A Bennett guide to revision
Developing your memory of knowledge
Cognitive scientists who tell us how our brains work when thinking explain that: “memory is the residue of thought”.
This is really significant for how students undertake revision, both for examinations and for the interim tests which
punctuate the process of learning.
It means that unless your revision involves seriously thinking about the material under study then it is likely to be a
waste of time. So just re-reading and highlighting notes or text are unlikely to be effective on their own. They may
help you to identify what is relevant knowledge, but that is all.
The next step is to memorise it, which requires thinking. Seriously thinking about knowledge requires you to
manipulate it in your mind. Some examples of doing this involve:
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Reading a passage, procedure or explanation and then forcing yourself to recall the detail by writing it out
without the original
Reducing a detailed explanation, description or process by making a summary of key points
Transforming a detailed explanation, description or process by re-writing it into a different register, for a
different audience
Using the knowledge to answer sample questions
When learning small items of knowledge, for example new vocabulary in a language, or the names and features of
different types of rainfall in geography, or the elements in the periodic table, it is easy to fall into the trap of simply
listing them. This is unlikely to be successful.
Here it is more effective to make the connections between this new knowledge and what you already know in how
you do the revision. So when learning new vocabulary, try to put the new words into a sentence or paragraph of
writing in the language. In geography, draw out a diagram of the types of rain and relate these to a map of the UK
and its physical features. For the periodic table, it is important to associate the sequence of the elements in the
periodic table with their physical and chemical properties, which in turn are determined by their atomic structure.
Making your recall automatic
Another feature of what cognitive scientists tell us about brain function and memory is that the process of forgetting
and then being forced to recall something is an important part of the process of making the recall of knowledge
automatic.
One implication of this for revision is that it is worth breaking up what you do in order to build in time to forget and
then come back to each topic some time later in the week, forcing yourself to recall it by doing a set of questions, or
being quizzed by someone.
A possible revision process based upon these principles
1. Plan when you are going to revise in the run up to an assessment. Make sure that you will return to the same
topic on a number of occasions, so that you build in some time to forget and then force yourself to recall.
2. Identify the relevant material which needs to be revised. This could mean reading through notes, re-reading
text, looking through a revision guide.
3. Transform or apply the knowledge so that you have to think hard about it. You might want to create revision
cards so that people can test you.
4. Tackle some sample questions. If you can, mark them using a sample markscheme. Where you make
mistakes go back to the relevant material and review it.
5. Take a break from this topic and then come back to it later in the day or week. Tackle some questions again.
Can you recall it?