Achieve exam day stress
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Arrive early with all the right stuff
Arriving late can throw off your concentration. Be prepared so you're ready to write. Have pencils or pens (plus back-ups), calculator, and everything else that you’re allowed.
Listen to the directions
Even though you may be anxious, there can be very important information in the verbal directions. Listen carefully.
Scan the whole exam
Make sure all the pages are there and then roughly budget your time according to the marks each question is worth.
Read each question carefully
Not reading questions carefully is the biggest source of avoidable error. Don’t ever say, “Aww, I read the question wrong!”
Read it carefully once, twice, or even more until you’re sure of the meaning.
Data dump
Ask the instructor if it’s okay to write information down on a scrap piece of paper (or on the exam itself).
- Just ask before the exam begins - that's so they know you haven’t smuggled in a cheat sheet.
If your instructor is okay with that, take a couple of minutes and write down all those things that you’re afraid you’ll forget such as formulas, conversion factors, difficult terms or a key diagram while they’re still fresh in your mind.
Answer the easiest questions first
Whatever you find easiest, do it first. This will boost your confidence and stimulate associations to help with other questions.
Use “test mining”
When you can’t come up with an answer, keep an eye out for clues from other questions.
Do all calculations twice
During the stress of an exam, it’s easy to make simple mistakes. Do all calculations twice. Or even three times if you get a different answer.
Mark “trouble” questions
Put a star beside questions that you’re not sure of so that you can check those first at the end.
If you're running out of time, you can focus on the other questions first.
Re-read your answers
The stress of exams sometimes leads you to write something different than your brain was thinking. Careful re-reading will catch this.
Bonus tip
Always figure out what went wrong on returned exams. An exam is not really over until you’ve learned from your mistakes. Figure out why you lost marks, and if you’re not sure, ask the instructor.
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Combat exam anxiety
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Preparation
If your exam anxiety is caused by not being ready, try some of the tips for how to study smart. It can be very calming to know that you really know your subject well.
Perspective
An exam is one measure of knowledge in one course at one time, nothing more. It is not life and death. Think about what it will mean 10 years from now to help you keep perspective.
Deep breaths
Simple, but effective. When you find yourself stressed, take 10 long, deep breaths. Those deep breaths help reduce feelings of stress 3 ways:
- release endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers
- reduce blood pressure
- delivers more oxygen to the brain
All these help reduce feelings of stress.
Data dump
When you start the exam, take 2-3 minutes to write down key things you might otherwise forget. Examples include formulas, conversion factors, difficult terms or a diagram.
Let your instructor know what you're doing, so they don't think you have a cheat sheet. You can use your exam paper or ask for a piece of scrap paper.
Relaxation exercises
There are many options from simple deep breathing to practicing yoga, meditation, tai chi and other disciplines.
The important thing is to practice daily so that you can summon a state of relaxation when you need it.
Positive self-talk
When you feel anxious, write down some of the worrisome thoughts. Then, rewrite these in positive terms and practice thinking the positive versions. For example: rewrite “I’m going to flunk!” to “I’m going to do my best!”.
Good nutrition & sleep
A healthy body is better at handling stress, so get a balanced diet and enough sleep (8 hours preferably) every day. Don’t forget to drink enough water!
Exercise
This is the body’s natural stress-reliever. Research shows that exercise helps your brain function better too.
Practice tests
Sometimes a dry run helps. Try writing answers to practice questions.
If you can arrange it, try a practice test in the same room where you'll write your exam.
Know when to get help
There’s a big difference between a little anxiety and panic attacks. If your anxiety is debilitating, consider seeing a counsellor for more in-depth help.
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Concentration strategies
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Get enough sleep, good nutrition and regular exercise
Basic stuff, but vital. You’ll feel more energetic and better able to concentrate if you do these 3 things
- Sleep 7 to 8 hours each night.
- Eat a balanced diet meeting all your body’s needs including drinking water.
- Do at least a half hour of aerobic exercise three times a week.
Identify what distracts you
Is it your phone, the fridge, the TV, the Internet? If you don’t know, do a time audit to see where you’re losing time to distractions.
Choose to sit where distractions are fewest
In class, this is usually towards the front.
For studying, it’s anywhere you can find quiet, like the library.
You can reduce distractions anywhere by putting your phone on mute, turning off the TV or choosing an out-of-traffic area of the library.
