How to Revise | 10 Essential Tips for English, Science & Mathematics

If you are preparing for an exam, revision is essential. If you wish to revise

  1. Decide the exact syllabus to be covered
  2. Collect required books and study material
  3. Make a Plan to complete the syllabus.
  4. Plans for revisions
  5. Have a team of colleagues if needed.

Revising the syllabus as many times as possible is the best solution to score well in exams.

This article assumes that you are an ardent reader willing to achieve good scores and not just prepared to pass the tests.

I believe it is useless to cover a vast amount of syllabus and go for exams without proper revision.

Though one can covers many subjects the topics might leak out of your memory unless you revise them thoroughly.

One need not cover 100% of the syllabus, but he must revise whatever he has read before.

This process helps improve the memory of the subject, understand the topic better, and present the matter well in the exam.

Why should one revise?

One should revise because it

♦ Helps to enhance your confidence of better scoring.

How to Revise

♦ You get clarity and generate interest in the subject by revision.

♦ Revision improves the memory of the formulas, structures (biology, chemistry), diagrams (in biology, physics, geography, etc.), steps of derivations (in physics, maths), topic, etc.

♦ It gives you command over complex topics to raise your standards. You will be able to derive the formulas you forgot just before answering.

♦ Revision increases the rate of problem-solving. i.e., your ability to answer the number of problems of physics, maths, chemistry, etc., in a limited amount of time. This helps you buy time to answer more questions in the given time and also think of ways to solve unanswerable questions.

How to Revise for an exam.

This varies based on the subject we are about to cover.

However, there are a few common traits for all the subjects like

1. One should understand the concept well besides mugging up.

If you do not understand, it does not generate interest and you will not be able to use it for future practical purposes.

2. Have enthusiasm as it helps work hard for preparation with revision.

3. Use the same notebook or study material for all the revisions. Because even the page of the book also strikes in memory while answering the questions.

4. Have fixed times and dates to cover revision part by part.

5. Revise as many times as possible the entire subjects.

6. Try to decrease the time for every revision from the previous revision.

7. Once you revise, try to answer a previous question paper, i.e., past papers, to see your progress.

8. We may not like some subjects, but we need to accept that they are to be mastered for better scoring.

For the English language

Mistakes occur in grammar, so you need to be clear of the basics, like nouns, verbs, adjectives, where and what participles to use, etc.

It would help if you solved many exercises to get habituation and a grip on grammar. You can try Grammarly software in case.

If you need to write an essay, you need to read the story’s main components and actual meaning to put it in your own words and ideas when asked.

Or if you need to write an essay on any current political topic or so, you need to frame your ideas around the topic and present it with an introduction to the subject followed by an elaborate body with past and present happenings as you do in persuasive topics. Try to give an optimistic conclusion.

It’s even better to use the grammar you study in your daily English while speaking to others.

For Chemistry

Chemistry relies on chemical formulae, the structure of molecules, reactions, properties of compounds, etc.

We have a terrible memory, so making mistakes is possible. But a simple mistake changes the whole meaning of the entire reaction.

So we need to register the structures in mind. For this, we used to stick the paper containing structure and reactions on the wall to revise them frequently.

During revision, you can view the periodic table and familiarize it frequently.

Understand the fundamental difference between basic terminology like atomic weight, atomic number, element, compound, acid, base, salt, isotopes, isobars, etc.

Practice the reactions involving using combinations. Refer to the chemical reactions having isotopes, emission particles, etc., in nuclear chemistry.

Familiarize the stoichiometry principles of equalization, and clarify the differences the first order, second order, exothermic, endothermic, and other types of writing the reactions.

Be thorough in the valency of organic and inorganic elements; it helps you make no mistakes in the representation of reactions. Even write them on your own during revision to see for possible errors.

Solve the problems and exercises after revising the formulas and even practice derivations and structures of stereochemistry with clarity during revision.

