getting into a right panic about REVISION - any tips and reassurance?

[fairylights]

OK I have 6 weeks to revise for 4x 3 hour exams for my Graduate Diploma in Law.
Just starting now (our course tutors think this is sufficient time so i'm not behind - yet) but all my revision is going to be evenings and weekends because I'm looking after ds.
I did my degree in English and Theology so hardly had any exams and I didn't have to learn "hard facts" as such for them, so I haven't done this kind of learning since A-levels which is 12 years ago!
Although the course is bloody hard work I have coped so far but i am suddenly freaking out about these exams and HOW to revise effectively..there is just SO MUCH to learn.
Sort of feel that the panic is paralysing me.
Sorry this all sounds very pathetic but I could really do with some wise words and tips.. my course is distance learning so don't have any coursemates to directly commiserate/be supportive with! Thanks

Pretty coloured pens

Highlight the important stuff in your notes

Then write the most important stuff from that onto plain paper in bright colours as mind maps or bullet points or whatever makes you remember it best.

Pin them up around the house, over the cooker, on the wall opposite the loo......

Ho hum, I need a kick up the arse. Have ds today but please go give me one later on the studying tonight thread

thanks sleepycat! I had actually said to myself this morning that i would start this thread, wait for some answers to get me going, then NO MORE MN til after exams.. i gave it up for lent and got so much more work done so i know its one of the answers..
and thanks too Indith, yes i remember doing mind maps and bright colours and things all over the bathroom for a-levels and had forgotten about that. What fun!

final bump for the evening crowd, then i think i should forego MN for the next 6 weeks

Could write a whole essay on this! A few key pointers...

1. Keep revision active - make sure you keep thinking about what you are writing. For example, go from prose to ten key bullet points or something. You have to pay attention to what you are doing for you to take it in.

1. Keep revision periods short but come back to the same material frequently. So look at something, come back to it the next day and so on...

1. Understand the bigger picture. This makes the details easier to remember.

1. There are two methods for getting info into your brain - rote learning (going over and over the same material again and again) or elaboration (mind mapping, making links etc building up the picture). Research suggests elaboration works better.

1. Some studies suggest that writing the material in the same format as you will need it in the exams will help recall in the exam. (Dependent cues? Sorry can't quite remember!)

1. Don't just think about how you are going to get the info into your brain but also how you are going to get it out again (to avoid the blank mind syndrome). Use mnemonics, visual posters etc whatever works for you, but organise the info so have links from one part of the material to another and so on. Remember though that research suggests that mnemonics do not last well over a long period of time, so if you are going to do them, only do them the night or two before the exam.

HTH. I did my MA dissertation on this topic a couple of years back. The truth is no-one yet knows what makes good revision because it has never really been studied. There are other 'memory' studies (which are the 'suggests' points I have made), but nothing that proves how you should revise, or what is good revision and one of the things my research found was that you have got to find what is good for you. Some of the top tips just don't work for some people.

Key thing though, keep it active, avoid copying out and avoid those little cue cards things that everyone uses when they do their 'A' levels!

Good luck!

Are they essay questions? If they are, do lots of timed essays. It's so different from coursework. You need to know how much you can reasonably write in the time you have for each question.

You also have to write, fast, for three hours. The timed essays will break in your hand. I'm not kidding - getting used to that amount of writing is tough.

I put the names of key studies/theorists on big poster sized pieces of paper around the house, so that when I spot them, I try to recall the details.

And I also have sets of post it notes up on my kitchen wall, with a name or key term on the front and more details on the back, and try to order them logically (as I might use them in an essay) and recall the details.

My house is quite a state during revision periods

The advise I've had for my exams (3 in about 3 weeks.... eeeeek!) is to do lots of timed questions.

I find it useful to make flashcards and also to try to get all of the key points from one section onto one piece of paper to use as a mindmap sort of thing.

Good luck!

thanks everyone! Am being v good and not going on computer let alone MN so sorry for late reply..
do feel a lot better now i am actually revising!!! All the best to all of you doing exams too

Just saw this message. Finished the GDL 2 years ago & finishing the LPC in a few weeks. Both part-time.

Try to work with a couple of people from your course, even at this stage. Swap essays or notes if possible.

I made summary charts for the obvious topics and put those up around my desk when I was studying the subject and the night before the exam. Such a good feeling taking them down after the exam.

Everyone says it but no harm repeating it: In the exam, move on when the time is up. For my GDL, I had 45 minutes per question with 4 questions (I think). So tempting to keep writing.

The GDL exams are tough going but you'll have a great summer!!

I dunno about writing flashcards, that is totally the way I revise. I go over all of my notes/information etc a section at a time and condense the information and write it out in my own words, with diagrams, bullet points etc. I then go over the condensed notes and condense further etc until I am left with cards with bullet points/diagrams etc.

This is just the way I learn, writing concepts/notes in my own words makes me think about what I'm reading, and whether I understand it or not. At this stage any gaps in understanding can be rectified, then condensing and rewriting further helps me remember both concepts and facts. I have tried mind maps and the like but just went meh, you have to know your own learning style and do what it takes to get it into your head.

hi mrsNOC - have been offline for weeks without computer but good to hear that someone else has survived and got to the other end of GDL/LPC - bet you are glad to be nearly there! Do you have a training contract lined up?
My exams are all next week and i have worked pretty hard so am feeling ok about them now, or else i am in denial?!
Have you found the LPC exams easier? Surely not?!
And yes, i am going to have a GREAT summer!!!

Hi Fairylights
Don't want to say the LPC exams are easier as I have 2 next week & 1 the week after. However, I did do LPC exams in Feb, 5 weeks after my daughter was born and I got through them. Yippee! Had lots of support from family. The LPC exams are open book so v diff to the GDL. Found that if you attend the classes & keep notes, there isn't a mad panic at the end. Also, helped to get to know other mums on the course.

Haven't a training contract set up. Have you? Been reluctant to leave my job and take a paralegal position due to £. A lot of the smaller firms seem to want you to work as a paralegal first. My aim is to get through the exams & then work on getting a traineeship.

Recently met a mum who started her traineeship 2 years after finishing her LPC. Gave me hope.

MrsNOC - all the best for your exams and v interesting to hear how you have done things.. am very impressed that you did exams with a 5 week old!!!! Do you have other kids? I am currently agonising about when to have another LO - wait til i finish GDL or interrupt a bit..
or do as you did and carry on regardless - yikes! I hadn't even considered that option..
but yes i guess open book exams are a different kettle of fish..
I don't have any kind of TC lined up, not from a legal background at all (although was doing non legal advocacy before) and am being SAHM at the moment. Not sure if you saw my thread a while back about starting a law career with a young family, but for the most part people who work in law already were pretty negative about how it would be, although a couple of people were positive and i am holding onto their comments!!
Hope your exams go well and you get a TC at the right time.. and do let know how you get on if you remember!

Hi Fairylights, all the best for the rest of the week. I'm off the mark now with one exam done.

Saw your thread before and just re-read it. V interesting. I truely believe it is possible to combine being a mother and a lawyer....hard work though. Just gotta get a training contract now!! Be interested to know where ChristinaF and PCSMUm did/will be doing their training contracts. Sounded good.