Schedule your study time
Your concentration can drift if you don’t have a target time to finish by. Set a time and stick to it.
Set goals
Your concentration can drift if you don’t know what you want to accomplish. Decide and stick to those goals. Reward yourself for meeting your goals, with a snack or a refreshing walk.
Study with less background noise
Many young people say they absolutely need music to study, only to report later how much easier it is to work when it’s quiet.
Try an experiment—try three weeks without music during studying and see if your results improve. All the research suggests it should.
An alert body means an alert mind
When you slouch, your brain slouches too. Help yourself concentrate by sitting up straight in a comfortable, supportive chair in a well-lit area.
Do one thing at a time
Let’s face it: successful multi-tasking is a myth. You can only truly concentrate on one thing at a time. Instead of watching 2 hours of TV while you do homework, do one hour of each. The results will be better.
Never use drugs or alcohol when you need to concentrate
Both impair concentration. So can caffeine. Energy drinks make many people feel jittery instead of alert. Avoid them when you need to concentrate.
Know when to get help
If you can’t find any way to maintain concentration, consider seeing a campus counsellor to discuss attention disorders.
Bonus tip
Attitude matters—concentration is difficult without motivation. You can improve your motivation with positive self-talk: “I am capable of this.”
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Help your memory
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The power of review
Short term memory can be converted to long term by reviewing, especially within 24 hours of learning new material.
Clear up the confusion
It's easier to memorize things you understand and things that are organized. Invest the time to really understand the material and get it recorded in an organized way.
Read it out loud
Studies show reading out loud improves recall by as much as 80% compared to reading silently.
Q-cards
A great way to learn new terms and definitions.
- Put the term on one side of a card and the definition on the other. Test yourself whenever you have a few spare minutes.
- For variety, try putting a question on one side, and the answer on the other.
- Share them with your study mates.
- Add pictures/drawings to make them even more memorable.
Make it a game or a song
Think how easy games & songs are to learn.
Turn your notes into Jeopardy, Trivial Pursuit, Pictionary or Study Poker. You’ll be amazed how easy it can be to learn.
Turn that hard bit of info into a rhyme or a song—you’ll never forget it!
Test yourself
It’s not enough to just read your notes to memorize. You need to simulate a test by covering up your notes and testing yourself to see how much you recall.
The biggest reason for blanking on a test is that you hadn’t truly tested yourself, so didn’t realize that the information wasn’t quite memorized.
Reduce, reduce, reduce
You can’t memorize every single word in a course. Reduce the material to the essentials by making an outline, mind map or chart.
Mnemonics work
Try acronyms. One example is Roy G. Biv (ROYGBIV) for the 7 colours of the spectrum.
Or try acrostics. For example—Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge are the 5 notes on musical staff.
Both help you learn and remember.
Visualization
The association with a picture makes things easier to recall for most learners. Even badly drawn pictures work!
Spread it out
Three sessions of 1 hour over 3 days is better than one 3 hour session on one day. Spread memory work over many days to make it easier. The brain processes information during the break times in between.
Bonus tip
Attitude matters! When you’re motivated to learn, it’s far easier. If it’s a dull subject, you can trick your brain into a motivated state with positive self-talk, like “I can master this!”.
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How to read effectively
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Skim or Pre-read
A quick glance at the titles, headings, bold font terms, captions of figures, and end of chapter questions will give your brain a framework for the information you'll read.
Rephrase each paragraph in your own words
As you read, check that you’re understanding by trying to put the main points in your own words.
Read out loud
This helps your concentration and often comprehension. Reading aloud slows you down enough to catch all the words.
Highlight or underline after you read a paragraph or section
This will force you to reflect on what are the really important points, and to choose wisely with the full information.
Write key words or notes in margin
Just like highlighting helps, adding words such as “definition”, “3 examples” or “summary” can really help comprehension during reading, and speed up studying and review later.
Use a dictionary or glossary
Look up terms you don’t know, and jot their meaning or an equivalent word in your text beside the word. The moments used to do this are vital for comprehension.
Reread difficult sections
Sometimes you just have to read the hard stuff again (and again) to get it.
Mark parts you don’t understand and get help.
Put a "?" in your margin, and get it sorted out as soon as you can by yourself, with a fellow student or the instructor. It’s 10 times as hard to learn something you don’t understand.
