I've got an English Literature coming up next month, and wondered if anyone had any technical advice for revising at university level. Since Literature relies on broader things than questions and answers, the flash-card method won't really work for me. I have my list of texts which will be included in the exam. It is a closed-book exam (not allowed to take in any texts). Any good techniques. I've heard many people say that 'active revision is better than passive revision,' so what are some good ways to actively revise?
I just finished my creative writing/lit degree and I always found that the best way to prepare for an essay or exam is to put things into context. My tutors always loved when you could give lit a broader context to formulate your ideas. I know this advice isn't groundbreaking but it always helped me. Do a little research, even if its cursory, into the time/place/society etc that you're focusing on in the lit you're studying. It can help you tackle the ideas that the text provides. I also really like looking into persuasive writing techniques when writing lit essays as the tutors always seemed to appreciate a little enthusiasm. Good luck!
Wow. Isn't it a bit late in the game to be asking this? Seems to me that would be the focus of the entire course, and the ones leading up to it.
This is an exam technique, rather than strictly speaking "revision", but it can be helpful as a way of impressing examiners. It's a little bit on the early side for it, though: it's something to do really close to the exam ... For "literature exams", if you can find "suitably flexible stuff", it's worth learning by heart some unusual/provocative/entertaining quotations from relevant but not-too-well-known literary critics, which you think you might be able to work into quite a variety of different questions. It's something which comparatively few candidates are able to pull off reliably, under examination conditions, and it can go down very well. Anything which is relevant, unusual and can make an examiner smile is likely to put them on your side. Good luck!
