Revision tips from mature students?

ronano

I'm 27 doing a ucd access course, i'm studying history and have an exam next week. I've typed out condensed notes for the questions i expect to be on the paper.

My problem is i've given myself 2 hours study a day which is barely anything but find myself constantly distracted just not being able to focus. The information is going in but i just cant focus and feel fidgety, every 2 minutes i look for a distraction from it. I find the material interesting.

Any study in the past has been cram all the way, i've tried studying in different ways. At home, on the bus etc. 2 hours isnt allot.

any tips?

Lenmeister

Try changing your study method. You can leave yourself in a room with nothing but your notes and past exam papers etc. Try studying for 30 minutes, then having a coffee or something for 5. Or try 45 minutes, then 10 minutes break. That way you're not giving yourself enough time to get bored and distracted and the break will cancel out the feeling of getting fidgety. Maybe start with 30 minutes/5 minutes, and see how you get on. Just make sure you take breaks every so often. I find going outside and standing in the cold air after studying tends to wake my brain up. Have your lecturers not given you advice on studying?

hairyprincess

You need to break your subject down, I have no idea of history, but break it up into manageable sections. And give yourself an hour or whatever you can manage before you start to get bored for each section.
Have you tried doing a group study session? It may be helpful to study with others, you can motivate eachother and help eachother out with parts you find difficult.
You need to find out what works for you. Early morning works well for me, my brain is rested and the house is quiet. It's not so nice getting up in the early morning when it's still dark to study but it works!

Best of luck with the exam

Ryaller

Look at the past papers. If a question has appeared on the exam for the past few years, odds are that it will be on this years too. Your tutor should have given you a good idea of what's coming up. I presume the exam is 2 hours and 2 questions? If you break that down, you're looking at 50 minutes per question, 10 minutes for roughwork/essay plan and 10 minutes to check your answers. Everyone's writing speed will differ, but you're looking at an average of 800-900 words per answer. If possible, prepare 3 answers so you have a choice.

After you've prepared your 3 answers, try and spend as long as possible writing and rewriting them. The more you do this, the more you'll remember in the exam. Also, first thing to do in the exam is to write out your essay plan for both answers in the roughwork section. If you then run out of time, your tutor will see where you intended to go with your answer, and you should still get marks.

This has worked well for me in the past, and it's nice to know that you have the exam done before you sit down. Best of luck.

[Jackass]

I have similar problems studying, but find a study plan helps, as said above, break the subject down into topics / sections, and set goals of what you need to cover.

Also WHERE you study is important. I like to vary it from home and library, but you need to remove distractions.

I also find writing summary notes helps learn the material better than jusr reading it, and then you have condensed notes to go back over and read later.