Blog #8 Study Techniques

 

Is anyone ready for finals? Do you feel prepared enough to take an exam right at this moment? If not im going to address different techniques to help you prepare and ace your big test!

Start early. This is an very effective way of retaining all that information that's needed on the test! It is not wise studying days before and cramming all that information ,Yes it may have worked on your past tests. Though it isn't effective (speaking from experience!) the earlier you start the less stress you'll be.

 

Study Strategy. Everyone has different ways of studying, What works for you? For me, I'm an visual learner so I have to use images, color-code, or think in pictures rather than words. There's endless studying methods, here are some that I found can be useful for others..

       Active Recall: 

          1.) Skim through your textbook and try to remember as much as you can.

         2.) Put it away completely. 

        3.) Write down everything you can remember in your notes.

        4.) Take your textbook out and see what you remembered and what you forgot.

        5.) Repeat until you remember everything.

      

  Feynman Technique:

        1.) Choose a topic you need to learn about.

       2.) Break the topic up into small understandable chunks.

       3.) Teach it to someone else. (In doing so you will identity what you need to study more.)

Take into consideration it is always better to over-study then to be unprepared! If you are struggling on a topic make sure to make time to study and find the method that's most effective for you.

Take a break.  Let's not forget it's okay to take a break. Personally I like to study for an hour straight and then take 20 minutes to stretch or go on social media.(Tiktok) If you're constantly looking at a screen I recommened to get blue light glasses, it helped me with my headaches! Assuming you study better while listening to music I recommened taking your break time to make a playlist. If so, what's your favorite song to listen to? If you ask me I can't study while listening to lyricial music because I will end up distarcted and singing! I prefer instrumental music such as violin.

SLEEP. I think this might be the most important part of this whole blog! I can't stress enough how important it is for you to be awake and aware during your exam. Yes, I know you are pulling all-nighters to study but always rest up before the big test to make sure you can actually remember all the stuff from the entire semester. Lack of sleep reduces effectiveness and increases stress so remember to take naps when needed.

In conclusion, I hope my tips will help you on your next exam and remember it is okay to be stressed, but dont let your exam define how smart you are. We all fail sometimes but the most important thing is that you try to do better on the next exam. Goodluck on your finals!