Counseling Education

Tips for making active and effective notes for exam revisions

Both GCSE and A-level exams are extremely important for students who want to pursue superior studies and build a career. For that to happen, you need to devote a lot of time for exam revisions. Taking notes, attending classes, and proper course planning, are all important steps that can help you score high marks. As long as you focus on quality and not quantity, learning won’t be that challenging. Setting up realistic dates for each revision session is equally important, and try not to cram all courses in a day because you won’t manage to remember anything.

Active revisions

Reading is not enough to remember essential information. You need an active revision plan for that to happen. While it’s often hard to stay focused, students must do their best liven things up and make the most of their study session. An active plan includes:

• Mind-mapping
• Self-questioning
• Self-testing
• Diagrams
• Freehand drawings

Begin a study session with at least 30 days before the exam. Devote 3 hours per day at first, and increase the amount periodically. Every student has his own pace to learn, so even if you’re having a slow start, it doesn’t mean you can’t pull it off. Get plenty of sleep, eat well, and stay hydrated. Hence, you’ll be ready to wake up the next day fully energized.

Summary notes vs. flashcards

The best way to remember something is to review it. Whether we’re talking about problem-solving strategies, concepts, or equations, there’s nothing better than a fruitful revision session every night before bedtime, or early in the morning. Some people are fond of flashcards while others would rather stick to summary notes. This organisation technique can be extremely powerful when used right.

Start with gathering important ideas from lecture notes, textbooks, and problem-solving practices. Organise everything and make a unified summary; be as creative as possible, divide the information into small ideas, and make use of relational concept maps, tables, logical outlines, and hierarchy structures. Bottom line: personalize your summary to match it with your learning style. This smart way of revising for exams can be extremely useful because it will help students to 

• Memorize – when the information is properly condensed the student will be able to visualize it better and make logical interconnections. It’s so much simpler to put your thoughts in order when the information is properly sorted out on paper.
• Developing problem-solving tactics – you already have all the study tools you need within easy reach, so make sure to use them
• There’s always room for more knowledge –new information is simpler to grasp when it’s connected to what you already discern. If we’re talking about a logical consequence or a familiar theme, you can easily link the new information to existing points without having to memorize it.

Make wise choices

Every exam revision should have a purpose. Why are you studying? Assuming you’re looking to get your GCSE, active study sessions are compulsory. If you want to make the best GCSE choices, you should take a look at the following tips:

• Go for optional subjects that you’re good at and that interest you;
• If you don’t know what you want to study at university, make sure you’ve opted for the right combination of GCSE subjects - for example, you can choose the English Baccalaureate model (which includes English, double science, an ancient or modern language, math, as well as geography or history).
• Don’t opt for a subject because your best friend chose it as well – you’ll be surprised to see that some friendships don’t last forever;
• In case you’re already considering a specific type of course, you should check entry requirements.

Whether we like it or not, exam revisions are personal. To make the entire process active and fruitful, you need to be dedicated. Students won’t be able to score good marks if they’re not devoted enough. Books and study guides are useful means to help you study, but they’re not enough to stimulate your brain and make you remember the information. Don’t be overwhelmed by the gravity of your exams, and keep your calm. Failure is out of the question if you study; however, we’re talking about proper studying and not about last-minute cramming.

Author Bio: Jason Phillips is a regular guest blogger who writes for different sites and has a great experience in writing. He basically writes about education and now days he is writing for the site http://www.yorknotes.com/ which provides revision notes, chapter summaries and study guides on English literature.