The dreaded P-word

It is finally complete! I handed in my Masters thesis in the first week back after the Easter break and on Friday I had the corresponding Viva, which means that I can finally say that my project has come to a close.

A Viva is an interview in which academics (two in my case) scrutinise your final report and you are expected to defend your decisions, whilst showing off your wider knowledge of the theory behind your results. In the morning before it I had re-read my report several times (finding a few unfortunate typos, although none as bad as my partner’s 'lover mass black holes', instead of 'lower mass black holes') and had thought about how I might answer certain questions if they came up. Fortunately I was well prepared for the topics that arose and the thirty minutes seemed to whizz by! It’s a major relief to have that behind me – now I can turn my full attention to revision.

 

The print out of my final report I took to my Viva. 

Revision is something that every student knows all too well and although I wrote about it during the January exams, I wanted to discuss it again in today’s blog. It is my final set of University exams (and when I say set, I do mean set – I’ve never had fewer than three exams in a semester – my highest number has been five!), so I feel like I have enough experience to give some advice.

Those of you who have read my previous revision technique blog post will know that I have quite a peculiar method of revising. I pretend that I’m teaching the material to someone, either to an individual or to a whole class of imaginary students. It might sound weird, but just like my Space Plasma lecturer said this week, “If you can explain these concepts to a friend unaided, then you’ll do fine in the exam”.

Recently, I’ve even gone as far as investing in a whiteboard for my revision method; there’s just something inexplicably fun about using them regardless of your age and any way to improve the revision process is worth it in my book!

My imaginary class found 'Magnetospheric Size' enthralling! 

However, it was not the revision techniques I wanted to discuss, but more the ways to avoid the dreaded p-word: Procrastination. We all know the feeling; you’re half way through revising a chapter and suddenly you find that you have Facebook, Twitter and YouTube open on your laptop.

One of the ways I avoid procrastinating is not having my laptop turned on, unless I need it for work. This means it actually takes more effort to look at the sports news or my emails than it does to actually stay revising. If this means moving to the library or another quiet space, instead of your distraction-laden bedroom, then go for it – there’s plenty of revision-friendly spots on campus!

Another technique I use is to write a to-do list of manageable tasks that I know I can achieve in the day. Having five or so small and detailed tasks, for example ‘Revise Chapter 7’ or ‘Do questions 5-12’, instead of the open-ended task of ‘Do revision’, helps keep you focused and allows you to track your progress too.

A reward for revising hard all morning! 

The final step I take is to ensure there’s always something to look forward to when I’ve finished my to-do list. This can be video games, TV shows, a pack of fruit pastilles or, like I had at the weekend, a lunch time trip to Trago Lounge (a popular local café in Portswood) with my housemate. As long as you set yourself realistic goals and rewards, and minimise distractions, then revision should be a piece of cake!

I hope this helps and I wish you well with your exams and other deadlines!

James