Acing the Test
It’s that time of year again: exam time! This is the time when many people decide to buckle down or up; others, who rightly were diligent in studies during the semester, may merely be refreshing their memories; some may be doing a bit of both “getting serious” with the books and finishing up that project that is due on the day of exam or that they delayed for far too long.
What is also common during this period is fretting. Many students worry about the outcome of the semester when the grades are submitted and uploaded, when GPA’s are calculated, etc. During this time many persons, more so, worry about whether or not they are adequately prepared to face the dreaded final exam for the course. Sure! Course work may have been challenging, sectionals frequent, and assignments tricky. But, when you look at it, they might very well be entering the final exam with a nice comfortable grade; but, the conclusion of the whole matter now rests on their performance on the finals’ paper. The finals will determine whether that grade you are hanging on to will sink, or rise; it will determine whether or not you fail the course or you stay afloat.
Here are a few tips I believe can help you to do your best on the exams ahead:
- Be consistently diligent: if you’re just starting to take your work seriously, you’re already in a bad spot. Cramming info does not equate to learning. As a matter of fact, attempting to cram information makes it harder to retain the information you crammed! Paying attention during class sessions, doing assignments without Googling the answers and taking time to look over notes during the semester: those are behaviors that lead to learning. If you learned, it’s more likely that final exams will be a push over for you.
- Plan: having a timetable or study plan can really help. Identify which techniques work for you (be it merely rereading notes; reading chapters of the text books; memorizing key terms or formulas and rationally making links to other things; watching videos; using flash cards; study groups; personalized quizzes/questions; etc.). Prioritize the time and dates you spend with each course, considering your strengths and weaknesses (I recommend first cementing your strengths. Better to be sure of get 50/100 right rather than focusing on weaknesses and end up being unsure of 60/100 answers you provided), date of exams, and how much content is needed to be covered during preparation time (I recommend doing the easier things first; encouragement sweetens, so you’ll do yourself justice by working on what you can handle first. Besides, it’s faster that way)
- Sleep: you’ve heard it before and I’ll refresh your memory – late night studying is not the best strategy! When it comes to success in exams, your health matters. Sleep or better put, rest, is necessary to maintain optimal health. During rest, your body gets the time to repair, refresh and rejuvenate itself so that it can function at its best when resting is over. If we deprive ourselves of sleep in the name of studying, we defeat the whole purpose of effective and productive studying. If we don’t rest, our bodies, including our brains, will be over viagra livraison rapide taxed and burdened and it will be both hard to concentrate and difficult to retain the information. Ever wondered how is it that you studied all night and when you get into the exam room the next day you can’t remember a thing? It’s the tragic result of lack of sleep. If you must be up “late” to study, then study up until maybe 8:30-9:00 pm, sleep during 9:00 pm-1:00 am or 2:00 am and then resume studying. Try it and you’ll see how easier studying is, how much better you feel physically, and how better you retain information.
- Relax: fussing over final exams will not make you do better. Arguing about why do we need finals for a particular course, how much content will be covered for the exam, how many exams we have back to back; none of those will change the fact that you have finals to sit. So relax, take it a lesson at a time, and then a unit at a time. Use music if you can. Studies show that music, especially classical music, helps heighten aspects of sildalist
brain functionality and even physical activity. Don’t play it loud. Play it softly and in the background while studying and it does wonders
- Pray: ask God, if you believe in Him, to guide you and help you. Jesus said once that the Spirit would bring to the memory of the disciples the things that He had taught them while on earth. Do your work diligently and when you request God’s assistance, according to His will, He will honor your request. But, it means that you have to have done your part, for faith without works is dead according to James.
Sure, I’m not the professional on these things and each person is different. But, these are generally acceptable and effective means of being adequately prepared for examinations.All the best folks!
Kevonn Grant kevonn@stu.ncu.edu.jm
