How Long Should Revision Last?

Education concept. Student studying and brainstorming campus con

We all know revision is a very important part of the writing process. We typically revise and edit our work at least two or three times before we are satisfied with it. But how long should revision last? There are multiple theories, we will go over the most popular ones so you can make your own decision!

Theory One - Revise No More than an Hour per Subject per Week

This theory is based on the idea that students only have so much time to devote to their studies. They need at least an hour per subject, and they should spend this hour every week of the semester doing revision work. In order for a student to effectively revise each topic in one sitting, it would take them about 20 weeks for a typical 16-week college semester (not including exams).

Theory Two - Revise until You Can't Take It Any More!

In contrast with The One Hour Theory, this approach suggests you keep revising your content until you can no longer stand it anymore. This means spending as many hours as possible working on revisions without going crazy or becoming exhausted from all your hard work. Of course, this is somewhat subjective and depends on the person, but as a general rule of thumb, you should spend at least six hours revising your work once the notes are initially completed.

A teacher smiling at camera in classroom

Theory Three – Revise Until It’s Perfect!

This approach suggests that students revise their content until it’s perfect before they submit or hand it in for grading. This means spending countless hours trying to make every detail absolutely flawless so there are no mistakes or flaws left anywhere within the document. Some students might find this approach motivating because perfectionism typically drives people to want everything to be just right, but others may not enjoy having an unreasonably high standard. If anything, I suggest using Theory Two alongside Theory Three if The One Hour Revision Approach’t isn’t working out well enough for you. 

Theory Four – Study Around 15-20 Hours per Week

This theory is a nice balance between the other three. It suggests that students revise their work for an hour per subject, and then spend 15 to 20 hours studying in total each week (including revising). This means you would only have so much time left over for socializing or watching TV! Nevertheless, if Theory Three isn’t working out well enough and The One Hour Revision Approach’ is too much effort than this might be a nice compromise between your studies and personal life.

Theory Five – Revise 7 Hours a Day over Easter Break

Finally, this approach suggests that you spend all your time revising in one day. You should aim to revise for seven hours on the first day, and then take it easy (relatively) until Easter break is over! This can feel like a long time when you are knee-deep in revisions, but once you get through it, you will be flying high with all of your new knowledge without much effort at all. Plus if there’s no point putting off revision because it takes too long then just do everything during Easter Break – right?

Conclusion :

It’s up to you how long to spend revising your work. You can experiment with all the different approaches and see what works best for you! 

If you think you need help with your revision then you may want to attend one of our half term revision courses for GCSE & A Level. These take place throughout the year and are either classroom or online based. In either case, class sizes are small to ensure as much individual attention as possible. 

If you, or your parents would like to find out more, please just get in touch via email at info@exam.tips or call us on 0800 689 1272

If you, or your parents would like to find out more, please just get in touch via email at info@exam.tips or call us on 0800 689 1272

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