Studying

How do I study for a level sociology as I don't feel like mind maps are effective and I can't really look at exam papers till I know the content?

Reply 1

Chris.Livesey

Original post by womanonthemoon

How do I study for a level sociology as I don't feel like mind maps are effective and I can't really look at exam papers till I know the content?

Rather than think in terms of any particular revision method, such as mind mapping, try thinking in terms of the processes you need to successfully revise and apply your knowledge in the exam. If you get these processes right then it's a lot easier to apply the things you don't mind doing (it's probably a step too far to say that anyone actually like revision) to these things.

In this respect you're broadly trying to do three things: review, relate and retrieve. In basic terms:

You need to review the information you're using (from your notes, textbooks etc.) to get it straight in your mind.

As part of this process you need to link / relate the stuff you know so it starts to form coherent "stories" about the topic being studied (ask yourself things like how does what you're currently learning link to other information you've learnt. Asking yourself questions is all part of the process, breaks things up and makes it all a bit more intereresting).

Finally, you need to practice recalling / retrieving information you've revised (the idea here is to transfer what you're learning from working to long-term memory). You can do this in many different ways, from quick mental tests and quizzes to answering past exam questions. Again you can do this mentally or under timed conditions - the latter can be useful because it tells you how much time you have to write an answer etc. and, consequently, how much you need to know.

Hope this helps.