Studying for Exams.

CarsByrd

Does anyone have any tips on studying for a week of exams?
I know not to cram the night before,
eat a good breakfast
stuff like that... but does anyone have any secret tips that might help a little or a lot with exams?
Thanks alot.

Invisible

Write a cheat sheet (note: not actually to be used for cheating). This is especially important for things like literature, but I find it helps in other classes as well. Write down, important people, names, places and ideas/equations and put what they are and why they're important.

Doing that greatly helps with recall in my experience, more than highlighting.

ChopperDave

Get plenty of sleep, but don't sleep more than you normally would (well, unless you normally sleep <8 hours). Getting too little or too much sleep will make you tired and underperform.

Skim over the test at first, and guestimate how much time you can spend on each problem. If you decide that you have 10 minutes per, for example, and one problem has you so stumped that you take longer than that, move on and come back to it later.

Like Invisible said, writing is a very good memory device. Just copy down names and facts that strike you as important on a piece of scrap paper, it'll help you remember them later. Also, do practice problems in the book that you haven't done for class.

lordswing

I find it better to wake-up early and study some more after a good night's sleep rather than cram cram cram till 3am and wake-up 10 minutes before the exam.

Bring water (if you can) to the exam, gum and mints work as well, keeps your mouth occupied, this which i heard helps you stay awake.

DynamiteKid

Take in a bottle of water if you can. Taking a drink gives you a brief respite, and rehydrates you after the inevitable sweating during an exam. This also applies to studying. Keeping hydrated keeps you alert while you work.

Kreutz

ChopperDave wrote:

Get plenty of sleep, but don't sleep more than you normally would (well, unless you normally sleep <8 hours). Getting too little or too much sleep will make you tired and underperform.

Skim over the test at first, and guestimate how much time you can spend on each problem. If you decide that you have 10 minutes per, for example, and one problem has you so stumped that you take longer than that, move on and come back to it later.

Like Invisible said, writing is a very good memory device. Just copy down names and facts that strike you as important on a piece of scrap paper, it'll help you remember them later. Also, do practice problems in the book that you haven't done for class.

In addition, and I know some people don't approve of this strategy, but I always do the easy questions first. Then I do the ones which require a little work, and I save the juggernauts for last. I also agree with going to sleep early and cramming right before the exam. If it's a mathematical class, flash cards are the best way to memorize complex formulas. I find it also helps to not discuss the subject matter with others right before the exam, as it can sometimes confuse you.

Al_wat

Kreutz wrote:

I find it also helps to not discuss the subject matter with others right before the exam, as it can sometimes confuse you.

A valid point but not always true. I remember several times when I learned very key information to the exam in the 30 minutes before it started, just by talking to other people.

Of course, this could have been negated by more thorough studying. The flip side to this is if you have studied thoroughly, you shouldn't get confused by talking to people before the exam either.

trixtah

What topics are they? Not knowing, I'd say you should go over the material at least twice, if you can, do it three times. Usually, I never study the day of the test--you should be pretty well prepared by this day. I also never like discussing with people before the test and just try to relax. If I can bring my heart rate down and just chill before the test starts usually I do much better than if I'm shitting my pants. While you're studying, if you start to get bogged down, take little breaks and rest. Oh, and like said, make sure you actually sleep...this is when you start consolidating the info you learned to long term memory...or so my psychology class tells me. Anyway, it's been working for me. What's really important is seeing the material many times and understanding it--elaborative rehearsal. Good luck!

Marty81

Oh, and like said, make sure you actually sleep...this is when you start transferring the info you learned to long term memory...or so my psychology class tells me

This is true. Also, studying right before you go to sleep helps you retain the information better and remember it more correctly.

Sir Red of the Manti

In multiple choice questions that are stumping you, eliminate the obviously stupid/wrong answers first. At the very least it'll reduce a 1 in 4 guess to 1 in 3 or 1 in 2 odds, and may possibly help the correct answer stand out a bit more. In fill-in-the-blank sections, check over the rest of your test, as sometimes the blank you're looking for was used as part of the question/multiple choice answer for another section. In essay questions, if you're given the question's worth, chances are that your teacher is expecting a supporting point/sentence/whatever for each mark of the question. So if it's worth say, 6 marks, your teacher is most likely expecting 6 arguments supporting your answer. If you don't know the answer to something and you have the time to do it, write down anything that you think is relevant in a blank space unless your teacher is using a marking scheme that deducts marks for guessing. If there's an important formula that you've memorized for the test that you feel will be useful, write it down somewhere as soon as you get your test so that if you do forget it, you can reference it. If you have an open book test, mark individual chapters/sections with labeled post-it notes/bookmarks, and never forget the all-knowing glossary if there's a key term used in a question. If you find yourself with spare time after a test, use it to look over your answers, checking to make sure that you've filled in answers correctly.
As for studying, explain what you're doing to someone else. If you can understand something to the point where you can explain it to someone else, you know what you're doing.

