How To: Exam Preparation
Written By Mily Gu and Dante Zanini-Sassani
Exams!!! That’s right, it’s that time of year again, the time of stress, expectations, cramming, study sessions and endless notes, but what if we could make that just a bit easier? Below are some (hopefully) helpful tips to help you prepare for end of year exams!
Setup:
Your studying setup is a key feature to having a successful study binge, or even a quick revision, it sets the whole atmosphere for what you’re doing, and there's nothing more annoying than distraction.
The main things you need to get studying is a clear, organised study space, the right stationary, water (because hydration is a top priority), and zero distractions. Having a clear space is easier than you’d think, if you have clothes on your desk, just throw them aside, (or feel free to put them away neatly), and there, you have your study space.
Next up is your stationary, pens and pencils are essential for note taking and making cheat sheets. Highlighters are also extremely beneficial, especially when there’s a textbook of some sort involved. White out and rubbers, also a necessity. And a calculator! (depending on the subject). Also if you’re studying solely on your laptop, this entire stationary section is useless to you.
Thirdly, hydration, I think this is self explanatory, water is essential and extremely important, I’d suggest using a bottle over a cup just to avoid catastrophic water spills (catastrophic to both computers and notes!).
Finally, no distractions, obviously, it’s not easy to ignore or make distractions disappear, but there are ways you can improve your focus. For example mindfulness, it can help clear your mind before you start working. Another good thing is music, or just sounds, a few are; whatever music you like: lo-fi music, classical music, or even just listening to ‘raindrops for 10 hours’, whatever works for you best! (alternating between them is also a good idea!)
Learning about yourself:
Everyone has different study methods, and you need to work out what’s best for you. To do this, it may take some trial and error, but once you find your most efficient study method, it’ll save you tons of time in the future.
First ask yourself if you're a visual or auditory learner. If you aren’t sure, hopefully you’ll know after reading this article :)
Visual learners prefer reading information compared to hearing about it. They like using pictures, images, charts, graphs and diagrams when learning/studying. Hence, if you’re a visual learner, try to incorporate them as much as you can in your notes. Flashcards are also very useful! Not only are flashcards useful for testing yourself, but in the process of making them, you get some extra study time in. Lastly, use those highlighters to your advantage!
Auditory learners learn best when listening and talking. One of the most obvious ways for an auditory learner to study is to study in groups. Studying with a small group of friends is often useful as you can discuss questions and help each other, both listening and talking. Other useful methods include reading your notes aloud, practicing writing your answers using old exams and speaking your answers and watching videos that are related to what you’re studying.
Starting to learn a bit more about yourself? Let’s continue.
According to PSB Academy, “learning is most effective between 10 am to 2 pm and from 4 pm to 10 pm, when the brain is in an acquisition mode. On the other hand, the least effective learning time is between 4 am and 7 am.” However, this isn’t for everyone.
Just like how we all have different study methods, we also have our own times that we are most efficient. This is mainly influenced by our daily schedules, such as when we sleep, what time we wake up, what time we get home from school, etc.
In all honesty, you can study at any time of the day, but what’s the point in studying if you’re going to be distracted and half asleep? You’ll just be wasting time. Making sure you’re studying when you’re wide awake and have had a good night's sleep to maximise efficiency (and to make sure you actually take in information).
Taking breaks:
When studying, it’s always important to have a good study to break ratio, like for every half an hour of studying, you get up for a five minute stretch/break/etc. Because with an uneven study to break ratio, you’ll either be overworking yourself and overloading your brain with info (which goes in one ear and out the other), or you might even have too much break time and end up wasting time. A good way to keep track of this study ratio is with timers or alarms. In a study break, you can do anything from grab some food, to doing a quick mindfulness session, scrolling through Instagram, etc. The point of it though is to get yourself into the habit of getting more stuff done without overloading your brain, taking breaks is great for your mental and physical health, it can also help you catch yourself on silly habits like slouching or procrastinating.
Ask for help!
I know it might sound scary or unnecessary, but asking for help will make the difference when it comes to the exam. If you’re anxious about asking a teacher, maybe first ask a friend, sibling or parent. Even though they may provide you with an answer, the best option is always to ask (or email!) a teacher. They are always willing to help and will try their best to explain and answer your questions.
Use resources
This is probably the most useful tip (in my opinion). Use the resources teachers give you! Whether it be past exams, checklists, homework booklets, revision questions, etc. Past exams are so useful in familiarising you with how the exam will be set out and the difficulty of questions. Of course, it will be different from the exam you have, but it’s always better to have a better understanding of what you’re going into. Checklists, although they sometimes include extra information, it’s very useful for sorting out things you definitely need to know and unnecessary information in your notes that you actually don’t need to know. Now for homework booklets and revision questions. These are for extra practice, and although they may seem tedious, getting in some extra practice to familiarise yourself with the topic more doesn’t hurt! It’ll only benefit you on exam day :)
And that’s it! We hope these tips help you in your preparation for not only the upcoming exams but also future tests you have! Good luck!
Resources:
https://pridereadingprogram.com/the-visual-learner/
https://pridereadingprogram.com/the-auditory-learner/
https://www.cowley.edu/academics/skills/tipsal.html