When an exam is coming up, optimizing your preparation is a lot more nuanced than you’d think. In this article, we’ll share strategies you can use to ace your upcoming exam!
Gather Your Resources
One of the first things to prepare for an exam is to know what type of exam it is. Is it multiple-choice? Is it short-answer? What content will be on the exam? All of these questions are important in determining your approach to studying.
Before you start your studying process, it is important to gather as many resources as possible, in one location (i.e. a digital or physical folder) for accessibility. Assemble the notes that you take in class. If your teacher lectures through powerpoints, gather those slides if you have access to them. Ask your teacher for a study guide. If they don’t have one, you can make one yourself or look for one online!
Practice or past exams can be one of the most effective resources to prepare for an exam. Ask your teachers for different versions of the same exam or search online for similar exams to gauge where you are at in your preparation. After taking the exams, review the wrong answers. Understanding why your answer is incorrect or correct will help you master the material.
Study Strategies: Active Learning
The actual study materials are important, but so is the way you study them. Oftentimes, students try to absorb as much knowledge as possible as it gets taught. This is a passive way of processing information, which is inefficient compared to a more active way of processing information. If passive learning is listening or reading the information, then active learning is applying it. By applying the knowledge you learn through various methods, you can retain the material much more quickly in the long run, which optimizes study time. Active learning is the heart of all efficient study strategies, and here are a couple examples of ways you can implement active learning.
The first study strategy is to initially memorize a relevant concept or definition and revisit the concept after a period of time has passed, which is known as spaced repetition. How often do you study something so much that you feel like you’ve mastered it just for you to forget it when the time of the exam comes? Spaced repetition can prevent this scenario from happening by helping you truly master the material.
The key to spaced repetition is the spacing; by allowing just the right amount of time to pass, you forget the information just enough for you to be able to recall the gist of it but not the specifics. This is when you process the information again, so that both the general and specifics become more cemented. By going through this process again and again, you can prevent your brain from forgetting the material over time, which gives you mastery over the concepts necessary for the exam.
Another example of active learning is visualizing the concept, which is especially effective when illustrated. By drawing out the concept in a way that you can understand, your brain is actively applying the information you just learned in order for you to better understand the concept. Visualizing can be mental too, as you still actively try to make sense of the information that you are processing. Some people even create maps or crafts in order to cement their understanding of the material. Try to experiment with which medium of visualizing is most effective for you!
One of the best ways to actively reinforce your understanding of the concepts you are trying to master is the four-step process called the Feynman Technique: study, teach, fill in the gaps, and simplify. The first step is to study the material; we’ve already discussed various methods on how to best absorb information. The second step is to teach the information you learned to other people. By teaching others, you actively recall the information to help others understand the material the way you do, which cements your own understanding of the knowledge. One way to implement this step is by forming or joining study groups. Study groups provide an opportunity for you to share your knowledge with everyone else. Furthermore, study groups can keep you accountable and prevent you from getting distracted. Teaching others is a great way to retain what you’ve learned. If you are the one being taught, you benefit from learning the material!
Productivity Strategies
Although the method of studying is important in retaining information, there may be external factors that prevent you from optimizing your studying. Thus, consider controlling your environment. If your phone’s notifications are on and actively buzzing, your attention will constantly be divided between your notifications and your priorities. The less distractions in your study environment, the more your brain can focus on what’s important.
Explore different environments. Some people study more effectively at home, while others study better at a coffee shop. Changing your environment from time to time helps because novelty stimulates the brain! Studying in the same location over time can sometimes cause your focus to drift, so by changing your environment, you can refresh your brain to focus again.
Get Help!
In some cases, learning at school and studying by yourself might not be enough to understand the material enough to ace your upcoming exam. In situations like these, consider learning from someone else! Email your teacher questions that you have or ask them in person after school or in between periods. Otherwise, you could also enroll in a study program or afterschool to receive the extra help you want. You can even hire a tutor, and get one-on-one instruction. Learning from someone who is knowledgeable on the exam subject is a great choice to prepare for an exam!
Day/Night Before Exam…
It’s common for students to stay up late or even pull all-nighters to cram the night before an exam. It may be because they don’t feel prepared enough, or feel obligated to study as much as possible before an exam. The truth is, it might not be the best idea to sacrifice sleep the night before your exam.
Ideally, you are well-prepared enough for an exam that you can get a healthy amount of sleep. This way, your brain is fully functional during test day.
But let’s say you are not completely prepared for the exam. You want to maximize your study time the night before, but not at the expense of your brain power the next day. How much sleep should you get? The number of hours varies from person to person, and the effects of sleep on performance is too nuanced to narrow down to a single number. It’s best to experiment yourself over time to find the perfect balance between sleep and your performance.
About the Author: Allan Han, MA is a writer and educator with over six years of teaching experience in teaching K-12 students fundamental English, fundamental Math, SAT writing, and high school literature. He received his Master's Degree in English Instruction at NYU and formerly taught in LaGuardia High School in the city of New York.
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