Preparing for your exams can be stressful, but we have compiled a list of top tips and resources to help you prepare and succeed in your exam revisions. Below we have organised areas for your preparation into four sections:
One of the key skills you will be exercising during the revision period will be good time management skills. Below are some tips to consider as you prepare to revise:
Two important principles that will help increase the efficiency of your revision are active recall and spaced repetition. Active recall is a study method where you retrieve information you have previously learned by testing yourself throughout the revision process. Spaced repetition involves the repeated review of previous material at various intervals throughout your revision process.
If you read books on memory (such as Foster, J. (2009). Memory a very short introduction (online). Oxford: Oxford University Press) you will come across spaced repetition as a method of revision.
The reason behind practising spaced repetition is to counteract what German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850-1909) identified as the forgetting curve, or the amount of information that is lost as time passes. While the shape of this curve varies for different types of events, it is possible to stop ourselves from forgetting things if we revisit the information and relearn it. If we successfully recall things a short while after studying them, we are more likely to recall them later.
Spaced repetition is seen as an optimal way to revise. It builds on the idea of leaving a gap between relearning. What is perhaps novel is that it suggests increasing the gaps of time between each session. Each time is supposed to be at the point when you are just about to forget something. This way, the brain has to work hard to retrieve the information rather than repeating it when readily available. And like a muscle, it gets stronger when it works harder.
This graph for spaced repetition (also called distribution of practice) shows how we can boost our memory over a series of revision sessions set apart by several hours, 1 day, 3 days, a week, 3 weeks and so on, should we have time.
Before you start revising, you need to scope out what you need to learn.
Revisit your curriculum
List everything you have covered in the year. Then take into account any specific instructions from academic staff: if you know something will definitely come up on the exam then highlight it, are there any optionals, or anything unlikely to be included?
Look at past exam papers
Past exam papers are an incredibly valuable resource for your revision. If you can, try to get a hold of the last 4-7 years of exam papers in order to get a sense of the topics that have appeared and to begin to get a sense of how previous examiners have thought about the subject. We have papers from 2015 in the Reading Room of the Library. As you go through the previous exam questions, pay attention to the wording of the questions. Is the wording asking for an explanation (by using words such as 'Why', 'To what extent' 'To what degree', etc.), or are there key action words that appear frequently ( 'Discuss' or 'Comment on')? Looking at how previous examiners have phrased their questions can help you as you create your own practice exam questions.
Use the KWL technique to help guide your revision sessions.
The KWL technique stands for Know, Want to Know, and Learned. Before revising, and checking your curriculum, assess what you already know and write in the Know section. In the Want to Learn section, you can set a list of questions you would like to know by the end of your revision, and this will help you to focus your reading and revision planning. There may be gaps, things you didn't understand, supervisions that didn't go so well. In the Learned section, write down some key takeaways from your session. Note what you learned and why it is important.
Be honest
These tasks help you identify parts of the course that you feel comfortable with, which you can revisit less often. They also flag up problematic topics. If you really didn't understand something, don't shy away from it but start with that section of the course. Do some more reading, speak to peers, asks academics for support. The sooner you start, the more time you'll have to revisit the information during the weeks leading up to the exam.
Below is a video from Ali Abdaal, a former Cambridge student, in which he covers how he used flashcards, spider diagrams, and a retrospective revision timetable to prepare for his essay-based exams.
Notes form the basis of revision. Existing notes remind us what we have learned in the course of the year. New notes help us synthesise and play an active part in memorisation. Re-reading and copying out isn't enough - we need to repackage what we have learned to help us apply it in different conexts (the exam).
The key with notes is to think about what you want to get from them, make then active by engaging with the material, make clear what are your ideas and interpretation and which belong to an author, and organise them so you find them again easily. We have more information on our our separate Note Making LibGuide tab, but here are a few tips:
Mind maps
These are a great way to learn information in a simple and visually appealing way. Mind maps can help you simplify complex information, in effect checking your understanding of the topic, as well as help memorisation. The great thing about mind maps is their flexibility; they have no heirachy and lots space for you to make new connections and add in new points or readings.
