Students can generally be divided into two groups: those who prepare for the exam in advance and those who do it only a few days before. This article will outline hints and tips for both. I will start with those of you who prepare long before the exam, however, the majority of the article is for those of you who start late.
If you are an early starter, make a plan, depending on how much time you have during the week after your lectures along with other work. The plan should outline the time that you have available as well as the subjects that you are preparing for. The time spent on each subject will differ, depending on the quality of the lectures, your attendance, the difficulty of the subject and the amount that you need to revise to pass it. It is advisable to spend 2–3 hours of revision for each lecture. This will allow you to look through the notes made during the lecture and read any additional literature. Furthermore, you may find during the revision that there are some points that you would like more clarification on from your tutor. This will provide you with an opportunity to clarify them before your exam.
Despite the tips outlined below, it is always advisable to start as early as possible, as you will have a chance to prepare better for the exam and it is generally better for your health. Furthermore, while studying, you need to create the best possible conditions for yourself: turn off the TV and mobile phone, be alone in the room and ask relatives/friends not to bother you. Take regular 10–15 minute breaks. Use them to stretch and get a cup of tea – not to call friends. These breaks will allow you to “recharge” your brain batteries and are likely to make your revision more successful. Moreover, make sure that the room where you are studying is properly ventilated and the correct temperature is set. Drink plenty of water and do not forget to eat.
If you are one of the millions who prepare only a few days before the exam, or even hours, then your method will differ accordingly. The first thing to do is not to panic – a lot of people have passed exams by just applying themselves fully before the exam. There is no point in trying to cover all of the material – you will not able to do it. So the best thing to do is start with the exam questions. Look at the past papers – this is your starting point. What do they have in common? Is there a trend? For example, the first two questions ask for definitions; the questions never ask to elaborate on the same topic etc. Write down the trend. Next, you need to do some clever guesswork. What do you think the next paper will ask? No one, apart from the people who write it, will be able to predict it perfectly, however, you will be surprised how much you can identify. If your tutor is the one writing the exam, it is worth paying attention to the subjects that he has elaborated on during the lectures. Did your tutor give you a set of goals and objectives for this course? Further, it will be great if you can attend the revision sessions, or get notes from them. Revision sessions are a great opportunity to ask your tutor what they would personally like to see you write in the exam, especially if they are the ones marking your work. Approaching your tutor will help you to understand the subject better, as the tutor is likely to elaborate on the points. Furthermore, it is likely to leave a favourable impression.
Now that you have narrowed down the subjects, ask yourself how many subjects you are likely to be asked for. If you are likely to be asked for five subjects, then try to revise at least seven. Furthermore, make sure you know that you do not miss out on the easy marks, such as definitions. If your exam requires definitions, then write them all down on revision cards. Memorise one, study a subject, memorise the second one, etc. The trick with memorising definitions is understanding them. The more you repeat them, the better you will understand them. In the exam, you might forget the exact phrase but you will get full marks for getting the right idea.
Learning subjects in a short period of time is quite challenging. As with definitions, the trick is to understand the idea. However, if you cannot understand the idea in such a short period of time, don’t worry. If this was genuinely possible, no one would teach you over the whole course of the year, but rather sum everything up in a few lectures. The best thing to do, is to ask someone who has understood the topic. You can get the rest of the information from your lecture notes (which are often surprisingly helpful) and the textbooks. At this point, anything that you need to memorise, just write it down. I will outline a few tips on how to memorise a large amount of information later.
Revising the subject is most effective if you can break it down into small parts. It is often helpful if you write down a subject title, outline the main points and then carry on the revision by expanding on those points. A lot of students revise by just writing down the information from the textbook. Although this is a favoured method, it is not appropriate for everyone, as our memories work differently. Personally I like to write down just bullet points on the subject, and then spend time to think about it. This usually brings more questions into mind, which I can look up in the textbook.
