TAKE PRESSURE OFFBY STARTING REVISION EARLY

Revision is an inevitable part of student life. We all know it’snot the most enjoyable task but it’sone that has got to be done.

Although it can be tempting to leave it as late as possible to start, the earlier you can begin revising the less pressurethere is on you to fit it all in.

Emily Allen, Senior Learning Coach at legal education experts BARBRI, has compiled her top learning techniques for students.

She says: “Research shows that cramming in revision, which is favoured by most students, is ineffective compared to other learning styles. So this list features techniques that have been scientifically proven to increase knowledge intake.” n Retrieval practice –One of the best ways to improve your learning is to try and recall information that you have previously obtained.

At the beginning of each study session, try to recall the topics from your previous session or online lesson by writing bullet points about the topic from memory and then double-checking that you have remembered correctly.This will get your brain working faster than if you just re-read your revision or lecturenotes.

Another option is to take an online quiz or practice test so that you can identify areas that you arestronger in and the areas that you should prioritise in your next study session.

Many students find it incredibly effective to talk about the topic to afriend or family member.It’salsoa good idea to try and contact your fellow students to see if they would be willing to act as astudy partner over video call or email. n Practice testing –Taking practice tests helps familiarise you with the exam layout and question formats, and they will also highlight gaps in your knowledge that you can work on. n Elaborative interrogation –This involves thinking of questions about the topics that you arestudying so that you can add background information. Youwill form your own interpretation of the topics rather than just absorbing what you are being told from other resources. n Summarisation –You areexposed to large volumes of information when you arestudyingfor exams. This can often get confusing as you try to remember it all at once. However,agoodlearning technique is to summarise the most important information and factors from each topic. n Spaced practice –Students are notorious for trying to cram lots of studying into each day as they near an exam, but this technique can be very stressful and ineffective. It’sbetter to spread out your study time in the weeks and months leading up to an exam so that you can take the information in moremanageable chunks, which will enable you to retain moreinformation in the long run. Although cramming sessions might seem effective beforeanexam, you arelikely to forget the information in the following weeks and months because you didn’tspend long enough on each section. n Collaborate –It’sgoodtotalkto your peers and tutors wherepossible so that you can get help with topics that you arestruggling with or expand your knowledge. n For tips visit www.barbri-prep.com/

Youwillfind yourself remembering moreabout the topic as you verbally describe and explain each concept or fact. Practice retrieval will reinforce your knowledge of the topic, especially if the person you aretalking to asks questions.

Taking regular practice tests can help to ease the stress and anxiety that accompanies the actual exams and help you to consolidate your knowledge into answering actual questions.

Youcan build on existing knowledge that you may already have. It’shelpful to form your own connections between topics or conduct further research into aparticularly complex area to gain an understanding of the bigger picture.

Tryreading apassage in atextbook or making notes in alectureand then pick out the essential facts and ideas. You should try to focus on the keywords and phrases to get abetter understanding of the principle factors of the topic.

This technique is best applied straight after alesson or study session so that you can summarise everything that you have learnt. It will also highlight any areas that you areunsureabout so that you can talk about them with your personal tutor Summarising topics will make it easier to revise nearer the exam as you can pick out the key components from each topic, rather than having to read through pages and pages of information.

Youshould make anoteofyour tutors’ office hours so that you can arrange a meeting in advance. It’salsobeneficial to attend workshops so that you can discuss work with other students. It’slikely that you will have different strengths and weaknesses to your peers, which is a good reason to arrange study sessions.

Explaining topics to someone else can reinforce your knowledge, while afellow student could help you to see atopic from adifferent perspective.

Thereare so many learning techniques to try,which is why you should switch to a new one if you find acertain method isn’t working for you.

Mocksauseful Preparationfor Therealexams

Mock examsare averyusefulway to preparefor therealthing.

Students canfamiliarise themselves with thetypes of questionsthatmay be asked andensuretheycan answer everythinginthe allocatedtime MyTutorhas offeredsome top tips on thetools andskillsneeded to tackle mocks: n Timingiskey –Gettingused to howlongittakes to complete apaper or writeanessayiskey to understandinghow long you oughttobespendingonacertain question.Doing past papers undertimed conditionsisgreat practice. n Familiarise yourself with the questions–Dosome diggingto find outwhatkindofquestions the papers will ask. n Understand what they are asking you–There arecertain buzzwords in examquestions that require differentresponses.For instance:‘examine’, ‘describe’, ‘assess’,‘evaluate’, ‘discuss’ which areimportant to be mindfulof before answeringthe question n Feedback is important–Taking thetimetoreadwhere youwent wrongiscrucial n Studythe mark scheme –The good thing about mocksisthat they tend to be past exam papers, this usuallymeans therewillbe existingmarkschemes that you canaccess onlineorvia your teachers. n Re-testing–Onceyou’ve taken some time to analysewhere you mayhavegonewrong,and have studiedthe mark scheme –give thequestion anothercrack! n Remember,itisn’t theend of theworld –Ifyou aresomewhat disheartened by your mock exam results, just remember,thisisn’t therealthing!