Five Revision Tips for Slacker Students

Are you lazy?  Do you proudly self-identify as such?  Well, join the club: that's you and most of the rest of the population, then.  Nevermind the student population.

I'll bet your little heart just sinks at the thought of the exam period, doesn't it?  Let alone coursework.  All that sweating over textbooks that could break your foot, trying to decipher your lecture notes – that's if you actually attended any lectures.  And the online module info for the ones you missed always seems to come up a little short on, um, everything you actually need to know.

What can you do?  Well, I have both bad news and good news.  The bad news is, you're going to have to do some work.  No, calm down – actually, sit down, you're looking a bit faint.  Remember, I mentioned good news?

The good news is, I have five tips for you that may help you get the maximum results for the minimum effort.  So check 'em out!  (And don't copy my contractions of the English language if you're an English student: just a little extra tip for you, there).

1 What is an mp3 player for? Playing your fave emo dirgey whinealong?  No.  Let me repeat that.  By all that's holy, NO.  Not while you have revision to get done.

Read your lecture notes into your mp3 player, plus any other relevant materials you've been provided with.  Yes, it's work!  By god, do you ever stop moaning?  What isn't work, or at least less closely resembles any such ordeal?  Listening to it.  Lying on your bed listening to it, doing the washing up listening to it (ha!), jogging listening to it...  I'm sure you can think of other activities that can be accompanied by your own mellifluous voice chuntering on about Durkheim's theories on anomie and suicide.  All that extra revision time, at a cost of practically no effort to yourself!

2  For any factual memorising you need to do, go through your lecture notes and see if you can come up with any acronyms or mnemonics.  You know the kind of thing – Richard Of York Gave Battle in Vain etc.  Great for learning chemical equations, historical dates etc.  Yes, your lecturers may provide you with a few, but any extra shortcuts you can find for yourself are golden.  The payoff of the results could outweigh any initial effort, and cut out a lot of revision time trying to 'get' the whole thing word for word.

3  If you haven't already, you really need to get at least one study group going.  Everyone should do this.  Either one general one, or a dedicated one for each of your modules – the main point is to do it.  

Having a bunch of people to throw ideas around with, discuss a module with, peeps who will kick your arse if you're not contributing or putting the work in for your own studies, is key.  This is a whole different experience compared to struggling to motivate yourself and get going with your studies under your own volition.  And it feels a lot easier.  Plus you'll get studying tricks and tips that wouldn't have occurred to you working on your own.  The hive mind beats the lonely individual every time – and it's more fun!

4  Okay, this one is more about preparation prior to studying rather than the actual studying itself, but it's still key.  What is it?  Well, maybe it's too obvious – but pick the easy modules! Those 'challenging' courses?  The 'stimulating' ones?  They're for the 'A' students whose brows drip sweat from their continual labour.  Not for the likes of you.  Everyone knows which they are, and which are the easy rides.  So get real and pick the easy rides if you're all about the easy life.  (Just bear in mind that what you study in college may affect what career paths are open to you later on.  Be careful about making choices you're going to regret just to spare yourself a little labour now).

5  Don't ignore the social aspect. I'm preaching to the converted, here, right?  If you weren't more interested in the social side of college than studying, you wouldn't be reading this article.  

However, hanging with your own little crowd isn't exactly what I mean.  I'm talking about palling up with teaching assistants and lecturers (where possible), and cultivating a few friends/acquaintances in each and every module you take.  (Not passing up the chance to network and make connections because, hey, you have your own little clique, who needs it?)  This is important: it enables you to pick up useful, non-obvious study tips and info, to get high-quality feedback and encouragement, to get the heads-up on deadlines you may have missed (very important!) - generally to be in the inner circle and not missing a morsel of potentially useful information.  And if you're thinking in terms of a student job within the college, or applying for an advanced degree, it ensures your face and name are known.

There you go.  I can give you the tips, but only you can do the work.  Oops, I said the dirty word - work!  Sorry again!  Now, go forth and study, kids.

Copyright Ollie Hicks, 2009.