How to Study for an Essay Exam
Essay exams are tough to prepare for because it's hard to predict exactly what you'll have to know. The best way to get ready is to know all the material as thoroughly as you can.
- Difficulty:
- Moderately challenging
Instructions
Things You'll Need
- Desk Lamps
- Miniature Reading Lights
- Caffeinated Beverages
- Coffees
- Highlighter Pens
- Index Cards
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1
Gather your notes together: class notes, reading notes and any other notes you might have taken.
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2
Go through your notes briefly. Look for major themes that the professor emphasized during the course.
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3
Start an index card for each new theme you find.
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4
Go through your notes a second time, adding details to each relevant index card. If your notes are insufficient, go back to the textbook, novel, academic article, etc., for the crucial information.
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5
Look through the index cards several times, until you're fairly comfortable with the material.
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6
Quiz yourself on each topic: Ask yourself a question, and write down a brief answer, checking your recall against your notecards.
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7
Review every time you've been away from your notes for more than a couple hours. Review is the best way to get things to stick in your mind.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Although this process may sound tedious, taking the time will be well worth it when you get your test back with an "A" on it.
Start early and leave yourself a lot of time to study properly - at least 3 days. Don't wait until the last minute!
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Comments
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rhyme
Aug 15, 2007
* If you have access to previous exams for the same subject, make sure you read them all and can answer all the questions. Chances are, your questions will be similar. Practice answering at least one or two as essays, at least one of those under exam conditions at home (i.e. with the right time limit and with no distractions). For all of the past exam questions, write at least a dot-point outline of how you would answer each question. * If you don't have past exams to work from, look at the objectives for the class (or at your lecture notes if you haven't been given a list of objectives), and think about what sorts of questions you'd ask if you were writing the exam. Use those questions for your study and essay-writing practice. -
rhyme
Aug 15, 2007
* If you have access to previous exams for the same subject, make sure you read them all and can answer all the questions. Chances are, your questions will be similar. Practice answering at least one or two as essays, at least one of those under exam conditions at home (i.e. with the right time limit and with no distractions). For all of the past exam questions, write at least a dot-point outline of how you would answer each question. * If you don't have past exams to work from, look at the objectives for the class (or at your lecture notes if you haven't been given a list of objectives), and think about what sorts of questions you'd ask if you were writing the exam. Use those questions for your study and essay-writing practice.
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Aug 08, 2006
I found that the best thing to do was, as term/semester was ending, to go through all my notes and make a brief summary of everything that looks important, then read over it a few times. Then take your summary and use it as a guideline to write out an essay for each topic. If you're lucky, your teacher will grade it for you and tell you anything that's missing. Add anything that is missing to your notes! As your exam nears, write the essays out again and again, until you can write them without notes beside you. It is very time consuming, but is guaranteed that you won't forget what you're studying.
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Aug 08, 2006
The day before your exam go through your notes and on a single sheet of paper write down all of the information you are having trouble remembering (dates, names, events, etc.). Fold up the sheet, put it in your pocket, and read over it every chance you get (waiting in line at the grocery store, while eating lunch, walking to class, etc.)
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Nov 22, 2005
I wanted to keep my 100% average in Global Studies (9th). For the last chapter test of the marking period, I made up mnemonics (silly word phrases to remember info) to remember 27 names and other info. I remembered it all & got a 100% on my essay! Try it!
