As a student studying A-Levels, I much prefer studying at home and carrying out all of my in-depth tasks that require my full attention in the comfort of my own quiet space. Personally, I find the school environment too fast-paced and much too pallid, which means I cannot take quality notes in the classroom. This, for me, is quite possibly the most irritating issue regarding school-time studies – the inability to take credible notes and utilising them for future revision is worrying. This is how I manage it.
For starters, studying at A-Level is completely different to GCSE’s; the notes do not have to look presentable, and they often don’t get checked for precision or correct information because ultimately, that part is down to you and how you manage your time during your class periods. Without this validation and constant checking that we became so used to during previous school years in key stages 2, 3 and 4, it is easy to lose concentration and to surrender the will to take satisfactory notes – especially in subjects you don’t particularly enjoy. There are two ways you can go about effectively taking down information: you can either blankly scribble down any pieces of useful information you hear in the classroom on paper, and organise them when you get home (which is what I do), or, you can take the time during class to organise them. However, with the busy, hurried setting of school, you do run the risk of taking down the wrong things or missing out on precise pieces of knowledge. My best advice is to take down all the material you need, quickly yet efficiently, and put them into order on a new piece of paper, neatly and informatively, when you get home. You are more likely to retain the knowledge you are re-writing in an environment you feel you can truly pay attention in.
As for going over and revisiting your notes, there are a variety of ways you can do so. My favourite way to revise is to do past papers. Complete as many questions as you can in the time allowed on the paper and then mark it. For all the questions you got wrong or dropped marks on, revisit it. Research why you got it wrong, act on it and practice it a few times. Then try the question again. I find that doing past papers works best for me. However, if you prefer to work more slowly and without the time pressure, another more fun way to revise is to create mind maps containing all the most important points of your topic. This works particularly well for essay subjects like English and History. Some of the best features of mind maps are that they can be colour coded, sorted into sections, hold many branches, the list goes on. They can also be as messy as you like. Might I also advise that you create a timetable to revise from. This way, you might feel much less overwhelmed with your studies, and you will be able to set aside free time to enjoy without worrying about homework or studying. Sometimes, keeping organised and on top of all your work is hard and for the first few days, undoubtedly arduous to stick to – but the long term effects of getting into a steady routine for effective revision are so beneficial. Also, a third way to study that is so brilliant is blurting. Just write down everything you know about the specific topic you are studying on blank paper. You can use colours, highlighters, stickers, whatever you like. In my history class, we have to remember many statistics to use as contextual knowledge in our essays and in class, we write down all the statistics we know on A3 pieces of paper using colours and pictures – in my class, it is called a ‘Stat Attack.’
What about some of the things that’ll benefit your revision that aren’t revision? We all need to pay some attention to our bodies while we tend to other matters. The biggest, most important factor for effective revision and studying is sleep! I am sure you’ve heard everyone say ‘get eight hours,’ ‘eight or more hours,’ ‘sleep from 10pm until 6am,’ and while they are right, it doesn’t actually matter what hours you obtain this sleep. As long as you get eight hours in somewhere (just not during school). There are multiple studies across hundreds of projects investigating sleep and how it affects students. Some people much prefer to wake up very early to study in the early hours of the morning like 4 or 5am, whereas some prefer to study at night. It depends on your personal preference. For me, I can’t stay up very late – I ALWAYS fall asleep. Studying at night-time offers tranquillity and peace, and during the late hours, our brains are at their most creative state. But studying during the day or morning means you will be more alert and have more energy. It is all about the time of day where you personally retain the most information. Though I do have to add, if you are a night time studier, you will lose sleep which will unequivocally cause your daytime energy levels to deplete, so I would only advise this on weekends and school breaks so you don’t fall asleep in class. My point is, eight hours or more are most important. Your body needs the sleep to function.
The other thing that factors greatly into your material retention is self-care. I touched on it briefly in the blog post ‘Finding Balance’. By allowing yourself to feel mentally healthy, you are unlocking space in your brain to memorise everything you learn, maximising your chances at scholastic success. Like I spoke about in the previous blog post, the seven pillars of self-care are vital to care for yourself. By implementing these self-care strategies into your daily life, the stress of studies will be reduced, meaning your focus will be much less clouded. Take time out of your day, every day, to do something you enjoy. Feed happiness into your soul – your focus and studies will thank you (and you will too!)
I hope this blog post gave you a couple of useful insights to studying. Remember: always take time for yourself between studying. Not only will you feel happier and more alert, it’ll boost your productivity meaning your studying will be more affective.
XOXO,
Lola
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