With exams coming up soon, it means a lot of studying for courses – so here are some tips to help you study effectively.
1) Study in a group. Studying with a group of people can be effective especially because it can make you feel more motivated when you have others helping you out. It’s certainly much harder to justify browsing tumblr in a group. Well, as long as you pick the right group. Not to mention, you’ll able to share notes and test each other. It’s a great way to destress when you’re feeling overwhelmed while studying alone.
2) Take breaks while studying. Studying for a long period of time without breaks can make you feel overwhelmed and unmotivated. Taking break gives you a time to relax for a bit, reward yourself for studying and get motivated. These breaks should be time set aside to do something that will benefit you in a positive way. So rather than checking social media, you can do something like taking a walk, drawing or colouring a picture, or stretching.
3) Highlight key concepts/formulas, important names & dates. Although you may still want to study all information you need for the test, focusing on key concepts, formulas, important names and dates are important because many questions may revolve around this information. Depending on your subject of course: key concepts and formulas may prove a bit more helpful for a biology exam than say, the exact year when the structure of DNA was discovered (1953!).
4) Make flash cards for any vocabulary that you’ve learned. By doing this, it will make it easier to study the vocabulary. Also, writing helps you to retain information much better so even simply writing out the flash cards will help with the memorization process. This applies for organizing your notes from class as well. It’s much harder to organize notes while you’re writing them down, so reformatting them into a clear and accessible format makes it easier to study while also helping you retain the information.
5) Remove distractions from your study area. For most, it’s much easier to concentrate when you don’t have any distractions around you. The best thing to do is to remove them from your study area. If you have a TV in your room, maybe you could study in a different room, if there’s something on your computer/laptop that you need to be studying, maybe it would be better to simply print it off, and if your phone is a distraction, then it would be best to turn it off and set it aside. Alternatively, remove yourself from the distracting environment. The comfy bed in the corner of your eye can make it very difficult to continue studying – plus, some people find it easier to study in a public place (provided it’s somewhere quiet like the library or a deserted coffeeshop) because they want to at least /seem/ like they’re working.
6) Avoid cramming by studying as early as possible. Studying as early as possible, because this ensures that you will retain as much information you need for your exam. Often when you study last minute, it’s harder for you to remember what you studied because you may be stressed and overwhelmed, and it may cause you forget things once you write your exam. Not to mention: it’s much easier to fit a semester’s worth of material into a semester, than two days before the exam.
7) Ask questions! If you have any questions/concerns before your exam, ask your teaching assisstant or your professor as soon as possible. They’re there to help you and it may help guide you on what is most important to study. Facebook groups for courses are sometimes useful, provided your fellow students have proven helpful in the past. Not all course groups are created equal.
These are just some tips to help you out when you’re studying, but in the end, do what works for you and create your own study habits. Good luck to everyone writing exams soon!