The key to effective revision – Natalia Pasinska, Ursuline High School

1. Feynman’s technique

Richard Feynman was a Nobel winning physicist. He had the ability to explain a complex topic in a way that people who were completely unfamiliar with it could understand. First, explain your topic to someone who is unfamiliar with it (or pretend to), and then identify any gaps or misconceptions you/they had. Then, you review and simplify it to make it even more understandable. Because simplicity is a proxy for understanding, it will be easier to recall what you know when prompted by an exam question.

2. Past paper questions

Past paper questions are the best way to ensure you know the information you need to. Additionally, the more practice questions you do, the more confident you will be entering that exam hall.

Julia Burke, a sixth form student said, “Exam questions are extremely effective – applying your knowledge to the context of a question really locks in what you already know.”

3. Active recall/spaced repitition

Active recall and spaced repitition is the process of converting your short-term knowledge into long-term knowledge. Regularly using websites such as Knowt and Quizlet allow you to retrieve information from your brain, rather than passively reading your notes.

4. Blurting

Blurting is the process of writing down everything you know about a given topic or perhaps a textbook page and then checking back to see what you missed. This allows you to see which areas you should focus on. This method allows you to use your time wisely as you do not waste time going over topics you are confident in.