Saturday, July 19, 2008

How to Study For Exams


How to Study For Exams


from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Exams are terrible stress causers, whether it be high-school or college. The key to doing well on an exam is to, obviously, study hard and well, but also to study in the proper manner so that your studying experience will show results.

Steps


  1. Before your exams, create a calendar starting exactly one month before the exams are scheduled to start. For each day write down two subjects that you each plan to spend a half an hour studying. Take into account which classes are difficult for you; these subjects should show up on your study calendar more often. Stick to the calendar because an hour a day really isn't that much but it will really be useful. if you study for too long on something you find difficult, you will become stressed and most likely forget what you learned an hour ago so 1 hour is plenty
  2. Make friends that strive for good exam grades, just as you do. With friends who care about school, you'll find that you will have someone to study with without getting distracted. If they truly care about their grades, they will want to discuss material with you as much as possible because they want to be prepared for the exams as well. It is not necessary to "make new friends and 'ditch' your old ones" because they don't get good grades, and it doesn't mean they won't be upset if they fail their exams, but don't have a study party with people who you tend to muck around with too much!!
  3. Listen attentively in class before exams. Many teachers will playfully, or subtly hint things that might be on the exam, or they might focus on certain things more than others. Noticing your teachers lesson plans will help you realize the topics that are really important and that are likely to show up on the test. Take notes - have at least 4 blank pages ready before each class during the weeks leading up to exams, if you still don't understand something, ask someone, as there is no point trying to figure it out for yourself!! Don't worry about asking your teachers for help - that is what they are there for and most would probably prefer to spend an extra couple of hours going over work you find difficult than have you fail an exam!
  4. Don't just go through your notes, rewrite them. Rewriting some of your lecture notes, especially the sloppy ones, will bring back some of the old class topics in your mind. You will be able to remember the lectures and discussions surprisingly well. Rewriting your notes is great if you're a kinesthetic learner. also, when you re-write something it is making you think about what you are writing, what its about, why you wrote it down and most importantly, it refreshes your brain. if you took notes a month ago and just found out that those notes will be relevant in your exam, re writing them will remind you
  5. Don't study when you're really tired. It's better to study for two hours in one day than to try and cram in that daily hour at two in the morning. Besides, it will just make studying an even more unpleasurable task for you.
  6. Don't stress, if you can figure out how you study best. in your PJ's or your favorite t-shirt?, with music or not?, in your room or outside? one thing is for sure though, you won't be able to study while ... 1. Your darling little brother or sister is running screaming around the house 2. You are going to end up watching 'Pirates of the Caribbean' because they are way too distracting.


Tips


  • Don't study too hard during exam week. Exam week can be pretty fun if you're prepared. If you stick to the calendar, then you should be ready, so don't cram late at night every night, get a good nights sleep knowing that you spent a month studying hard.
  • Eat breakfast. Midmorning hunger is an awful distraction.
  • Don't overeat. Filling your body with huge amount of nutritious food will bring down brain work to digesting process.
  • You get what you get. Don't stress if you didn't get straight As. You should be just as proud of a B or C if you know you've worked hard for it and that's the grade you wanted. A passing grade means you were prepared for the test and knew the material. Just because you didn't get straight As doesn't mean you didn't work hard or didn't do well. Everyone is different and what may be a disaster for one student is a triumph for another
  • Try not to leave this until the last night before an exam. Begin studying at least a couple of days before the exam. You will feel more relaxed.
  • Take breaks. After studying for a while, reward yourself by going on a walk to clear your mind, chatting with friends (but not if it will distract them from their work!) or watching a film you enjoy. Try not to feel guilty about this - you need some time to have fun and it is better to revise when you are feeling relaxed after a break than to exhaust yourself studying all day!
  • Do practice papers and essays and ask your teachers to mark them so you can get an idea of the level you're working at and what you need to improve on. Don't panic if you get lower marks than you expected - ask what you need to work on and hopefully you'll improve in time for your exams. Also, bear in mind that some teachers will mark your work very harshly in order to motivate you into putting even more effort into your studies. If your teachers are like this, try not to take it to heard - they are doing it to make sure you achieve the highest grades possible, not because they want to upset you. Remember - disappointment in a lesson is much better than disappointment after an exam!
  • Finding out who is setting the exam can be helpful. That way, you might be able to understand what sort of questions will be used (short answer, essays etc.)
  • Asking teachers for help can make them think you are more committed, which can prove to be invaluable for future years.


Warnings


  • Cheating won't solve anything
  • Getting good grades will motivate you to study and achieve more.
  • Although some people find it a "good" idea, drinking absurd amounts of coffee/tea/any other caffeine source is NOT a good move, especially on the day before the exam. You'll crash eventually and you'll feel groggy the day of the exam, guaranteeing you'll most likely flunk it.
  • Some people like to have the TV on quietly in the background. This can cut both ways in that it can distract you from time to time but also can help you to continue studying. It's a risky strategy to have the TV on: nobody really knows how much it takes away from your attention and may be distracting you a lot more than you realise.


Related wikiHows





Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Study For Exams. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)