Revise Revising: How to Harness Colour in your Revision
We all have a friend whose revision notes always look immaculate, with a blend of tasteful tones that would not look out of place in the Louvre. But, that friend might not necessarily be the one walking out with full marks at the end of every exam! While colour can be your friend on the road to exam success, it must be used correctly in order to support storage and recall of information within the brain. And this is easier said than done! Fortunately for you, the OTC are here, and we're armed with all the evidence addressing how colour should be used most effectively to enhance learning. If you’re fed up of revision advice, then why not check out some of our other content, such as this great guide on changing your relationship with your smartphone, or head to our main blog page to see other articles.
Use colour sparingly
The purpose of colour coding is draw your attention to the most pertinent segments of information, upon which you can build the rest of your argument. However, this is ineffective if you whole page resembles a Jackson Pollock, because it is incredibly difficult for the brain to identify the most relevant sections. It may even be less useful than writing your notes entirely in black and white, by adding an extra distractor.
Consistency is Key
It is essential that you use your colours to create a code that allows for maximally efficient processing of information. To achieve this, each colour should denote a different thing - at the OTC, we generally recommend using different colours for facts/figures, arguments, counter arguments, and context - though of course, this varies dramatically according to the subject that you study. Whatever you choose, you must abide by these rules tightly, until interpretation of your colour scheme becomes second nature.
Patience is a Virtue
A large proportion of our students have fallen into the trap of colour coding information as they make their notes - and indeed, this is one of the first things that the OTC advises you AGAINST! It is better to colour code your notes afterwards, once you have an understanding of the topic as a whole. This also means you can focus on getting down the basic information during your lecture or seminar, rather than focusing on making your notes look pretty. There are no prizes for art in an essay subject!
The Right Tools for the Right Result
It might seem obvious, but it is easy to overlook - effective colour-coding of notes requires the appropriate equipment. This means that you should have a set of good-quality highlighters in your arsenal, in addition to a set of coloured post-it-notes if you so choose. Even with the best colour coding skills on the playground, your results will be mediocre if you have to waste time working out exactly what is highlighted, or picking up the post-its that have fallen out of your exercise book for the third time that day! Though stationary is not cheap, an investment in education pays the best dividends.
We hope that this guide addressing effective use of colour to support revision was useful, no matter your subject. And remember, if you need personalised help with any academic discipline, we’ve got it covered - from Shakespeare to Schrodinger’s Cat! Find out our best-in-the-business prices here.
Finally, if you want to hear a little more about the science of colours and memory, check out this video below.