The Student Room Group

Must Haves For Revision

What are your must have for revision eg red pens .....
I don't learn from green AT ALL, I don't know why. I just don't remember what I write when it's in green.

I need a whiteboard with a red, black and blue marker - again not green.


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Reply 2
plain A4 paper for more creative revision notes
highlighters (in key colours)
staedler fine liners
lots and lots of post-its :biggrin:




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Original post by ShaneJ
What are your must have for revision eg red pens .....


I think a good tactic for revision is the type up notes rather than write them, when you type you can format things really nicely and arrange key notes however you want. The use of bold/italics/colours/highlighters really helps me learn and it means I can make notes far quicker as I type faster than I write. However, it really depends what is best for you and how you learn as an individual. A really useful resource is www.thestudentsolutions.co.uk where you can directly ask university students a question, perhaps you may find some use for it.
Other than that, a really well lit room is a must! don't want to be straining those eyes in half darkness!
Original post by TheUsername42
I think a good tactic for revision is the type up notes rather than write them, when you type you can format things really nicely and arrange key notes however you want. The use of bold/italics/colours/highlighters really helps me learn and it means I can make notes far quicker as I type faster than I write. However, it really depends what is best for you and how you learn as an individual. A really useful resource is www.thestudentsolutions.co.uk where you can directly ask university students a question, perhaps you may find some use for it.
Other than that, a really well lit room is a must! don't want to be straining those eyes in half darkness!

I agree. Typing is faster than handwriting is faster thus you can get more revision done. And I see no reason to think that handwriting is more effective than typing so the time advantage is not cancelled out by any overlapping disadvantages. Anyway, because I don't always type, my essential must-have is A4 Paper.
A black pen, pencil, ruler and paper.
Reply 6
A well lit room (preferably natural light in the daytime), good posture, quietness, an attentive mind. In terms of stationery, clean cream/white coloured paper, good fine liner pens in different colours and highlighters. I'm going to be more organised for IB though.... I hope :P
Whilst typing is faster (and wayy easier to read compared to my handwriting) I prefer writing. I find that I memorise it easier if I write it out myself, rather than type it out.
Original post by TheUsername42
I think a good tactic for revision is the type up notes rather than write them, when you type you can format things really nicely and arrange key notes however you want. The use of bold/italics/colours/highlighters really helps me learn and it means I can make notes far quicker as I type faster than I write. However, it really depends what is best for you and how you learn as an individual. A really useful resource is www.thestudentsolutions.co.uk where you can directly ask university students a question, perhaps you may find some use for it.
Other than that, a really well lit room is a must! don't want to be straining those eyes in half darkness!


How does The Student Solutions work? It seems like an amazing site but I can't figure out how to use it
I use A4 paper cut into 12 equal size squares to use as flashcards. I write in blue ink. Can't stand highlighters. I use fine liners when writing pages of stuff (e.g. Science practicals/Geography fieldwork). Then use black ink for doing past papers and mark it in green, and keep a record of which past papers I've done in a notebook so when I repeat them I can see when I improve.
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by Michael McKean
I agree. Typing is faster than handwriting is faster thus you can get more revision done. And I see no reason to think that handwriting is more effective than typing so the time advantage is not cancelled out by any overlapping disadvantages. Anyway, because I don't always type, my essential must-have is A4 Paper.


There have been lots of studies that suggest handwriting embeds things in your long term memory better.
However if you have loads of content, it does seem better to type just cos it may not be physically possible to get through it otherwise! 😂
I handwrite whenever possible.
My must have would be a pack of mildliners, a 4-colour biro and paper. I choose 2 colours and format my notes accordingly, going through each spec point. I do a big overall title for the topic in one colour and use a different colour for bullet points and different subheadings. Then if I have other colours I highlight keywords or do diagrams.
And the big A5 flash cards are so fun to use but a bit unnecessary . 😂

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