Depending on the amount of time you have before the exam you can use some or all of the following to revise:
• “Flashcards – help to memorise facts NOT understanding
• Groups – good to work through difficult material, quiz each other for understanding
• Review sessions – only go to early ones, last minute reviews sometimes cause needless confusion
• Tutors – get help early, waiting till the last minute only fosters aggravation and panic
• Professors/TAs – same as above, don't e-mail about material the night before, do it early”
(BMB, 2006)
As has been mentioned before, the way people memorise information differs. Some people need to see things in order to memorise them, some need to hear them; others only work through understanding the subjects. One of the methods that I have used throughout my life, which has never failed me, is using everyday objects to memorise information. To my great surprise this method works on every piece of information, be it memorising names or working out mathematical formulae. However, it requires quite a lot of imagination. Here is how it works: go to a room that you are very familiar with – give it a name. Bring with you a large number of objects that you are also familiar with. As you are going through the course material, give each object a related name and put it in the room accordingly. For example, say you are studying economics. Name the room you are in “macro economics”. Use the table to represent anything to do with inflation, where the “inflation” is a pen. Yellow pieces of paper can represent “demand” while blue pieces can represent “supply”. Put lots of yellow pieces of paper on one side and a few pieces of blue paper on the other side, and a pen at the bottom. What that will tell you is that if there is too much demand and not enough supply, the economy will suffer from inflation. Other parts of the equation can be added as you read the book. Once you have decorated a few rooms with this, physically walk through the rooms and recall your thought process. In the exam, you can “walk” through those rooms and recall the information.
If this method is not for you, then repetition is one of the best ways to memorise things, especially if you learn though listening. Here are some other tips:
• “Repetition, Repetition, Repetition, Repetition, Repetition, Repetition, Repetition
• Read it, Write it, Say it, Explain it, Draw it, Ask questions about it...… This will allow you to involve all types of memory: visual, mechanical and sound
• Break down words by prefix or suffix (Hydro relates to water)
• Use memory tricks:
• Mnemonics for lists:
e.g. taxonomy of living things
King Philip Chops Onions From Grandpa's Supply
Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
• Make silly rhymes or sayings to remember lists
• Use silly analogies to remember examples
• Humour is a powerful memory trigger; the dumber the better”
(BMB, 2006)
As has been mentioned above, taking an active part in learning will help you to memorise and understand a lot of information. You can check yourself by using quizzes and reviewing the information. Furthermore, question ideas, find the answers to your questions and speak to other students. Relating information to things that you already know will help you understand and memorise topics. Always try to see the big picture, rather then concentrate on a large amount of small information. This will allow you to organise the topics and new information in your head much easier. Furthermore, a lot of students, if they have time, find it useful to rewrite the notes that they have written. This will allow you to revise the information as well as organise it better.
Before the exam don’t forget the following: sleep. It is always very tempting to stay up the night before and do as much revision as possible. Staying up all night before the exam will not help you. Your concentration drops and you are more likely to forget information that you have learnt. If you are totally desperate for time, try to get at least five hours’ sleep and wake up two hours in advance, which will give you enough time to be alert again. Secondly, do not panic. When you panic, you do not have enough oxygen, which suffocates your brain (smoking before the exam also has very similar results). Breathe deeply. If you cannot answer a question, write down a few lines of notes on a scrap piece of paper and move on, you can always come back to the question later. Thirdly, try not to write more than required. It wastes time and rarely gives you extra marks. However, mentioning small details will make your tutor think that you know a lot about the subject. Try to support your arguments with the examples. Learning examples will help you memorise the information quicker and also will show your tutor that you understand the subject. Finally, read the question at least three times. A lot of students don’t answer the question because they see “what they want to see”. Good luck.
References
BMB, 2006 “Study skills for college” [Available from]:
link (Accessed on: 03/01/07)
Dawson College, 2006 “Preparing for exams” [Available from]: http://dc37.dawsoncollege.qc.ca/lc/exams.html (Accessed on: 03/01/07)
