Make a Timetable
To be productive, make a study timetable. This way you ensure that you are able to cover the whole syllabus. There will also be more focus. Break the topic down into very small chunks that can be studied in 30-60minutes.
After making the timetable, stick to it. It’s OK to fall behind or to get ahead, but try your best not to stray too far from it. The timetable is there to make sure you are systematic helps you progress.
For example, we can plan to revise Heat, Light, Magnets, Diversity etc. for 1 day each. Work out how many days it will take. If it’s taking too many days, you know you’re falling behind on revision.
Plan your revision
There are three main parts to revision.
1. Going through material
As you read and revise textbooks, guidebooks, and notes that I give, make notes yourself. Try using a single A4 page for each topic. Write down all the keywords and nuggets of information. Be comprehensive but don’t use unnecessary words. Read all your books to make sure you haven’t left out anything important in the notes you made.
To help you remember you can use these techniques:
- different colours. When it comes to revision, the colour can help you remember
- different positions. Write on different positions on the page. You may be able to recall something based on the position of the writing on the page.
- number the items. This helps you when you’re trying to recall all the conditions, for example, and make sure you haven’t left anything out.
When you’re done with the first round of revision, you should have a neat stack of notes that you’ve made yourself. Keep this stack of notes. For your second round of revision, simply go through these notes and you’ll remember everything you’ve read in all the books.
2. Practice
In the beginning, go through the practice questions that your teachers have given you, either exercises or test papers or exams. Make sure that you understand every question, even those that you’ve got correct. As these are questions that you have attempted before, it should be very quick to understand the correct answer.
If you find something that is missing from your notes, go back and add it there. After that, you can attempt new questions (probably from assessment books) topic by topic. Finally, attempt practice PSLE papers or past school papers that go through the whole content.
Remember that practice is pointless if you don’t learn from your mistakes! So go ahead and spend time understanding why you were wrong. This is the most important part of practice!
3. Sleep
Getting sufficient sleep is important. We learn better when we sleep. In one study, one group of participants revised in the morning and the afternoon, while the other group revised in the afternoon, went to sleep, then revised in the morning. The total amount of time spent revising was the same, but the group that slept could remember 20% more than the group that didn’t.
So, make sure that you get lots of sleep!