5 Ways to Maximise Revision
5 Ways to Maximise Revision
Exams are daunting at the best of times! It’s really important to be as prepared as you can for an exam. There are hundreds of ways you could prepare for an exam and everyone has a preferred method. This post will highlight some of the key ways that I have found to be beneficial and maximise revision.
Have a structure and a plan
Before setting out revising, you need to have a structure of how you are going to revise. The best place to start is to look at your exam dates. You can then work back from this point and divide your revision content over the time period you’ve chosen. This will give you a guide of what you need to accomplish and over what time frame. It will also create small milestones that you can easily achieve.
If you don’t meet the dates that you desired, it’s also important now to be too disheartened by this! You will still have a structure to follow and it’s important to guide yourself back to your original plan.
Within your structure, you can mix in the revision topics/subjects as well as the techniques. This will provide a variety of content to keep you engaged.
Use a variety of resources
Everyone learns in a different way – some prefer auditory content, some prefer visual content. The first thing is to determine which method helps you revise most effectively. Within this, you want to then use a variety of resources to help you prepare and maximise your revision. By using a variety of methods, you will help get the best of everything and, as mentioned, keep yourself engaged and stimulated for your revision sessions.
You can use textbooks to reinforce your knowledge and then practice exam style questions, such as those here on ExamineDental, to help you solidify that knowledge and check what you have learnt as well as any weaknesses.
Utilising apps and websites will also add something different to your revision material. Many key guidelines and protocols can be found in these formats. There is also a tremendous amount of revision content on video hosting websites, like YouTube, that can be extremely helpful.
Study Groups
One thing I found extremely helpful during exam season was having a study group to work with. In a study group, you can work through content together, support and motivate each other – it’s almost like having a training partner at the gym! Your colleagues will keep you and each other on task so you can maximise your revision. You also feel a sense of collective responsibility to do work outside of the sessions for the betterment of the group.
If you are stuck on a topic, discussing it with your group may help you understand it as everyone learns and understands things differently. Someone else may have a simple way to help you understand the topic that has been concerning you.
Reflect and learn
We very often will come across topics we don’t quite understand. Our natural response is often to skip it or delay covering the topic. This isn’t something I would recommend. If you get stuck on a topic or don’t do well in practice questions, make sure you reflect on this and learn from it. The best time to make these mistakes is when you are revising rather than in your exam. Don’t feel disheartened or put yourself down.
Take time to see where you can improve and target your revision and preparation towards those areas. Reflection will give you a clear goal to focus on and encourage you to maximise revision in your problem areas. It’s very easy to have an attitude of ‘I’m never going to be able to learn this’ but these opportunities can help you get motivated to grasp the content.
Self-care
This is the foundation for any exam season. In order to be productive and effective with revision, you need to look after yourself! Ensure you eat well with a healthy and balanced diet. Having too many takeaways etc will end up making you feel groggy and unhappy. Get plenty of rest during your revision season, with lots of good quality sleep. When you create your revision plan, build in revision breaks to allow your brain to rest and relax as well!
In and amongst all your revision, take time to do other things you love. This will help prevent you getting too bogged down or burnt out.
Conclusion
When it comes to exam season, you want to maximise revision and productivity. Exam preparation can be very challenging, particularly if you struggle with a certain topic. These 5 revision tips should hopefully help provide some foundations to make your next revision session more successful!
How ExamineDental can help!
We have helped many dental students and dentists prepare for their exams – whether that’s with our expanding question banks or 1-to-1 tutoring! Have a look at our membership options to see how you can maximise revision with ExamineDental!