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5 top tips for exam revision

With exam season being in full flow we asked the BRE Academy training team for their top 5 exam revision tips.

The tips below are worth considering alongside the more general recommended advice of planning your revision well in advance (don’t leave it until the last moment!), getting plenty of rest and a good night’s sleep before the exam. It is also important to exercise, eat healthily and keep well hydrated in preparation for your exams.

We hope you find these tips useful for any exams you sit at the BRE Academy and elsewhere.

1. Learn the way YOU learn

It’s easy to try to copy revision techniques from peers, but is what they do really best for you? Take some time at the beginning of your revision to remember how best you learn and focus your revision on methods that you are happy with. Ask yourself ‘Do I learn best when I SEE things? HEAR things? WRITE things? DO things?’

Whether your style is predominantly visual, aural or kinaesthetic we are all different and it is important to learn in the way that is most productive and effective for you.

2. Ask someone else to test you

Get your peers (ideally those who know the subject area) to quiz you on your chosen topic. Perhaps set up a list of questions and answers on flash cards and get someone to test you on them regularly. This gives you an important idea of how well you really know your subject and will highlight any areas you need to focus on more. It’s also a really positive way of tracking your progress as you are able to answer more and more questions.

3. Teach someone else

It is often said that you retain 10% of what you hear, 20% of what you read, 50% of what you do, 75% of what you discuss and 90% of what you teach.

Formally teaching or engaging in an explanatory discussion with others regarding the subject you are learning really reinforces your own understanding and highlights where you feel most confident.

4. Plan

A really helpful technique is specifically planning for the exam situation.
Break down the allotted exam sections or questions into time portions (eg allowing 20 minutes to answer Section 1) and try to spend the first few minutes of your exam noting what points you will cover in each answer.
This helps to ensure all relevant points will be included, rather than potentially forgotten when it comes to completing the question or section. Developing a short plan such as this should help you to feel more confident in your timings and in how best to answer each question

5. Clear your mind

Post-exam, try not to spend time debriefing and analysing what you think went well or badly in the exam. Take a while to clear your mind and set your sights on the future.

This is really important as you many need to focus on revision for the next exam; so look forward with a positive mind-set.

Do you have any other tips you’d like to share with us? Feel free to comment here to assist all those taking exams in the future.

If you are taking an exam with us and would like some advice or support in preparing or planning for it, please do give one of the team a call on +44 (0) 333 321 8811

Last, but not least, good luck to all those preparing for exams both for BRE Academy courses and qualifications, and for those studying towards SAT’s, GCSE’s, A levels, university qualifications or professional qualifications.