Advice
It’s not always easy to fit revision into your life. With work, college, friends and other commitments, revising in an hour might even be all you can manage some days - that doesn't mean you need to panic and try to cram everything in. Here’s a quick guide to effectively revise in an hour.
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Step 1 – Pick a past paper question
You’ve only got an hour so it’s time to get specific. Pick your subject, grab a past paper, the mark scheme and choose a question. Try and pick a topic and subject area that you need to work on. If you need a bit more in-depth help, take a look at our tips on how to answer exam questions.
Step 2 – Revise for your question – 20 minutes
Think about what you’ll need to know to answer the question and revise those areas for 20 minutes. Look at your revision notes or textbooks and give yourself the best chance of nailing the answer. A great way to do this in a structured and consistent manner is by using a bullet journal for revision.
Step 3 – Do the question – 20 minutes
You’ve revised, now give it a go. Set the timer for 20 minutes and get to work. You should hopefully be able to provide a model answer (seeing as you’ve just done the prep) but if it’s easier for you and your future revision (i.e. when you look back at these notes), write a simple answer without the polish you’d apply to the real thing.
Step 4 – Mark your answer - 20 minutes
Time's up! Use the mark scheme to mark your answer and see how well you did. If you’re not sure on how to evaluate your work, you could show your answer to a teacher and give them the mark scheme for a second opinion. This step is more important than it sounds, because reviewing the mark scheme will allow you to see what kind of answers examiners want to see.
You’ve done it! One hour of revision well spent. If you have some time at a later date you might want to try:
Step 5 – Perfecting your answer
You just wrote a great answer (hopefully) so why not use it as a revision flash card? First, go back to your answer and improve any areas that were wrong when you looked over the mark scheme and then transfer the answer to some coloured card or paper. If you want to keep things brief, write out the main mark-winning points on the flashcard.
More time to spend? Try:
Step 6 - Give yourself more than an hour!
If you can increase the amount of time you spend on your revision, we highly recommend it. Even if it's just a week, we can help - find out the secret to how to revise in a week.
