This document provides guidance on effective revision techniques for geography exams based on different learning styles. It identifies three main learning styles - visual, auditory, and kinaesthetic - and provides examples of revision techniques suited to each style. Some techniques that can be used regardless of learning style include flash cards, practice questions, mind maps, and revising with friends. The document stresses the importance of finding an approach that supports one's preferred learning style in order to make the best use of revision time.

1. Revision TechniquesRevision Techniques
(for your geography exams!)(for your geography exams!)

2. This is a guide to help you decide
which is your preferred learning
style
• It is important
that you revise in a
way that supports
your preferred
learning style
• If you don’t, then
you may end up
wasting lots of
your time, and -
worse still - you
may end up
remembering
nothing!!

3. There are 3 main preferred
learning styles:
• Visual
• Auditory
• Kinaesthetic (practical)
You may be a combination of any of these,
but more than likely one type will be more
predominant than the others

4. Visual
Revision Techniques:
• Mind map e.g. for geographical processes of
erosion, transportation and deposition
• Form a ‘mental picture’ to try to ‘see’ the
whole topic e.g. Population growth rates…
causes…. How do they all link together?
How do they link with what is happening
next?
• Make a poster
• Create a picture in your imagination
e.g. population pyramids colour-coded to show
LEDC and MEDC

5. Visual learners
• Allow white space between points
• Use coloured pens / highlighters
• Use pictures, video
• Make a diagram e.g. for cave, arch, stack
etc. sequence of erosion
• Surf a revision site on the Internet
e.g. Bitesize Geography

6. Auditory
Revision Techniques:
• Record key ideas on tape/disc e.g. listen to
causes of rural urban migration before you fall asleep
• Say key ideas out loud e.g. characteristics of
pressure systems
• Tell key ideas to someone else or the dog
e.g. positive and negative effects of the One Child Policy in
China
• Get someone to test you
• Play soothing background music e.g. classical,
Jack Johnson, Dido, etc.

7. Kinaesthetic
Revision Techniques:
• Moving information on a page e.g. create
sorting cards for key words and definitions for
erosion processes and match them up
• Associate information with actions
e.g. Coastal Kung Fu for types of wave erosion
• Explain using gestures
• Flash cards
• Walk around
• Use the rooms space e.g. one side of the
room for good points, the other side for
bad points

8. What strategies can you
use?
• Flash cards
• Practice questions
• Internet
• Revising with /
testing friends
• Labelled diagrams
• Writing notes
• Writing lists
• Underlining in
notes
• Star diagrams
• Mind maps
• Mnemonics

9. Writing notes
• It is better to rewrite notes than to
simply read through work
• Don’t rewrite everything, you need to cut
down on the amount of information
• Do make sure you have enough detail!
Summarise!

10. Writing lists
• Lists are a good way of remembering
information or advantages /
disadvantages for a topic
• Write lists as bullet points
• Use small pictures to help you e.g.
Advantages Disadvantages
 Lower fertility rate  Female infanticide

11. When writing lists…….
• If you use a colour (e.g. green for
good and red for bad) use the same
colours every time
• 5 points is a good number to
remember
• Little drawings are a good way of
helping you remember points, even a
silly drawing will help!

12. Using numbers!
You may be able to remember numbers
more easily than names. If this is the
case try to put figures with points
where you can.
E.g. ‘Higher salaries’ would become
‘Higher salaries, factory workers can
earn 3 times the wages of farm
workers’

13. Using labelled diagrams
• An excellent way to learn especially
for visual learners!

14. Underlining in notes
• Its difficult to remember a page of notes
if they are all the same font and colour
• Use colour / different sizes for heading /
key points
• Underline key points or draw borders
round them
like this!
• Use diagrams, lists and pictures to break
up pages of notes

15. Mind maps
• Like a star / spider diagram but
contains much more detail and
demonstrates links between material
more clearly
• Can have whole topic on A3 page
• Geographical processes of erosion,
transportation and deposition

17. Revising with friends
ADVANTAGES:
can talk about the work
can test each other
easier to remember facts if spoken
out loud
DISADVANTAGES
Too easy to talk about something
more interesting instead!

18. Exam questions
1. Use past questions as you revise to
make sure you have the notes / case
studies necessary to get full marks
2. Test yourself under exam
conditions

19. Mnemonics
• Use the first letter of a series of words
to create another word
• The sillier the better! E.g. Bring Soccer
Balls Tomorrow
• Depositional landforms
• Beaches Bars
• Spit Tombolo
• Mnemonic website http
://library.thinkquest.org/C0110291/tricks/mnem

20. Revision cards
• Put separate topic / case study on
each card
• Keep topics together
• Don’t try to put too much information
on each card

21. Revision card example
Population pyramids
Transitional stage:
•Decreasing death rate
•Gradually decreasing birth
rate
•Longer life expectancy
•E.g. Brazil

22. Other points!
• DON’T leave it all until the last
minute
• Organise yourself
• Plan a revision timetable
• Take breaks when revising e.g. 5-10
minutes every hour
• If you are worried speak to someone!