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Managing your revision

There aren’t many people who don’t experience some stress and anxiety about exams. One of the best ways to reduce exam stress is to manage and plan your time and your revision in the lead up to exams. Doing so will give you the best chance of doing well with your tests and will help you see where you should be focussing your time and energies.

You may find revision a bit boring, but remember it’s not forever – it’s a means to an end. And it’s less stressful to revise before exams than not to revise, so give yourself as much time for revision before your exams start.

When it comes to how to revise, there’s isn’t necessarily a single revision trick that will work equally well for everyone. You’ll find below some ideas to help you find what works best for you.

Revision Top Tips

• Remind yourself everyday why you want to do well in your exams and let that thought keep you focussed.
• Try writing a little diary or time plan for between now and the exams and work out how much time you’d like to spend on each subject.
• Each day, make a short plan of how much time you think you should spend on each subject. Try to keep to your plan.
• Write your own revision notes – don’t just rely on revision notes from a book.
• Try read revision notes out loud to see if it helps you remember – but not if you’re in the library :-)
• It’s easy to fall into the trap of revising stuff you find easiest.
• Make sure you revise all the subjects you feel you need to revise.
• Avoid over doing it. Working too many hours can tire you out and won’t help you remember.
• Have plenty of breaks when you’re revising. But that’s not an excuse to have too many!!
• Eat healthily and drink enough water – a healthy body means a healthy mind.
• Try to avoid distractions – better to revise somewhere that has as few distractions as possible. Some people find revision easier with a radio on, some with it off, find out what works for you.
• Take regular exercise – it’ll help keep your stress levels down and will keep your energy up.
• Look for revision guidebooks on the subjects you’re studying – they are often available from local libraries but can be in short supply from libraries when it’s exam time – so get them early!
• If you feel down about your exams or feel the need to talk to someone about your exams, do so. You can speak to friends, parents, brothers or sisters, teachers, a doctor – who ever you feel most comfortable talking to. It’s always better to talk than to bottle up our emotions.

Links & contact details

Name: BBC Bitesize
Web: www.bbc.co.uk/schools/revision/
Email:
Tel: 029 2056 7034
Info: Loads of useful information and advice!

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