Effective Revision

1. Effective Revision Student Learning Advisory Service

2. Basic Principles People work differently, but good revision requires: ‘Planning to Peak’: preparation & organisation - work and family commitments - work/life balance - space (privacy), books, desk, etc. Concentration and relaxation - organise regular but shorter study slots - include leisure time (chill-out time) - keep fit and learn some basic relaxation techniques Working repeatedly with material (memory aids) - revisiting and reducing material to memorable chunks

3. Putting Exams into Perspective Everyone feels nervous, but Exams: Help consolidate learning Facilitate connections between topics Enable students to demonstrate LOs Enable tutors to check standards Help the cultivation of professional skills (& hopefully!) Give real sense of achievement

4. Relaxation Strategies Too little or too much stress disables revision… Set daily/weekly quotas or targets Break down targets to smaller achievable units Reward yourself with little ‘treats’ for meeting target Plan refreshing breaks Practice relaxation techniques: - quiet relaxation exercise - reflective music - baths… etc.

5. Exercise What has been your experience of exams? How long ago…? How do you feel about exams? What wisdom have you learnt from this?

6. First Step… Basic Information Make sure you know…. Number of exams Exam dates/times Type of exams – e.g. essays/multiple choice/ problems/ exercises Duration of exams Exam/coursework weighting Credits Consider also…. Your coursework performance so far Your understanding of topic

7. Exam and Coursework Marks Module Credits Coursework Exam Assign. Average SO300 30 50% 50% 68 (= 34 of final mark) EC302 30 20% 80% 61 (= 12.2 of final mark) SA301 15 50% 50% 34 (= 17 of final mark) LS301 30 20% 80% 52 (= 10.4 of final mark) Fill out your own table

8. Calculating Your Mark

9. Second Step: Planning Next 2-3 months are ‘special’ Long term overview (whole exam period) - planned/ unavoidable activities? - negotiable activities ? - relaxation breaks Short term (weekly) action plan - manageable time slots - chores and other commitments - ‘the unexpected’

10. WEEK PLANNER

11. Third Step: What to Revise Start by looking at: - course outline/syllabus (learning outcomes) - recommended reading lists - essay & assignment topics/ in-class test/ exercises/ seminar questions - topics emphasised by lecturers/tutors - past papers (online/library catalogue) http://library.kent.ac.uk/library/exampapers/

12. Past Exam Papers

13. Past Exam Papers CO321/08 UNIVERSITY OF KENT FACULTY OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND MEDICAL STUDIES LEVEL C EXAMINATION COMPUTING LABORATORY Introduction to Information Systems Saturday, 17 May 2008 : 9.30 – 11.30 The paper contains THREE questions, ONE in Section A and TWO in Section B. Answer TWO questions, question 1 and ONE question from Section B. Calculators are not permitted. Answer each question in a separate book.

14. Past Exam Papers EL026 / 2008 SECTION A Candidates are advised to spend no more than 50 minutes on Section A Q1. (i) Write down the names of the following electronic components: [4 marks] (ii) A resistor has a nominal value of 4.7 kO and a ± 5% tolerance. It is connected to a 9 V battery. Calculate (a) the smallest and largest possible value for the resistance [2 marks]

15. Past Exam Papers UNIVERSITY OF KENT LW304/08 FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES LEVEL C EXAMINATION LAW OBLIGATIONS I Friday, 23 May 2008 : 14.00 – 17.00 There are TEN questions. There are TWO sections A and B. Candidates should answer FOUR questions, including at least TWO questions from section A. The remaining questions may be taken from either section A or from section B. Candidates must NOT answer both of questions 6 and 7. All answers will be weighted equally in marking. Material used in one answer should not be substantially duplicated in answer to another. Candidates are supplied with a list of names of cases contained in the lecture handouts. Candidates may refer to a copy of Blackstone's Statutes on Contract, Tort and Restitution, or to copies of the text of any legislation contained therein. Such material may be underlined or shaded with a translucent marker but must not be otherwise annotated. Copies of annotated editions of the legislation are not permitted. The ‘explanatory notes’ attached to the official version of legislation are not permitted.

