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Top 10 last­minute exam revision tips

Swotting doesn't have to be a chore.

Testing times: shaking up your exam preparations will stimulate the mind and help you remember all those importantfacts Photo: PURESTOCK

By Christopher Middleton

7:00AM BST 19 May 2009

The sun may be out and the music festival season just around the corner, but to the thousands ofteenagers revising for GCSEs, AS and A­levels, BST stands for British Swot Time. For the rest ofus, summer may begin with the sound of leather on willow, yet for Britain's exam­beleagueredyoungsters, it doesn't get going until they hear their final invigilator exhort, "Put down your pens."Here are 10 revision tips which should, given a fair wind, culminate in a rich harvest come resultstime:

1 Go public

Make a detailed revision timetable on a large piece of paper (A3 at least) and post it up somewherethat everyone can see it. That way, everyone knows what you are meant to be studying and when.Strangely enough, letting other people know your plans actually lightens the load, because then it'snot just down to you to motivate yourself. Rather like getting married, you feel more committed toyour vows if a lot of people have seen you make them at the wedding.

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2 Catch the worm

Just like those wriggling soil­dwellers, facts are at their most available and digestible first thing inthe morning. Start at 9am, and you can get the bulk of your revision done early, so you don't spendthe rest of the day feeling crushed under the weight of unread A4 folders.

3 Ask questions of yourself

Facts are sluggish, passive creatures and lie piled up inside your head, without giving off any signsof life. You can, however, awaken them through the power of questions. So when you're makingnotes, don't just write down "The Battle of Naseby was fought in 1645"; instead, put "When wasthe Battle of Naseby?" in one column, and write "1645" in an opposite column. Cover up theanswer and each time you get it right, you'll feel a small, pixie­like pat on the back.

4 De­digitalise

You should unplug your computer or laptop, as it's simply too tempting to go off roaming the wide,open spaces of Web­fordshire, instead of ploughing through the causes of the agriculturalrevolution. It is also imperative to turn off your mobile phone (one distraction too many).

5 Come up with mnemonics

The word stands for Make Names Easily Memorable by Organising Nominated Initial Characters.The website Student UK suggests My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas as a wayof remembering the nine planets in order of distance from the sun (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars,Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto).

6 Believe in bananas

Take a leaf out of the top tennis players' book and make use of this potassium­rich performance­enhancer to raise your energy levels. When Federer and Nadal need a lift, they don't reach for acourtside cup of black coffee, they dip into their kitbags and unzip a banana.

7 Act out the French Revolution

If you're studying King Lear for English A­level, your teacher will take you to a performance of theplay. Unfortunately, if you're doing history, you can't just go off in a minibus and see 200­year­oldevents taking place. You can, however, re­enact them in your own home. Get one or two classmates

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over, share out the parts – one person can play Louis XVI and the French aristocracy, one personRobespierre and Danton, another the Parisian mob. Work your way from the Storming of theBastille (1789) up to the Fall of the Directory (1799).

8 Make the stairs work for you

Let's face it, travelling between the ground and first floor of your home is pretty much dead time. Inwhich case, why not put those stair­minutes to good use by placing revision cards on each step. Trythe kings and queens of England, for example. Start at William The Conqueror (1066) and by thetime you reach the first turn, you should be at Richard II. If you run out of stairs, do the Normansand Plantagenets one day, the Tudors and Stuarts the next. If you live in a flat, line the monarchs inorder along the hallway.

9 Quality time

Ask friends over for a revision session. With things like dates and vocabulary, it's always better ifsomeone else is testing you, rather than you testing yourself (and peeking at the answers).

10 Watch television

Of course you shouldn't try to learn the periodic table of chemical elements while watchingColumbo reruns or a Shopping Channel knitwear special. But that doesn't mean you can't record afavourite programme and watch it as a treat, between your morning and afternoon revising time.

IN GOOD COMPANY

Not optimistic about the forthcoming exams? Don’t worry, here’s a list of famous people whodidn’t do at all well at school:

• Winston Churchill, British prime minister

• Abraham Lincoln, US president

• George Bernard Shaw, author and playwright

• Thomas Edison, inventor of the light bulb

• Leo Tolstoy, writer of War and Peace

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• Walt Disney, creator of Mickey Mouse

• Richard Branson, British tycoon

• Michael Faraday, pioneer of electromagnetism

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