Exam Study Tips
Hello again! I’m back after that long hiatus! It’s been crazy, but I wanted to take the time to give you guys some exam study tips that could help you during this exam season.
Although December is the month of holidays and marks the end of the calendar year, it also signifies another thing for students. Most schools, whether they’re on the quarter or trimester system, end the term in December, before the holiday season. This means students have at least 1 week of exams to test their knowledge.
Last week, which was 2 weeks before my finals week, I had completed 4 practicals in 2 days. That week was a true testament of my time management skills and ability to act on the knowledge that I had retained. I’ve tried a couple of different study techniques throughout the years, but I think I’ve found some useful tips that have really helped me use my time efficiently. Now with finals coming up, I hope these exam study tips are helpful!
1. List out topics to cover
>> This tip may seem extra, but trust me, it is super motivating and keeps you on track.
Make a list of what you have to go over for each class. This can be as detailed as you want: units, chapters, topics, etc.
Listing all the topics you need to cover will show you what is left to do and what you’ve already done. The best part is checking off the box when you’re done 😍
You can also use this list to plan out what topics to study each day!
2. Plan your study time
>> The extra step makes a difference!
Depending on how many tests you’re studying for, you can divide your time by the subjects you need to cover. If you only have one test to prepare for, you can divide your time by the chapters or units that are going to be included on the test. If you have many different tests to study for, like me, you can set allotted times to study for each.
I learned that this method made me more focused because I was not getting bored with just one subject or topic and I could see the progression of my studying. Especially if you have a number of tests to study for, just making a simple schedule can keep you on track in order to be able to cover everything.
For the classes that you want to prioritize, you can set your study time longer than the ones that you think won’t need as much time. There’s no right or wrong way to do this, which is the best part. Just do what you think will work best for YOU.
*BONUS TIP: I like to use the Forest app with my schedule so that I know what time to change subjects/topics. For example, if I wanted to study for Musculoskeletal III for 1 hour, I set my timer on the Forest app to 1 hour. This way, I would stay focused for an hour AND would be reminded when I could stop and switch subjects.
3. Figure out your learning style
>> Use your strengths, not your weaknesses.
In order to use your time efficiently, make sure you’re learning the best way that you can! You can do this by knowing your learning style: visual, auditory, kinesthetic, or reading/writing.
If you don’t know what your learning style is, you can take a quiz in order to see which category you fall under! This quiz, “What’s Your Learning Style,” has 20 questions that will later determine what helps you learn best.
After you know your learning style(s), you can determine the best way to study based off of that. Here are some suggestions!
VISUAL:
- Watch lecture videos that explain the concepts
- Watch other videos about the topic (YouTube actually has some good educational videos!)
- Condense the material into diagrams/tables/charts
- Color-code your notes with different colors for headings, important points, key words, etc.
- Draw out the concept using a concept map or flow chart
AUDITORY:
- Watch/listen to lectures and videos about the topic
- Study with others and take turns explaining concepts to each other
- Make mnemonics and teach them to your friends
- Play music while you study to boost your motivation
- Explain the topic to someone (or pretend to) out loud
- Ask questions (to professor or classmate) when you don’t understand a concept
KINESTHETIC:
- Utilize models and explain the concept to someone
- Demonstrate the concept to someone
- Draw diagrams and charts
- Use flashcards (physical or online) to study and quiz yourself
- Create quiz questions and answers about the material
- If you’re studying something more hands on, practice doing it over and over again
READING/WRITING:
- Rewrite your notes in a more condensed way
- Highlight your notes as you go through them
- Read other people’s notes and compare to your own
- Read different resources about one topic in order to get a well rounded idea of it
- Look for patterns in the material so you can remember similarities/differences
- Test yourself by writing what you know on a whiteboard without looking at your notes/book
- Make test questions and answers (wrong AND right answers)
- Make flashcards and use them to test yourself
Not everyone fits into just one category; lots of people consider themselves to be a combination of these. These are just suggestions, so you should do what’s best for you and what helps you the most.
4. Stay focused
>> focus, focus, focus!
3 hours of “studying” can mean a variety of things. An hour of being on Instagram with an hour of Facebook, ending with one hour of focused work, does NOT equal 3 hours. While you may think I’m a nerd, I’d much rather hardcore study for 3 hours than “study” for 6 hours. The point of being focused is to spend your time efficiently – you don’t need to study 24/7 in order to do well. You just need to use your time WELL.
Besides making a study schedule, as explained above, I’ve really liked using the Forest app, which I already talked in a lot of detail about in my blog post about my favorite apps for school. Because I’m the type of person that easily gets distracted from my phone (especially Insta…), this app really helps me stay on track. If you’re the type of person to always be on Facebook or Buzzfeed on your laptop while you’re studying, you can download the Chrome Extension version of the app too!
If you get too antsy, which makes it really hard to stay focused, you can reward yourself after each set amount of time that you do focused work. For example, you can try to study for 1 hour and can reward yourself after with a piece of candy or something. The reward doesn’t have to be big, just something that will keep you motivated.
5. Test yourself
>> do you REALLY know your stuff?
The best way to see if you actually know the material is if you test yourself and if you can teach it. If you’re studying alone, testing yourself is a good indicator of how well you’re actually retaining the information. There are various ways you can test yourself:
- If you made flashcards with Quizlet, you can use the “test” function
- Use a whiteboard (or a blank screen on your iPad) to write down everything you remember about the topic/concept
- Make multiple choice questions that you can give to your friends – with explanations for why the correct answer is actually the correct one
- Duplicate your notes, and with the extra copy, delete some key words/phrases. Then test yourself by trying to fill in those words/phrases by memory
Hope you guys find these exam study tips helpful!