16. Draw up a list of core topics for each module e.g. for 15 credit module > 10-12 topics Identify ‘strong’ & ‘weak’ topics e.g. 6 okay, 2 really good , 3 not okay Identify amount of background/ study material available on each topic

17. How Much to to Revise For Essay questions (choice) Focus on about 60 % (about 8 topics, depending on exam format) For short answers/ exercises All but look at exam format (choice ?) For multiple choice All areas/ topics

18. Fourth Step: Getting Started Preparation Identify core issues in each topic Identify ‘schools of thought’/ different view points/ insights/ discoveries/ revelations Identify links and connections Identify case studies/ examples/ key date

19. Exercise What has been forgotten…..?

20. Revision (including understanding and memorizing) Divide topic/ material into manageable chunks Work with the material Vary activities Summarise (write own flash cards) Remember…. Take breaks (concentration) Have clear target (what do I need to achieve… today..) Move on when really stuck (come back later) Talk about topics – articulate ideas (Revision group?) Fourth Step: Getting Started

21. Practicalities: When to Revise When you are ‘receptive’ and ‘productive’ - cream-milk-water time Stick to timetable – start on time Plan realistic study blocks Achieve target e.g. write a sample answer Move on at planned times, though … … if it flows, let it flow … Be (self) disciplined!

22. Practicalities: Where to Revise Home or Away ? Home… - familiar territory, facilities to hand, can come & go - BUT risk of interruptions: phone, chores, children, friends, etc.; temptation to be distracted Away… - able to concentrate; fewer distractions; possibly more academic resources (e.g. in library) - BUT risk of noise/conversation, internet/ email, less friendly environment for breaks, etc.

23. Practicalities: How to Memorise? Depends on individual, and on subject or topic Aim to remember: - names of important authors, dates in history, key theories - steps in a process, formulae, links, cases, empirical data Memory works in stages: 1. Information received (seen, heard, felt, etc.) 2. Short-term memory (repeat to retain) 3. Encoding memory: interacting so brain can store 4. Recall (improve with ‘overlearning’) Use as many different ways to memorise as possible - use association (colour, objects, pictures, humour, etc.) - verbal (key words) or semantic memory (implications) Work with the material: summarise, reduce, draw, etc.

24. We Remember… according to Flanagan (1997) 20% of what we read 30% of what we hear 40% of what we see 50% of what we say 60% of what we do 90% of what we see, hear, say & do!

25. Use Your Left Brain Logical thinking style: Sequences, logic, names analysis, numbers, language, sense of time…. Write information by hand Turn information into lists Number items clearly Use headings Break up information into categories Convert information into a flow diagram Identify (memorable) key words

26. Use Your Right Brain Gestalt thinking style: Seeing the whole; use pictures, metaphor, synthesis, image, colour, tune, rhythm, intuition, emotion, imagination…. Draw diagram or picture to show links Use shape/colour to highlight or organise info Personalise info – make it relevant to you Use different colours for different subjects Sing information/ talk to yourself Move about, study in different locations Move about: Different place for different info e.g. armchair for French Revolution, bed for war theories … Use clothes as memory triggers, e.g. each button represents a different position/step Use your body: each hand an essay topic 5 finger = 5 main points (juvenile delinquency)Move about: Different place for different info e.g. armchair for French Revolution, bed for war theories … Use clothes as memory triggers, e.g. each button represents a different position/step Use your body: each hand an essay topic 5 finger = 5 main points (juvenile delinquency)

27. Other Memory Aids Mnemonics - Richard of York Goes Battling in Vain - colours of the rainbow Recite material out aloud Tape yourself reciting key facts etc. Work in pairs testing each other Rhymes/raps http://users.rcn.com/fvirzi/kar.shtml Post-it notes in your room GROUP WORK: In what ways have your past revision strategies and your approach to exams helped or hindered your exam success? What can you change or improve for your next set of exams?GROUP WORK: In what ways have your past revision strategies and your approach to exams helped or hindered your exam success? What can you change or improve for your next set of exams?

28. Exercise How do you remember things such as… 1. The food you had on your last birthday 2. Telephone numbers 3. Order of planets in average distance from Sun My Very Earnest Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto)

29. Exercise Look at the following chart of words for 2 minutes. Then, without looking, write down all the words you can remember.

