Study Tips to Prepare for Final Exams
1. Make a Study Schedule
Make a study schedule and stick to it! You plan and schedule other activities, whether it be with friends or for an extracurricular activity, so why not make a study schedule as well. Time management is the key to success.
Focus is a skill that students learn to develop early in the academic years at the Academy. The ability to block out distractions and concentrate can be a challenge, but with guidance and consistency, it can be very useful for studying.
2. Review Your Notes within 24 hours
Review your notes within 1 day of taking them to improve retention rates. Whether you look at them while walking home from school, before you go to sleep, or prior to the next class time. Consistent reviewing can increase your retention.
3. Get Rid of Temptations
Go to a room or place without any distractions. No television. No music. No cell phone. Get rid of anything that could tempt you from doing something other than focusing, even if that means getting away from your friends who you may be tempted to talk to. Even food can be a distraction to some. If it’s not necessary for doing what you need to get done, get it out of the room.
4. Get Rid of Mental Distractions
Before an exam or even if you’re just studying, write out all your worries and distracting thoughts that are clogging your mind from being able to think straight. Studies have shown that this can even improve test scores when done prior to an exam.
5. Change Your Mindset: Don’t Hate - Appreciate.
One of the reasons some people have trouble focusing is because they may not like what they are doing. This could be because it causes stress or frustration or simply because they would rather be doing other things. However, if we can flip our mindset to view assignments and studying as an enjoyable challenge or focus on the mental benefits or relief that comes on the other side of it, then it could help our minds concentrate on getting through the task rather than avoiding it.
6. Know Yourself.
Learn yourself to find out when your best time to focus is. If you ever do get to a place where your mind keeps wandering and you are having trouble focusing, take a short break. Your mind can only take so much at one time, but it is up to you to learn yourself well enough to know when you are able to focus the best and how long you are able to focus for. Also, try to push yourself to improve, rather than using what you think your limit is as an excuse to stop.
7. Choose a Good Place to Study
Sometimes studying in the same room where you sleep can cause you to become tired more quickly because your mind associates it with sleep. However, if you choose the kitchen, you may think about food. It may be difficult, but try to find a place where your subconscious will not work against you.
8. Don’t Fight Hunger & Tiredness
Going along with knowing your patterns, you need to make sure you are aware of your physical state. Take a nap or have a snack before you start studying so you do not fight hunger or sleepiness while you are trying to focus on studying.
We’ve learned that some students study best in small groups so those opportunities are made available to them during course review days to help maximize their preparation for exams.
9. Rewrite your notes
Rewrite your notes to make them more organized and clean. This will help you remember the information better and make studying your notes easier. This could include color coordinating information, adding charts, mind-maps, or other visuals, or thinking up appropriate examples to list with each topic.
10. Read Your Notes Out Loud
When you are going over your notes, read the information out loud. This helps you interact more with the information as you read, say, and hear it, as opposed to only reading. Writing it out as you read, say, and hear it will help concretize it even more.
11. Test Yourself.
Have somebody quiz you on the information. Don’t wait until the test to find out what you do and don’t know. You can create your own test. This can help you think like a teacher so as to better prepare you for what may be on the test. You could also get a study partner, both make tests, and then take each other's test to see how you do. Once you find out what topic you know the least about, start studying that information.
12. Flashcards & Notecards
Make flashcards or notecards. If you have visual or spatial intelligence, try taping them throughout your house; this could help you connect the information with certain areas, helping you to make a real-life mind palace to aid in memorization. Or take the notecards with you wherever you go. Make a deal with yourself (or a pact with your friends) that before getting on your phone for social media or games, you must first go through the set of flashcards. Depending on how often you check your phone, you may be going through those notecards a lot.
13. Exercise & Hydration
Your brain is a part of your physical body, and if you want it to be working well, you need to be healthy. Exercise and staying hydrated are ways you can improve your brain’s performance. Drink plenty of water and get your blood flowing to keep your mind sharp.
14. Dress for success!
Dressing well boosts your confidence and can get you into a more focused mindset. This is especially helpful for taking exams, but can be useful for studying as well. If you try studying in your pajamas, don’t be surprised if you fall asleep. Similar to dressing well, standing and walking tall can boost your confidence and help your mind feel strong. Hold a power pose for a minute or two by standing tall with shoulders back, feet spread apart, hands on your hips, and chin up in the air.
Sources:
Harms, William. “Writing about worries eases anxiety and improves test performance.” University of Chicago. 13 January 2011 (visited 4 May 2022).
https://news.uchicago.edu/story/writing-about-worries-eases-anxiety-and-improves-test-performance
Leech, Joe. “7 Science-Based Health Benefits of Drinking Enough Water.” Healthline.com. 30 June 2020 (visited 5 May 2022).