Take a textbook tour
Flip through your text to make sure you’re not missing some really useful part—the glossary, index or answer key.
Take notes after you read
Save yourself time. If you take notes after reading a section, you’ll have a better idea of what’s really important, and you likely won’t have to write as much.
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Improve your note taking
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Be ready to start
Important information is often given right at the beginning of class. Have your paper and pen/pencil ready. Bring a back-up pen, & two colours of writing implements or a highlighter.
Use a note-taking system
The Cornell note-taking method not only keeps your notes organized, but provides a review and study notes in one easy step.
Review previous notes
If you scan the last few pages of class notes, you’ll be ready with the terminology fresh in mind. You’ll save time by not having to rewrite points you know are already in your notes.
Do the assigned readings
This will save you time and confusion during class, because you’ll be familiar with the terminology and concepts. You can even prepare yourself with abbreviations for longer words.
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Study smart
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Review new info on the same day
This is the time that the human brain works best to convert short term memory into long term memory. After this, you’re working harder to re-learn stuff. Even a 5 minute review between classes saying out loud, “What I learned in the last class was …” helps.
Reduce your notes
Taking a whole lecture and reducing it to an outline of a few key words or phrases is a great way to review, and makes the job of memorizing easier.
Go to class!
This actually saves time in the long run—think about how long it takes to learn something from a textbook or manual versus having someone tell you. Plus, you’ll get all the hints instructors always drop about exams.
Index cards for new terms
A proven technique that still works. Write the term on one side of an index card, the definition on the other, Test yourself both ways whenever you have a few minutes. Don’t forget to shuffle the cards.
Schedule your studying for exams
It’s way more likely to actually happen if you decide on the time and write it down in your schedule. Break it up into multiple sessions of about 1 to 1.5 hours. Schedule enough time get through the material. Save the night before an exam for one final review of all the material.
Study partners
Probably the most time-efficient studying technique because no writing is required. Works best if you pick a good partner, one who asks good questions.
Involve many senses
Don’t just read silently, when reading aloud can improve recall by up to 80%. Add in writing or drawing, and recall improves even more.
Teach someone else
This is the gold standard of study techniques. If you know something well enough to teach (without notes) someone else, you’re ready for an exam.
Write your own test questions
Make up questions on the material, and then try to answer them without notes. Share them with classmates.
Create a cheat sheet
If you could take one sheet of notes into the exam imagine what you'd include. Just preparing such a sheet works wonders for helping you recall the key info. This can even be your data dump before you start writing an exam.
Bonus tip
You’re not studying unless you’re testing yourself. When you blank out, it means you didn't know or truly memorize. Cover up your notes and check your recall.
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Time management
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Use a day-timer and To-Do list
Paper or electronic, it doesn't matter as long as you have one place where you record all your deadlines, appointments, due dates, etc. A “To-Do” list gives you all your commitments together, so you can prioritize them.
Set achievable goals
Decide what you would like to achieve in all the different aspects of your life: student, employee/employer, family, recreation, spirituality. You’re more likely to get where you want to go if you decide the destination first.
Set priorities according to your goals
Don’t fall into the trap of getting just the unimportant stuff done. Set priorities with your to do list so that the things that take you towards your goals get done first.
Ask instructors for help
Know when to give in and get help—save yourself time and get good advice.
Go to all your classes
It saves time to be in class, instead of trying to teach yourself from someone's notes.
Don't rewrite notes; condense them
You can rewrite notes as mindlessly as writing lines for punishment. Make rewriting useful by condensing the material, putting it in your own words.
Break down large tasks into manageable chunks
A task like an essay can be tackled in parts: brainstorming topics, initial research, rough draft, revising and final review. Schedule your own sub-deadlines for these so the final deadline doesn't sneak up.
Find those bonus minutes
There are available minutes while waiting for class to start, after finishing lunch, waiting for laundry and other moments in your day. Use those minutes to learn terms on index cards, to organize notes, or to review notes.
Check your time wasters
Do a time audit to see where you're wasting time. Is it the phone, TV, novels, computer games? Keep track of your time use in 15 min intervals for 2 weeks, and add it up. You might be surprised.
Schedule study time
If you write it down, it's way more likely to happen. Several sessions of one to two hour blocks work best.
Bonus Tip
Is this a piano? If you're building a doghouse, why put in the effort needed for a grand piano? Put the appropriate effort into any task.
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