedule revision in different ways. Some pupils focus on a separate subject each day, while others like to mix it up, revising one subject in the morning, and another in the afternoon. It is important to do what works for you, but our advice is to first consider what you find difficult and what you find easy. Tackling the hard stuff first will give you more time to consolidate your understanding of the things you find challenging.

While it can be tempting to spend hours making revision notes look beautiful with the use of multi-coloured highlighters, gel pens and the like, focus instead on making concise and relevant notes for revising core content.
One of our top tips is to start the process by reviewing the separate components of each subject’s exam to ensure you understand what will be covered in each paper.
Once you’ve done this, you can then break down your revision into short and manageable chunks, focusing on gathering relevant information and making notes on a specific topic e.g. Biology – Ecosystems, or English “Romeo and Juliet” – the theme of conflict.
Allocate a specific focus to each of your revision sessions, make sure it is achievable in the slot you have given yourself, or if it is a bigger task break it down over multiple slots.

When you begin to make your revision notes, remember you don’t have to write down everything word-for-word. Focus on picking out the key information and make clear notes that will jog your memory.
There are tons of different ways pupils present their revision notes, but some of our recommendations are: mind-maps, flash cards, diagrams, cheat sheets, Cornell notes, and the good old-fashioned bullet point. See our revision template documents which are free to download.

Revision is about spending time learning content, but it is equally important to understand how to use this knowledge in order to get the marks.
Make sure you spend time looking at past papers and mark schemes. Know what the examiner is looking for in different types of questions and what skills you need to show them.
Look up model answers on your exam board’s website to understand what top answers look like and how they hit the assessment objectives.
If you have any questions or are uncertain about what the examiner is looking for make sure you ask your tutor, they are there to help and can talk you through any questions you might have.

Perhaps the single most important part of your revision is exam practice.
Once you feel pretty confident in your content knowledge download a past paper from your exam board’s website and try doing it. At first, there might be gaps in your knowledge, but regularly practising past papers will help you identify what you need to revise further.
If you aren’t ready to do a full past paper yet, that’s also fine, just answer the questions you have revised for already, testing your knowledge and identifying any areas you may need to go back over. Embedding exam practice regularly into your revision sessions is a super way to identify any gaps in your knowledge and build confidence when faced with exam questions.
Lots of pupils think they have to do past papers without any notes, but remember you aren’t in the exam yet, if you need to look at your notes – look. This is the time for consolidation.
As you approach the end of your revision and are nearing your exam, you may want to try carrying out practice papers under timed conditions and without your notes – our advice is to do this, but not too early. Make sure you feel confident in your understanding of content and exam skills before trying this out.

Online quizzes, flashcards and revision websites are always useful. But, be careful of AI – carrying out the revision process yourself, including note-taking (however laborious it might be) is part of the learning process.
Furthermore, AI makes mistakes, your teachers are far better vessels of subject knowledge than AI is. Use the resources they have given you first and foremost.

The most important thing you need to do in order to revise successfully is take care of yourself. Plan something nice to do each day – go out on a walk, watch your favourite movie, catch up with a friend – if you still have things to look forward to, it will make the process of revising much easier.
Prioritising sleep is another essential. Try and get 8 hours each night, and make sure you switch off for at least an hour before bed so you can rest adequately.
Finally, if you are struggling, ask for help; from your teachers, tutors, parents and friends – revision can be lonely but there’s always help out there, if you ask.