As exam season is looming, I thought I’d give some tips on how to structure your revision. Having achieved top grades in my GCSEs and A-Levels — and soon to complete my first-year university exams — mind-maps have really helped me to remember important facts and ideas.
1. Identify keywords relevant to your chosen topic.
Keywords are essential when it comes to your respective subject — whether it is knowing all the names of the functional groups in organic chemistry or the genres of Byzantine literature, it certainly does leave a lasting impression on examiners!
In mind-maps, the best way to do this is by highlighting, changing the colour, bold or italics, font size … the world is your oyster! But make sure that it stands out from the rest of your work!
2. Complex ideas are simplified.
Like me, when you’re making notes you’ll most likely copy down what’s written on the lecture slides. Here’s when mind-mapping comes in clutch!
You’ll write down your notes from your lecture slides. Afterwards, you’d question what this means — you then decide to search it up on the internet, you might even decide to use textbooks to understand what is meant here. In some cases, you may email your lecturer to further your understanding!
All of this could happen when you write down a branch on your mind-map!
3. You can join the dots!
Leading on from the previous point, you may identify inter-topic links in your revision. For example, I was creating a mind map on the respiratory system and I deciphered a link between the accessory muscles in the forced breathing and the movement of the diaphragm. Honestly, for me, this was mind-blowing!
4. It’s all on one page.
Flicking through pages in your notebook or scrolling through Word documents is very passive and annoying when you’re trying to remind yourself of a particular topic right before the exam. Mind-mapping comes in clutch again since finding a topic will not be as irritating as scrolling through your Word documents!
5. Maps can be visually pleasing.
Bring out your creative side! You can use different themes and colours to make it easier for you to remember. Using colours that contrast with the background and font colour makes it easier to remember both short and long term. For example, the McDonald’s logo has a red background and yellow ‘M’, contrast which makes us remember the logo pretty much wherever we see it! Smart marketing from Maccies!
So those are the five reasons why I recommend mind-mapping your revision and I’m sure you’ll see a difference in your memory retention. Give it a go and let me know how it goes!
Thanks for reading and follow me for more tips in education! 😁
