American English equivalent of "revise" (as in studying)

Solution 1:

You're right, Americans tend not to use the verb revise when preparing for tests or exams. Instead they will say:

• study

  From WikiHow: How to Study For Exams:

  Exams are a necessary and stressful part of study. Since they are so important, you need to study in ways that get the best results

  from Tips for Effective Study:

  The most common barrier to success encountered by college students is a lack of effective techniques for study and exam preparation

• run through
  excerpt from Exam Success — How to get great grades with less studying:

  ideally you would have enough time to cover your material at least thrice. Your first run through is to get a good feel for it and to build your understanding of the subject matter. Your second run through allows you to focus on the important points and commit them to memory (etc..)

• cram

  Have you ever been in a situation where it's the night before a big test and you haven't even cracked open a textbook or skimmed your notes? We've all been there. Recent research shows, however, that the lack of sleep caused by cramming may cause you to perform poorly, defeating the purpose

• review (which J.R. kindly suggested, and he's a native American English speaker)

  I should be reviewing the material before tomorrow's exam.

Solution 2:

All of these are good synonyms (American-English speaker here), but, having read a lot of British lit/fiction, too, there's not really a direct comparison between the act or state of "revision" and an American English equivalent.

I mean, we do study/review/cram/go over/run through, but "revision" as a specific and separate activity, a distinct part of the test-taking process, has nuances that are separate from the above synonyms, and as such, doesn't really happen.

Solution 3:

I am American and came across the word revise as in 'I am revising for my exams' in a picece of fiction. Americans use the word 'revise' strictly for correcting something, and would typically say 'study for my test' or 'review for my exams'. We would say revise an essay or article that we wrote ourself, but typically not to understand it better, just to fix the grammar. Hope that helps someone

Solution 4:

As an American, I have heard and used the phrase "I'm reviewing for a quiz/test," but I more often hear/use "I'm studying" which can refer to going back over material I've learned OR going through new material.