Revision week
The term swotvac (swot vac, swotvac) is commonly used in Commonwealth countries, particularly Australia, to refer to this period. The term is a blend of the "swot" and "vac" (vacation), indicating the period free of classes. "Swot" (or less commonly "swat") is a dialectal word (Scottish) originally meaning "to sweat", which found use as a slang word describing a student paying careful attention to his work. Swot as a verb suggests acting like a swot, studying for one's exams. The use of the uncommon and outmoded word 'swot' has led to the backronym " Study Week Or Take VACation" or Study WithOut Teaching " (or Tuition") " VACation". There are many other different backronyms that can be derived, and the term" stuvac (STUdy VACation, STUdent VACation) "is also found. Though once popular and used by universities as the official name for the week, the term seems to have fallen from favour and replaced with "study week". As of 2014, however, it is still used by at least three of Australia's Group of 8 universities on the academic calendar. It is scheduled after all the regular class lectures and before final exams. In some universities, reading days in the Fall semesters are being scheduled two days before Thanksgiving holidays to extend the holiday weekend like a spring break. However, this break is followed by the last week of classes and final examination week. In many cases, student governments have lobbied to introduce, extend, or preserve reading days as a day exclusively for study and have run into conflict with teachers who like to use it as an additional day for lectures or exams. Another issue is that some students may prefer to take exams on reading day in order to get the semester over with.
Swotvac
The term "revision week" is chiefly used in Commonwealth countries, where it is also known as "swotvac" or "stuvac".