Study Skills

Study Skills and Revision

  • Set up a routine.
  • Decide how much revision you are going to do each day.
  • Three 25 minute sessions in one day is quite enough.
  • Make a realistic revision timetable and stick to it.
  • Choose a good time to do it.
  • Set up a good environment, free of distractions.
  • Be comfortable - good desk, chair and light.
  • Make sure you have the right revision material: books, paper, pens.
  • Have everything ready and to hand before you start.
  • Don't revise for more than 25 minutes.
  • Take a 10 minute break.
  • Give yourself little treats: a biscuit or a sweet when you have done a unit of work.
  • Do 25 minutes more revision.
  • Small amounts of revision evenly spread over time is better than too much crammed in too late.
  • Regular repetition and reinforcement provides the most effective way of learning.
  • Last-minute cramming can obscure what you already know.
  • Don't revise what you already know.
  • Look through your notes and make a list of the topics you don't feel too sure about.
  • Concentrate on these.

Spelling

Look - Cover - Write - Check.
Look for patterns and familiar syllables in words.
Practise spelling by writing the words down - it's a waste of time saying them aloud.

How to Revise a Particular Topic

Take a big sheet of plain paper.
Choose a topic - e.g. Rivers.
At random, spread over the paper, jot down key words you remember that are related to the topic:
OX-BOW LAKES - MEANDER - FLOOD PLAIN - DELTA - WATERSHED
Choose a pair of words and join them with a line.
Flood Plain______________________Meanders
Along the line, write a sentence which connects the two words.
Flood Plain Mature rivers meander in wide sweeping bends when they flow slowly across flat ground, e.g. The Thames through London Meander
Try to link up as many words as you can with meaningful and informative sentences.

You can use this technique to 'deconstruct' an essay you have already written.
Just go through the essay, picking out the key words and ideas.
If you want, you can join them up again with pithy sentences and phrases

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