Top 10 tips to ace exams
With exams beginning next week, most students are wrapping up their assignments and may feel overwhelmed at the thought of how to prepare for exams. Andrea Moon, a learning strategist at Ryerson University, can help students ease their exam jitters and ace their finals with these top 10 tips:
1. Motivate yourself to start. Sometimes it is difficult for students to become motivated to study, especially if they are faced with an overwhelming amount of challenging information. As a starting point, it is useful to begin with a “pre-studying” planning task. Try organizing your lecture notes, making cue cards or creating a checklist of what needs to be reviewed. Even tidying up your desk can be a good first move. This way, you not only prepare yourself for your study sessions, but by looking thorough your notes, also have a better idea of what material you know well, and what requires more attention.
2. Develop a study plan. After you have a better sense about the amount of material that needs to be studied, determine how much time you need to spend on each area and break your time down into manageable shifts. For example, if you have one week to study five chapters, you can commit to studying one chapter a day, and use the remaining two days for review. Using a schedule that breaks down each day into half-hour increments and that shows the week at a glance is also useful for planning and managing your time. It is important to note, however, that study plans will vary from student to student, depending on their current study habits, course loads and personal commitments. It is best to reflect on these aspects to create a plan that is both realistic and manageable while ensuring enough time for breaks and a healthy amount of sleep.
3. Avoid cramming. Pulling all-nighters is not an effective way of studying. In fact, cramming can lead to sleep deprivation, which can impact your performance on exams. Instead, space your study sessions. Don’t wait until the last minute to study. In many cases, cramming for an exam increases your anxiety level, which, in turn, impedes your ability to understand, memorize and learn the material well. If you spread your study sessions across several weeks, you can process the information more efficiently. Try to review the same content over several weeks.
4. Apply your knowledge. Use what you learned before you forget it. Trust what you know, and practice interacting with the information. Make connections between the things you learned instead of just memorizing facts – try to link what you are studying to real-life situations. To help improve your mastery over the content, try teaching the material to someone else or lead a study group.
5. Choose your study space wisely. Study somewhere you know you will be productive that will minimize any distractions. For some students this is home, for others it is the library or other study space on campus. Equip yourself with any tools you will need (laptop, books, cue cards, pens) as well as water and a snack in case you get hungry.
6. Turn off your mobile devices. Even better, put it away – or keep it out of sight while you study. If you are using a laptop to study, log out of social media sites. If you have difficulty with this, remind yourself of how studying is related to your long-term goals, and that texting and other electronic socializing can wait. Let people know you have scheduled this time for study, and that studying is a priority for you right now.
7. Take breaks. Instead of letting distractions take you by surprise, take control of them by planning short breaks between your study sessions. Fifteen to twenty minutes of physical activity will help you work other parts of your brain, and you will feel more refreshed and alert when you return to studying. If you find yourself getting sidetracked by a distraction, remind yourself that you have a short break coming up, so focus on your studies until then.
8. Stay positive. Give yourself a little pep talk when you are lacking confidence. Instead of focusing on negative outcomes, remind yourself that your efforts have already brought you this far, and that they will continue to move you forward. Remind yourself that while a test can be a measurement of your knowledge and performance, it is not necessarily a reflection of your intelligence or potential.
9. Get good sleep. Staying up late the night before to cram all those facts and figures won’t help you retain all that information during exams. Instead, make sure you schedule your study hours during the day and leave the evening to unwind and get those eight hours of rest.
10. Relax! We often hear people advising us to “just breathe,” when we are facing moments of difficulty. If you find that your mind is going blank during the exam, take deep breaths to help calm yourself. You can visualize your breath entering your body from the ground to the top of your head as you inhale, and vice versa as you exhale. When you resume with the exam, begin answering the questions that are the easiest and most familiar to you first. This will help you build momentum and confidence. Take it one step at a time by focusing on the process, and not the outcome.
To arrange for an interview with learning strategist Andrea Moon, please contact Lauren Clegg, Public Affairs.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Lauren Clegg
Public Affairs | Ryerson University
Office: 416-979-5000 x 7161
lauren.clegg@torontomu.ca