How to Prepare for a Major Exam

Here is the "trick question" I always ask my classes: When should you start to study for an exam?   The answer is - as soon as you receive the information!  Your learning is a continuous process.  You need to review and learn the material you receive after each class, do not wait until a week or so before an exam to start to study.  Certainly do not wait until the night before an exam!  Besides this, here are some more strategies:

 

What you need to know:

• Find out the type of exam (essay, multiple choice, etc.)
• What information will be on the exam?  If it is a final exam, does it cover the entire semester or the last unit?
• Where and when will the exam be given if different from the regular class time?
• Do you have all of the material?  If you were sick, are you missing any class notes or handouts?

 

How to prepare:

• Look at the information as a whole.  Divide it into logical sections.
• Consider making a large review chart covering all of the main topics.
• About one week before the exam, on the first day study the first section again in depth.  The second day study the second section in depth and review the first.  The third day study the third section in depth and review the first and second.  (I am sure you get the idea here - continue on until you have completed all sections.)
• The day before do a general review of all material.
• Get a good night's sleep and eat breakfast!

 

Some other strategies:

• Predict exam questions and answers.
• If the professor has given you essay or short answer prompts, write out the answers!  Don't just "think about them!"
• Form a study group and either teach the information to each other or quiz each other.
• Review information you are struggling with right before you go to sleep the night before the exam.  (This helps consolidate the information in your long-term memory.)

 

Why do we have to have exams?
Besides testing how much you  have learned, the professor's other objective is to motivate you to review all of the material covered in the class before moving on to new material.  Your purpose is also to take some time to review and solidify what you have learned and then to demonstrate this mastery of the material.  Looking at an exam from this perspective (as opposed to just torture) changes how you think about studying.

 

The next post will be about strategies to use when taking the test.
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First Semester Strategies: Learning Strategies and Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available at amazon.com, wordassociation.com and barnesandnoble.com.  Click on the upper right link.