Revision and Study Skills
This article suggests different methods in which you can study. Revision and study activities can be categorized into two different types: relearning knowledge and recalling knowledge. Knowledge can take the form of facts, developing understanding, applying skills and values, and many others.
When students revise and study, they should aim to practice relearning knowledge and recalling knowledge. In general, research suggests you should do revision to try to recall knowledge first, and fill in the gaps of what you don’t know by relearning knowledge after.
For a more in-depth look at what constitutes effective study / revision, please click here.
Stragegies to Recall Knowledge
- Practising exam paper questions (Click here for more information).
- Testing yourself with flash-cards (Click here for more information).
- Answering questions at the end of a chapter, without looking at the book / notes
- Draw a concept map, without your notes (Click here for more information)
- Write out a short set of questions per topic that target the key points of the topic. Answer them frequently without the notes.
Strategies to Relearn Knowledge
- Review notes
- Summarizing book chapters (Click here for more information)
- Drawing concept-maps, with your notes (Click here for more information)
- Writing out flash-cards (Click here for more information)
- Using marking schemes to correct your own work.
There are many other types of revision strategies that you can use for both types, outside of the lists above.
Combine the Strategies
The best way to study is to combine the types of study that you do. Research indicates it is extremely useful to combine the strategies. For example, a student may choose a topic and first try to answer questions from the exam paper (recall strategy). They can then use the marking scheme to review their answer, and highlight errors (relearn strategy). They can then review their notes (relearn strategy) and write out a short set of questions that highlight the key points of a topic that they can use to test themselves with again at a later date (recall strategy)
