How To Prevent That Last Minute Studying For An Exam Panic

For our blog this week the topic is Exam Preparation. For me personally exam's are an intimidating subject, however with these strategies my exams do not seem as threatening. If you use the three test preparation topics you will surely succeed. these topics are: organizing, studying, and evaluating. Organizing, consists of learning what information or topics will be covered in the exam, the format of the test, and the sources or materials that your professor suggests you to use to learn the information. Studying, is the combination of summarizing the material into a review tool, creating and reviewing study sheets, and restructuring the information you've accumulated and reviewed better increase your recall of the material. Evaluating, consists of attempting to guess what the professor will ask on the exam by creating exam questions and answering them.

Here are some key things to remember are to find out the date of the exam. Find out what material the exam will cover and its format. Identify all sources of info and the topics that will be covered on the exam. Divide the material you must study into sections. Set up a study schedule around your weekly schedule. Prepare study sheets, index cards, or whatever review tools work best for you. Using review tools, predict test questions and them once you have reviewed the desired material.

In my experience using this exam preparation scheme I found a format that worked for me personally. I still used the preparation scheme however I adjusted a few things to make this scheme effective and help me get the most out of it. As previously stated in the definition of this scheme I find out what the date of an exam is Through tips from the professor and through my textbook, notes, and syllabus; I find out what material will be on the exam. I then divide the material into sections. Everyday leading up to the exam I review a different section and either develop note cards, study sheets, or in some cases just go straight to practice problems. Once i've made the proper review tools and studied them, I create study questions. However, in some classes I have already developed many review questions through the note taking style I use.

For example In Psychology 205 I used the jeopardy note taking technique and combined it with the 20 minute test prep. So when it came time to start to prepare for my exam I already had many review questions because I would come up with five or so after every class.

Here is an excerpt of my completed jeopardy note taking which helps me study for my exams:

In conclusion I am extremely satisfied with exam preparation and my modifications to the technique. I think it is an extremely useful technique for anyone in school or studying for an exam.