10 Exam Preparation Study Tips For Students
When preparing for exams the majority of students leave their preparation far too late. By using the Note Taking and Study Habits strategies you will be in a very strong position before you even start.
The key is to reinforce your understanding after you have learned the information and then perfect it in preparation for the exam, not re-learn it like most students.
Tip 1: Exam preparation should start from about 3-4 weeks out (2 weeks at a pinch).
Tip 2: When you begin, identify your exam types early as this will affect your preparation.
Tip 3: Once you know what your exams are, review your notes from the term and identify the key topics. Often exams are based on topics, or chapters (most exams will cover 3-8 topics).
Tip 4: Once you have identified the key topics, group your notes based on these.
Plan
Tip 5: Schedule your revision time into your weekly calendar each week. This will help keep your plan on track and make sure you cover the content evenly.
Tip 6: You should aim to cover your notes at least twice prior to the exam.
Tip 7: Leave yourself 2-3 days to really focus on any tough topics prior to the exam.
Tip 8: Make sure to schedule some group revision time, this will help you work through any advanced topics and reinforce your understanding.
Remember, it’s not just about doing 100s of questions. Questions are great, but often the ‘A’ marks in exams come from the complex reasoning questions.
These questions require a solid foundational knowledge, but more importantly a greater understanding of how different theories and rules interact or relate to each other. Be conscious of this when preparing for exams.
Give Your Mind the Chance to Perform
Tip 9: It’s not just about revising. It is crucial to give your mind the opportunity to perform at peak levels at the right time. The best way to do this is to give yourself a break just prior to the exam. Contrary to popular belief cramming right up to the exam is more often a hindrance to those students who have actually prepared correctly.
Tip 10: Stop studying your notes approximately 2 hours prior to your exam and just take a break, make sure you have eaten and hydrated and just think about your notes, your topics, your formula. During this time, only take out your notes to check if you get stuck or can’t recall something.
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