Firstly, apologies for the complete lack of posts over the last 5 months. My third and final year of university has been completely manic, but thoroughly enjoyable; it's hard to believe that I shall be having my last ever official day at university tomorrow! The past three years have gone so quickly, though they seem to have dragged at times!
My dissertation on how PR and Marketing can be utilised for town centre management has been handed in over a month ago, my last exam is tomorrow and all individual and group assignments have been completed! I have a job at a small local marketing agency confirmed and I start my role as Client Executive in July, following my seven month internship alongside my final year of university and I'm so excited that it's all come together! But before that, time for a well deserved, much needed break (including two weeks on holiday in sunny Greece!!).
I just thought I'd have a break from revision and for any students anywhere revising for their exams, whether it's GCSEs, A Levels, university, post-grad or even a work based/ open university qualification, here are my top revising tips that I thought I would share with you quickly:
- Keep a revision blog: not only is it better than hand writing absolutely everything, if it really comes down to it you can show your lecturers/parents/anyone who needs to know that you really have been revising.
- Take regular breaks: it's easy to cram and think that you should immediately know something after having gone through it. I don't understand the technicalities behind it all, but sometimes sleeping on things really does give your brain time to process and remember properly.
- Practice, yes mock exams are dire and just about as annoying as the real thing... but practice makes perfect and even better if you can get actual feedback from your teacher/ lecturer, it will also point out your weaker areas that you weren't aware of prior to the mock.
- Sometimes having the TV or music on in the background can help you remember things via association- even if you aren't aware of it at the time. You could be sat in your exam and the littlest thing like a line in a song or a TV show can promote memory and help get over mental blocks.
- Mind maps and cue cards. If you have months and months to prepare for an exam (most likely GCSE and A levels than uni, etc), make cue cards of things you need to know, stick them in places you look everyday i.e.: the mirror, the shower door, the wall you first look at when you wake up, etc. Choose a different area for different topics and you'll easily recall what was on the cue cards by locating them visually in your house. Colourful mind maps can also help you remember.
- Create portfolios and then keep condensing until you're down to a page or two. (One of my favourites). Get a ring binder folder and put everything in it that you will need to know for the exam- order/ structure it how you think is best for you. Keep adding to it as you learn more and more, do wider reading, etc. Then when you think you have everything and are down to the 'just revising' stage, condense all the info. Keep re-writing it out, cutting it down more and more gradually. You'll find you start writing things in your own codes which will help you remember in the exam easily or you will feel the need to not write things altogether because you have started to remember them automatically. Then when you're down to a page or two of the stuff you really need reminding of, make these into mind maps or cue cards and follow the above steps with those.
-Work out your exam timings. If you have a three hour exam, how many questions do you have to answer in that time? How long do you want to spend reading and planning and how long writing? Pre-plan this to ensure efficiency and that you get to answer all the questions and finish the exam properly.
- Allow yourself plenty of time. Revising everything the day before won't do you any favours.
- Get at least 8 hours of sleep the night before. Also, chill out the evening before. Put your revision things away before dinner, have dinner and do something relaxing, i.e.: take a bath and watch a favourite film or TV series. Take some time for you; feeling relaxed will help de-worry and de-stress you for the next day! It will also help you get to sleep at a decent hour. Pack your bag the night before too, so you're not rushing around either!
- The morning of your exam, have a good breakfast. My personal favourite is green tea, 2 slices of wholemeal toast and a banana. Then about an hour before the exam, have a coffee (or something with a little sugar in it for a bit of an energy boost). Also, take a bottle of water in with you, as it will help keep you refreshed and hydrate your brain, helping you to think more clearly and stay on track.
- Above all else, if you know you've done everything you possibly could, you should be fine. No one can ask more of you than what you are physically and mentally capable of. Remember that exams are a big deal, but no the end of the world, and things tend to have a way of working themselves out also
Hope this helps any fellow exam-takers out there, either this summer or in the future, if you stumble across this post. Good luck!