Cameron_Talley

I usually just read over my notes once or twice before the exam. Of course, I was an English major, so pretty much you either knew the material or you didn't.

"The More I study the more I know
The more I know, the more I forget,
The more I forget, the less I know,
so WHY STUDY?"

Shazkar Shadowstorm

Okay, while we're at it, what's the best way to memorize a bunch of derivations and equations?

GODDAMN PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY WHY DID I CHOOSE TO TAKE THIS CLASS?!

BOLTZMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!

lordswing

Shazkar Shadowstorm wrote:

Okay, while we're at it, what's the best way to memorize a bunch of derivations and equations?

GODDAMN PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY WHY DID I CHOOSE TO TAKE THIS CLASS?!

BOLTZMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!

The best I've found so far is when you're doing the homework that uses the theorems and formulas, to write them down from memory instead of just copying from the book, there is a difference here. Everytime you're writing it down from memory, the better you'll be able to retain it. If that doesn't work, try to turn the formula into something silly, substitute words for the variables, etc. I don't do this, but I'm sure it'll help. Also, if you can, you can try to derive the formula before, I know in physics my friend wouldn't have to memorize the formula, as he would just derive it during the test, but this takes up time.

Andrew

Sir Red of the Manti wrote:

As for studying, explain what you're doing to someone else. If you can understand something to the point where you can explain it to someone else, you know what you're doing.

Agreed 100%. I do best when I have a partner to study with. Large study groups don't help me nearly as much as studying with just one other person. Teaching the material to each other is the best way to study, in my experiences.

curby

A TRICK THAT HELPS YOU REMEMBER ANYTHING

For memorizing complex formulas/numbers/concepts/those flashcard games/etc. I do this:

Give personality traits to segments of whatever you're trying to memorize and then make a story up about what happens, then associate the name of the formula to an object of the story (preferrably the first). Make sure each story element is at least vaguely connected to the previous.

e.g. quadratic formula: (NSFW)

A bee (B), with its stinger still in tact (-B), tries to make a decision (+-). It flies to the root (sqrt) of the tree on which its beehive stands in order to get some "alone time" to think it over. While there, it starts to pleasure itself, and magically multiplies as a result (B^2), but loses its stinger, which flies out in the process( - ). The two resulting bees multiply a second time(4), because they realize that the tree is overheating, and more air from their wings flapping is required to provide the tree with air conditioning (AC). They give off so much wind that the tree breaks in half, and the members on the right side of the air conditioning unit get squished and killed(/2A).

Then associate quadratic with bee. Just think of four bees that are connected by the stinger, and are spinning like a fan (it reminds you of the story and it's fucked up, so it's easier to remember).

Then if you need to use quadratic formula in another forumla, you can make a story that includes 4 bees connected by the stinger whilst spinning like a fan.

Oh, also, the more insanely messed up the images are in your head, the easier it is to memorize.







works for me...

Shazkar Shadowstorm

Well, I don't care how fucked up it is, but if it helps me memorize all the equations for thermodynamics and Maxwell-Boltzman distributions, I will embrace it.

I hate Boltzman, what a punk.
Schrodinger too.

For the Future

Study well before the exam. A long time ago, I had an exam that I was supposed to take on a Friday, and I need to do really well on it. So for 2 and a half days before it, I studied like crazy trying to cram everything in. By the time Friday morning came, I was still studying. I didn't know everything, but I figured I knew enough to get atleast a decent grade.

Well then it turned out the exam was next Tuesday, and I had read the wrong schedule. So I accidently studied a shitload of stuff for a test that I wouldn't be taking for another few days. I thought I was gonna somehow end up fucked and have to study again, but I was so taken aback by this discovery that I decided to just chill for the next few days. This curse would end up being a blessing. I didn't study anymore for the rest of friday, didn't even touch the books on Saturday or Sunday. Monday I pretty much slept a lot, and then I studied lightly before going to bed. This whole time, other people were sweating bullets trying to cram but I was just kinda laid back. Despite the time that passed I had no real trouble recalling the stuff I studied. My head was clear, priorities straight, blood pressure was low, damn it felt good to be a gangsta.


I woke up on Tuesday and warmed myself up by reading through all the material and trying to recall the concepts. When it came time to test, the exam had some deep shit in there, meaning it was difficult, but I was able to pull through it and I pretty much aced it. In the past, I would have probably just thrown my hands up in disgust and quit, but now I could actually answer this shit.

