Effective Exam Revision Techniques [HOW TO]

This morning I took a trip to Jessica North’s blog to find her post on exam revision advice. A highly useful post and I recommend you to read it. Below is the method I generally use for exams.

Exams do not Measure Intelligence
Repeat this sentence over and over again, until you believe it. Some students at University are under the odd illusion that they are not intelligent and therefore they will not get full marks in an exam. If you don’t revise at University then getting full marks is close to impossible. Your grade will reflect your revision but more importantly, your revision method. How do you revise for an exam?

The General Method
Sitting down with a book and making many notes is important, this method may work but in my experience it is important to play to your strengths. Are you the sort of person who has an analytical mind who can easily fetch written information? You may be. In which case stop reading this blog post. Otherwise I suggest a method I use which I have found to be effective.

Accessing Information in the Mind
Three things to keep in mind when revising:

1) How are you consuming the information?

2) Is the information being consumed relevant?

3) How are you organising the information?

When sitting down and revising make sure the information you are learning is all necessary. This can be found by discussing the content of the exam with your tutor. For my technique it is important that all the information stored can be used in the exam. This information will take two forms:

1) It is directly relevant with the subject area

This information usually comes straight from lessons and textbooks

2) It is information which links into the subject area

This usually is the result of further reading

Play point 2 to your strength. If you are not 100% comfortable with the subject of your exam question then see if you can manipulate the answer to go in line with a subject you are comfortable with. As long as you can back up point 2 with content from point 1, then this is a useful technique. It marks that you have learnt class material but have stepped over the mark with further knowledge; University is all about further knowledge.

Visual Mind Maps (Focus on informational links)
Whilst revising build put all the key points onto a visual mind map. This is a spider diagram which will highlight the relationship between point 1 and point 2 information (the directly relevant and the further reading). The more information you learn the harder it can be to find links. When you need to write 1500 words on a subject in an exam this mind map will allow you to remember the links between all the information you have revised.

Keep the mind map on the wall. I usually place this by my desk or over my bed. Keep it there for one month and you will soon find it easy to remember the layout of this mind map. This assists you to remember analytical information in a visual way. It is a cheat revision method.

Object Association
So the mind map will help you remember how all the information links together. Now you need to remember all the information which needs to be linked. Personally I do this by object association. My post here explains how you can remember this information in your head, otherwise I suggest a more physical method (I used the below physical method during my GCSE and A Level exams).

When going into exams I realised that I would take many pens, pencils, rulers, sharpeners that I didn’t need for the exam. By rights you are allowed to take these objects into an exam hall. In your mind associate bits of information against each piece of stationary. Whilst you will rely on your memory for further detail the object association of a stationary item will jog your memory when under pressure. For instance:

Stationary Items:

Blue Colouring Pencil = Edward Bernays

Green Colouring Pencil = Sigmund Freud

Red Colouring Pencil = Joseph Goebbels

Ruler = Conversation Theory

I’m sure you get the picture…

Conclusion
I realise this technique is not for some but it has helped me in the past. You will need to train your mind before this method but once you have the hang of object association exams become a little bit easier. If you cannot beat an exam with brain power then the key is your strategy, this blog post is the strategy I occasionally use. However during my GCSEs I had so many exams on it was difficult keeping up with the associations!

Michael is a Consultant for Keene Communications where he devises and manages digital public relations campaigns. Keene Communications has been providing public affairs, public relations and representation services for over 25 years. Michael is a certified member (MCIPR) of the Chartered Institution of Public Relations (CIPR).

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Anonymous

It must be said Michael, is this a self portrait?
- Anonymous
  
  Ho ho!
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I am sure these tips will help in preparation for exams effectively. Thanks for sharing these tips and explaining it in an understandable manner.
http://www.emilyryall.net Emily Ryall

Cheers Mike, you give some valuable pointers.

Here’s my two penneth worth from the viewpoint of someone who marks the exams / essays:

When I mark, the first thing I look for is that the student has answered the question. There are various tips to making sure that your marker realises this but I would suggest that your first paragraph should be to ‘signpost’ your answer. So pick out the key concepts in the question title and really briefly summarise your answer.

So if the question is something along the lines of ‘To what extent was X correct in asserting Y?’ start off with: “In order to evaluate X’s assertion that Y, it is necessary to consider A,B, and C and to show how these affect D and E. Following this, it will be clear that X was correct to suggest Y.”

If your question is a more descriptive rather than evaluative one such as ‘Explain the components of X and show how they influence Y’ then again, signpost your answer by beginning, “This essay will outline the key components of X which are A,B and C, and show how they affect D, E and F which underpin Y”.

Here you have reiterated the question but shown what other aspects need to be taken into account, and also indicated what your answer to the question actually is. Even if nothing else you write makes much sense, the marker will have it clear in his/her head that you know what argument you are going to make. I can honestly say that by the time the marker has read the first paragraph, they have a pretty good idea of what grade you’re going to get. This can obviously go up and down as they read on through your answer but it usually gives a good indication.

The next thing you need to do is to demonstrate your knowledge (which is where Mike’s revision tips come in). Unfortunately there’s no way of getting out of this necessary revision. But do make sure that anything you write in your answer is directly related to the question. Some students have a tendency to ‘regurgitate’ on the page and just write everything they have covered in class. Don’t waste your time doing this as if it isn’t related to what the question is asking then no matter how good it is, you’re not going to get any marks.

Finally, make sure your conclusion clearly sums up your answer to the question. Again, there are stock phrases that you can use such as “As has been demonstrated, the key components of X are A, B, and C and these influence Y due to their effects upon D, E, and F.” or “This essay has shown that X was correct in asserting Y because of reasons A, B, and C.

This again, shows that you have clearly understood and answered the question and should be reinforcing in the mind of the marker that you deserve a good grade.

Easy! )
- Anonymous
  
  Top marks for the most useful comment on this post
  
  Your tips are REALLY useful and I’m sure anybody reading this article will find your tips more effective than my above article. It is useful knowing the examiner’s perspective. I have always been told that there is a method to writing essays in exams, now I believe it.
http://www.examconfidence.co.uk/ib_revision.html IB Revision

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