You can create them by hand or use software such as Coggle, GitMind or Canva to create editable and distinctive mind maps. If you have to memorise your notes, make them distinctive with colours and shapes, which will help you picture them in an examination. Even if you have an online exam, a distinctive map will be easier to find quickly.
Structured notes
These are good for summarising key texts or for clearing delineating between the views of an author and your reaction to them. Look at 'Structured notes' in the 'How to' section of the Note Making LibGuide to find out about the Tower or Cornell method.
Free-flowing or linear notes
These are notes recorded in the order in which you read or hear something. They always need interpreting as they will be long and won't be relevant to the question you are trying to answer in an exam. If lots of your existing notes look like this, try using a mind map or structured template to synthesise and overlay your thoughts, connections to other topics/reading material, and to help you break away from the heirarchy imposed on the material by the lecturer/author. This doens't mean you have to dispose of these notes, but at least aim for a cover sheet so you know what is in them and don't waste time reading them again and again.
Create Flashcards
Flashcards are a great way to test yourself and incorporate spaced repetition in your learning. Anki and Quizlet are two great programs that allow you to create your own flashcards or download flashcards other students have already made to test your learning or understanding of a topic.
The Feynman technique
When learning something, test your understanding of the topic by trying to explain it to a friend or to someone who may not be familiar with the topic you are revising. When doing this, don’t use over-complicated language and try to drill down the topic to its essence. Using the Feynman technique can help you test your understanding of a topic in a simple and clear manner.
Need a break from studying on a computer screen?
Building off the Feynman technique, try creating a Pocketmod. This fun app lets you create small paper booklets in which you can condense topics down to essential themes, dates, and information, print them out and carry them with you wherever you go.
Practise, practise, practise
There is no replacement for imitating the sort of exercises you will have to complete in the exam. So if you have to write essays, then practise planning lots of of them, and writing a few. If you have to recall facts from memory, test and check. If you will have to solve problem-based calculations, try out past papers.
Below is a video from Ali Abdaal, a former Cambridge student, in which he covers how he used flashcards, spider diagrams, and a retrospective revision timetable to prepare for his essay-based exams.
Make use of your library’s resources
It is easy and natural to feel overwhelmed and stressed as you revise and your exams draw nearer. Please know you are not alone, and there is nothing wrong with having these feelings. It is important to be kind to yourself during this time. Below are some tips and resources that may be helpful during this time.
This returns to the idea that your revision timetable must be realistic, and it is equally important to be aware of your self-care as you revise. This includes scheduling time to sleep, to celebrate special events and time to socialize with your friends.On the day of the exam, it is important that you give yourself plenty of time to get to the location your exam will be held or to set up your space if your exams are online. If you have an in-person exam, you may want to visit the location beforehand so that you can get a sense of the space. If you are unsure where your exam is being held, you can use the online University Map to search for locations at the University of Cambridge. You might also time how long it takes you to get to the location to avoid a stressful trip on exam day.
Think about the things you will need to take in order to take your exam. 
If you have an online exam, make sure your environment is conducive to taking the exam. Below are some questions to consider as you prepare for the day:
Further guidance about exams can be found on the University's Examinations homepage Information for Students.
Each type of exam will require its own unique strategy to plan and manage your time during the exam effectively. Below are some general tips to help you begin to draft your own strategy.
Prior to the exam, find out how long you will have for the exam and how the exam will be divided. Will you be required to answer multiple essay questions, or will you have to answer a number of short answer questions? Once you have discovered this information translate the exam's total length into minutes and begin to decide how you will allocate the time. Some questions you will want to consider are: How long will it take to decide which questions you will answer on the exam; how long will you give yourself to draft an essay plan; How long will you dedicate to writing each answer; and how long will you allow yourself to review your answer? As you practice answering revision questions, make sure you are developing these skills as well.