How long is this session and how will I manage my time?
The first key to planning an efficient revision session is to be clear about how much time you have and how you will manage it. Spend some time revising for various lengths of time and find out what works best for you. Just because you have a full day at your disposal does not mean revising the same subject for hours and hours will be effective for you. Some students do better dedicating full days to one subject while others do better by tackling each subject for just a few hours and moving onto a different one for the day. Once you know how long your session will be, you can start creating a schedule for the session. One way to break up the session is by using the Pomodoro method and taking a 5 minute break for every 25 minutes of revision.
What are my biggest concerns/doubts?
This question will help you narrow down multiple things. Firstly, it can help you decide which subjects require your attention most urgently. For example, if you've had a major examination recently and there is a huge disaparity between your grades for each subject, it will be clear to you that some subject will need to be prioritized over the rest for now. Next, you can look through your most recent assignments and test papers to see if there are certain topics and concepts you need to focus on more due to a lack of understanding or practice. Another concern you might have could be regarding an overall skill. Maybe you've realized your language skills have been affecting your performance in all subjects across the board as they affect your ability to comprehend and properly interpret exam questions. Be clear about what these concerns and doubts are so you can go about resolving them through revision!
What are my objectives/goals for this session?
You can set up your objectives and goals for your revision sessions using your answers to the previous question! Of course, the overall point of revision is to make progress and a good way to evaluate the effectiveness of your revision and study methods is by seeing if your grades improve throughout the year. However, "get better grades" is a way too broad and vague objective for a single revision session! Your objectives should be clearly defined as checkpoints you hope to reach by the end of each session. For example if your revision session involves understanding electricity better, a clear objective would sound something like this: Create a mindmap for the magnets chapter and attempt 10 questions on the chapter. Check answers and do corrections. By setting objectives this way, it will clear to you what actions you need to take.
What resources will I be using during this session?
Another way to ensure you make the most of your revision session and prevent wasting precious time by deciding what resources you will be referring to ahead of the session. If you are still in the early stages of understanding a subject, you might want to use your textbook so you have a more comprehensive range of information to refer to. However, as you go along, you might prefer to refer to more streamlined and simple notes like mindmaps and flashcards. Also, resources are not just physical study materials! Resources could be online videos and notes explaining concepts you can't seem to full grasp. Don't forget, your classmates, study buddies, school teachers and tuition teachers are also resources you can lean on for revision!
How can I improve my next revision session?
Finally, at the end of each revision session, do a quick reflection of the session. Did you reach your objectives? Did you spend too much time on something that turned out to be not very significant? Evaluate your use of time and the effectiveness of your session so that you can make your next session an even more productive one!