Study Guide

mjr600

I haven't sat an exam or revised for the same purpose for many years (10+) but have now thrown myself in an area which requires an exam in Sept. I have a considerable amount of information to understand and then reproduce and would be grateful to be pointed in the right direction as to methods of revision.

Thanks in advance.

studentphil

I find mind maps a great and quick way to remember things.
http://www.peterussell.com/MindMaps/HowTo.php

You really only need some sheets of paper and a lot of coloured pens or felt tips to do them.

suffolkb

Top tip - read Studentphils advice on exams and studying. And then do the opposite. You`ll be fine.

Gingernutmeg

The Palgrave study guide is really good - I particularly liked the fact that it seems to be aimed at people who've not studied/sat exams for a while. I bought it just before I started uni and I've found it very, very helpful.

melancholly

suffolkb wrote: »

Top tip - read Studentphils advice on exams and studying. And then do the opposite. You`ll be fine.

:rotfl: harsh but perhaps fair!

the thing about revision is that it's very personal - what works for you might not work for someone else. the best thing you can do is plan well in advance and know exactly what you're aiming at. find out the format of the exam and look at old papers, then you can tailor what you learn to how you need to use it.

kevinbarry

You should try to revise regularly throughout the term – ignore the smart guy who says that if it wasn’t for the last minute, nothing would ever get done. Regular revision can help prevent the exam blues.

Notes are of no value until you read and learn them. Having taken the darn things it’s no good filing them away to be forgotten. You should read your notes regularly and revise, learning as you go.

Set aside some time every day to read over a few of your notes. Half an hour is often enough, but it depends on your personality, your memory, your enthusiasm and so on.

A good revision technique is to read your notes and the skeleton answers you made earlier, and also to devise new outlines to questions from old exam papers, tutorials, the textbook, or the study guide. You will probably have a short break between the end of teaching and the beginning of exams. Use this time wisely – it is your last chance for revision so you should make the most of it.

You might set aside a special half an hour for practicing drawing diagrams, revising vocabulary lists or whatever your particular subject needs; some time for going over the day's notes; and say half an hour for revision of things done earlier in the term.

Many textbooks include questions at the end of each chapter that provide you with the opportunity to practise preparing answers. If a study guide accompanies your textbook it, too, is a good source of questions. Never waste time writing out your answer in full unless you wish to practise your writing skills, but instead make a skeleton outline and put the question at the top.

Read the question carefully and think about it. Does it naturally divide into sections? If so, put these down and you have a start on your outline. You could then add what you can remember about the topic. After that put down what you personally think. You might then like to read the relevant bit of the textbook and expand your outline. Later in the term you can add even more.

Don’t worry if early in the term you cannot answer some textbook questions, as you will probably cover the material later in class. Keep your skeleton answers and file them with your notes on the topic – they make excellent revision material.

Work with a study-buddy – there are lots of simple learning games you can play together that help you both think and remember. For instance, you could take an old exam paper, choose a question from an area that you have already covered in class, then spend 5 or 10 minutes jotting down ideas about it, and perhaps organising a logical structure to an answer.

Preparing a skeleton outline in this way is a valuable exercise:

• It is a good way of reinforcing your knowledge.
• It is more fun and less boring than poring over your old notes alone.
• Doing it in competition with another person is even more valuable than doing it alone, as you can compare the finished product of each, discuss the points either missed and the relative importance of each, and finally prepare a joint composite and better answer. This then becomes valuable revision material for later.
• Practising answers in this way has a great pay-off - in the exam room you will need to plan answers quickly; and after you leave university the same ability will enable you to devise fast logical responses to problems at work.


And now a personal note. The last time I posted advice in this forum I was (falsely) accused of spamming because I revealed the source, which was the name of a book that I had recently published. I was also told the book sounded crap; as far as I can judge this was on the basis that the (free) advice I gave to mature students was not totally original and was available for free elsewhere. I suspect that neither critic had actually read the book, which is not aimed only at mature students, merely the advice I offered in that particular forum.

In view of this unsettling response, my initial reaction was not to bother with helping people if I was to be so criticized. Upon reflection, this seemed rather churlish, so I am still posting - but if you want to know the name of the book you will have to take the initiative for yourself and Google “kevin bucknall university 2007” (without the inverted commas) to find my source.

pavlovs_dog

i second the recommendation for stella cottrell's study skills handbook. a fantastic book from palgrave :T