How do I revise?

Personally I find it really hard to revise. In school you spend so long trying to find methods of revising that suit your learning skills, but I don’t think I’ve found my method yet. And it could be too late now to start attempting new things to help revising with exams around the corner!

So, instead of going on about a revision technique that works best for me and forcing you to use it, maybe you could give me a few ideas that help you and why you use them, and then I can try them out? I’m open for suggestions.

Teachers at my school have ways of drilling revision methods into your head and hoping they’ll stick, but to be honest, with all the other pressures of exams, my brain’s running out of glue!
Therefore, I’ve taken a liking to PRACTICE PAPERS. I know they’re not the best choice to revise and everyone hates them because it’s like being in the exam already, but here are a few reasons why I like them and you might too...
1. They get you use to the questions that may appear in the exams
2. They allow you to get a sense of what the wording of the questions may be like in your exam (always a benefit with the long words they seem to drop in)
3. And finally, they prepare you for the exams so you don’t ‘freak out’ when you see a exam paper for the first time
So if you get the chance, try using past paper questions to help you revise for your exams!

Another method of revising that I know my school is really into and encourages whenever possible, is MIND-MAPS! Not just any old, boring mind maps. Big, bright and colourful, too many words MIND-MAPS! And if you find you work well with mind maps, by just jotting down your ideas, organising them with colourful lines and adding small images, then I can prove that they work. Someone who has previously left The Robert Blake Science College used mind maps as their only revision technique and managed to achieve A*’s, A’s and B’s. So I am pretty jealous that me and mind maps aren’t the best of friends!

Like I said earlier, if you can think of any revision techniques that work well for you then let me know and I’ll try using them.

Thanks

Ellis xx