How to Prepare for Exams
College students often cringe at the mere thought of midterm and final exams. Yet, with careful preparation and dedication, students don't need to be so afraid of taking exams. Your study habits both in and out of class, as well as your time management skills, will make all the difference in helping you be prepared for your exams.
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Instructions
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Develop a routine for studying class notes. Lecture notes often form the basis of college exams. However, if you wait until only a few days before an exam to read over your notes, it will be hard to remember a lot of the information during the exam. Instead, read over notes after class and once again that same night. Then, during the weekend, study all notes taken during the week. This effort will significantly increase your retention of material, so that by the time you take your exams, you'll feel confident you know the information.
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Read text material and generate outlines of text chapters. Students spend hundreds of dollars every semester on textbooks but often don't take the time to read them. But information from the textbook might very well appear on an exam. So, as you read, create an outline of the chapter. This activity will increase your retention of the material while simultaneously generating a study guide to use for studying in the days before the actual exam.
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Develop your own sample exam questions. Use your class notes and text materials to create sample multiple choice, true/false and essay questions. This will help you conquer text anxiety by getting into exam-mode. This effort will also help you focus on material your professor indicated was especially important.
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Take care of your physical and mental health in the weeks leading up to your exams. Get plenty of rest, eat healthy foods, stay hydrated and take breaks as needed. This way you won't have to rely on caffeine and sugar highs to get you through your exams.
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References
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Comments
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Matab
Mar 31, 2009
ya...maybe I should get on that ;) great advice -
goodselfme
Mar 28, 2009
Your article points out good guide lines to prepare for exams. TX 5*
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aew4
Mar 26, 2009
Haha good call that exam prep actually starts with doing the course work and reading the chapters. If only I could go back and do it all again... 5*
