Revision
To the right you can find revision checklists for People and Places. Below, you will find tips for effective revision. At the bottom of this page you will find links to articles that we have looked at and work that we have done.
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Revision Questions
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Revision Strategies:
You should have been consistently revising your work each week. There are a lot of strategies that you can use to revise effectively. You need to find out what works for you as a learner and use those regularly.
A. Revising alone. This is often the best place to start when you are trying to get a handle on your revision, because it can be very easy to get distracted by friends. You want to engage primarily in active revision - this is generally of higher value than passive revision. There are a range of options within this:
B. Revising with friends. Many people find that they work well in groups. This is often a good time to really consolidate your learning, and is often best done after individual revision.
C. To maximise your revision:
D. During the exam:
You should have been consistently revising your work each week. There are a lot of strategies that you can use to revise effectively. You need to find out what works for you as a learner and use those regularly.
A. Revising alone. This is often the best place to start when you are trying to get a handle on your revision, because it can be very easy to get distracted by friends. You want to engage primarily in active revision - this is generally of higher value than passive revision. There are a range of options within this:
- Reading material silently or aloud (passive revision)
- Using illustrations and colours to link and consolidate material (active revision)
- Re-writing notes or summarising in your own words (re-writing is passive, summarising is active)
- Structuring notes using mind maps or graphic organisers - organising the information in your mind is active revision.
- Revision boards that link ideas and concepts covered (active revision)
- Making use of revision sites with notes and quizzes (active revision)
- Practicing exam questions (source questions independently or see your teacher for these) (active revision)
- Look back over class tests. Familiarise yourself with the type of questions you are likely to be asked and the recommended responses.
- Make it creative. Link concepts and facts to illustrations, set content to music, make revision videos.
B. Revising with friends. Many people find that they work well in groups. This is often a good time to really consolidate your learning, and is often best done after individual revision.
- Make flashcards and use them to test each other
- Come up with questions and have a small group quiz
- Just sit down and discuss the content or practice questions - multiple ideas and viewpoints will help you to understand the material fully and gain new insights
- Use your collective knowledge to identify gaps in each person's knowledge.
- Create a massive group mindmap - have each person work on a section, then have another group member check it for missing information.
C. To maximise your revision:
- Take short, regular breaks. These help you to process and remember things - if you keep going without taking a break, your mind gets a bit overloaded and won't function efficiently.
- Eat well and get plenty of rest - skipping sleep to revise won't help you much, as it will mean that you are tired and unable to focus and retain information and ideas.
- Ask your teacher if you have any questions or queries - don't suffer in silence!
- Make some time to still do the things that you enjoy and that relax you. You can still have some time to watch a film, read a book, hang out with your friends or play a computer game. You just need to ensure that you don't overdo it.
- Make a revision timetable and stick to it. Don't be overly ambitious - be realistic about how much you can get done in the time that you have. For example, aim to do 15-20 minutes of study per subject per night, with a bit more (e.g. 30-40 minutes) on the weekend. Keeping your sessions short helps to stop you from getting too bored. Write one up by hand or you can try this. There are plenty of blank templates available online if you need one.
- Find a comfortable location which suits you and allows you to fully focus on your revision, like your bedroom or a corner of a library.
D. During the exam:
- Stay calm. If you start to feel overwhelmed, close your eyes and breath deeply for 10 seconds. Getting panicked will make things worse. If you need to, move onto another question and then return to it later.
- Use your reading time wisely. You should identify the questions that you can easily answer. Then, answer these questions first, as it will give you more time to tackle the questions that require more thought or that you will find harder to answer.
- Ensure that you carefully double-check your exam before it has to be handed up. This will allow you to make sure that you have answered every question in full and as accurately as possible.
- Pay attention to question key words, such as list, define, identify, discuss, evaluate, justify, etc. These indicate how you should respond to the question. You can find a list of key word explanations here.
- Pay attention to the number of marks that the question is worth. You should spend more time answering a 5 mark question than a 1 mark question. Similarly, the amount of detail in your answer should increase with the value of the mark - writing 2 lines in response to a 5 mark question is not going to give you full marks.
- Remember to use accurate historical terms and language during the exam. If asked to refer to events, be specific as possible.
- Stay positive and try your best.