Study Skills:Revising Like a Pro

REVISION

2 Key things to keep in mind:

• Revision needs to work for you, so you need to

decide how you work best

BUT…

• Don’t expect revision to work instantly, you need

to give these techniques a chance.

BEFORE WE BEGIN…

Relax!

You will work much better if you feel calm and relaxed.

It’s difficult to remember or recall information when you are stressed.

REMEMBER – POSITIVE THINKING IS IMPORTANT

“If you think you can

or you think you can’t,

you’re right.”

WHAT TYPE OF LEARNER AM I?

VISUAL LEARNERS

you usually remember faces, but maybe not names

you will recognise places, but maybe not names of towns or streets

you may talk quickly making pictures in your head is easy for you

(imagining or visualising) you prefer your clothes to be colourful,

fashionable and coordinated

AUDITORY LEARNERS

you usually trust what you hear you can be a bit of a chatterbox you find it easier to take verbal instructions you enjoy classroom discussions auditory learners often have a good way with

words you don’t mind background noise

KINAESTHETIC LEARNERS

you like to feel or touch things you have a good long-term memory you tend to talk at a slower pace learning for you has got to be active you tend to jump right in and try a task on

your own. Making mistakes is part of the learning process for you

SO, WHAT TYPE OF LEARNER AM I?

1 of these learning styles may describe you perfectly

More likely you’ll be a mix of 2

Possibly you’ll have some of all them

TIPS FOR SUCCESS

Visual Auditory Kinaesthetic write down

information use Post-Its use coloured pens,

highlighters and unlined paper

use spider charts or mind maps

watch a video or demonstration

use a computer make mental movies

of important facts or visualise spelling in your heads

use drawings and visual aids

repeat everything take part in class

discussion ask questions tape information and

listen to it have background

music on while you study

discuss homework and projects with friend

make up songs, rhymes and raps to help you remember things

get someone to ask you questions if you are studying for a test

be comfortable when you work

break up your study time and move around

volunteer for demonstrations, role-play and learning activities

draw images, numbers and diagrams on paper that are connected with the learning

HOW TO REVISE

You’ll see lots of different techniques for revision, some brilliant, some weird and some useless.

Whichever techniques you use, there is one method you should all follow.

Understand

Condense

Review

UNDERSTAND

Understanding a topic is simply finding the main idea or theme and expanding on the key points.

For example… Main Idea:

• Hurricanes

Key Points:

• Most damaging

type of storm

• Number of

deaths

• Monitored by

scientists

CONDENSING

Your two favourite numbers: 80/20 About 20% of text contains the actual ideas

you need. The other 80% is there so you can

understand it. Condensing is about finding that 20% You can use your revision techniques for this

e.g.

HurricanesNo. Deaths

500,000 Bangladesh, 1970

6,000, Texas, 1900

Damage

Power failure

Rips off roofs

REVIEW

Revision is only any good if you actually

remember it.

Reviewing is simply looking back at your

work/revision/notes and testing yourself

10-20 minutes is enough.

When you’ve done a revision session, review

what your work 10 minutes later…

Then a day later…

Then a week later…

TIPS FOR SUCCESS

Visual Auditory Kinaesthetic write down

information use Post-Its use coloured pens,

highlighters and unlined paper

use spider charts or mind maps

watch a video or demonstration

use a computer make mental movies

of important facts or visualise spelling in your heads

use drawings and visual aids

repeat everything take part in class

discussion ask questions tape information and

listen to it have background

music on while you study

discuss homework and projects with friend

make up songs, rhymes and raps to help you remember things

get someone to ask you questions if you are studying for a test

be comfortable when you work

break up your study time and move around

volunteer for demonstrations, role-play and learning activities

draw images, numbers and diagrams on paper that are connected with the learning