Re-reading feels productive. It rarely is. The reliable finding across decades of learning research is that retrieval — pulling an answer out of your head — beats review — putting information back in.
Retrieval, not review
Every time you answer a question and check it, you strengthen the memory more than re-reading the same material would. Getting it wrong and then seeing the answer is still better than not testing at all.
Space it out
Cramming a topic in one sitting produces a score today and little next week. The same time, split across several days, produces a smaller score today and a much larger one at exam time. Revisit weak topics on a widening schedule: next day, three days, a week, two weeks.
Target the weak spots
You don't need even coverage. You need disproportionate time on the subjects and sub-topics where your accuracy is lowest. That's the whole idea behind the readiness roadmap and, on Diamond, the Revisions loop — it rebuilds practice sessions out of exactly the questions you've been getting wrong.
A workable weekly loop
- Monday–Friday: 20–30 mixed questions a day, plus one timed essay.
- Saturday: review every question you missed that week.
- Sunday: one full essay under exam conditions, graded.
Small, boring, repeated. That's what moves the number.