Make effective notes as you read through revision guides. Take the information you’re reading and extract the key points which will help you remember it. Copying text word for word is pointless. But, the act of summarising information with notes forces your brain to focus on the subject matter.

Self-quizzing is a powerful strategy to get knowledge stuck in your long-term memory.  And it’s so simple to do! You can use knowledge organisers, textbooks, revision guides, previous lesson materials on Google Classroom. Just read the content, cover it up, see what you can answer and then check.

Create flashcards to distil information into an easily reviewable format. You can then use these cards to test your memory and find out which topics you need to revise more thoroughly.

Draw mind maps to organise information visually. Mind maps help some people to picture information and remember the connections between key details.

Choose a topic and write down as much as you can remember, without referring to your notes. Check your notes and see what you missed then try to fill the gaps without the notes. Check your notes a third time and add the missing information. 

Practise along with educational videos e.g from YouTube. For some people, watching videos is far more engaging than reading. If you’re one of those people, make sure you actively take notes or practice questions while the video is running. This will prevent your mind from wandering.

Answer practice questions to continually practice how you’ll apply your knowledge in an exam. You can find revision questions for any subject online e.g Educake, Seneca, BBC Bitesize etc. There are also handy revision apps such as Gojimo. But, remember that practice questions may not always be a good representation of the questions you’ll face in the exam.

Do past papers, under timed conditions, without your notes! There are only a limited number of past papers available online for your subject and exam board, so you should only attempt past papers when you think you’re ready to do so. But, when you do, this is the best possible way of testing yourself and preparing yourself for the exam.

Test your friends and have them test you back. Remember - there’s no point cheating by using a textbook! If you don’t know the answer to a question, make a note and review it later.

Try teaching a topic to someone who knows nothing about it. If you can teach someone else about a topic, then you have a good grasp of it. Remember, if you recognise any gaps in your knowledge while you’re trying to teach a topic, make a note to go back and revise it.