Are you a wordsmith, a socialite, or a crammer? Discover your revision personality type and what it says about you.
We all know that revision is essential for exam prep, but how do you actually do it? What revision methods do you use? Even though you and your friends might be revising the exact same topics, you might notice that their study styles differ from yours.
Joanne, one of our Medical students, lets us in on the five revision personality types and what they mean for you.
Contents:
The wordsmith
Wordsmiths might be found wandering around school or campus, often thinking to themselves, “Why bother lugging a laptop around when the trusty inventions of pen and paper still exist?
Call it old-fashioned, but the classic method of handwriting your notes has its merits. Some research suggests that the process of writing by hand strengthens memory and learning more than typing up electronic notes. Besides, there’s something quite satisfying about condensing a 60-slide PowerPoint presentation into two sides of A4!
The socialite
Turning revision into a social occasion is the main skill of this revision type.
Instead of reading or writing, they would much rather talk through the topics with other people (although they might get a little sidetracked and start discussing what you did at the weekend, that funny thing that happened yesterday or what you’re having for dinner)
However, group revision does have its benefits, because two brains are better than one.
The artist
If you’re emotionally attached to your set of coloured pens, pencils, or fancy gel pens this is probably you.
Visual learning is your thing. Posters, diagrams, mind-maps, sketches – the possibilities are endless. After all, if your revision notes look beautiful, you’re more likely to actually want to revise from them, right?
The bookworm
Believe it or not, there seem to be some mystical creatures among us who can learn everything purely by reading over lecture slides or textbooks. They never seem to take notes or even pick up a pen.
I don’t know how it stays in your brain, but I do know that if you’re one of these people, I’m extremely jealous of you.
The technophile
“But I NEED a computer to revise!” The wonders of modern technology make revision a little bit easier for this revision personality type. If it was possible to revise in virtual reality while typing up notes at the same time they’d do it.
I personally find typing much faster than handwriting notes, while copying and pasting diagrams instead of drawing them has definitely saved many hours of work. Plus, there are lots of websites and apps available to help with learning and revision - just try not to get distracted by Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and cat videos while you’re using them.
The crammer
Hands up, everyone who’s stayed up until at least 2am on the day of an exam, desperately attempting to force as much information into your brain as possible, while hating yourself for not starting revision earlier?
Although last-minute revision might get you a decent mark, chances are you won’t remember much of it in a week’s time. This risky technique isn’t helpful in the long run, so it’s best to kick the habit as soon as you can.
