Let’s face it, revision planning is a minefield. Your friends might be studying for eight hours (...or 20 minutes!) a day, but it's important to work out what's best for you.
How much revision should I actually be doing per day?
The truth is, there’s no miracle number for how many hours you should study for an exam (sorry), but there are some pretty good guidelines out there. According to The Student Room, students revise 15 to 20 hours per week for their exams, which might sound like a lot until you break it down. You’ve probably worked it out for yourself, but the recommended time equates to three to five hours of revision per day with weekends off!
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How do I start revising?
Find out exactly what you know...which also means finding out what you don't know. Look at your course outline and test yourself on the topics. What are you confident in and what needs more work? This way you can prioritise your workload, which can help you decide what subjects may need more hours of revision.
How do I start planning my revision?
A revision plan will help you keep track of your revision hours in the context of a week and our revision timetable template is a great place to start. As you’ve identified which subjects need the most work, you can now allocate more time for those topics. If you only need an hour to review something you know quite well, two to three hours or repeated sessions would be more appropriate for something you’re struggling with.
How do I make sure I remember my revision?
In most circumstances, it’s not about how many hours you spend, but about the quality of what you get done in those hours. Once you’ve understood the topic, it’s time to memorise as much as possible. Active recall and spaced repetition are a great way to consolidate your revision.
Try to spend your time with these goals in mind:
- Understand the topic (spend as long as you need)
- Review the topic (on a different day for an hour)
- Second review (on another day for 30 minutes)
- Short refreshers until you’ve committed the topic to memory (15 minutes)
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