Revision Guidelines

Revision guidelines

by Ahmed

So you've got a few months left for your exams, or perhaps only a few weeks. This article aims to talk about how you can go about planning your revision and exam preparation. You may or may not agree with all, or some, of the things I say, this is ok, as you should use the method you feel comfortable with. If something different has worked for you then stick to that, and let me also know about it.

First off, check you have all the required notes to revise from. If not, start making them ASAP or get copies from friends on your course/ in your class.

If you have sheets and sheets of notes on a subject then you may want to consider trying Mind maps. (mind-map.com). Tony Buzans 'Use Your Head' is also a good book on the same subject.

Next you should draw up a calendar/ revision planner showing each day up from now until your exam/ exam week. Each day mark down what subject you have studied &/ or how many hours. This way when you have a lazy day you should be able to see it on paper and feel guilty for doing so.

If you start planning early enough, then those who tend to panic will have time to panic, calm down and then approach the task of revision in a logical and cohesive manner.

A great way to revise is by practising real past exam questions. The beauty of doing this is that you can:

1. Learn what you need to know for a particular subject/ module and do away with some of the information you don't need to know.

2. Teachers will normally be willing to take a look at any essays/ questions you have done and give you feedback on it, so use them. This way you can identify your weaknesses and the areas where your knowledge lacks.

3. Develop the unique skills needed for exam style questions. Learning a subject inside out does not mean you will breeze the exam, exam technique is too very important.

4. Get used to the time pressure you will be under in a real exam. A common complaint for exam students is running out of time. The truth is you will never have enough time for the exam, you just need to manage it better to make the most of it!

5. Realise that the amount of time spent on an exam needs to be in proportion to the marks it is worth.

E.g. In a 3 hour exam Question A is worth 50 marks, B 25 marks and C 25 marks. Spend:

A 50% x 180 mins = 90 mins
B 25% x 180 mins = 45 mins
C 25% x 180 mins = 45 mins

6. Be more time efficient as you become more familiar with the subject you are learning, especially if you are redoing the questions a 2^nd time after doing them all.

Unless you are doing exam questions or mock exams don't study for more than 50-60 minutes at a time. This is because concentration lapses and the minds retention rate decreases significantly after 50/ 60 minutes. Keep taking these breaks at regular intervals, even if you don't get up from your desk. You can pray tasbih during this break and gain some reward, as well as taking a break, without even moving from your seat! You can even perform wudu and pray 2 rakah Nafl prayer, this will not only get you reward but also freshen you up and calm your mind.

Identify your strong and weak subjects and mix them up on your study plan. You don't want to become de-motivated by lumping the difficult ones together or overconfident by putting all the easier ones together.

I had a tendency myself to take the relax last minute type approach for exams.

Only when I saw the biggest dosser on my course staying behind late at the library to revise 3 months in advance for final exams that I realised it was time to act. I wrote out the dates for the next 3 months on an A4 sheet of paper and next to them I put the number of days left to my first exam. Realising that time is shorter than I had thought I set about revising daily and I would start after Fajr, studying 50 minutes and then a 10-minute break. By midday I had done 6 sessions. I would take a reasonably long break for lunch and Zuhr and then would sit down again. The evenings I would spend for my own time to relax. Using this technique and by the grace of Allah (without whom nothing would be possible) I managed to get a upper second class degree while most of the others on my course got a lower second class degree.

Despite adopting the means one must recognise that only Almighty Allah can grant success and in your duahs to Him this should be acknowledged (if the asker is not sincere in asking then how can he expect to receive that what he asks?).

My last final piece of advice but the most important 'NEVER NEGLECT YOUR FARDH' no matter how important anything else may seem. The success of any part of your life will be of no consequence or benefit in the hereafter if it is pursued or obtained at the expense of the Fara'idh being neglected.

May Allah swt grant you success in this life and, more importantly, in the hereafter.

Ameen

PS My breaks between paragraphs keep getting removed!

Jazak'Allah khair for sharing that excellent piece of advice with us, it really helps with students who are curently preparing for their exams.

May Allah subhana wa ta'ala reward you well for sharing that with us.

Please keep me in your duaas.

Wassalam

EXAM TIPS

Format of exam

Understand the format of the exam. Is section A compulsory to answer? Do you have a choice of 2 questions from 4 in Section B? I recall our tutor mentioning that some students would answer more questions than actually required, it pays to know how many questions to answer!

Attempt all parts of the question. Even if you don't get the exact correct answer for A, attempt the other parts, examiners are looking for your ability to interpret and analyse your result.

Timing

Keep an eye on the time during the exam and ensure you don't spend too long on a particular question, otherwise it will only leave you less time for the others.

Presentation

Write neatly and leave white space (empty line) between paragraphs/ points in your answer. This will make it easier for the examiner to mark and you'll find they are more ready to give 10 marks to 5 smaller spaced blocks of writing than 1 huge block of endless lines.

Reading

Read the requirements/ question first and then read any background or case data provided. This will give you a flavour for what is important and relevant in the text provided. Many a times I would read the data first and highlight what I thought was important and then after reading the question requirement realise most of what I highlighted was irrelevant!

Re-read the requirement and make sure you understand what is required from you. It's possible that in a panic to answer the question you fail to: 1, understand the question 2, fail to answer the question

Understand what the wording of a question is trying to ask of you Eg state and explain, explain and critically evaluate The word 'and' in such cases splits the requirement into 2 and the format of your answer could reflect this (eg state your point then explain, with reference to real life examples/ studies, or a sub-section to explain a theory and another sub-section to critically evaluate the theory). Look at previous exam questions and check with teachers to be aware of how a question may be worded and what it means.

The Actual Exam

Pay no attention to those around you who start writing within seconds of being told they can start the exam.

If you don't make answer plans at least note down a few words for points/ ideas on the question sheet. This may help jog your memory later, as you write the answer, for other points to include.

Never, ever leave the exam room early! Its too late to add something you remember to your answer if you left the exam hall 10 minutes ago with an hour and a half of the exam left to go.

If you get stuck for ideas, go back and read over what you've already written. This way you recheck your answer as well as trying to jog your memory for any additional points to add.

Practise of the method/s above and speed reading the text during your revision is invaluable. You've heard the saying practise makes perfect, well I don't think that applies here but practise will certainly make you a lot more confident when it comes to the real exam.

After the Exam

Don't analyse the exam with your friends, if as a result of this you realise a mistake you'll only get yourself down, and its not like you can put it right anyway. You may actually think you did really well from talking to friends and this will just make you feel proud. Pride is not something you have in Islam anyway, and you might just be setting yourself up for a fall when results come out.

Rather just walk away and spend a little time doing Hamd and Shukr to Allah swt that the exam went as well as it did.

Remember you've done your 'bit' now, turn to Allah in supplication and ask Him to grant you success for He is the All Powerful.

Jazakallah khair V useful advice...tell me about it guest..I'm counting the days left til my finals...

Duas needed (as with the rest of the student population)

Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah

I pray to Allah that He makes the road ahead kind to all you students.

May the exams pass with ease and your efforts be of use to you all.

Ameen