30. sea saucer cheese theory PINK harp table sandwich windy SICK jam GREEN fog GLUE essay distance pills sad India Lenin maybe plate holiday walnut bandage gloom hand happy dog book lost Fred 2 minutes to look at Cover Students have to write down as many as they can remember Count those remembered correctly >>looking for clusters - colour >>> colour coding - place (left, right , beginning , end) >>> visual notes - subject >>> logical sequence/ categories - type of word (association) >>> story line How can you use these techniques to memorise revision material?2 minutes to look at Cover Students have to write down as many as they can remember Count those remembered correctly >>looking for clusters - colour >>> colour coding - place (left, right , beginning , end) >>> visual notes - subject >>> logical sequence/ categories - type of word (association) >>> story line How can you use these techniques to memorise revision material?

31. Common Revision Pitfalls Leaving it until the last minute Lack of organisation Learning essays by heart Procrastinating Feeling of isolation Starting to panic Getting bored or day dreaming Other responsibilities or worries 1. Use a revision timetable/planner 2. Allow for flexibility of response to a question. It is unlikely that exactly the same essay question will come up in the exam. 3. Keep to your revision timetable, set time and space aside. Revise in a library if necessary - be disciplined, but reward yourself for work done. 4. Work with positive-minded people. Work to small achievable goals. 5. Vary your revision techniques 6. Revision timetable - use short spells of time effectively e.g. post-its, index cards etc. 1. Use a revision timetable/planner 2. Allow for flexibility of response to a question. It is unlikely that exactly the same essay question will come up in the exam. 3. Keep to your revision timetable, set time and space aside. Revise in a library if necessary - be disciplined, but reward yourself for work done. 4. Work with positive-minded people. Work to small achievable goals. 5. Vary your revision techniques 6. Revision timetable - use short spells of time effectively e.g. post-its, index cards etc.

32. Exercise What strategies can you suggest to avoid some of the common revision pitfalls?

33. Essentials of Revision PLAN and ORGANISE A SYSTEM TO…. Draw out main points from notes/essays/assignments - skim over all material on a topic - reduce to key points - re-read notes looking for supporting information Then you need to: Test your recall (key ideas, theories, authors…) Check answers (frequently) Re-read main notes for supplementary information Practice producing answers You also need to: Keep up to date with continuing work Avoid lots of new learning….

34. Five Point Action Plan Write down what you can do (and when) to… Want it! (Motivation, self-awareness, etc.) Live it! (create good environment, health, diet, etc.) Know it! (exam rubrics, past papers, subject topics) See it! (Be positive – walk yourself through process) Do it! (learn material in active way; apply strategies) Draw up an Exam Checklist – and tick off as completed

35. Words of Advice Enlist help Be assertive – say NO Increase a sense of well-being Eat well (decent nutrition) Sleep adequately Exercise regularly Have a worry book Try to keep an overview 1. Examine your place of study Adequate lighting Adequate ventilation Not too warm or too cold Use supportive furniture No audio distractions No visual distractions Try cafeteria, library, empty classroom 2. Eat, sleep, exercise to increase a sense of wellbeing. 3. Motivate yourself Bring a sense of purpose to the task - have a clearly defined purpose. Bring interest in the material - create relevancy by relating to material to what interests you. Break down a task into manageable chunks. Have regular breaks. Reward yourself when the task is completed - positive reinforcement. 4. Have a worry book Write down your worries. Set aside time to resolve worries. If you must worry, enjoy it. Write down thoughts, what you say to yourself, which could hamper your concentration. Next to each statement, write down a neutralising statement. 1. Examine your place of study Adequate lighting Adequate ventilation Not too warm or too cold Use supportive furniture No audio distractions No visual distractions Try cafeteria, library, empty classroom 2. Eat, sleep, exercise to increase a sense of wellbeing. 3. Motivate yourself Bring a sense of purpose to the task - have a clearly defined purpose. Bring interest in the material - create relevancy by relating to material to what interests you. Break down a task into manageable chunks. Have regular breaks. Reward yourself when the task is completed - positive reinforcement. 4. Have a worry book Write down your worries. Set aside time to resolve worries. If you must worry, enjoy it. Write down thoughts, what you say to yourself, which could hamper your concentration. Next to each statement, write down a neutralising statement.

36. Finally….. Support your motivation: - picture yourself in June - it’s only 3 months! - think of the sense of achievement - you need not be alone >> revision group! - try to relax and have some fun Start revision EARLY! Check any uncertainty with tutors GOOD LUCK!