Science and ICT Exam Revision

Revising for more technical subject areas – like science topics and information and communication technology – can be somewhat overwhelming, even if it is your field of study. Here are some techniques that work surprisingly well for those technical study subject areas that need to be broken down into smaller pieces:

• Use the top-up method in which you go back and review what was previously studied quickly before moving onto the next area, repeating this process every day until you have covered all the material. This will help to replace any information that may have not been retained properly and become more familiar and comfortable with topics that were still intimidating.
• The look, cover, write and check method is good for definitions, terms and formulae that you may have to memorize. Here you look at the subject matter, cover it up, try to write what you remember and then check that you did it correctly.
• There are often many diagrams that you must label on a science or information systems flowchart – make copies of these diagrams so that you can practise filling in the missing information.
• One tip for visual learners would be to make a diagram, cut it up into jigsaw-style pieces and see if you could put this back together. This works well for biology, chemistry, and other scientific subjects.
• Make flash cards that you can study on your own or with a study partner. When you choose to work with a partner, you can ask each other questions and listen to the answers, which will reinforce the ideas in both your memories.
• Scour the Internet or ask your professor about previous exam questions that you could use as practise tests that you incorporate into your revising strategy. Where there is so much technical information, specific questions can help you focus on the subject areas that appear to be most critical in the exam. You might also want to confirm what areas that you are expected to know as this will help you to not focus on the wrong concepts.