For Physics

  • In Physics, we make mistakes in derivations, fundamental units representing force, surface tension, etc., problems & exercise solving. So one should be thorough with them.
  • In objective-type competitive exams, we mess up with finding the right way to solve and using a suitable formula to get the answer. This drastically consumes valuable time leading to less scoring.
  • So during revision, you better have your handwritten class notes for all the derivations and problems.
  • Try to familiarize the derivation based on diagrammatic representation and also the way the flow of steps to the endpoint.
  • This diagrammatic picture or view helps you recall the answer well, and drawing them in the exam enhances your score.

Ex: Geostationary satellite velocity can be easily derived with proper drawing & understanding instead of mug up.

  • Revising and learning physics with a better understanding and getting clarity on the topic makes you a master in it.
  • During revision for objective type, tests try to answer the problems or exercises by visualization and the possible reasoning to solve it.
  • Memorizing the formulas can give you ways to solve these problems as you feel.

For theoretical subjects

  • Theoretical subjects like biology, medicine, and other social sciences require more memorization than understanding.
  • So, try to revise the topic using a diagram or picture concerned so that you remember the topic well in connection with it.

Biology

  • Revision is of prime importance in biology branches like zoology, botany, biochemistry, and microbiology; you have varied topics.
  • But in general, topics like cell biology, cell metabolism, cell function, etc., are similar in all the branches.
  • So being thorough in these helps you revise these topics for other branches.

In Zoology

  • You may face problems in different classes of animals and their sub-divisions like mammals, reptiles, Aves (birds), fishes, amphibians, reptiles, insects, etc.
  • They have differences in the organ system, tissues, arrangement, mechanisms of physiology, and metabolisms.
  • So you may need to be clear with these concepts paying particular emphasis. Even vertebrates and non-vertebrates differences need to be clear.
  • Even the practice of diagrams helps you memorize anatomy and physiology.

In Botany

  • Here you come across different classes of plants that have differences in their life span, seedling or reproduction method, etc.
  • The toughest part comes in biochemistry, like photosynthesis, respiration, etc.
  • Here, the advice is to try to understand the complex chemical changes happening by discussing them with your friends.
  • It will be not only surprising but also exciting to know how plants survive.
  • Then practice the steps in Krebs cycles (carbohydrates pathway) and other cycles in their biochemistry.
  • If not, you may not be able to answer without mistakes.
  • Revise the scientific and medical terminology along with its meaning, as this can enhance memory of the term. 
  • Also, familiarize yourself with concerned scientists’ names.
  • In Science, many terms are of Greek or Latin in origin 🙂
  • Try to learn with some clues and image visualization. (EX; In SYNERGY- ‘syn’ means together & ‘erg’ means energy).

Practice the diagrams, as you may need to draw, label, and explain while answering. The pictures help to enhance the scores or marks awarded for the answer.

Sociology, Psychology, Economics, History, Law, religion, etc.

  • These subjects require mugging up of the topics, but trying to link them to some situations, persons, behavior, places, etc., makes them remember and explain them quickly during the exam.
  • If the subject is Law, history, arts, etc., then try to have some signs or symbols to remember the dates of history and rules of the law.
  • And try to discuss the topics among your friends and groups to familiarize the points.

Ex: British was defeated in the American Revolution around 1781.

For Maths and Stats

  • The best way, as everyone says, is practice-practice-practice. But tips to consider

Formulas:

Make notes on plain paper and fix them before your bed to view them frequently and memorize them.

Because if you remember the formulas, possibly, the problem-solving is half done.

In mathematical problems, you need to understand the flow of steps toward the answer but not mug up the steps.

Because if you forget even a single step, you may stop solving it.

If you try to flow steps towards the answer, you can find one way on your own and also remember the step better.

Try even answering new problems from question banks, past papers, etc.

Stats calculation is time-consuming in spite of the use of calculators, so answer others before statistical problems.

This method builds your confidence and trains your mind to solve problems faster.

Techniques to revise effectively

Understand the concept! And don’t just mug. This mugging up is a big mistake made by many schools going students till their mental maturity. Understanding the concept shows you the real sweetness of the subject and makes you perceive even more of the subject with enthusiasm.

The difference between mugging and understanding is that mugging is a memorizing aspect, while the latter aims to realize the facts about the subject with its related prior knowledge.

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