And I guess that's how I accidently discovered the best way to study.

tony_important

I recommend that 15 minutes before the exam, you sit and calm yourself. Just try and sit there and breathe. Slow your mind down before you go into the exam.

contagious_d

Someone mentioned it above, but make one or more "cheat" sheets. I have found that different layouts work better for different subjects.

For math, physics, etc, I put things in interlocking boxes of different shapes (like a jigsaw puzzle but with simple geometric shapes), then try to replicate the sheet from memory a few times in the days leading up to the test. You can think back and say "Oh, that equation was in the ugly triangle halfway down the page," and remember what it looked like.

For tests with a lot of memorization of categorized or ordered facty junk, like networking, algorithms, or business classes, making a pile of note cards with lists at the top and (really dirty) first letter mnemonics at the bottom.

Chief1138

Better yet, if you're like me and are too lazy to make cheat sheets, make friends with people who do them all the time. It'll probably be superorganized and will save you tons of time.

The Cat

Chief1138 wrote:

Better yet, if you're like me and are too lazy to make cheat sheets, make friends with people who do them all the time. It'll probably be superorganized and will save you tons of time.

Jackass. Do your own fucking work, don't rely on people being too nice/socially needy to tell you to shove it.

@OP: you're really best off reading your notes as you get them throughout semester, and then rereading towards the end - recall improves when you've gone over them multiple times, especially when you've given them a while to sink in. You'll get most of the basics first time 'round, and on rereading that gets reinforced and further detail will attach itself. Second, rereading older material can help you connect it with newer stuff, and you can often build a better 'framework' of knowledge-chunks that make recall easier. If that makes sense :P. Also, my bf takes Berocca while studying, but I'm not sure whether the vitamins themselves help your brain or its a placebo effect. I figure it can't hurt, at least.

subedii

Personal experience is that doing past papers (sometimes with like minded friends in the library) is a HUGE help. Half the exam is knowing the types of questions and the general structure and format of the exam, so that you know what topics are likely to crop up and what they're looking for in terms of answers when they ask specific questions. The best way to learn what you need for the subject is to practice and test yourself, and past papers are an incredible resource for that.

DON'T depend purely on past papers though, because sometimes the exam can sometimes change drastically in format, especially if you've gotten a new lecturer (presuming you're talking about university). It's here that having a copy of the syllabus for that year is a massive help.

I remember one time I had gone through my past papers and felt quite ready for the exam on the day. I woke up early and had some time, so I looked at the stuff that I had covered in the past papers (about 4 years worth) and noticed there was a topic on the syllabus that had not been covered in the previous papers. So I thought I'd look it over before heading for the exam. It was a simple mathematical technique, but when I got to exam hall, nobody else had bothered with it because it never cropped up in the papers. Well guess what, it did that year. While everyone ignored that question because they didn't know the techniques to tackle it, I was able to do it, and it was probably my easiest marks on the entire exam.

So yeah, know what specific knowledge they're seeking of you for the exam (get a copy of the syllabus if possible, or compile one yourself from the topics you've covered over the course), and get lots of practice in.

I've also heard it's good to have some chocolate before you go into the exam, since it gives you a nice little sugar boost before you head in. Have no idea whether it works but I used to do it anyway. Meh.

Chief1138

The Cat wrote:

Chief1138 wrote:

Better yet, if you're like me and are too lazy to make cheat sheets, make friends with people who do them all the time. It'll probably be superorganized and will save you tons of time.

Jackass. Do your own fucking work, don't rely on people being too nice/socially needy to tell you to shove it.

You misunderstand me. Anyone who has been through college understands that studying for exams is, to say the least, a collaborative effort. Just because I utilize study materials created by another person doesn't mean I'm totally fucking over the other person.

What I mean is each person has his or her own strengths. Try forming a study group. Some people are exceptionally organized and have a way of arranging information in a way that is easy to read and memorize. Those people make the study guides. Other people, like me, have a talent when it comes to teaching others concepts they may have trouble with.

For the Future

Man, calling someone a jackass for a legitimate study tactic is uncalled for

Zsetrek

Do past exams for practice, and then take them in for your lecturer to look over/mark.

carbon13

For the dude stuck with physical chemistry, do you NEED to know the derivatives? For me I just learned the start, and the final product and thought through the derivatives sensably. Luckily my maths is pretty good, so not much of an issue.

Chemistry rocks though, very little on equations, but a double A4 page worth of organic synthesis mechanisms seperates the men from the boys.

Raggaholic

One thing to understand with all of this advice is that some thing will work for you and others won't. Do NOT try to force something that isn't working for you because someone told you it worked like gangbusters for them.

In my opinion, the most important thing for studying/learning is to know what study/learning tips work for you.

I know some may think that this went without saying, but I'm writing it for the just in case.