Common Revision Mistakes
The revision equivalent of our Misconception Museum. These mistakes feel productive but waste your time.
Just like there are common mistakes in maths problems, there are common mistakes in how students revise. These habits feel productive but actually waste your time.
Here's the revision "Misconception Museum" — the mistakes to avoid and how to fix them.
Mistake #1: Re-reading Notes
The Mistake
Sitting with your notes open, reading through them, highlighting bits, maybe re-reading them again.
Why It Happens
- It feels productive (look at all those pages I covered!)
- It's easy and comfortable
- The material feels familiar, which we mistake for understanding
Why It Doesn't Work
Reading creates recognition, not recall. You think "yes, I know this" because it looks familiar — but recognition is easy. In the exam, you need to produce information from a blank page, not recognise it.
Studies show re-reading is one of the least effective revision strategies. You're essentially fooling yourself into thinking you know things.
The Fix
Close your notes and test yourself.
Instead of re-reading about Pythagoras:
- Close your notes
- Write down everything you know about Pythagoras
- Then open your notes and check what you missed
- Focus your next session on the gaps
This is harder. It's also much more effective.
Mistake #2: Highlighting Everything
The Mistake
Going through your textbook or notes with a highlighter, marking important bits. Ending up with pages that are 80% fluorescent yellow.
Why It Happens
- It feels like active engagement with the material
- Highlighted notes look organised and "revised"
- It's satisfying to use coloured pens
Why It Doesn't Work
Highlighting is passive. You're just making marks on a page — your brain isn't doing any real work.
Research consistently shows highlighting has almost no effect on learning. It's one of the lowest-value study activities you can do.
The Fix
Replace highlighting with retrieval.
If something is important enough to highlight, it's important enough to test yourself on.
Instead of highlighting the quadratic formula:
- Cover it up
- Try to write it from memory
- Check if you got it right
- Put it on a flashcard for later review
The effort of retrieving information does what highlighting cannot: it actually strengthens your memory.
Mistake #3: Only Revising Topics You Like
The Mistake
Spending most of your revision time on topics you already understand because they feel more comfortable.
Why It Happens
- Revising things you know feels good (high success rate)
- Weak topics feel frustrating (lots of mistakes)
- It's natural to avoid discomfort
Why It Doesn't Work
The topics you're already good at have the smallest potential for improvement. Going from 90% to 95% takes the same time as going from 50% to 75% — but the second one is worth far more marks.
Time spent polishing strengths is time not spent fixing weaknesses.
The Fix
Prioritise weak areas ruthlessly.
Rate every topic:
- 🔴 Red: Don't understand / always get wrong
- 🟡 Amber: Okay but not confident
- 🟢 Green: Solid
Spend your time:
- 50% on red topics
- 35% on amber topics
- 15% on green topics (just to maintain them)
Yes, it's uncomfortable. That discomfort is the feeling of actually improving.
Mistake #4: Doing Blocked Practice
The Mistake
Practising one topic at a time: 20 questions on Pythagoras, then 20 on trigonometry, then 20 on area.
Why It Happens
- Textbooks and worksheets are organised this way
- You get better scores during practice (feels good)
- It seems logical to "master" one thing before moving on
Why It Doesn't Work
In blocked practice, you know what method to use before reading the question. You never practice the skill of identifying what type of problem you're facing.
Research shows interleaved practice (mixing topics) leads to nearly double the exam performance — even though it feels worse during practice.
See Interleaving for the full explanation.
The Fix
Mix your practice from the start.
Don't do: 20 Pythagoras → 20 area → 20 percentages
Do: Pythagoras → area → percentage → Pythagoras → algebra → area → ...
Create mixed problem sets. Shuffle your flashcards. Do questions from different topics in random order.
Mistake #5: Copying Out Notes
The Mistake
"Revising" by writing out your notes again, perhaps making them neater or more colourful.
Why It Happens
- It feels like doing something
- Nice notes feel satisfying to create
- "I learn by writing things out"
Why It Doesn't Work
Copying is passive. You can copy something perfectly without understanding it at all — your hand moves but your brain doesn't engage.
The time spent making pretty notes could be spent actually learning the content.
The Fix
Make notes from memory instead.
If you want to create revision notes:
- Read the material
- Close the book
- Write what you remember (from memory!)
- Check what you missed
- Add the missing bits in a different colour
This transforms passive copying into active retrieval — much more effective.
Mistake #6: Leaving Weak Topics Until Later
The Mistake
"I'll come back to circle theorems later, once I've finished the easier stuff."
Later never comes. Or it comes too late.
Why It Happens
- Weak topics feel overwhelming
- There's always something easier to do
- "I'll understand it better once I've revised other things"
Why It Doesn't Work
Weak topics need more time and more repetitions to master. Leaving them until the end means you don't have enough time to properly learn them.
Also, some topics build on others. If you avoid algebra, you'll struggle with graphs, which affects coordinate geometry, and so on.
The Fix
Face difficult topics early.
Put your weakest topics at the start of your revision schedule, not the end. This gives you:
- More time to learn them properly
- More spaced repetition opportunities
- Less panic at the end
If a topic feels overwhelming, break it into smaller pieces and tackle one piece at a time.
Mistake #7: Not Testing Yourself
The Mistake
Revising consists of: reading notes, watching videos, looking at worked examples, maybe re-reading notes again.
No actual testing until the mock exam.
Why It Happens
- Testing feels high-stakes and stressful
- Getting things wrong feels bad
- It's easier to keep "studying"
Why It Doesn't Work
Without testing, you have no idea what you actually know. You might feel confident — but that confidence is based on recognition, not recall.
