Hey future doctors! Let’s discuss something that we’re sure every NEET aspirant struggles with, but not everyone masters even till the end – Revision. It’s like the great secret, the hidden strategy that can either make or break your NEET preparation journey. So, let’s start decoding this very obvious secret.
Why revision?
NEET is a very difficult exam that decides the fate of lakhs and lakhs of aspirants each year. It isn’t just a test of knowledge. It is also a test of determination, strategy, and yes, lots and lots of revising. If you are not able to revise, it honestly does not matter if you’ve studied everything and more.
Biggest reason: NEET 2024 syllabus
Now, why would we stress so much on revision? The NEET syllabus is very memory-based and also knowing every bit of this syllabus is crucial. Remembering everything is a very big task, you cannot remember everything in one sitting.
The conceptual parts like organic chemistry and physics require revision to help in understanding of the concepts better.
The theoretical part consists of inorganic chemistry, biology, reactions of organic chemistry. These are totally memory-based parts, the ones that are supposed to be crammed up, only get fitted into your memory after repeated revisions. To be honest, even the conceptual part has to be memorized once you have understood it. You need to recall everything in milliseconds during the exam. You cannot rely on understanding, memory is important.
The formulae of physics, the organic chemistry reactions, the results of a punnet square- all is better memorized.
Understand The Learning Curve and Retention
Ever heard of the forgetting curve? It’s this very habit of our brain. Our brain tends to forget stuff in some time if we don’t review and revisit it again. Within 24 hours, an individual might forget up to 70% of new information if they have not revised it.
This is where our favourite tool – Revision, comes into play. Regular revision sessions are your brain’s defence against this curve of forgetfulness. Regular revision will ensure that you retain what you learn and do not just waste your time on studying-studying-studying with no retention.
Regular Revision Benefits
Okay now that we’ve understood why revision is fundamentally important, let’s count some extra advantages that revision gives you:
1 Improved Recall and Understanding:
You’ve only got 3 hours 20 minutes for the paper. You must be able to recall all that you know within milliseconds. Revision helps with faster recall. The more you revise, the more it is on the tip-of-your-tongue. This can give you an advantage in NEET.
2 Identification of Weak Areas:
Revision is your personal problem-diagnosis tool. When you are revising a topic, you might come across a section that you missed or did not understand very well when you first read it. So, revision gives you a chance to repair that weak areas. It makes sure that there are no holes in your NEET journey.
3 Building Confidence and Reducing Stress:
Nothing beats the feeling of walking into the exam hall feeling like you’ve got this. That confidence comes from familiarity with the syllabus, which is, you guessed it, achieved through revision.
A lot of people fail to crack NEET only because they were way too anxious in the exam hall. Revision can help make sure you’re not one of them.
Revision Techniques and Strategies
Okay, we’ve now gone over the many advantages of revision. It has no downside if you give it the right amount of time and energy. Let’s see how to do that-
Recognizing the topics that need the most number of revisions:
Analyse your tests and make a list of all your weak topic. I have explained how to analyse in detail here.
Then, make a time table for revision sessions. Allot big revision sessions for days when you’re at home or when you are tackling simpler topic. Try to stick to your revision schedule.
It takes barely 15 minutes to revise small topics if you have the right revision notes.
Establishing a Revision Routine:
As I said, once you’ve identified your weak topics, make a timetable. Planning is key. 15-20 revision sheets can be easily read within an hour.
And you can easily spare 1 hour of your study routine for revision. Make revision a habit. Daily, weekly, monthly cycles of all revision sheets– choose what works for you.
Make sure that you are not overwhelming yourself with too many revision sheets in a day.
If you feel that some revision sheet looks a little too confusing, then it is a sign that you need to set up bigger revision sessions for that topic.
What source should you use to revise?:
Revision sheets. These are your quick, go-to resources for when you need to review a topic without going through an entire textbook again. I have written another blog that shows how making revision sheets can help you fit revision into your schedule.
Importance of Adaptive Revision:
Always remember to be flexible. If you feel like you’ve mastered a topic, give it a break for a while. Revise something else in it’s place for sometime. You can then jump back to it later to check if you still remember it.
This is why I always say, make your schedule yourself, only you know your mind and your preparation best.
The Role of Mock Tests in Revision
Like I said earlier, recognizing your weak topics is the most important step of revision. This can only be done by giving mock tests and analyzing them.
Make a book where you list down all the topics in the syllabus of NEET. Every time you give a mock test, analyse it too.
When you see that you’ve answered a question incorrectly, try to understand which topic that question comes from. In this book, put a tally mark in front of that topic.
When you have at least 5 tally marks next to a topic, schedule it for revision.
Overcoming Common Challenges in Revision
Time constraints. That’s it, that’s the only problem. If you say ‘Revision is boring, I don’t want to do it.’ Then that’s not a real problem, that’s just laziness.
Now how do we deal with time constraints? I have a detailed blog on how to fit revision into your schedule. The gist of the blog is that, you must stick revision sheets everywhere in your house and just stop and take a look at it every time you come across it. As idiotic as it sounds, it works.
Conclusion
In the grand scheme of things, revision might seem like just another task on your long list of things to do for NEET preparation. But trust me, it is a number one priority task. So, snap out of your laziness and go revise. Let’s crack NEET 2024 with the power of effective revision. Keep pushing, keep revising, and most importantly, keep believing in yourself. You’ve got this!
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