Hello! Since it’s finals time I wanted to share some tips on how to create an effective study guide! Enjoy!
- Keep It Short and Sweet
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“Why use lot word when few word do trick?” ;) Keep it concise! Your study guide will not be effective if it has pages and pages of words. The less cluttered your study guide is, the less overwhelming it will be when you are juggling several exams at once. Summarize information and put definitions and concepts into your own words. Additionally, include any mnemonics or memorization tricks in your study guide as a reminder! You can also display information visually to help you make visual connections and prevent wordiness/lengthiness.
- Keep it Organized
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Organization is key when creating a study guide so that you can find a specific definition or concept quickly. Organize your information by chapter or unit. If you are a visual learner, you can also organize your study guide through the use of graphic organizers, diagrams, and color-coding/highlighting. However, too many colors can become distracting. Organize it in a way that makes sense to you and tailor it to your learning style, and remember that what works for some classes might not work for others!
- Quiz Yourself
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You should make sure you are familar with and understand the course concepts and definitions, but memorization alone will not fully prepare you and is not as effective. By applying what you know and quizzing yourself, it gives you some practice before exam day and allows you to become familiar with questions that might appear on the exam. Resources such as study guides and any review materials from professors, practice questions from the textbook, quizlet, and old tests and quizzes are all great resources to help you find quiz questions!
- Purposeful Repetition/Recall
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Repetition is extremely important when studying, but in order to truly retain infromation, relating new information to information you hvae already learned about is an effective strategy. If you can teach a concept to someone, you will have a better understanding of it and remember it better. For example, after finishing a math problem, reviewing each step you used to get your final answer will allow you to solve similar problems more easily. By putting it into your own words and breaking it down, you will be studying more effectively!
- Destress
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Finals gets to everyone at one point or another. That’s why it is so important to take of your mental health and destress. Preparing in advance is key, but also take time for a study break to go for a a walk or jog, have a snack, or do something you enjoy. The night before your exam (and every night) make sure to get enough sleep and take a deep breath becasue you’ve got this!
I hope you found this helpful! Thanks for reading and good luck with finals!