Any student will tell you how stressful it can be to find the time and patience to study for a big exam. It is, however, an incredibly important part of the process of studying, which means that everyone needs to understand how to do it effectively if they are planning on being successful as a student at any level.
Here are a few tips that will help you cope with your exam preparation, and will teach you how to effectively study any material in front of you.
1. The first thing you’ll need to do is understand when and where you are able to study. Some people cannot study without absolute silence, other prefer having music playing and other people around, perhaps in a coffee shop or a common room. Find what works for you and let it help you focus.
2. When studying, you cannot afford to get lost in the details from the get go. Make sure you are able to understand the main topics you are dealing with and get the gist of the arguments being made before settling in and learning the details.
3. You need to have a structured study plan, but that doesn’t mean you can’t give yourself some leeway. Take some breaks and rearrange your study periods, but don’t allow yourself to skip any sessions without a good reason.
4. Take some breaks in between your study sessions to quiz yourself. You can find tests online to see if you’re on the right track, or you can make yourself a set of flash cards to create a mini quiz.
5. When you’re prepping, don’t be afraid to ask questions to your lecturers or teaching assistants to clarify any problems you may have. Remember the old adage: there are no stupid questions!
6. Many people find that they are able to study more effectively in a group. If you’re planning on forming a study group, find a group of people who are actually serious about doing well in the upcoming test. If you get stuck with someone who isn’t serious, they will do everything they can to distract you and get out of having to do any real work.
7. Even if you think you are the kind of person who is able to cram a lot of studying into a short space of time, the best way to do it will be to space out your studying. This way you will give yourself more time to actually understand the work at hand, and you will avoid any stress that comes with staying up all night right before the test to perhaps learn one more little piece of information.
8. Study a little bit every day for about 10 days before the test, depending on how much content you have to get through. This way you give yourself a way to keep the information fresh in your memory every day, and you will constantly be thinking about it. Once it becomes habit in this way, chances are you won’t forget it for a very long time.
Written by Wesley Geyer
No comments:
Post a Comment