I find that the following process is really helpful for homework so that you can make the most out of doing it:
1. Read through all the questions/ tasks. Choose 1-3 that you think you're going to find the most difficult and reread your class notes or use the internet to find notes on that topic to help you. You should start with the question you thing you'll find easiest and then tackle these difficult questions so that you're still concentrating as hard as you can when you're doing the difficult bits.
2. Before doing the questions, however, you should try to recall the key information from the topic the homework is on - take a piece of scrap paper and just jot anything down and use your books to improve and correct notes. For example, for a piece of maths homework I might begin by recalling the quadratic equation and annotating the different parts. This way, you know whether or not you understand the main concept of the tasks before you efven begin.
3. Once the homework is marked, redo any questions you got wrong and record any information that you didn't put into it in your book.
Obviously, this is quite a long process, but it is thorough and can be adapted depending on your needs at the time and how much time you have when you do it. It also really helps as a start to the revision process.
Revision: (timing suggestions, but of course change this as you like)
1. Choose a sub-topic that you're going to study. For example, electroylsis in Chemistry, the character of Shiela in An Inspector Calls, linear sequences in maths. (2 mins)
2. Write the subtopic in the middle of a piece of scrap paper or on a whiteboard and, as before, write down everything you remember about that subtopic within the space of 5 minutes and then use your notes and the internet to correct and add to this summary. (7 mins)
3. If you don't understand a topic, look at both your notes, youtube videos and getrevising.com notes on that topic and write your own notes in a way that you understand, such as converting an online paragraph of information into a flowchart or diagram. (25 mins)
4. Having identified what you don't know very well about the topic, do open-book (meaning you can look at your notes) and closed-book (meaning you can't look at your notes) questions about that part of the subtopic. Mark your answers and again correct them and add information you didn't get. (25 mins)
5. At the end of your revision session, repeat step 1 and see how much you've improved and solidify these facts and pieces of information into your mind. (7 mins)
6. At the end of the day, take 5 minutes to repeat step 5 to remind your mind of the information before you go to sleep. (5 mins)
Again, potentially a fairly lengthy process, but of course you can always adaot it to the time and topic you're studying. Once you get closer to the exams you should also do and mark past papers to see your strengths and weaknesses. Also, if this doesn't work for you then you can adapt to how you learn - everyone learns differently and what works for me won't necessarily work for you. The main things to keep doing, however, are:
- never focus on making pretty notes, if you're making notes on something you striggle to understand, you should focus on rearranging the information you find and thinking about how to write it in your own words so that you remember it better.
- keep testing yourself and marking and improving on what you know - this identifies what you need to focus on as well as being really helpful for reminding you of the information and the topic so that you don't forget what you've learnt immediately!
- Never try to revise a massive topic all at once - choose a specific topic and spend more or less time on it before you move on, or you'll be there for hours and hours without completing anything.
- Believe in yourself and don't try to spend too miuch time revising - quality over quantity and rest is important to help you remember information!