How to Review Effectively
Every student understands the dread that comes with the word “exams”. Every student is familiar with the coil in their stomach thinking about the exam questions. The best way to handle exam stress or to make sure you ace yours is to come prepared. If your examinations are fast approaching or if your method of studying is not quite enough to get you that coveted score and grade, it’s time to check and make sure you are reviewing your schoolwork effectively.
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What is the importance of reviewing?
Not only is reviewing important for academic success, but it also has a significant impact on how you will live as an adult. It is just foolish and immature to restrict the usage of good reviewing or revising to the limits of the classroom’s four walls. After all, you can acquire a huge amount of knowledge and information that is useful in the real world but not necessary in a classroom or lecture hall, such as communication skills, taxes, and health insurance, to mention a few.
Effectively revisiting or revising topic content and knowledge in a classroom setting may result in an improvement in general academic performance, which will also be reflected in the grades you receive. Effective reviewers may feel more confident because they have a deeper comprehension of the subject, which reduces uncertainty. Since getting excellent marks can frequently become a habit, successful reviewing can also lead to a spiral of wanting to review even more effectively.
As was previously mentioned, effective reviewing or modifying material is also applied outside of the academic setting. Before a crucial meeting, thoroughly analyzing the material you’ll present to your superiors can frequently make the difference between a weak report and one that is convincing and agreeable. Your chances of impressing your superiors and coworkers are better the more you understand and recall your report.
If you believe that working in an office environment is not for you, you may also make use of effective reviewing or revisions in the service sector. When you interact with dozens or even hundreds of different consumers every day, names, for instance, are simple to forget. Then, to make them feel more welcome when they enter the company, you can use effective reviewing to help you recall the names of those clients who usually visit where you work.
How to review effectively?
There are many different review methods available, and they are all distinctive in their way. You have the option of reviewing through tests, memory drills, or by creating lesson outlines. Each of these has particular advantages and disadvantages. How much time and effort you include in your reviews and revisions also greatly affects the outcome of your review sessions. Here are some ways for you to review effectively.
1. Revisit new information often
The first thing you should keep in mind when trying to review well is to go over the new material as frequently as you can. The secret to greater comprehension and memory retention of newly taught material is repetition. If you try to recall and go over significant knowledge as frequently as you can, you can successfully store it in your long-term memory. As an alternative to relying solely on your memory, you can choose to write down any new knowledge you have acquired in your notebook or other study materials. This will show you which parts of the subject you remember and which sections you find difficult to recall or comprehend.
Do not be alarmed if you can barely remember anything about the subject; this is common when you first start. This frequently occurs because you were either uninterested in the subject or were not paying close attention to the discussion or what you were reading. You can avoid this by making a conscious effort to maintain your concentration the next time you are reading or listening to something.
2. Recite information out loud
Try to recite something you’ve just learned aloud—that’s one of the finest ways to remember it. Similar to the first technique, this one asks you to attempt and discuss it aloud as if you were the one conducting the conversation rather than writing it down in summary form. This will assess your knowledge of the subject and your ability to effectively communicate its key ideas. If you have problems retaining some of the material, don’t worry; just note it down so that you may concentrate on it in your subsequent study sessions.
3. Create a review schedule
The secret to remembering a subject or piece of information better is repetition. To repeatedly study the same topic every day for a few weeks, though, would be ineffective. When you consistently remember something, your brain keeps it for a longer amount of time. To aid in greater memory retention, establish a schedule for when you are going to forget the information and make every effort to remember it. The first schedule would be to review the material as soon as you learn it. The second schedule would be the day after you learn it, the third schedule could be three days after your previous schedule, and the final schedule would be to review and revisit the material or topic one week after the previous review schedule.
As a result, you have more time in your schedule to learn new material and you won’t feel as bored with going over the same material every day. This technique also takes advantage of the brain’s ability to remember things longer after hearing them a few times, which makes your review strategy more effective and improves memory retention.
4. Try testing yourself
You can then move on to testing yourself on the subject after taking notes, speaking the material out, and going over it repeatedly. This will enable you to better understand the sections of the subject that are challenging for you. Timing your responses on the review test also prepares you for the strain of a timed exam when you take the actual exam on the subject.
Making your own test questions might be a terrific approach to see if you fully comprehend what is true and wrong about the subject. To test your knowledge of the subject’s foundational concepts, it might also be a good idea to search online tests that someone else has created about the subject.
5. Rewrite existing notes
When an exam is quickly coming, taking precautions is never a bad idea, and one should never lose confidence in their skills. You can use whatever free time you have in your schedule to go over earlier notes and try to redo them to see whether you still recall the subject.
To check your understanding of the earlier sections, you can revise your summary, create a graphic organizer, or write brief notes on flashcards using only your memory. It may be challenging, especially if you’ve been attached to your notes, but it pays off since you can approach the subject in a fresh way, which might reveal the subject’s basics.
6. Teach it to someone
Teachers know what they are teaching students because they have repeatedly taught it to students over a long period, not because they have done substantial research on the subject. One of the finest ways to assess how much you understand and can communicate about a subject is to teach it to someone else.
It can also motivate you to learn new things to impart to your “student” if they are eager to learn. Additionally, your student might bring out concerns about the subject that you might have missed, which might deepen your understanding of it. Additionally, you will impart knowledge to your “student” directly from what you remember, which will train your memory.
Conclusion
Understandably, reviewing and revising information learned can be a hassle, but it’s in situations such as where repetition can be used effectively. Additionally, reviewing is also a good way for you to prepare for your exams and upcoming schoolwork. This would lessen stress about exams or cramming to get as much information as possible. Remember though that there is no foolproof way to review and each student has their own quirks and ways to do this in the most effective way possible for them.
Carelle
Carelle is a teacher who has been through the ups and downs of the teacher and learner life. She wishes for every learner to gain educational satisfaction that will help embody the people they want to be in the future.
