HOW TO PREPARE FOR A TEST IN A SHORT TIME PERIOD: REVISION TIPS FOR BIOLOGY STUDENTS

A source of stress when you’re taking your A-levels, or in school in general, is studying for an exam. You may have limited time or have never been taught how to properly prepare. Preparing for a test can feel overwhelming, which is why I give my students a two weeks notice of when their next test will be, but I’ve recently discovered many people only get one week, one day, or sometimes even one hour before an exam. In this blog post, I’ll show you a revision timeline for whatever length of time your teacher provides you with, and how to use this schedule to your advantage in order to receive the top grade you’re aiming for!

REVISION SCHEDULE #1 – THE TWO-WEEK PLAN

This is the longest amount of notice you will get for an end-of-topic test. 

IN WEEK ONE, I RECOMMEND YOU SPEND 60 MINUTES A DAY STUDYING.

Day 1: Use your A-level notes (I have notes available here!) or my YouTube topic videos to create flashcards.

Day 2: Test yourself with flashcards and create a concept map (not sure how to make a concept map? Watch this YouTube video to see how). 

Day 3: Test yourself with flashcards and create another concept map with a different topic.

Day 4: Test yourself with flashcards and complete part of my active recall workbook – my active recall workbook covers the entire specification, with lots of short answer questions designed to improve your long-term memory of the topics.

FOR WEEK TWO, I RECOMMEND SPENDING 45 MINUTES EVERY OTHER DAY REVISING.

Day 5: Test yourself with flashcards and my active recall workbook.

Day 6: Test yourself with flashcards and exam questions.

Day 7: Test yourself with flashcards and my active recall workbook.

Day 8: Test yourself with flashcards and exam questions.

Day 9: Test yourself with flashcards and exam questions.

Day 10: Test yourself with exam questions – add any common marking points to cards 

Day 11: Test yourself with exam questions and apply exam conditions when you’re answering questions, such as imposing a time limit – this will make you extra prepared when it comes to taking the test!

REVISION SCHEDULE #2 – THE ONE-WEEK PLAN

One week was the most common answer I received on TikTok when I asked about how long you had to study for a test. This will be a more condensed version of the Two-Week Timeline but ultimately follows the same idea. 

FOR ONE WEEK, SPEND 60-90 MINUTES PER DAY EVERY DAY STUDYING. 

Day 1: Use your A-level notes (I have notes available here!) or my YouTube topic videos to create flashcards.

Day 2: Test yourself with flashcards and my active recall workbook.

Day 3: Test yourself with flashcards and my active recall workbook.

Day 4: Create a concept map.

Day 5: Test yourself with flashcards and exam questions.

Day 6: Test yourself with exam questions – add any common marking points to cards.

Day 7: Test yourself with exam questions.

REVISION SCHEDULE #3 – ONE DAY

One day to revise is not long at all, so I’m assuming your teachers must be expecting you to revise as you go, or that this test may not be worth as much as other tests. This schedule shows you how to maximise your revision time, with you studying hopefully during your study period, and after school. 

Hour 1: Use your A-level notes (I have notes available here!) or my YouTube topic videos to create flashcards.

Hour 2: Test yourself with flashcards and my active recall workbook.

Hour 3: Test yourself with exam questions and note any common marking points.

Hour 4: Test yourself with exam questions.

REVISION SCHEDULE #4 – ONE HOUR PLAN

When students told me they only get one hour of notice before a test, I was honestly confused as to how that was even possible! Maybe you were all joking?! Regardless, here’s the schedule I would recommend if you only have one hour of notice before taking a test. 

15 minutes: testing yourself using flashcards, if you don’t have flashcards, swap that out for creating a concept map or blurting.

15 minutes: blurting the hardest topic.

30 minutes: exam questions and note down the common marking points.

Alternatively, if you’re more confident on the topic already, I would suggest getting rid of one of those 15-minute slots and doing 45 minutes of exam questions instead. 

IN CONCLUSION…

There you have it! A revision schedule for whenever you are notified you have an exam coming up. If you’re looking for more study tips, I’d also recommend you watch this video! This will help you get that top grade and help you fully prepare for when it comes time to take your test! 

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