How to revise

by guest contributor Zebra Pen brand ambassador, Sophie

How to revise without losing your mind

Hi, I’m Sophie – one of the original Zebra Pen brand ambassadors! I started back in 2022, and I’m passionate about stationery and studying! I’m now in my third year of my International Relations and Social Anthropology degree at St. Andrews, and in my ‘How to revise’ guide, I’m sharing some easy-to-follow tips and five key revision techniques. Using Zebra pens makes revising and note taking a pleasure in itself.

Here’s how to keep calm and carry on revising!

What you’ll need:

Sarasa Clip 0.5mm in black. (If you prefer a thicker nib, these are available in 0.7mm Vintage black too.) These are probably the smoothest pens to write with of all time! As an alternative, Zebra Ola gel pens take the pain out of the toughest practice papers.

Mildliners are my absolute studying must-haves. They always encourage me to try new colour palettes and combinations – I always restock my most used colours during revision season!

Mildliner highlighters and Mildliner Brush pens are the killer combo for stylish, standout titles and flash cards.

Regular breaks every hour – and study snacks!

Sophie’s ‘How to revise’ guide

By @myhoneststudyblr and Zebra Pen UK.

These are my top five how to revise techniques – summary notes; mind-mapping; flash cards; past papers; and blurting. You can mix and match to suit your learning style. Putting your own creative spin on your how to revise notes by adding colour, headings and flourishes makes the whole process fun too.

With a positive attitude, a sense of perspective (an eight-hour revision day is too much) and your favourite Mildliners, revision will be as creative as productive.

Method 1: How to write summary notes

Before you start:

Ensure you have all your textbooks, lecture notes, and any other subject resources ready – and choose your favourite Zebra pens!

Step 1: Read through the material

Skim-read first to remind yourself of the topic – then close-read thoroughly to understand details, context and concepts.
Use your Mildliners to highlight key info such as definitions, formulas, and main ideas.

Step 2: Create summary notes

Don’t rewrite word for word – distil down, be succinct and use your own words.
Using bullet points, numbered lists, or mind maps creates a strong visual structure that’s easier to recall.
Colour code key words to make them stand out (Zebra Sarasa Clip pens come in lots of different colours!)

Step 3: Make it visual

Including diagrams, charts or tables makes the information more memorable. If you sketch these out first using a mechanical pencil, you can erase any mistakes you make.

Step 4: Review and revise

When you’re finished, read over your summary notes, and add any missing information. And now… add some personalised artistic touches, like doodles or shading using Mildliner Brush

Method 2: How to use mind-mapping

Step 1: Write your central topic in the middle of the page

This is the heart of your mind-map. I love using the Zebra Mildliner Brush pens for this because I can make the title extra bold through calligraphy. (Look out for brand ambassador, Andrew’s ‘How to get started in calligraphy’ guide coming soon!)

Step 2: Add the subtopics as branches off the title

Using the thin tip of the Mildliner Brush pens, identify key themes that radiate out from your main title. You can colour code these sub-topics to match the title colour.

Step 3: Keep adding detail and depth off each subtopic

Mind maps refine through finetuning. Add definitions, examples, dates, or quotes off each subtitle.
Keep it short and sweet – keywords and short phrases only.

Step 4: Make it visually appealing

Colour-coding helps differentiate between themes and adding images or icons embeds the information in your memory.

Method 3: How to use flash cards

Before you start:

Flash cards are brilliant revision tools and so easy to pop in your bag for added revising when you’re on the go. All you need are plain postcards, and your Zebras!

Step 1: Essential information only!

Focus your flash cards on headline concepts like essential definitions; formulas; quotations; characters or key figures; and their dates.

Step 2: Writing the perfect flash card

Write your question or prompt on one side: this could be a term, concept, or question.
Write the answer on the flip side clearly and concisely, colour-coding with Zebra Mildliners.

Step 3: Edit flash cards regularly

Flash cards are fabulously quick and easy to create, and you can keep adding to them! Shuffle the deck, test yourself daily, and the information will stick.

Step 4: Review your knowledge

Once you know a particular card well, you can view it less often. Don’t be afraid to discard it and add a new one to the pile, once the information is ingrained to memory.

Method 4: How to revise with practise papers

Before you start:

Source your practise paper and the pens that you trust to keep going without a hitch. My go-tos are the Zebra Sarasa Clip and Zebra Ola gel.

Have a Mildliner to hand to highlight keywords in questions, so you stay focused on what they’re asking.

Step 2: Make it feel real

Find a quiet space and time yourself to stick to the time limits of the actual exam. Phone off, notifications off. Answer all the questions, even if you’re not sure. The aim is to find the gaps in your revision so you can fill them.

Step 3: Review your answers

Mark your work in a different colour.
If you got something wrong, write down the correct answers and understand why you went wrong.
Make a hit list of the topics or question types you find more challenging. Now you know what to focus on.

Step 4: Rinse and repeat

The more practise papers you do, the more you embed knowledge and improve your exam technique.

Method 5: How to blurt

Blurting, which started as a TikTok phenomenon, is essentially an active recall revision technique. So…

Step 1: Prepare for your revision session

Choose a single topic.
Take a blank piece of paper and a good black pen – my favourites are the Zebra Sarasa Clip and Zebra Ola gel
Set a timer. Five to ten minutes max for focused study.

Step 2: Start blurting!

Without looking at your notes, write down everything you remember about the topic. In any order – a blurt is just a massive brain dump.

Step 3: Cross check your notes and review

Compare your blurt with your study materials.
Using a different colour pen, correct any mistakes you made.
In a different colour, add in any information you missed.

Step 4: Keep blurting

Regularly repeat the blurting and brain dump process to reinforce your memory.

Sophie’s top tips

🧠 Always revise actively – test yourself, make a Quizlet, write it down, say it out loud. That way you know it’s actually going in.

📆 Get your revision plan done early – so you know you’ve time to cover everything.

🔨 Break down your subjects into manageable chunks – then give each topic a specific time.

🧘‍♀️ Take a break! A 10 minute breather is worth an hour of cramming when you’re over-tired.

More in the series…

Look out for Andrew’s ‘How to get started in calligraphy’ guide, coming soon!