PREPARING AN EFFECTIVE REVISION TIME-TABLE

1. Set SMART Goals

Your plans need to be:
Specific: establish what needs to be covered and prioritise the most urgent areas.
Measurable: keep a clear track of what you have done and what remains to be done.
Adjustable: be flexible – if you’re sick, if somebody ‘borrows’ your textbook, whatever gets in
the way, have some latitude and be ready to make the most of the time you have.
Realistic: aim to do what you can realistically do to the best of your abilities. You have limited
time and energy. Don’t spread yourself too thinly.
Timed: schedule ‘packets’ of quality revision time, so you know when you expect to have
covered topic X.

2. Print out the course content from the syllabus specification

You need to be clear on what you know and what you don’t. The best way to do this is to find
the syllabus specification for each exam you are sitting.
These documents are freely available by on the SEAB Website:
http://www.seab.gov.sg/pages/nationalExaminations/GAL/School_Candidates/syllabus.asp
If you are unsure of the subject code, please check with your subject tutor. Print the syllabus
document. What you will find is a clear distillation of all the information that you are expected
to know:
“Candidates should recall x” (memorise this!);
“Candidates should understand y” (do you?)

3. Mark your printed syllabus with traffic light colours

Go line by line, and in a matter of minutes, you will have a priority task list:
Green says, “I know this! I’m confident with this” – be clear on what you already know so you
don’t waste time on it unnecessarily.
Orange says, “I should practise this to make sure it’s solid” – this is the material for which you
might look through your textbook and do a few exam-style questions.
Red says, “I don’t know this” – here, you need to find your existing notes, read the relevant
pages in your text book, make new notes, or ask for help.

4. Come up with a revision time-table to achieve this:

Decide on a revision plan which will work for you. How many hours do you need to do of a
night? Do you have other commitments you can't get out of? Leave some time for
breaks, meals and free time but ensure you have a good time slot each night for revision.

Fill in your revision timetable in with your subjects, and use your priority list to give the most
important ones more revision time.

Stick to this timetable! If you decide to focus solely on one or two subjects because you think
you know the others, you will get a nasty shock. Don't ignore any of the subjects, but ensure
you have a balance where your priority subjects have the lead.
5. Share your plan with a mentor
The simple act of sharing your timetable with someone enormously increases the chances of
keeping to it. This increases accountability to adhere to the plan already agreed upon in
advance.

6. Don’t waste time…

... copying notes verbatim. Instead, read each paragraph and then write what you didn’t
already know, in your own words. Rephrasing the words; reading aloud; writing them down…
the more areas of your brain you exercise in the process, the likelier it will be to stick.
...writing out full practice essays. It’s hugely time-consuming, and what you need to be sure
of is which particular points you would make for any given question. Practise planning
essays and long-answer questions to make yourself as efficient as possible at that process.
... grinding to a halt. Working for too long without breaks reduces the quality of your work.
Give yourself time to get some fresh air and stretch.

7. Use past papers

Using past papers will help improve exam technique and inform them of any still-remaining
weak points in their knowledge. There’s only a finite bank of past papers available, so save
them for the last four weeks to practise time management and working under pressure.
No study aids or computers.

8. Use breaks correctly

Breaks are important because that is when the brain creates new neurological connections.
Firing up Twitter during your break creates additional connections competing with those from
the subject you’ve just been studying. This reduces your brain’s ability to process that
information. So while it’s fine to read an old email, for instance, anything unfamiliar will soak
up valuable processing power.

9. Make a 'cheat sheet'

For a little reassurance the night before the exam, make yourself a 'cheat sheet' – only a very
few essential facts, the things that are worrying you, on a single postcard. You can look over
it again before the exam. Just remember not to take it into the exam with you...

10: Stay Positive!

Look at the syllabus content to see how much you’ve coloured or converted to green. Remind
yourself of how much you actually do know: your exam performance will be a pleasant
confirmation of your efforts.

References:
1. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2016/03/14/create-the-perfect-revision-plan/
2. http://www.wikihow.com/Plan-Your-Revision-Well
REVISION TIME-TABLE
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday
SEMESTER
Friday
1 HOLIDAY,
Saturday
WEEK ___
Sunday
7.00 – 8.00

8.00 – 9.00

9.00 – 10.00

10.00 – 11.00

11.00 – 12.00

12.00 – 1.00

1.00 – 2.00

2.00 – 3.00

3.00 – 4.00

4.00 – 5.00

5.00 – 6.00

6.00 – 7.00

7.00 – 8.00

8.00 – 9.00

9.00 – 10.00

10.00 – 11.00