Our Top 5 Exam Revision Strategies

What is the best way to revise for exams?

The best way to revise for exams is to find techniques and strategies that work for you. Sounds simple, right? However, we all have different learning styles, and what will help one person learn may not be a good fit for someone else. 

The best way to find the revision techniques that work is to try out different strategies. Most people will find that a combination of different things works the best. Whether you are hoping to pass your Maths GCSE or you just want to find better ways of retaining information, we’ve got the answer for you. 

Below, we’ve put together our tried-and-tested approach which combines five exam revision strategies...

Our top 5 exam revision strategies

• Follow a plan 📝

The first step in exam revision should be to create a comprehensive study plan and follow it. Putting together a study timetable will help you stay focused and on track during what can feel like quite a stressful period. 

We recommend planning out a revision schedule that clearly shows what needs to be worked on each day in the run-up to exam time. This can help you to be more efficient with your study time and can also be reassuring for anyone worried about upcoming exams. 

A well-developed study plan can help you feel more in control of the process and will help you use your time wisely. 

The best way to create a study timetable is to work out how long you have until your exam dates and prioritise studying according to the dates. For each subject, you should organise your study time by planning out the different areas and topics you need to revise. It’s always smart to break big topics down into smaller, more manageable chunks. ✅

• Create mind maps 

Drawing mind maps for different topics or areas can be very helpful in exam revision. Organising information visually engages our creativity, which can help us retain information and understand connections between different ideas or notions. 

Mind mapping is also beneficial while studying for an exam because it can help you to identify any knowledge gaps or topics that need to be gone over again in order to fully understand. You can use websites like BBC bite-size revision where you can also get materials for all parts of the course. 

• Use flashcards

Creating flashcards is a well-known and popular technique when it comes to revision time. This is a fantastic way to revise – many people find that flashcards help them learn and take in information much better than just going over notes or reading. 

Using flashcards as part of a revision plan can be very helpful in memorising key information, and it can also help to identify what topics you may need to spend more time on. It has been proven that testing your own knowledge while revising can help cement the information in your long-term memory, so it’s a very helpful technique.  

• Practice exams

One of our top tips for exam revision is definitely to do a practice exam. Testing yourself in this way is the best way to prepare for an upcoming exam. 

Replicating the exam situation at home while preparing for an exam can be very helpful in several different ways. We recommend finding past exam papers for this subject online and using them to practice. Try to sit down at your desk, set a timer and take on the exam as if it was for real, without using notes. ⏳

This exercise will replicate the pressured situation of taking an exam and prepare you for the time constraints you’ll be faced with during an actual exam. It will also show you exactly what topics you may need to do more work on since you’ll quickly identify any information you’re unclear on or simply don’t remember. 

• Self-care 

A very important aspect of exam revision is one you may not have expected – but it’s actually to practice good self-care in the middle of this stressful period. 

We recommend that you do your best to stay calm and focused despite the fact that exam season can be a challenging time. Practise open communication with your parents and teachers know that you can talk to your support network about any worries or concerns you have. Always reach out for help if you feel overwhelmed.

A few tips that’ll help you take care of your own well-being while studying for exams are to plan out time well, structure the day properly, and remove unnecessary distractions during study time.

Also, it’s important to take frequent breaks – this will help you maintain concentration and stay productive. Getting enough sleep is very important, and be sure that you are nourishing your body and mind with healthy foods in the run-up to your exams. Keep in mind that health and well-being are always the most important things. 

We hope these revision strategies and techniques will help your nail that all-important exam and improve your revision skills! Good luck!