How to build a weekly revision plan

A good revision plan tells you what to do when you sit down to study. “Read Biology” leaves a lot to decide. “Explain what an enzyme does, then answer five questions on enzymes” gives you a place to start and a way to check whether the session helped. Use that level of detail when you plan for JAMB, WAEC or NECO.

Pick three topics for the week

Write down the subjects you’re preparing for and look at your last quiz, class exercise or mock. Choose one topic you struggled with, one you partly understand, and one you haven’t practised recently. If you have no recent scores, answer a few past questions before you choose. Treat the results as clues about where to spend your time.

Give each session a job

Start with the time you actually have. A short session can be enough for one worked example and a few questions. Use a longer session for several topics or a timed mock. Put the harder topic on a day when you’re likely to have the most energy.

• Monday. Review one worked example on your hardest topic. Close the notes and explain the method in your own words.
• Wednesday. Answer a short set of past questions. Mark the ones you guessed, even if you got them right.
• Friday. Retry the missed and guessed questions from memory. Use a similar question to check that you can apply the method.
• Weekend. Use one short block for a second subject and leave another block free for anything you missed.

Use your mistakes to plan the next week

Keep a small table with the topic, what went wrong, and what you’ll do next. For example, “Simultaneous equations. Lost a minus sign when subtracting. Work through two elimination examples on Wednesday.” That note is more useful than a score on its own.

If you miss a session, pick up the most useful task in your next available block. Give it a clear end point so it fits. At the end of the week, carry over one weak topic and swap the others as your practice results change.