Testing isn't just for checking knowledge; it's the most powerful way to build knowledge.
See Retrieval Practice for why this matters so much.
The Fix
Test yourself constantly.
Build testing into every revision session:
- Start with 5 questions from previous topics
- After learning something, immediately test yourself on it
- End with a quick quiz on today's material
Use past paper questions, make flashcards, do the blank page challenge. The more you test yourself, the more you'll remember.
Mistake #8: Revising for Hours Without Breaks
The Mistake
Marathon revision sessions. "I'll do 4 hours straight, then I'll be done."
Why It Happens
- Feels heroic and dedicated
- Trying to make up for lost time
- "Getting it over with"
Why It Doesn't Work
Your brain needs breaks to consolidate learning. After about 45-60 minutes of focused work, your concentration drops sharply. Pushing through leads to diminishing returns.
Long sessions also lead to burnout, which makes you avoid revision entirely.
The Fix
Use the Pomodoro Technique.
- Work for 25 minutes (focused, no distractions)
- Break for 5 minutes (actually break — move around)
- Repeat 4 times
- Take a longer break (15-20 minutes)
This keeps your brain fresh and makes revision sustainable. Four focused 25-minute blocks is better than two hours of declining concentration.
Mistake #9: Not Using Mark Schemes
The Mistake
Doing past paper questions, checking if your final answer is right, moving on.
Why It Happens
- Mark schemes seem tedious to read
- "I just need to know if I got it right"
- Eager to do more questions
Why It Doesn't Work
The final answer is often worth only 1 mark. The method marks are where most marks (and most learning) come from.
Without checking the mark scheme, you don't know:
- Whether your method would get marks
- What working the examiner expects
- Where you're losing marks unnecessarily
The Fix
Study mark schemes like a textbook.
After every past paper question:
- Check the mark scheme, not just the answer
- See exactly where each mark is awarded
- Compare your working to the expected working
- Note any marks you'd have lost (even if answer was right)
Mark schemes teach you how to write mathematics the way examiners want to see it.
Mistake #10: Watching Videos Passively
The Mistake
Watching YouTube tutorials on maths topics, nodding along, feeling like you understand.
Why It Happens
- Videos are easier than doing problems
- It feels like learning (the teacher explains it so clearly!)
- You can cover lots of topics quickly
Why It Doesn't Work
Watching someone else do maths is not the same as doing maths yourself. You might understand while watching, but can you reproduce it afterwards?
This is the illusion of learning again: following along ≠ being able to do it yourself.
The Fix
Pause, attempt, then watch.
Before watching a video:
- Try the problem yourself
- Note where you get stuck
- Then watch to see how they approach it
- Try a similar problem without the video
Use videos to fill gaps, not as your primary revision method.
Mistake #11: Starting from Scratch Each Time
The Mistake
Every revision session, you start at the beginning of a topic, read through it all, then run out of time before you get to practice.
Why It Happens
- Want to "refresh" before practicing
- Don't trust that you remember from last time
- Not tracking what you've already covered
Why It Doesn't Work
If you always start from the beginning, you never get to the harder material. You also never benefit from spaced repetition — you're just re-reading the same introductory content.
The Fix
Track your progress and pick up where you left off.
Keep a simple log:
- What you revised
- When you revised it
- What to focus on next time
Start each session with a quick retrieval quiz, not a complete re-read. Trust that your brain has retained more than you think.
Mistake #12: Revising Without a Plan
The Mistake
Sitting down to revise and thinking "what shall I do today?" then picking whatever feels least overwhelming.
Why It Happens
- Planning takes effort
- Don't know where to start
- Easier to be reactive than proactive
Why It Doesn't Work
Without a plan:
- Easy topics get revised repeatedly
- Hard topics get avoided
- Some topics never get covered
- You waste time deciding instead of doing
The Fix
Make a schedule and stick to it.
At the start of each week:
- List topics to cover
- Assign topics to days
- Include mix of weak, medium, and strong topics
- Include past paper practice
Then each day, you know exactly what to do — no decision fatigue.
See Your Year 11 Timeline for a complete schedule.
Summary: The Mistakes That Waste Your Time
| Mistake | Why It's Tempting | What To Do Instead |
|---|---|---|
| Re-reading notes | Feels productive | Test yourself |
| Highlighting | Feels active | Make flashcards |
| Only easy topics | Feels good | Prioritise weaknesses |
| Blocked practice | Higher practice scores | Mix topics up |
| Copying notes | Feels like "doing something" | Write from memory |
| Avoiding hard topics | Avoids frustration | Face them early |
| Not testing yourself | Avoids stress | Test constantly |
| No breaks | Feels dedicated | Use Pomodoro |
| Ignoring mark schemes | Saves time | Study them carefully |
| Passive video watching | Easy and clear | Pause and attempt first |
| Starting over each time | Feels thorough | Track and continue |
| No plan | Avoids commitment | Schedule in advance |
The theme: Most revision mistakes come from choosing comfort over effectiveness. Effective revision often feels harder and less satisfying in the moment — but it works.
Trust the process. Embrace the difficulty. Your exam results will thank you.
Back to Revision HQ:
- 🧠 How to Revise Maths — Start here
- 📈 The Science of Learning — Why these strategies work
- 🔄 Spaced Repetition — When to revise
- 🧪 Retrieval Practice — How to test yourself
- 🔀 Interleaving — How to mix topics