Study Tips
Preapring
for a Test
START EARLY!
An "all-nighter" is the least effective way to study for a
test. Cramming for a test is like not eating for two weeks,
then trying to eat all those missed meals in one sitting.
You can't digest that much food at once. You can't digest
that much information at once either. Schedule several study
sessions before a test. Repetition is the key to remembering.
.
NEVER MISS THE CLASS
BEFORE A TEST
The class period before a test is when you'll find out what
the test will be like.
Find out as much as possible:
- what will it cover?
- will it be objective,
essay or both?
- how much will each
type of question be worth?
- how much time will
you have to complete the test?
LEARNING THE IMPORTANT
INFORMATION
1. Using your class
notes and your highlighted textbook, make flash cards
with facts, definitions, people, dates, events, lists, etc.
The act of writing the information on the cards will help
you remember it. Each time you go through the stack of cards,
you are transferring the information from your short term
memory into your long term memory. If you are an auditory
learner, study with a partner who can ask you the questions
or give the answers aloud to yourself.
2. Look for recurring
themes in your text and in your notes.
Essay questions will probably come from those themes. Make
a list of possible essay questions and make a brief outline
of how you would answer each one.
3. Don't forget charts,
diagrams and captions to pictures in your textbook. They
can contain lots of valuable information. If your professor
has referred to a diagram in the text during his/her lecture,
study it!
4. Use mnemonic (memory)
devices for learning lists or parts of something:
- for items that do
not have to be remembered in any particular order, take
their first letters and see if you can arrange them into
a word or an easily remembered order. (Ex: the first letters
of the Great Lakes spell HOMES)
- for items that must
be learned in order, make up a sentence using their first
letters in order. (Ex: the first letters of the words in
the sentence "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine
Pizzas" will tell you the planets in order from the sun
outward)
- if you like music,
try setting information to a tune or rhythm
Any memory device that
works is okay, and it doesn't have to make sense to anyone
but you!
5. Study with a friend
- compare notes, ask each other questions, do flash cards
together, discuss themes that would make good essay questions.
6. Play the role of
your professor. Make up the most difficult objective test
you can and take it until you know the answers.
7. Make visual organizers
- invent charts, diagrams, trees, drawings to help you remember.
8. Study past quizzes.
Test question information tends to show up again and again.
9. Try to overlearn
the material, that is, study until the answers come to
you easily.
10. Remember that
repetition is the key to remembering, and this means starting
your test preparation early enough so that many repetitions
are possible.
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