I will never forget the feeling of disappointment I felt after my Year 10 summer exams. In history, I subject which I enjoyed and was interested in, I barely scraped a C grade. I was gobsmacked.

At that point I realised I had made two fundamental errors: my revision was (1) ineffective, and (2) insufficient. And for that reason I had attained a grade which I knew in my heart of hearts was not a reflection of my true ability.

Thankfully I attained an A in GCSE History a year later, along with two other A grades, and eight A* grades. This proved that my revision, in both quantity and quality, had increased significantly. This served me well, also, in sixth form, leading to a score of 43 points in the International Baccalaureate, out of a possible 45.

I am not stating these grades to blow my own trumpet or to belittle anyone, but instead to prove that my basic idea of revision works! I can speak with some authority on revision in light of the grades I have received – because I have proven the effectiveness of my own scheme.

So I have condensed into ten simple rules, which are stated in no particular order, the tips I would offer to any student studying for any exams:

1.       DO NOT CRAM!

This is a rule I cannot stress enough. We are, by nature, exponential learners. Our brains do not respond well to sudden overloads of ridiculous amounts of information. Anyone who learnt to ride a bike will testify to the fact that they did not simply sit on the bike for hours on end until they could ride. They gradually went on the bike, making a little progress each time, until they finally achieved their end. Why should semantic learning be any different? This is especially the case with subjects such as mathematics, or languages, which do not just involve knowledge – they involve skills. Skills cannot be acquired effectively through cramming!

2.       Organise Yourself
Just as the brain does not take too kindly to overloads of information, it also responds negatively to the idea of hundreds of topics floating around all at once. If a secretary has 5 different documents to type up, she doesn’t pick them all up at once and cry: “how am I ever going to do this?!” She organises them systematically. We MUST do the same with our revision material, lest we should end up in panic attacks and states of intense stress (which can lead to disastrous effects on one’s health and general wellbeing) simply because we have neglected to do a little organisation.

3.       Reading is not enough
I have yet to meet a person who can read a page of an information text and take in every word. Apart from the occasional anomaly of people with photographic memories, none of us can learn like this. How can anyone call two hours of lying on their bed with a book open in front of them revision! Revision is an active process. To digest information you must be active.

4.       Holding a pen should become second nature
This brings me nicely on to this next tip. A teacher once told his students to never try learning anything without a pen in their hands. I could not agree more with this principle. In lessons I greatly increased the proportion of the teacher’s words I actually absorbed by scribbling a few things down as they talked. This method is ideal because it awakens other senses and allows you to rehearse the information. The more you rehearse a piece of information, the more it becomes fixed in your memory.

5.       The VAK rule
As a primary school teaching assistant, one of the most crucial things I have ever been taught is the VAK system of learning – that is, visual, auditory and kinaesthetic learning[1]. We are encouraged as far as possible to teach using all three methods in some way, because we greatly increase the child’s chances of learning properly by doing so. Children are only younger versions of adults; and for me, this rule is as helpful to us as it is to them. Use all three as far as possible and help yourself to learn more effectively!

6.       Organise the information

7.       Vary your style
Some find bullet points helpful, others cannot learn without a picture – some have to organise everything in tables, whilst others cannot take in a thing from tables. We all have preferred ways to organise the information in front of us. However, as textbooks (and particularly information texts at a higher level) rarely organise everything in a way that is most comfortable for us. We are different as individuals and need things to be organised in a way that works for us. We therefore need to be a little active and draw our tables, or mind-maps, or make our bullet point lists, so that the information becomes truly accessible to our own minds.

And whilst certain styles work for us, and others don’t, there will be, for each of us, a small  range of different methods which work for us. So adapt and vary according to the nature of the subject and content you are learning, do not just use the same method all the time, because it becomes boring and repetitive – and when it becomes boring and repetitive, you lose interest.

8.       Revise at sensible times
It’s 11.00pm. You’re shattered and have school tomorrow, but you spent most of the day on your PS2. Out come the books, you read in between yawns, and then stroll off to bed four hours later. It hasn’t helped you, because all it’s achieved is making you more tired. What’s more, you probably took in barely a fraction of what you read, because your brain was simply too tired. Don’t be stupid with your time – organise it sensibly. If it’s the middle of the day and your brain is at its peak, don’t waste that opportunity – get the books and pens out! By the same token, if it’s late and you’re tired, don’t waste that time trying to absorb information which just isn’t going to go in. Study for decent amounts of time during the day, and then reward yourself by relaxing later in the afternoon and evening. Not only will your revision be far better, but you will feel, on the whole, less stressed. Getting to 7pm knowing you’ve done 6 hours of through revision is a far more relaxing and rewarding feeling than getting to that time knowing you’ve wasted the day and have got a tough evening of revision ahead.

9.       Take regular breaks
Everyone knows that the average human cannot take in facts for a period of more than around 40 minutes. Yet still we carry on regardless, determined to read that book for 4 hours non-stop. Sadly, however, it’s not going to work. I’m not suggesting you should take an hour’s break after every 40 minutes of revision, but allowing yourself 5 minutes to stretch, breathe and make a cup of tea will refresh you ready for the next bout of study.

10.   Reward yourself
Find something that, for you, is a leisurely activity – such as playing on your games console, reading a good book, or watching comedy films. Instead of filling your day with these things and then feeling guilty over not revising enough, leave them till after your revision. Not only are you keeping your spirits up and stopping your brain frying, but you are also giving yourself something to look forward to – a light at the end of tunnel. If you revise from Monday- Saturday, for instance, and love watching your DVDs of action movies, why not promise yourself an action movie every Wednesday and Saturday evening?

I hope that these simple tips make sense and work for you. May I take this opportunity to wish you every success with any forthcoming examinations.

[1] To clarify: visual involves learning by sight, auditory by hearing, and kinaesthetic involves the use of one’s hands.