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Does revising early actually work?

Up until now I've always waited a month before I started revision and it worked pretty well for me. But I really want at least A*AA or maybe even A*A*A this year and I've asked really intelligent people in my school and they said they start from september and revise as they go along.

But doesn't starting early make you forget? I know you're supposed to go over it once in a while, but with subjects like Chemistry where the amount of questions are limited, what do you do? The thought of doing past papers and knowing the answer because you've done it 3 times doesn't seem like a good idea to me. Can someone enlighten me if they revise this way? How do you do it?

(I'm doing Bio/Chem/Maths btw)

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Reply 1

chignesh10

Original post by InadequateJusticex

For chem, I just started a month before jan exams , read through the textbook twice then did the past papers qus.

For maths, I do all the past papers 2 weeks before the exam

Reply 2

jerezion

I don't do ALevels yet, still cruising through GCSE, but I find that it depends on the person. My friend literally revises 2 weeks before all her exams and gets all A*s whereas I feel like I need more of a distributed time for completion and posters etc. If depends on how you best asborb information - memorise or in depth understanding?
If the latter then I'd advise you start earlier, use your notes, posters, past papers, cue cards etc and if the first then yeah continue doing what you do.
I cba to revise for much tbh, but ideally I would make posters for each topic then do workbooks on each subject, re-going over the things I potentially dont understand. Then complete past papers until the exam ^_^.

Reply 3

A Wise Ninja

I personally find that waiting until about a month before the exam is better myself, but I guess it depends what works for you.
Definitely still worth reading over notes after each lesson just to ensure you understand concepts though!

sometimes....

I would say a month is fine but of course this varies depending on what you want to achieve. Although, for some subjects you just see the same type of questions come up year after year and it's because of this that you should do the past papers because then you can learn what they look for in the mark scheme ... like what specific words do you need to write down to get the mark type of thing.

Reply 6

bookshop13

Personally, I can't stand revision - so I found that a short but effective period of revision is way more effective for me than trying to revise for longer.

Reply 7

Turty

Original post by InadequateJusticex

Yes start early! This past January I started revision in about November, and I only just fit in everything I needed to learn. Last Summer I started about 12 weeks before the exams (which I'm also doing now), and even though you may forget stuff, you need to make sure you have sufficient time to get through everything, and then you can always go back to what you did at first.

I like to recap everything I do through the week at the end of the week, and try to write out everything without my notes/ do past papers to make sure I'm going to remember it. But even if you completely forget stuff you did 12 weeks early, it's a LOT easier to revise it the second time round, and it will just come back to you.

I'm after A*AAA as well, and I'm starting tomorrow! :smile:

Reply 8

InadequateJusticex

Original post by Turty

Awesome, that was helpful :smile:

I guess it is a lot easier to remember it the second time round.

Reply 9

whatisthis47

Depends on how you revise.

Personally, for me starting revision early is the most reasonable thing because a huge chunk of my revision time is usually wasted on making notes so I never really have time to do things like past papers because I spend all my time until the exam memorising.

If you think you're going to forget what you revising then work on the most complicated things early so that you don't have to waste so much time on them when you're closer to your exam.

Reply 10

noobslayer

For me writing notes is an utter waste of time. Just read the textbook directly.

Reply 11

Zenomorph

Original post by Vixen47

So do you reckon complete note making is worth the sacrifice of not doing PP's ?

Reply 12

Craming Revision

is now early? i have 12 exams.

Reply 13

PilotHolly

Original post by Craming Revision

is now early? i have 12 exams.

Well I don't know whether it's the same for you but it's Easter holidays now so might as well make the most of it and get some done! I have 18 exams across May and June and I am starting tomorrow.

This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

Reply 14

Craming Revision

Original post by PilotHolly

easter hols is next week for me i might start then still making notes wtf 18?! i thought i had loads! hows 18 even possible?!?

Reply 15

kronca

Original post by noobslayer

For me writing notes is an utter waste of time. Just read the textbook directly.

How do you remember most of the stuff you read? I just seem to read it and sometimes I remember the stuff I read but most of the time I dont :/ what technique do you use while reading to revise?

Reply 16

NoraLora

To be honest, I don't think it's about how much you revise or how early you start ~ it's all about how much you understand,, and the time it takes you to do so which varies from person to person !

Reply 17

noobslayer

Original post by kronca

How do you remember most of the stuff you read? I just seem to read it and sometimes I remember the stuff I read but most of the time I dont :/ what technique do you use while reading to revise?

I don't 'revise' as such, I mean, revise by definition is just 're-vision'. I literally just read the book until it's printed in my brain, certain subjects are easier than others for this (Chemistry a-level for example is perfect). I use past papers to validate that I have all the necessary knowledge, i.e. when at the stage where every question is answered without much thought, that's what I call prepared.

I don't use any 'techniques' in particular. Suppose this is more difficult for people who are for example auditory learners, works for me though!

Reply 18

Theflyingbarney

You don't need to 'revise' early - you'll just forget the stuff you do at the start and burn out before your exams.

What you DO need to do is 'learn' early. By this I mean pay full attention and put in full effort in class, the first time around. Stuff tends to stick a lot better in your long-term memory when you're learning it the first time, I imagine because you're not tempted to skip corners and say "Yeah, I know this, so let's move on." If you put in the effort in the first time you learn things you can potentially revise most subjects comfortably in 2-3 weeks.

Reply 19

PilotHolly

Original post by Craming Revision

easter hols is next week for me i might start then still making notes wtf 18?! i thought i had loads! hows 18 even possible?!?

Haha sorry for the late reply! I know it's crazy! I have 5 English exams, 3 history, 3 sciences,1 math, 1 geography, 1 RS, 1 ICT, 2 German and 1 Dance. They are spread out over 2 months though and I start study leave next week so I'm sure I'll be fine! :biggrin: